Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will pick up on the points on rural poverty mentioned by Deputy McGrath. Rural poverty is clearly different from urban poverty, although both are equally problematic and need to be dealt with. There is a review of the farm assist programme, with a view to reversing some of the cutbacks from previous budgets. That may help farmers, particularly in the west, who are struggling to make ends meet from their smallholdings.

The first paragraph of Social Justice Ireland's press release today indicates that more than 57% of those in poverty are not connected to the labour market. That is a valuable point.

There is one issue on which I agree with the Deputy, namely, it is not just about jobs, although she did not mention jobs at all in her initial contribution. Dealing with poverty requires three things, effectively a trident approach. It requires good jobs that pay - that is what Making Work Pay is about - and it is about good services, because there is no point in having an income if one has to spend it all on things that people do not have to pay for in other countries, like health care, child care and other things. Services are very important. I do not think the Deputy mentioned them in her contribution.

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