Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Social Democrats on bringing forward this important motion. Child poverty has a huge impact in my constituency. I represent Limerick city, which includes part of north Tipperary, and we have serious problems in the area. In Limerick, 18 electoral divisions were classified as unemployment blackspots, which is twice as many in any other part of the country. The average unemployment rate in those areas is 43%. The last census identified Limerick city as having eight of the top ten worst unemployment black spots in the State.

I do not profess to be an expert on child poverty but I profess to be an expert on the outcomes of not dealing with child poverty. We have massive issues, of which the Minister will be well aware. There was a Government intervention in the mid-2000s when a drugs war was costing lives and deprivation was rampant. While we had a robust Garda response at that time which put a lid on drug dealing and drug violence, the regeneration plans and promised reinvestment did not deliver in many areas of my home city out of deprivation. Unfortunately, it continues to this day.

The most deprived area in the entire State is in my city of Limerick. Limerick really is a tale of two cities. We have massive wealth on one side and mass deprivation on the other side. Unfortunately, Pobal, CSO and census statistics tell us there is no change in those areas. They will always remain at or near the bottom. The only change is that an area of the city might not be the very last in one census but is last in the next census and it goes over and back with no real change, no access and nothing done to improve matters.

My colleague, Deputy Funchion, referenced the impact of Covid-19, which exposed many issues, including the importance of schools, particularly the DEIS schools. I have been in a number of them since Covid-19 came to our shores and saw the great work. School meals continued through the summer. Some of the schools in my city opened. It was the only safe place for children to go. They go home to families which are dysfunctional. Poverty is rife and that issue is not being addressed in the way it needs to be addressed.

The motion is very important. I want to mention St. Munchin's Community Centre on the north side of Limerick, which has done a fantastic job making sure that people are fed. It may sound strange to many people but when schools are not open, unfortunately, some children do not get fed. They made sure that service continued throughout the pandemic lockdown and the school closures. I want to commend Linda Ledger and her team, led by Bobby O'Halloran, in St. Munchin's Community Centre, who have done a fantastic job.

In November 2019, Social Justice Ireland released figures showing that 200,000 children were living in poverty in this State. As a State we have seen some economic growth over recent years. The working poor and their families have been left behind. It is not a surprise that we have such levels of poverty among children when this Parliament cannot legislate for a living wage of €12 per hour. My time is short and I will give the remainder to my colleagues.

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