Katherine Zappone (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Very good. I will take that one too. If I consider the Minister's amendment he may consider mine.

I am trying to suggest something that is grounded in an evidence base. Minimum income standards have been developed by numerous experts in different countries. In Ireland the work has been spearheaded by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice but has also been assisted by economists in Trinity College Dublin and the University of Loughborough in the United Kingdom. That work has produced data that is grounded in the lived experiences of our people and has the potential to be effective in defining reasonable living expenses. This research has been carried out over a decade using a rigorous methodology, establishing a consensus on what members of the public believe is a minimum standard that no individual or household should go below and effectively developing a method to establish the gross minimum income required in a particular household based on needs, not wants. The data developed over this period now covers the expenditure needs of 92% of households with children. It is recognised that the method behind the minimum income standard data is designed to answer the crucial question of how much it costs to reach an acceptable standard of living.

The alternative to using evidence-based measures of need and adequacy is to continue to use abstract ad hoc indicators grounded in theory and I know that is not at all the Minister's intention. That is why he has developed a number of references the service should refer to in developing its guidelines. I am simply suggesting and asking the Minister to consider incorporating in his amendment, particularly in the new section 23(3)(a), with the measures and indicators of poverty set out in Government policy, which is fine, those set out in minimum income standards for Ireland publications.