Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In today's mini-budget, which is not a mini-budget, we will see a decision to bring forward more one-off payments. This is an admission that the Taoiseach and the Government got it wrong in budget 2023 and that wages and social welfare payments in particular are still too low. After these new one-off payments are made, the reality is that incomes will still be too low and will not keep pace with inflation and skyrocketing prices. We know 1 million people have fallen into poverty and one in five working people is officially low paid. We have heard about pensioners taking out credit union loans just to meet the cost of exorbitant energy bills. We know one-off payments cannot mitigate against the failure in the previous budget to increase sufficiently the minimum wage and minimum basic social protection rates, including pensions, carer's allowance and the fuel allowance.

Why will the Government not increase the minimum wage to at least €12 per hour in this mini-budget and why will it not increase social welfare rates by a further €8 per week, as per our calls and the calls of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Social Justice Ireland and others?

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