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

I will hold the Minister to that. I will be back here in September to check against delivery, as the Government often states regarding its statements.

The Minister has not advanced any satisfactory justification for why the group has been excluded. He states they can predict they are going to be unemployed, but even if you know you are going to be broke or are surprised by being broke in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, you are still broke.

At the committee meeting last week, the Minister spoke at length about his commitment to make some efforts with regard to child poverty, which I do not doubt for a moment, but what about the children of school secretaries, school caretakers, seasonal workers and those on very low incomes? Just because they know they are going to be struggling does not mean they will be struggling any less. Will the Minister reconsider his decision and examine the group I have mentioned, in particular, perhaps in the context of the cost-of-living crisis or commitments on child poverty? The Minister should do whatever it takes and consider again the groups who are excluded.

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