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

I note the Taoiseach is quoted as saying the introduction of €90 fines for people on job seeker's payments who refuse to engage - so-called -with employment services is common sense. I put it to him that it is not good sense anyway. It is really Tory sense. This is another attempt by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens, to introduce "I, Daniel Blake"-style social welfare reform. They tried to do it with the Green Paper on disability payments and that was defeated by an active campaign. Now, they are going again, without much fanfare, trying to get this really cruel cut through. This is something that is tried and tested in Britain. What the results from Britain show is that immiserating people who depend on social welfare will not force them into work. It just drives them further into poverty and misery. In England, it has led to suicide, even starvation, among people who have had their benefits cut. That will be on this Government if it happens here.

The main point I make to the Taoiseach is that cutting someone's dole does not just hurt the adult involved; it hurts their kids even more. It is not the kids' fault if their parents are crushed by mental health issues, unable to face going to one of these awful private companies such as Seetec or Turas Nua to get themselves out to work. It is not their fault. We have one in seven children who are growing up in poverty, one in eight parents using food banks, and one in four parents who cannot afford to put food on the table. This cut is going to make things worse. I urge the Taoiseach to withdraw it even at this late stage.

See this speech in context