Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Even according to the Minister's own figures, one in ten people in this country is at risk of poverty. I will give the Minister the child poverty monitor report figures again. More than one in five children experienced enforced deprivation in 2023, and that figure went up by over 30,000 children to 260,000 children last year. One in four households is in arrears on gas bills, while one in ten households is in arrears on electricity bills. There is a dire need for permanent increases in social welfare rates to compensate for the permanently increased cost of living. Once-off measures will simply not cut it. Social Justice Ireland last year advocated a minimum increase of €25 a week to do that, but, instead, the Government increased social welfare rates by less than half of that amount. What the Government does in the coming budget will tell a lot about its priorities.

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