Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)

The St. Vincent de Paul is expecting 250,000 calls in advance of Christmas this year. It outlines that one-parent families and low-income workers, as well as people with disabilities and carers, are those who are most likely not to be able to afford the basics. St. Vincent de Paul has said that it is ready and that it will spend tens of millions of euros supporting people with food, vouchers, groceries, electricity and fuel. As the Taoiseach is aware, I worked in the school completion programme and in youth work for decades. In the communities where I worked, workers will go out to support families coming up to Christmas. I want to know what the Government is doing to make sure that no family has to rely on charity or loans to support their family coming up to Christmas, and also throughout the winter.

See this speech in context