Noel Coonan (Fine Gael)

However, 10% of a large figure would make a big difference. An increase of 10% for people like the Minister, at the top of the ranking, will yield more than many poor people get in a lifetime. If a person on low pay gets 10%, the reality is they are getting very little. Let us consider the new poor in society, the farming community. Why is there so little uptake in the farm assist scheme? It is because of the level of bureaucracy, the difficulty farmers have in applying for it and the way their income is scrutinised in order to qualify.

Senators on the opposite side talk about the poor and clap themselves on the back for what they have done for them. Fair play, they have helped them out in good times, but not remotely to the extent they should have. Fr. Seán Healy of CORI can tell them the extent of poverty and homelessness. Why do they not tell us about the way social welfare is administered? I have seen social welfare officers telling people who depend on social welfare they are not entitled to it. They are then removed from the system and left in dire poverty for up to three months before it is sorted out. They have to go to the community welfare officer who will claim not to have anything to give them. Is that the sort of society we are advocating?