Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

notes that:

— the number of children in consistent poverty nearly doubled in 2024 to 8.5 per cent, rising by over 45,000 in one year to 104,780, up from 4.7 per cent in 2023;

— the research by Economic and Social Research Institute shows one in five children, over 225,000, live in families below the poverty line when housing costs are accounted for;

— the cost-of-living crisis is deepening with annualised food price inflation in August up by 5 per cent;

— Ireland already has some of the most expensive energy costs in the world, and suppliers are now increasing their rates by over 12 per cent for the winter ahead;

— over 300,000 households are in arrears on electricity bills, and nearly 175,000 in gas arrears, while the moratorium on disconnections only covers the Christmas period;

— there were 5,014 homeless children in emergency accommodation at the end of July, an increase of 14 per cent in a year;

— the reduced funding available for the Tenant in-Situ Scheme is not enough to meet demand, and local authorities do not have sufficient resourcing for the purchase and repurposing of vacant and derelict properties; and

— the School Meals Scheme has been rolled out across primary schools, but remains unavailable to far too many children in schools not signed up to the scheme;

recognises that:

— budgets are about choices, and regrets that the Government intends to spend over €630 million a year to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on food and catering hospitality, while the number of children living in consistent poverty and homelessness continues to increase; and

— the reduction in VAT:

— will be of most benefit to those businesses with the highest turnover;

— will not be passed on to customers;

— will not be reflected in better pay and conditions for workers; and

— will not address the underlying issues facing the hospitality sector; and

calls for in Budget 2026:

— the €630 million cost of an untargeted VAT reduction, instead be committed to measures to relieve child poverty and homelessness, the improvement of public services, and reduction in waiting lists for disability and health services;

— the urgent implementation of a targeted rate of child benefit, a new child income support payment - to address the shocking rise in child poverty;

— a ban on the eviction of children into homelessness, and legislation to prioritise the housing needs of homeless families;

— the removal of the restrictions introduced in March 2025 on the Tenant in-Situ Scheme so it is demand led, and the resourcing of local authorities to tackle the scourge of vacancy and dereliction; and

— the introduction of targeted energy payments, an extension of the moratorium on disconnections, an increase to the Fuel Allowance payment and widened eligibility to include those on the Working Family Payment.

This Government is presiding over record levels of child poverty and homelessness. There are now over 5,000 homeless children in Ireland and one in five children or more than 225,000 children live in families who have incomes below the poverty line. Over 300,000 households are in arrears on their electricity bills and almost 175,000 families are in arrears on their gas bills, not to mention that food prices have risen by more than 5%. Let me be clear. When over 5,000 children are homeless, we are no longer in a housing crisis, but an emergency and we need to act like it.

Instead of emergency measures to address spiralling child poverty and homelessness, the Government is hellbent on wasting more than €600 million on a non-targeted VAT rate reduction for the big hospitality lobby. Just over half of that money could, as the Minister will be aware, abolish the carer's means-test in the morning. The Government has utterly failed the children of Ireland. Childhood lasts a lifetime and unless we take radical action, we are likely to see the impact of Government failure and inaction on future generations.

Budget 2026 must be a cost-of-living budget. We cannot return to the previous "Late Late Show" style of one-for-everyone-in-the-audience budgets. The Labour Party's motion today puts forward real and meaningful measures that would help to support many working families who are struggling to keep the lights on and food on the table. We need a radical reset to address child poverty and homelessness. We need a policy reset that lifts households out of poverty and provides a basic standard of leaving so that no household is left behind. It is more than disappointing that the Government will oppose this motion. I sincerely hope that many on the Government side of the House will take a good long look at themselves and at exactly where their priorities lie.

Day in, day out, almost 40 struggling families sit in my office or contact my office because they are unable to find housing. They are worried about their children's future. A father recently told me that his landlord is selling the home they have rented for ten years. He is being made redundant and has until November to find a place to live. There are only 12 houses available to rent in Kildare for this family. A number of young mothers who are trapped in homeless hubs have to travel from Dublin or one end of Kildare to the other just to get their children to school. The Minister can just imagine the pandemonium each morning when people living in homeless accommodation in Lucan, County Dublin have to get their three children to Athy, County Kildare in time for school. These children cannot have their friends over to play because there is nowhere to play as they share a room with their entire family. Unfortunately, this is the reality of this Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Government.

I am dealing with six families at the moment who are trying to access the tenant in situ scheme. I have been calling on the Minister for housing for months to increase the funding for Kildare County Council to address the demand and prevent more families entering into homelessness. In the recent announcement that was again trumpeted by the Minister, an additional €50 million was put forward by the Government. Kildare County Council received no funding. In my opinion and that of many others, Kildare County Council is being penalised because it does its best to remove families as quickly as possible from homelessness, which seems to be the criterion set by the Minister for housing for this additional funding. Yet, at the end of August this year, there was a 50% increase in families in Kildare who are in homeless accommodation for more than 12 months. The questions remain. What should these 12 families now do? Do they simply not count?

In a rich country, we are again failing the most vulnerable in society. We are now running just to stand still. We need to increase funding for the tenant in situ scheme across all counties to support families facing homelessness. This funding must be dynamic and allow local authorities to respond to the level of need in their area. No child should ever be made homeless.

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