Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The people of Ireland are bleeding and need help now. I welcome the €2.4 billion allocated to cost-of-living measures and the reduction of VAT on gas and electricity bills from 13.5% to 9%. I will not say the Government has done nothing but I will say that it needs to do more. In my constituency office in Dundalk I hear from my constituents what is happening on the ground. People cannot afford to put food on the table, heat their homes, put fuel in their cars or shoes on their children. They are afraid to turn on the cooker or the washing machine.

They are panicking that they will not be able to buy books or uniforms for their children. The Minister should not forget that the kids have only gotten their holidays and their parents are thinking six weeks ahead. Pensioners living in old houses are unable to heat them. People with a disability are unable to access services. Families are unable to find rental accommodation. They tell me about all the buildings around the town lying empty and there seems to be no urgency in bringing them back in order that they can have the homes they badly need.

A number of people have come in to my constituency office lately telling me that they would be better off on social welfare. A young married man with two young children came into my office last Friday, crying. He cannot afford to look after his family. He goes to work in Dublin five days per week. His fuel bills have doubled and he cannot cope anymore. The words he used were "enormous pressure". He was told by his landlord that he must vacate the property he is leasing at present. He went to look for new accommodation, which is impossible to find. Although he found some, he could not afford the €1,800 asking price. He did considerable research lately and found out that he would be better off if he left his job and went on social welfare. He would then be able to get €1,150 through the housing assistance payment towards his rent. He would not have to drive to Dublin to work. He would get all the benefits to which he is entitled, such as a medical card. He does not want to go down this road but he has no option. The Minister's Government can help him.

The cost of living in Ireland for a family of our four is estimated at a monthly loss of €3,072.72, without rent. If rent is added to this, it is more than €4,500 per month or €54,000 per year, before someone pays taxes. It shocked me during the week when I heard the Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, state that families could not afford clothes or food for their children. The shoes they are wearing are open-toed. That is a very low level.

Families have come to their breaking point. Inflation has soared to its highest levels since the 1980s. It was at 8.3% in May. Our President, Michael D. Higgins, has slammed the Government's housing challenges as a "great, great failure", stating that, "it is not a crisis ... [but] a disaster". Why will this Government not react now? It has the resources to help these families, pensioners, students and front-line staff. The money is there for the Minister's Government to help the people in Ireland who have built this great country over the years. They deserve to be looked after now, not later.

See this speech in context