Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Prices are still rising. As the Tánaiste, his Cabinet colleagues and backbenchers slap themselves on the back in relation to what they have done, I urge them to listen to the words of Barnardos, not Sinn Féin, which is telling us what is happening out there in real life. Barnardos is saying that of those surveyed, one in ten visited food banks, one in five did not have enough food at some point last year and nearly one in three skipped meals so that their children could eat. The pressure on food banks and charities is growing. Prices are continuing to go up and people need a further response from the Government to meet the needs of families.

We have put forward proposals. Many of the families queuing at food banks own their own homes. They are paying mortgage interest rates amounting to thousands of euro more, but the Government has decided to do nothing for them. Does the Government plan to do anything for those who are now paying 7% or 7.5% interest on their mortgages? The Tánaiste has ruled out a spring bonus and other supports that we have proposed. What does the Government plan to do for those families I have mentioned - the one in ten who are going to food banks, the one in five who do not have enough food and the one in three who are skipping meals so that their children can eat? Under this Government's watch and the Tánaiste's leadership, that is what is happening in the real world.

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