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

I do not have to tell the Minister of State that the cost of living is affecting people from all walks of life. People are struggling with the rising cost of rent, the cost of trying to buy a house, the price of fuel and the rising cost of food. Social Justice Ireland has found that almost 1 million people are living in poverty in the State while the Central Statistics Office, CSO, predicts a dramatic rise in the amount of money people will have to spend on food over the next year. The CSO estimates an additional €780 will be spent on groceries next year by consumers due to the cost of living. This is a huge increase for those on lower incomes and those depending on State support payments such as the old age pension. When it is coupled with other excessive prices for electricity and gas it is an increase that cannot be managed.

People in my city often turn to Depaul Ireland, the Simon Community and the wonderful community centres we have across the city. For example, St. Munchin's Community Centre on the north side of Limerick prepares and ensures that hundreds of meals are distributed in the city and across the region every day. While this was very evident during the pandemic, the work continues daily. People would be lost without these vital community services. They would literally be going hungry.

People are looking to the Government for solutions or support, but very little of either has been offered. The Government has often been far too slow to react. Rents have been allowed to spiral out of control, with a 14.1% increase experienced by renters in my city of Limerick, and childcare and energy costs are through the roof. The Government's response has been haphazard, untargeted and unambitious. Time and again we have called for the Government to introduce supports for households that are struggling with rising costs. We want those struggling to be aided by the State with a real intervention and we want to put workers and families first.

In the short time I have, I will refer to a comment that the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Fleming, made. I was not surprised to hear the Minister of State say it earlier because I often hear Ministers say that people can contact their local community welfare office. I can tell exactly what happens when that is said. First, the staff will be overwhelmed with the number of presentations they get. The staff tell me this happens every time a Minister spouts this in the Dáil or in the media. Second, little, if any, payment will be made to them. Can the Minister of State and his colleagues please do us all a favour and stop hiding behind the fig leaf of pretending that going to the community welfare office will be a solution? It is not. It often never works.

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