Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want the Leader to get the Taoiseach to come to the Chamber, along with the Minister for Finance and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul told us it is spending over €1 million per week providing direct assistance to individuals and families struggling with the cost of food, energy and education. Households with children are the largest group helped by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Reductions in the disposable income of families, due to increased taxation and cuts in child benefit and social welfare payments, means increasing numbers of children are living in poverty. More than 300,000 children are going without the basic necessities of heating, warm clothing and nutritious food because their parents cannot afford it.