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

I absolutely accept that very many families not just in the Defence Forces, but across the country, are finding it very hard to make ends meet. I refer in particular to families who have additional costs, whether they are mortgage, rent and child care costs or loans to be repaid. It is absolutely the case that very many families of members of the Defence Forces and well beyond are struggling to make ends meet. The question is what is the Government doing about it. First, wages are rising again and pay restoration is occurring in the public service. It has started already and will continue into next year at a faster pace than had been previously planned if the agreement we have reached with the trade unions is ratified, as I am confident it will be. We reduced personal taxation and the universal social charge last year and will continue to do so, hopefully with the support of the Fianna Fáil, in the next budget and the years ahead. We are also trying to reduce the cost of living for families, for example, by introducing the affordable child care scheme and much better child care subsidies for families who need child care. We introduced rent controls in areas where rents are high - the rent pressure zones - to contain the cost of rent. We reduced medical costs, for example, the prescription fee for elderly people, and provided free general practitioner care for all children under six years. The Defence Forces have a much better arrangement than that when it comes to free medical care but this is an important change for many families. There are also provisions funded out of my former Department, for example, the family income supplement which ensures that anyone who works more than 19 hours per week and has a family is not in poverty because he or she can apply for the family income supplement. Second, we announced only last week a 25% increase in the back to school clothing and footwear allowance which will benefit more than 250,000 children in low income families.

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