Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is very disappointing to hear Deputies, and the Deputy who has just left the Chamber in particular, trying to score points by saying people would be worse off under Sinn Féin. He quoted a lot of nonsense figures but left out the fact that in Sinn Féin's alternative budget, those earning less than €70,000 would get cash payments and there would also be payments for those earning less than €30,000. Social welfare increases of €15, €17.50 and €20 would kick in immediately. It is totally wrong, when people are suffering so much, to go on with that kind of nonsense. Deputy Richmond is part of the same Government as the Tánaiste. As he prepares to take over the position of Taoiseach from Fianna Fáil, I am reminded of his shameful vilification of social welfare recipients during the austerity years. We need a change in culture and approach. I believe this will only happen under a change in Government. This Government is so desperate to hang on. It is always telling us we need to be under it and that we must allow it to retain the power so it can dig us out. It is just so wrong.

The 2023 budget did not go far enough to protect people from the rising cost of living. That is a fact. There were good initiatives but homeowners are getting house insurance bills that have gone up from €400 or €500 a year to €1,000 or more. That will get rid of every social protection payment that was made. We have to do everything we possibly can, collectively, to ensure some of the hardship people are going through is alleviated. Too many people are slipping through the cracks. The dedicated staff in social welfare offices need to be given greater trust and flexibility to support people in their communities. I am dealing at the moment with a man who was on jobseeker's allowance. He broke his leg and is now deemed unable to work so he has moved on to illness benefit. This means he has lost his fuel allowance and the one-off cost-of-living payment. We need to give flexibility to community welfare officers to be able to consider people's particular needs and help them in a more immediate way, and not ask them to wait six or 12 weeks. People should also be able to access payments online, particularly people in rural areas who may not have the money to travel to the social welfare office. They may also want the privacy of doing it online. There are some good things being done but there is always more to be done. Trying to score cheap political points is not the way to do it.

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