Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I do not know if the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, or any of the people living in a bubble in this House ever applied for a back-to-school allowance but the hoops that people have to jump through to get it are difficult to negotiate. The Labour Party and Fine Gael cut the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance for three budgets in a row. They cut it by €50 for two years and then eliminated it for 18 to 22 year olds attending college full-time. Perhaps they will come next for the jar beside the bed where people throw their small pennies at night to save for Christmas, but maybe they have not thought of that yet.

This Government has cut everything to the bone over the past few budgets and then calls it "generosity" and uses terms like "sharing the fruits of our recovery" to label giving back paltry percentages of the cuts already made to people who see no sign of any recovery. I travel in rural Ireland on a weekly basis, all over this country, and there is no recovery for those who have to live outside the capital. Fine Gael and the Labour Party took away the Christmas bonus and now call themselves generous for giving back a quarter of it.

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