Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Minister threw around many red herrings, and that is not a serious way to conduct a debate. She suggested that we do not care about people finding employment; she cannot be serious. We all want to help people get back to work, but there is a serious argument suggesting that the poorest people in society, those depending on social welfare and the working poor, have disproportionately taken the impact of cuts and austerity in recent years and have done so again in the budget. Against this background, significant tax breaks were given to people who, frankly, are not struggling to pay the bills or a keep a roof over their heads. It is legitimate to pose questions on this, particularly when the people in question earn over €70,000, and say the measures are not reasonable. Everyone in this House wants to help people get back to work, but we have serious questions about some of the back-to-work schemes and the low-paid work they can entail. Notwithstanding the fact that there will be differences of opinion in the course of this debate, I ask that the Government be serious in response to questions that are raised by Deputies and reputable non-governmental organisations, NGOs, such as Social Justice Ireland and UNICEF. These questions relate to chronic levels of child poverty, poverty generally, poverty among the working poor and the obvious related matters of homelessness, the housing crisis and rent supplement.

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