Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister will know, many people who are in receipt of social welfare payments are not eligible to receive this allowance. These include those receiving rent supplement, the guardian's payment and benefits for the blind. There are people who need this support who are not eligible. I have specific concerns for the squeezed middle, for example, families where there are two working parents whose income renders them ineligible for any support from the State in sending their children back to school despite being the ones who are commuting, doing the drop-offs and paying for childcare. How can we give support to such people? They are the productive people in the economy who are making PRSI contributions through their employment. They are seeing a significant uptick in the cost of living and, unfortunately, this is not reflected in their take-home pay. We all agree that we want to give all our children the best chance in education but that requires us to ensure that their families at home have the financial ability to provide such opportunity without being driven into penury. I ask that we do more to increase eligibility among those in that squeezed middle bracket.

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