Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

Does the Minister know how humiliating it is for anybody to have to go to family members to borrow consistently to pay their household bills? Does he know how demoralising it is for working people to go out Monday to Friday, work hard and do their best and still not be able to keep their children warm? Does he know how unacceptable, in fact, how immoral, it is in a wealthy society under a government that boasts billions of euro in surpluses to leave people so stranded and so desperate in these circumstances? The Minister stands here today delusional as though he lives in another place, in another reality. Here is what Social Justice Ireland says. It reports that people are having to make impossible choices - its words, not mine - in order to remain within their weekly budget. That is a polite way of saying that people are struggling. People are now fearful.

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