Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would like to highlight the pre-budget submission published by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul earlier. I attended the launch of the submission and while I should not be shocked, I was. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is an amazing organisation, which has helped many people in need through the Famine, the War of Independence, Civil War, two world wars and several economic recessions. It has been on the go since 1844 when its founder, Frederic Ozanam, stated:

The question which is agitating the world today is a social one. It is a struggle between those who have nothing and those who have too much. It is a violent clash of opulence and poverty which is shaking the ground under our feet.

I would like to highlight the issues the organisation is facing. The figures its officers outlined this morning for a country as wealthy as Ireland are absolutely disgraceful. More than 91,000 households are in need of social housing while more than 2,500 children are homeless. One in four one-parent families live in constant poverty, which is disastrous. In Ireland's affluent areas, 90% of young people end up in third level education but, in deprived areas, the participation rate falls to 15%. How can we say we are giving those children a fair shot at achieving their potential? I was struck in particular by the comments of one lone parent this morning because I did not think that the reality was as bad as this, and I quote:

Yesterday I had a litre of milk and a sliced pan to feed my kids. I had to scrape together change to buy butter so we could actually have toast. The reasons for this was buying school books on Tuesday. I don't know how I will cope next year but something has to give.

A total of 130,000 people called the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 2016. It is not acceptable that people like this woman are barely getting by in a country as a wealthy as Ireland. It is time for change.That is really important. I wish Deputy Enda Kenny very well in his retirement. I hope he gets the time off he needs. I wish the incoming Taoiseach very well in his new job, but I really hope and pray that he makes homelessness one of his priorities. It is time for change now. It is not on that people are living in this disgraceful way any more.