Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Figures produced by the CSO recently show that in real terms wages have fallen by 3.3% because they are not keeping pace with inflation. What that means for people who are facing hikes in their monthly mortgage repayments, people who would benefit from the Sinn Féin proposal that we are debating this evening, is that they are getting squeezed from all sides. They are paying more for goods and services, more for their shopping every week, more for their gas, electricity and every other bill. Something has to give. People who are working hard to pay their bills are finding, week on week and month on month, that their wages cannot stretch to meet the growing demands on their pay packets, which are already falling well behind inflation. The mortgage interest support scheme that Deputy Doherty has proposed will be targeted and time-bound and will support those who are struggling to pay their mortgages and are fearful of the hikes that are to come.

The Minister will have heard about people from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul saying that there might be a car in the front garden or that people may not outwardly appear to be struggling, but they are. I want to talk to the Minister about a woman. I will not name her. I will not identify her because she is absolutely mortified. She is mother to one of the more than 1,000 children in my constituency who are waiting for services from the children's disability network team. At a recent meeting, the HSE stated that we are among the longest waiters and have the longest lists. The woman in question buys services for her daughter privately. Her daughter is autistic. She buys those services privately. Every time her mortgage goes up, she has to cut back on the services for her child. The Minister does not seem minded to put enough effort into supporting the child, but perhaps he might be minded to put a bit of effort into supporting her parents, who are subsidising the State from their own wages.

See this speech in context