Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The latest figures available to us indicate that consistent poverty among the population at large is still 8%, among children it is 11.2%, which is more than one in ten, and among lone parents it is 22.1%, which is more than one in five. With regard to levels of deprivation, on the other hand, whereby people do not have all they need to live a decent, humane lifestyle, as measured internationally, the deprivation rate among the general population is 29% and among lone parents it is a staggering 59%, which means almost six out of every ten lone parents are experiencing deprivation. What does the Minister intend to focus on in the budget to begin making inroads into those figures, which I am sure he will agree are outrageous in a developed country?

See this speech in context