Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The core point is that the maximum rate for those aged between 18 and 24 with no dependant children is currently €100. Those who are 25 are getting €144, down from €188. The poverty line is around the €200 mark per adult per week, and expecting people to survive on half of that is not a runner. As we are discussing youth unemployment, I will add that I met a couple of young people in the past few weeks, aged around 22 or 23, who are leaving the country. They are not even on the live register, although they have no work. They are not allowed any assistance because their parents have been deemed well off enough to look after them. Even for those people who qualify, the rules have moved a bit in the past few years and figures have been massaged in that respect. The core point remains that nobody can survive in Ireland on €100 per week. The cost of living in this country is too expensive for that.

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