Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday was International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Ireland has some of the most staggering poverty statistics with 59% of lone parent households currently experiencing severe deprivation. There are some 3,000 children living in emergency accommodation and lone parents continue to struggle to make ends meet on the one-parent family payment and family income supplement. It is shameful that in this day and age our children are the most vulnerable in our society and I call on the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to come to the House to outline exactly what she will do to rectify this. I would like to hear how this will be funded and the detailed plan for implementation and delivery of a strategy to eradicate poverty and deprivation our society.

The second issue I would like to raise is the floods yesterday and the dangers anticipated in respect of Storm Brian, which is on the way at the weekend. Currently, 130,000 customers are still without electricity. The ESB has been doing stellar work ensuring people are reconnected but there is a great deal more work to do. A total of 48,000 customers are without water while 110,000 customers are without telephone or broadband and other communications services. I heard on the radio earlier about people whose businesses have been damaged, especially fishermen in the south west and west whose lobster and crab pots have been destroyed. I look forward to the debate on flood protection measures later with the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Kevin "Boxer" Moran but I also call on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to come to the House at some stage to outline what he will do to support fishermen along our coast.