Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is timely that I get the opportunity to make a statement in the Seanad today about social protection. I make the statement on the back of the release of a damning report on poverty, deprivation and inequality published two weeks ago by Social Justice Ireland. It provides some truly harrowing statistics and figures which fly in the face of the old narrative from the Government that the recovery is well and truly under way. Since the onset of the recession, there are 110,000 more people living in poverty, bringing the total number of people living in poverty in this country to 750,000. This is a shocking figure for a country that prides itself on the welfare of its citizens. The most worrying aspect of this report is the level of people who are actually in employment yet earning significantly below the poverty line. These are known now as the working poor. That we could come to see a day where we have hard working women and men all over the country going out to do a long day of hard work to provide for themselves and their families, but still not earning enough to sustain a decent standard of living, is a damning indictment of this and previous Governments.

Much is made of the level of unemployment created by the Government and the fantastic story that is job creation. It seems that it is a "jobs at any cost" policy; precarious, unstable indefinite employment now seems to be the order of the day with no stability, permanency or structure provided to many new employees. Contracts, where they are provided, do not seem to be worth the paper they are written on. Sinn Féin presented an opportunity in the Dáil last week to go some way towards rectifying the situation by introducing the Banded Hours Contract Bill. We know what happened to that - it was rejected by the Government and kicked down the road by their partners, Fianna Fáil. The last few years have seen a concentration on getting the economy right and allowing everything else to wait and then fall into place. What was neglected was the primary principle that we live in a society, not an economy. Society needs a sound and performing economy to flourish and provide opportunities, yet the bedrock of this country and what the people stand for is a caring, fair society where there are opportunities for all regardless of background. What we have now after years of austerity and structural inequality is a somewhat failed society. I see the deprivation that is now copperfastened as a result of years of austerity in many areas of Dublin. I am informed of the despair families and communities face on a daily basis irrespective of this recovery.

What are the major problems and their solutions? While we all realise the importance of job creation and activation, given that 57.6% of those citizens living in poverty are not connected to the labour market, social welfare is the crucial tool in addressing poverty rates. Worryingly, despite the poverty line falling in recent years, poverty rates are rising. At present, the unemployment rate in Ireland is just below 8%. We welcome the fact that this is nearly half of the crisis figure of over 15%. The Government's target figure is 6%. I spoke to the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed this week and they see this figure as far too unambitious and believe it will leave a lot of people unable to participate in Ireland's economic development. According to the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, the long-term unemployed figure in Ireland still stands at over 130,000. This figure is completely unacceptable and we need to give these people hope. The seasonally adjusted live register figure still stands at 305,600. This figure represents a level 90% higher than in pre-crisis levels.

To address some of the major issues that we in Sinn Féin see as necessary to address these problems, having consulted with Social Justice Ireland and the INOU, we are calling for a number of initiatives. Similar to pay restoration in the economy, we need to begin to see rate increases in social welfare payments. We need to reintroduce equity in social welfare rates again. The situation at present where young jobseekers are being discriminated against by payment rates based on age is simply wrong and needs to cease. It puts extra burden on them and their families. We note the Minister's commitment to abolish the insulting JobBridge scheme. I differ with Senator Richmond on this. For prosperity, security of tenure and self-worth, we need schemes that will act as true stepping stones to employment and we look forward to putting forward our proposals in this regard.

We would like refundable tax credits introduced for low earners which will help them move above the poverty line. We would also like to see full restoration of the Christmas bonus for welfare recipients this year which will provide some relief at a time of high stress for families and individuals. This period of the year is recognised for families around the country as being extremely difficult from a financial perspective. The cost of sending children back to school each year is enormous and places a huge strain on parents. I welcome the Minister's commitment in reply to my colleague, Deputy John Brady, to look at payment rates as part of the budgetary process. It is obviously too late for this year as payments are due this week or the beginning of next week. Payment levels need to be looked at with those in the most marginalised areas prioritised. Social welfare is our moral obligation and duty.