Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. The Minister will probably know that this is an issue that we have been raising in the House for many years. In 2018, we published the Social Welfare Commission Bill, which was to establish a commission to consider the work the VPSJ does on the MESL to ensure very vulnerable households that rely on social welfare supports can meet a certain amount of their outgoings. All this is a very basic minimum standard of living to be met by these vulnerable households.

The commission would also take the political football out of setting rates during the annual conversation as the budget approaches of giving a fiver to some and not to everyone. This is a constant conversation every year. While I appreciate that the Minister's Department partly funds the VPSJ and its important work, it does not pay much heed to its overall objective, which is to link all social welfare rates to the MESL, which is so important.

Is that something the Minister will examine for all social welfare payments?

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