Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

I hope the Minister will come to the House. She might get some enlightenment on the impact of the cuts in her Department on people and how they feel about her and the Government. UNICEF recently did a survey on Ireland. I read many surveys and it is among the most shocking I have ever read. It showed that Irish families with children have lost the equivalent of ten years of progress in their income.

The child poverty rate, as measured by EUROSTAT, rose from 18% to 28% in the four years from 2008 to 2012, an increase of 10%. This means that there has been a net increase of more than 130,000 poor children in Ireland. When the Taoiseach uses the expression "the best little country in the world in which to do business," I wonder if he is looking at our rankings in these surveys. Ireland is now ranked 37th of 41 OECD countries, just ahead of Croatia, Latvia and Greece which is seen as the country that has suffered from the worst austerity in the past few years.

We have seen the most disgraceful attack on provisions for young 15 to 24 year olds in the past few years and the number of young people not in education, employment or training has risen to 16%, a shocking figure. However, the question in the survey that tells us all is the one on people's perceptions. Irish families felt their lives had changed dramatically for the worse. Ireland ranked 38th of 41 countries on this question, again just ahead of Cyprus and Greece.

Not every country has seen an increase in the level of child poverty. For example, Chile has reduced its level. Therefore, the trend is not universal. The increase in the level of child poverty here is the result of particular cuts in social welfare. For example, in 2009 the one-parent family payment was €204.30. This year it is €188, a significant loss of money for the families affected. Also, the Minister and the Government chose to reduce the upper age limit of children for whom parents could claim the allowance to seven years. Apparently, seven year olds in one-parent families can now look after themselves. All other seven year olds need supervision. What is most shocking is that the changes have been most dramatic in the case of larger families. A family with one child is now poorer by €29 in child benefit a month. A family with four children has €198 less every month, while a family with eight children has €510 less every month. That is the effect of particular cuts in social welfare.

Unfortunately, my amendment on rent supplement was ruled out of order, but the Government continually claims it has maintained social welfare levels. The biggest outlay people in receipt of social welfare have is rent or their mortgage payment. Rent supplement was cut by an average of 28% in the years from 2009 to 2012. The Government has not responded to rising rents, leading to the homelessness we have seen which is reaching epidemic levels, something which has only come back on the agenda because of the tragic death of a man only feet away from Leinster House. A family must now pay 67% more in rent than in 2009. What is the impact of all of these changes? It means worse food and clothing and a deterioration in the quality of people's lives and their prospects.

The Minister has a question to answer about the cut in rent supplement. For example, when the cut was introduced, she said: "There will be no incidence of homelessness due to these changes." She described the change as a positive move. I disagree and contradict it. I know that the Minister does not believe anything the Socialist Party has to say, but perhaps she might believe some of what her party members have to say. Mr. Mike Allen is the director of advocacy for Focus Ireland and it is well known that he is also a member of the Labour Party, of which he is a former general secretary. He is not likely to be too critical, but he said: "Government policy on rent supplement is one of the immediate causes of the sharp rise in family homelessness."

There is a significant Labour Party input in Threshold also. It has spoken out about illegal top-ups, an issue with which the Government has denied there is a problem, whereby people must pay the landlord above the rent cap in order to stay in their homes. In November 2013 the Minister said that no evidence had been presented to the Department indicating widespread or systemic use of illegal top-ups. However, Threshold reported recently that it believed 75% of single parents on rent supplement had to resort to this practice and that approximately half of all families in receipt of rent supplement had to do so. People must bypass the rent caps and pay more money illegally. The Minister must conduct a survey because she has been proved wrong by people involved at the coalface who deal with homelessness. However, she persists with the cuts. It is high time to change this. If she does not change it, she should not be surprised if she is not greeted with the acclaim and the garlands she expects when visiting working class communities that have been devastated by cuts in rent allowance, child benefit, the one-parent allowance and others. Families have been devastated in the past six years, first under Fianna Fáil, but the Government has continued with the cuts. It is time for them to stop.

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