Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will certainly be making the case to my colleagues in government for increased expenditure on social protection so that we can build on the progress we made last year. We will face several competing demands, but I will certainly make the case. The Deputy will appreciate it is only May and I cannot give her commitments on what will be in the budget at this stage. However, the good work carried out by the Vincentian Partnership will be central again this year when making our decisions.

The ESRI report, published last week, also shows we are making progress. It found that income inequality is at its lowest recorded level. In fact, that report stated Ireland is one of the few European countries to have experienced broad-based growth over the past three decades. Disposable incomes rose by more for lower income people than for higher income people, leading to big declines in income inequality between 1987 and 2019.

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