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

We all acknowledge the enormous charitable work of the Capuchin Day Centre and how it assists people. Government assists people as well. As stated earlier, there a been a significant increase in the number of people at work and this has helped to reduce poverty in general and also child poverty. We have increased welfare payments. Further increases targeted at people on low incomes and with children are due in March. There will be an increase in the qualified allowance for children, improvements in family income supplement and improvements for lone parents. People who cannot get by, even with their welfare payments, have the option of going to community welfare officers to seek exceptional needs payments or urgent needs payments. Those supports are available directly from Government but I appreciate that people may, for their own reasons, not wish to avail of those supports and go to voluntary organisations instead, many of which - including food banks - are funded by Government.

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