I move:
That Dáil Éireann:
acknowledges that:
— the cost-of-living crisis continues to put workers and families under significant financial pressure and there is a growing urgency to ensure supports are adequate, available, and accessible; and
— emergency action must be taken to give workers and families a much-needed break from the cost-of-living crisis;
notes with concern that:
— almost 595,000 people (11.6 per cent) in the State live on an income below the poverty line, with difficulties in making ends meet now a feature of the daytoday life for many households across different income distributions;
— a report launched by Barnados Ireland this month shows that food poverty is worsening, with 10 per cent of parents surveyed forced to use food banks in 2022 and 29 per cent reported skipping meals to ensure their children could eat;
— average gas bills have gone up by around 140 per cent over the past two years, while the average electricity bill has increased by around 115 per cent; and
— recent figures from the Economic and Social Research Institute estimate that the estimated share of households in energy poverty has increased to 29 per cent, a record high;
notes that:
— the most recent Budget, designed by then Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe TD, and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, knowingly chose to not fully protect people on lower and fixed incomes from rising inflation and the growing cost-of-living pressures;
— Fine Gael Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphries TD, and Cabinet colleagues cut social welfare rates in real terms given the current rates of inflation; and
— this is further evidence that the Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party Government is out of touch with the struggles facing ordinary workers and families alike;
condemns their collective decisions which have forced large numbers of parents to skip meals so their children have enough to eat, and led to record numbers of families requiring support from voluntary organisations to provide food parcels and vouchers; and
calls on the Government to introduce the following measures as part of a broader suite of actions to support workers and families throughout 2023:
— commit to the payment of a "Spring Bonus" for those relying on working age social welfare payments, including pensioners, people with disabilities, carers and lone parents;
— extend the Fuel Allowance eligibility to Working Family Payment recipients, to reach families who are in work on low incomes;
— establish a discretionary fund to provide financial support to households experiencing severe utility debt; and
— ensure Community Welfare Officers are available in the community to provide urgent supports and in-person appointments.
I welcome Ryan O'Connor, who is in the Gallery watching these proceedings.
The cost-of-living crisis continues to bear down on workers and families. Inflation affects everybody but it does not affect everybody equally. Those on lower incomes suffer a greater reduction in living standards given that they spend a greater proportion of their income on essentials such as energy and food. Those essentials have seen the steepest rise in cost over the past year and more, and this is pushing households to the brink.
Workers and families have stretched and managed their incomes to the last cent but there comes a point for every family when there is nothing left to cut. This is what we are seeing today in many families across the State. There has been an increase in hardship, financial difficulty and poverty. Almost 600,000 people now live on incomes below the poverty line. The latest report by Barnardos should be a real wake-up call for the Government. The Government should not be second-guessing this report. These are people on the front line telling the Government what it is like in the real world - not in the ivory towers where Ministers sometimes reside. Barnardos found that of the parents surveyed, the number using food banks had doubled to 10%. It found that one in five parents did not have enough food to feed their children at some point in the past year and parents were skipping meals to ensure their children were able to eat. Many of these parents are in work - earning their poverty, as it is now known. This is an appalling picture of life for so many.
Spiralling food prices are compounded by energy bills that are throwing household budgets into chaos. A report last year by the ESRI found that one in three households was living in energy poverty. Behind these statistics are the grim choices faced by households day in, day out; for example, whether to cut back on food or turn the heating off. Over the past two years, the average gas bill has increased by 140% and the average electricity bill has increased by 115%. This is more than double for these households. For those on low or fixed incomes, these costs can simply not be absorbed so something has to give. We are witnessing a tale of two Irelands.
Yesterday the European Commission updated its growth forecasts for this year with economic growth here now expected to reach 4.9%. This was celebrated by many, including Ministers. Some people really need a reality check. They need to come down and recognise the challenges people are facing in their daily lives. What is there to celebrate when a Government cannot convert this economic growth into decent living standards for our people? That is the question people ask. What does it tell us about the health of our society and the performance of this Government when it celebrates high economic growth while the number of parents using food banks doubles and households are plunged into energy poverty? Every parent who is forced to use a food bank to feed their children indicates a failure not on the part of the parent but on the part of the State. Every household that is forced to deprive itself of warmth in the winter months is a failure not of the household but of the State. It is the clearest evidence that the Government has failed to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and that Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party are out of touch with the struggles faced by ordinary families day in, day out.
Action must be taken to address the hardship so many are suffering, to ease the pressure on them and to provide support. The State has the resources to protect the most vulnerable and support those on low and fixed incomes. In this motion, Sinn Féin is calling for the payment of a spring bonus. This is a double payment for those relying on a working-age social welfare payment, for pensioners, for people with disabilities, for carers and for lone parents; some 1.3 million people in total. We are calling for the fuel allowance to be extended to those in receipt of the working family payment in order to support working families on low incomes and for the establishment of a discretionary fund to provide financial support to those experiencing utility debt. This package is not only doable; it would go a long way to support those who are suffering at the sharp edge of the cost-of-living crisis. This needs to be part of a wider package of supports in respect of the cost of living. Any Government that is serious about tackling financial hardship and poverty would support these proposals and implement them. This is what Sinn Féin is calling on the Government to do. We are asking it to bring forward the necessary cost-of-living measures and as part of those measures, incorporate a spring bonus, an extension of the fuel allowance, a discretionary fund and a number of other measures we have identified.