Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

It is regrettable that Ireland, one of the richest countries in the world, has seen a significant rise in children living in consistent poverty. According to the Children's Rights Alliance, one in 12 children, or more than 100,000, is in this situation. Obviously, inflation has risen. There are various reasons for this, including the Ukraine and related issues, the fact that we live on an island, etc., but Ireland is still one of the richest countries in the world. Housing costs have risen as well. The big issue relates to children who have no housing at all. If you are in that type of situation, you are impoverished from the start and the hidden costs add up. There are also situations where kids do not get a proper breakfast. I know one homeless hub where children were being given an apple and a muffin. If they left after 8 a.m. for whatever reason, they did not get anything at all. We need to invest more in the likes of breakfast clubs. I welcome the school meals initiative. I have issues with the quality of the food on offer, but that is a separate matter.

I want to focus mainly on vulnerable groups like lone parents and people with disabilities. I want to see more movement on housing. I raised an issue about families being allowed to build homes in their back gardens at the start of the year. We had some positive responses in that regard, but people are being forced out. I know of a lone parent who has a child with severe autism and who does not have space in the main house. They are being told to take down the structure in their back garden because it is unauthorised. That structure is a solution for the family in question. There are different needs. It is not the overall solution but it helps. We need movement on housing. As my colleagues in Independent Ireland said, we need to get moving on modular home provision. We are in a crisis, but we are not treating it like a crisis.

See this speech in context