Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The rapid increase in the cost of basic necessities of everyday life, including rent, light, heat, fuel, health, childcare and groceries is having a profound and negative impact on workers and families the length and breadth of this country. That is particularly true in rural areas and constituencies like my constituency of Longford-Westmeath. Maintaining a basic standard of living is beyond the reach of some and it is a real and growing challenge for far too many people.

The Government has refused to listen to us in Sinn Féin, to others on this side of the House and to the likes of St. Vincent de Paul and that growing list of others highlighting the impact of the soaring cost of living. I want to go back to the latest report of Barnardos which states that one quarter of families fear they will not be able to feed their children because it is getting harder to put food on the table. Some 19% of respondents said they had skipped meals so they could feed their families and children. More must be done now. The Government has admitted that its €500 million cost of living package will not be enough for many families. It has acknowledged its failings and yet it continues to fail to act. Targeted measures are needed. For months Sinn Féin has been warning the Government about the cost of living and it has shown the Government how it can be done. I heard the Minister on the radio this morning saying that he appreciates the difficulties but he must also then appreciate how ludicrous it is to tell people who are in these desperate situations that they must wait until October. While the Government continues to bury its head in the sand, hardworking people are struggling daily and making the choice whether their families should be cold or hungry. That is bordering on Dickensian.

I have read the Government’s amendment to the motion put forward by our colleagues and it speaks about a proactive response. I respectfully suggest that the Minister should shake his head. I refer to the public debt of one quarter of a trillion euro. The Minister should not try to put that on the shoulders of average working families the length and breadth of this country. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, spoke about delivering but the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, should look out the door. All that the Government is delivering is hardship, poverty and increased personal debt and rural Ireland is paying the price for something it had no hand, act or part in creating.

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