Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. This Government is one for every citizen of our country. Fine Gael is a party that is fighting for all in our society, including the most vulnerable. The Government and our country have welcomed more than 35,000 people from Ukraine, mainly women and children. We are a country which, through a pandemic and a lockdown, introduced unprecedented supports that were brought forward by the Leader of the House in her previous role. Those supports have resulted in the highest ever number of people in employment in Ireland.

I represent an area of Roscommon and east Galway that has pockets of deprivation where we have fought for DEIS funding. Now, one in four schools, and nearly 240,000 children, will benefit from additional supports. Families will have these extra supports through education. The Minister’s Department is providing hot meals to these schoolchildren.

It is crucial that the average income in this country should be in the €40,000 bracket. It is important that we know that these people and families can live through this period of inflation. They are no longer able to deliver for and to support their families in the way they could a number of years ago. With so many people back at work, we are in a position to ensure that all families will benefit from the supports the Government has been able to offer.