Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I want to confront the old trope that the best way of getting people out of poverty is to get them into work. The Minister should tell that to the 160,000 people who were working and still experiencing poverty before the pandemic. Despite being in work, they still very much experienced poverty. The best way to get people out of poverty is to provide an appropriate social safety net so that when they struggle, the State will step in and support them.

The Minister indicated several times that some professions will simply not return after Covid-19. It is why there was a cruel amendment to the PUP that people must actively search for work. What professions do the Minister and her officials believe will not return?

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