David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As I was not in the House yesterday during the Order of Business, I take this opportunity to condemn in the strongest possible terms the callous murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe and to offer my condolences to his wife, children, family and all the people in Louth and across the State and island of Ireland who are shocked, saddened and angry about what happened.

I draw the Deputy Leader's attention to a report published yesterday by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, which states that for the first time, the number of people presenting to that organisation for help has exceeded 100,000, which is a truly shocking indictment of the past six austerity budgets and, in particular, this Government owing to the fact that this figure doubled in the past three years alone. This is no surprise given the ESRI's statement that the most recent two budgets were the most unfair and unequal of the past six austerity budgets.

Yesterday, we had a good discussion on the Water Services Bill 2013. During the debate on that Bill, I raised the need for the Government to poverty-proof policies and new charges being introduced. Such calls when made are often met with derision from members of the Government. However, they are genuine when one considers the human tragedies outlined in the report of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, including that of an elderly couple, aged 82 and 85 years old, who for the first time in their long lives, with years of work behind them, had to ask it for help. Many ordinary families are struggling to pay their mortgages and are now turning to the Society of the St. Vincent de Paul for help with purchasing heating oil and are not in a position to put food on the table. That is what is happening in this State at this time. This magnifies the call by Sinn Féin for policies to be poverty-proofed.

Despite that I have called on several occasions for a debate in this House on poverty, it has not yet happened. We need to have a comprehensive debate on poverty in this State, what causes it and what actions we can take to address those issues. It would allow us collectively to offer our opinions on how to deal with poverty and help people in this State who are genuinely struggling to make ends meet.