Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister on one thing; it is simply not right that people have to depend on food banks. I could not agree more, although, that is probably the point at which we diverge. I listened to what she said. I heard of pilot studies, future plans and everything that may or may not happen in the future, and therein lies the crux of the issue. What the Government is offering people is not solutions or immediate answers. It is a future that has no hope for them that they will see next week. It is an uncertain future. There is no reassurance the cliff edge of supports will not come. Instead, people are hearing the drip, drip of potentials that may come. They are constantly hearing the Government talking about what it is and is not reviewing as opposed to what it is and is not doing. The facts are that workers and families are struggling with record energy bills, rising food costs and increased mortgage repayments. There is not a county that has not been impacted by this. Once again, the Government has been too slow to act. That is another fact.

While we do not dispute the steps the Government has taken, we do dispute their impact. We will also have a little bit of a disagreement with the Minister about where it is she needs to go from here. She must focus a support package for those with mortgage interest relief and additional measures for those most at risk, including those on fixed incomes and low incomes. Almost 595,000 people in the State now live on incomes below the poverty line. The Barnardos report has been quoted in this House before and I will do so again. One in ten parents used food banks in 2020. This is a report the validity of which the Taoiseach attempts to undermine instead of taking on board the real stresses and pressures on people. Average gas bills went up 140% in two years. Electricity bills are up approximately 115%. The ESRI estimates the number of households in energy poverty has increased to 29%. Everything is going up. Even when cutting back, the gaps between income and outgoings are widening. Pensioners, people with disability, carers and loan parents are the ones who desperately need this spring bonus. We also need to see the fuel allowance extended to recipients of the working family payment.

I do not for one moment blame the staff, who are doing tremendous work under enormous pressure, but there are not enough community welfare officers to go around or meet the demand coming from communities. They need to be better resourced in our communities. Waiting four weeks for a payment that is allegedly an emergency payment is not good enough.

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