Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think that any fair-minded person would agree that this Government has, since its formation in 2020, provided unprecedented supports to protect people and families, first through the pandemic and then with the cost of living.

I will just give Deputy Murphy an example. We can all get tied up in statistics but what I want to see is money in pockets. If we take a lone parent with a 12-year old child, the once-off spring-summer payments came to a total of €525, whether that was the electricity credit or the lump-sum payment for those in receipt of the fuel allowance. In autumn, we had the double weekly payment, another €200 electricity credit, a lump-sum fuel allowance payment of €400, a double monthly payment of child benefit, a working family lump-sum payment of €500, and a 100% Christmas bonus. That adds up to €1,700. In spring, there was a €200 electricity credit in January, another one in March, a €200 lump-sum payment to primary recipients of the long-term social welfare payments, including the working family payment, a €100 child benefit that was paid last month and a €100 extra payment for each child for whom the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance is to be paid in 2023. When we add all that up we get the equivalent of €59 per week. When we add to that another €12 increase in the one-parent family payment, which was across the board, and a €2 increase in the qualified child payment, it brings the rate to €50 for over 12s. I am talking about money in people's pockets and they needed every penny they got. I am under no illusions in that regard. What I want to do in the budget is to listen to the stakeholders and put a budget package together that targets those most in need.

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