Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Sinn Féin motion. It is a very important motion to so many people across the country. Like others, the Social Democrats' position on an emergency budget is very clear. We need one and we need one now. However, the Government continues to ignore our calls from this side of the House as well as the many calls from its own benches. While it is doing that, it is clear that many people in this country are suffering, people on all kinds of different income levels.

Frankly, it seems as though the Government is completely out of touch with reality so here is a little reminder. Inflation rose to above 8% in May. One in five people is now living in poverty. One in three households is now living in energy poverty. All major energy suppliers have implemented double-digit price hikes. Petrol is 41% more expensive than last year, and diesel is 45% more expensive. In Dublin, the average rent is €1,972 per month and the average childcare cost is €1,276 per month.

Let us consider what that actually means for families. Let us consider a family, with two children, that is renting. What do those figures mean? How much does someone need to earn in Dublin to be able to pay rent and childcare? As I said, the average cost of childcare is €1,276 and rent is €1,972. With two children the cost of childcare is more than €4,500 per month. The cost per annum of rent and childcare is €54,288. The average rent and average cost of childcare in Dublin is more than €54,000. How much does he or she need to earn to have that figure to pay for rent and childcare? After tax, PRSI and USC, he or she needs €54,000.

Prior to tax and all those other charges, a single parent would need a gross income of €84,000 to be able to afford that rent and childcare. A married couple with one income needs gross income of €76,800. A married couple with two incomes needs gross income of €64,424. Those are extraordinary figures. That is before feeding or clothing any of the household, heating the home, putting fuel in the car and paying tax, insurance and so on and before health insurance or pension contributions, much less any luxuries. These are enormous figures. Someone has to earn between €64,000 and €84,000 just to pay for the absolute basics of rent and childcare. Who can do that? The number of families in a position to do so is very limited. This is the reality of life in Ireland today and it is completely unsustainable. Is the Government honestly asking people to wait until October in these circumstances? How many more people need to drop below the poverty line before the Government will take action?

It is not just the Social Democrats and other Opposition parties that are calling for immediate interventions; the ESRI agrees too. In a recent report the ESRI outlined the need for targeted measures. Through stark analysis, it detailed how those with the least money are most adversely affected by inflation. That is because lower income households must spend a far greater proportion of their income on energy and food. The ESRI also warned that tax cuts are not the solution but, instead, targeted measures to protect struggling households, particularly lone parents, senior citizens and those with disabilities. Similar findings were outlined in the Central Bank's economic letter. That document presented data showing how rural, low-income and older households are experiencing larger cost-of-living increases. That type of research should underpin the Government's response. We need evidence-based decision-making and policymaking, not kite-flying of the stuff that is designed to appeal to certain sectors of the community.

Targeted measures are needed. The Social Democrats would start with a €10 increase in core social welfare rates because social welfare rates are falling so far behind inflation. In the longer term, core social welfare rates such as pensions should be linked to the levels set by the minimum essential standard of living, according to the research that has been done in that regard. That is a standard of living below which no one should be expected to live. We should set a goal of moving towards that level over, for example, a three-year period. Additionally, an easily accessible hardship fund for people falling into fuel and food poverty must be established as a matter of urgency. The tone-deaf advice that struggling households should just contact their community welfare officers shows the Government's lack of understanding as to who can seek assistance from social welfare officers. That is why a new hardship fund with specific and well-communicated criteria is so urgently needed to assist people through this awful crisis. For hard-pressed parents facing up to €1,500 in back-to-school costs for each child, budget measures in October will simply be too late. That assistance is required now. Last year a survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions revealed that 24% of parents go into debt when trying to pay back-to-school costs. The Government should immediately return the back-to-school allowance to its levels in 2010, when it was paid at rates of €200 per child under 12 and €305 per child over 12. In addition, the review of the school meals programme should be fast-tracked to ensure that any expansion of the programme can be done in advance of the new school year.

As for education, primary and secondary school must be made genuinely free. A hundred years after the foundation of the State, schools are still fundraising and parents are still scraping together money to pay for the gap between the cost of running a school and the cost of the capitation. That is for the most basic services - cleaning, insurance, overheads, electricity and keeping the place warm. Currently, the average back-to-school cost at primary level is €1,200 and, for secondary education, €1,500. That is by no means free education. To deliver free primary and secondary education, there must be no additional or hidden charges such as voluntary contributions, school books or uniforms because those disadvantage children hugely and go against the whole principle of levelling the playing pitch for young children. Doing this would cost a total of €238 million, just 2.5% of the overall education budget. Surely we can afford that.

Another area which needs urgent attention is disability supports. Given that disability-related welfare payments have not kept pace with growth in market income, in conjunction with the markedly higher cost of living with a disability, the standard of living among this group has fallen way below that of an ordinary worker. For that reason, it is absolutely essential we introduce a cost-of-disability payment.

These are just some of the measures the Government should be implementing now and in October. People are suffering. This is an emergency and it must be treated as such. People simply cannot wait. The Government cannot delay the kinds of supports people so desperately need just to survive. Will the Government please listen?

See this speech in context