Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this very urgent and important debate on the rise in poverty, deprivation and hardship for many of our citizens. I also use this opportunity to thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for and commend him on bringing this issue before the House and for putting forward solutions to the severe problems facing our people. This Government needs to wake up and face the fact that people on the borders of society are suffering and need our support. We should never turn our backs on these people who are suffering, especially in the current economic climate. We must help our own as a matter of priority.

We should also stand by countries like Greece and work with them to secure a more equal Europe which, sadly, is what this Government did not do recently. Instead, it sided with the big boys and girls against the Greeks. Some of the countries now coming down on Greece have a brass neck, including Germany, which unilaterally defaulted in the 1930s and in 1953 got massive debt relief and Poland, which is now siding with Germany, but had large debts written off in 1989. When is that spoken of in this country or this House? Greece is in trouble. It is a broken country and the European Union should unite to help and support it. We need a collective response not isolation.

In terms of the motion before the House, we need to face the reality of what is going on in this country in 2015. Between 2011 and 2013, the number of households suffering deprivation increased from 24.5% to 30.5% and the number of people living in consistent poverty increased from 6.9% to 8.2%. That is a fact. According to the CSO the levels of deprivation and persistent poverty among one-parent families are even more shocking, with the number of one-parent families suffering deprivation having risen from 49.5% in 2012 to 63.2% in 2013 and the number living in consistent poverty having risen from 17.4% to 23% in the same period. In 2013, 12% of children aged between 0 and 17 years lived in consistent poverty, which is an increase of 137,000 on the 9.9% figure in 2012 and double the 6% figure of 2008.

As mentioned by Deputy Boyd Barrett, UNICEF found that between 2008 and 2012 child poverty rose by 10% to 28.6%, which equates to an increase of 130,000 more children living in poverty. That is the reality and an issue we need to address immediately. All we need is a couple of Ministers to bang their heads together to come up with a solution to this problem. These children living in poverty need to be prioritised over any other issue in this House. The situation is dire. On top of this, is the increase in poverty among our elderly. Between 2009 and 2011 the number of elderly people living in poverty rose from 1.1% to 1.9%. The deprivation rate in this regard increased from 9.5% to 11.3% over the same period. Deprivation levels among older people living alone is even higher at 15.3%. Our senior citizens, who worked hard all their lives and paid their taxes, are now also living in poverty.

The Age Action survey following budget 2014 indicates that 90% of respondents felt budgetary measures affecting older people were unfair. Prescription charges, changes to the telephone allowance and income limits for medical cards, property tax and the fuel allowance are all measures that hit our senior citizens. It is important to say that. Members on the Government side continually ask from where Government would get the money to reverse these cuts. The answers are in the detail of the motion before the House. According to the Department of Finance the top 1% of earners, 21,650, have an annual gross income of €8.7 billion or an average earning of €403,703 per annum, which is more than ten times the average industrial wage. Despite this those on the Government side continually say there is no wealth in this country. According to the Revenue Commissioners corporate profits have increased with gross trade profits increasing from €70.8 billion in 2010 to €73.8 billion in 2011. They are two obvious areas from which Government could get additional money. A number of my colleagues will give more detail in that regard later.

The Government needs to reverse the cuts to child benefit and restore the respite care grant. These are important issues. We need to focus on the main content of this motion and address poverty in Ireland in 2015.

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