Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I do not doubt the Minister's interest in the subject but we potentially disagree on what the rates should look like. The MESL, the minimum essential standard of living that a person needs to live a life of dignity, is substantially above what current core social welfare payments. The argument made by several people who work in this field is that some of the once-off payments are just that – once-off payments – and people are hungry again a week later.

The cost of a basket of goods has increased by 10% nationally and 13% in cities over the past 12 months. We live in a country in which 760,000 people are living in, or are at risk of, poverty. The only sure way of combating this is to increase core social welfare rates. Is that the Minister's intention to increase core social welfare rates? The Vincentian research trust has highlighted that anything less than a €27 increase in core social welfare rates will mean people will fall below the poverty line.

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