Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also have a question on this issue that will likely not be reached. The report is on the desk of the Minister of State and I hope it can be expedited as soon as possible. A refrain I have too often heard from the Government side of the House is that work is the best way to get out of poverty. In many instances that can be true, but for it to be true across the board work has to pay adequately, pay the bills and make more sense than other decisions. If we are not going to have a living wage while fuel, rent and childcare goes beyond people's ability to pay, then it will not be true that work is the solution to people's poverty. That is a reality. A family that is renting and trying to pay for childcare will have two-thirds of their income gone out the door before they can do anything else. That is the reality that people are living with at the minute.

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