Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response, although parts of it were regurgitated from the debates on 5 May this year and November 2020, bar the inclusion of the last bit of information he had. In my constituency of Clare, the band is set at 3, which at €25,000 is the lowest for a single person. The fact that each additional adult in the household is only afforded 5% of the threshold is completely and entirely nonsensical. This has been the case for ten years now.

I see the ill judgment and irrationality of these thresholds first-hand when families come to me. They may have more than four dependent children but have been found to be over the threshold by a mere €100. They are, therefore, deemed ineligible for housing support and are, in effect, left in limbo. The Government has washed its hands of any real sense of duty of care. That has now been the case for a period of ten years.

See this speech in context