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have heard that housing is a priority, disability is a priority, child poverty is a priority and climate is a priority. They are all priorities until they are not. For this Government today, we have seen that, in fact, big business and protecting its profits are the Government … giveaway budget. It has chosen to give to fast-food outlets and property developers and chosen to let the ordinary man, woman and child continue to struggle. Faced with a choice of a radical measure to tackle child poverty or dramatically boost the profits of large corporations

Government a massive pat on the back, given what we see every day of the week. He told us that tackling child poverty and homelessness was not merely a matter of policy but a national imperative rooted in our values as a society. The absolute neck … cannot afford to manage with their kids. It is heartbreaking when they tell us that, after they have paid the rent, for food, the exorbitant crèche fees and the fees for devices in schools because the free book scheme does not take account of them, and in many

that "one in five disabled people live in consistent poverty, nearly four times the national average, while nearly 40 per cent live in enforced deprivation". The motion reads: ... in the context of escalating costs in energy, food and housing, disabled people are particularly vulnerable to cost pressures, especially … disabilities are being forced into decisions that no one in this Chamber would accept for themselves. They have to choose between heating and food, medication or the equipment they need to stay alive and independent. That is not rhetoric. That is the lived reality described by the Irish

child. This is why we should be eliminating consistent child poverty by 2030, not reducing it to a mere 3%. That should be the priority, not lining the pockets of developers and fast-food chain owners. Instead, VAT for developers has been slashed at a cost

poverty line. Those facts tell us the cost-of-living crisis is not over. When people look to the Government, they look for a hand up. They are not looking for a handout. They want to be able to heat their homes and buy food for their families … clean for all the lads coming to get all the benefits of this budget. There are no benefits for people living in poverty. The Minister for Social Protection made an announcement last month that there will be a target set for the reduction of child poverty. That

forced to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table. As I listened to the Minister of State's response, I was sitting here thinking "Jesus wept. The Government has now normalised poverty in 2026." It is a sad indication of where this Government

intergenerational poverty. It is critical, therefore, that there is a focus in budget 2026 on breaking that cycle. The cumulative impact of continued rising costs of living has created a landslide effect for low-income families such that the very basics, such as nutritious food and keeping their … minimum essential standard of living to ensure that everyone has enough to sustain a decent quality of life. All future budgets must be poverty-proofed and set against the targets of the anti-poverty strategy. At a very basic level, we need a radical change in housing policy

ESRI recently published a report which highlighted the number of children living in households below the poverty line rose to 200,000 in 2024. All the while, this Government boasts about tax surpluses. We are told that the money is being kept aside for a rainy … food on the table. These levels of widening inequality are not inevitable. They are a choice, and they are a choice being made by the Government. The Government reported a budget surplus of €23.2 billion in 2024. When we have 200,000 children living below the poverty line

shine a light on the continued exploitation, poverty and inequality experienced by far too many people still. Today, we think of all those working families struggling to pay their bills. We heard only yesterday a spike in food prices last month has pushed our annual inflation rate

budgets the Government has introduced in this House, year after year. We called on the Government to deliver effective measures to tackle child poverty. That means targeted and universal measures. The cost-of-living crisis has brought so many pressures on so many households. Many who never thought … even keep up with food inflation. We called on the Government to increase them by €15 to reflect the reality of rising costs. What the Government should have announced was a conscious decision to deal with the issue of child poverty. However, the reality is - and we will

goods or optional extras. Charities and community organisations in my constituency, Dublin Rathdown, have said the number of people asking for help with food has risen drastically. People are choosing between heating and eating not because they have done anything wrong but because they have not been protected … those on the margins are being pushed ever closer to a cliff edge. Lone parents, pensioners, people with disabilities, those already in poverty are examples of people who are already vulnerable to those extra costs. They are the hardest hit in this crisis and we cannot

living in consistent poverty nearly doubled, to more than 100,000; and — Children's Rights Alliance Chief Executive Officer Tanya Ward has described the cumulative impact of continued soaring costs as "a landslide effect" for low-income families, meaning providing basic necessities like nutritious food or a warm … Parliamentary Budget Office, the Government's recent budget reduced the incomes of the poorest households by over four per cent and massively increased poverty rates among elderly people from 13 per cent to 19 per cent; — according to the Disability Federation of Ireland, Budget 2026 also

billion in tax cuts to fast-food giants and the VAT cut to developers, investor landlords and funds in the budget - €1 billion each year will go to them yet when it comes to disabled people or children in poverty, the Government says it is not fiscally sustainable

change … disabled people will remain trapped in poverty and exclusion in one of Europe's wealthiest countries." The Government did not listen. Last week, disabled people braved the storm to protest outside the Dáil. One man spoke about relying on food banks because he cannot afford groceries. Another

work due to disability lives in consistent poverty. Our social protection system has to intervene. There was great hope of significant intervention in this budget. Supports like the disability allowance and disability support grant are essentials, covering costs in heating, food, medication and rent, funding

normal. Storms Éowyn and Darragh, like others before, brought flooding, power outages and damage to infrastructure. These changes threaten our businesses, homes, our food production system and our very way of life. We have accepted challenging emission reduction targets at EU and national levels and we have considerable … fuel poverty measures to allow for a just transition. Budget 2026 strengthens supports for farmers, fishers and foresters in rural and coastal communities in a manner that both supports incomes and ensures their long-term sustainability. We are providing €2.3 billion to the Department of Agriculture, Food

respect of food and catering alone, that would be €630 million. For the entire hospitality sector, it would be closer to €800 million. That is a sum that we in Labour believe would be better spent on alleviating child poverty and tackling child homelessness. That is what

levels of costs in Ireland relative to our European peers. We have the highest electricity costs in the EU, the second most expensive food prices in the EU, some of the highest rents and mortgage interest rates in Europe and no public model of childcare. Our exceptionalism … people off in this country is unparalleled. What was the Government's response? It was a budget for this year that increases poverty, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office, and leaves disabled people €1,400 worse off than they were last year, according to the Irish Wheelchair Association

living in consistent poverty. There were 100,000 of them in 2024. According to the Children's Rights Alliance CEO, the cumulative impact of continued rising costs has created a landslide effect for low-income families meaning that ensuring basic necessities, such as nutritious food or a warm

them into poverty. One disabled person described how, for example, he has to sit down and consider whether he can put one bar or two bars on the gas heater that he sits beside. He described his own personal humiliation at having to go to food banks

between warmth and food this winter. Despite acknowledging the extra cost of living with a disability, the Government has failed to act. The removal of one-off payments and the absence of a permanent cost-of-living disability payment are pushing thousands deeper into poverty. As the coalition

consistent poverty nearly doubled, to more than 100,000, in 2024; and — the Children's Rights Alliance Chief Executive Officer, Tanya Ward, has described the cumulative impact of continued rising costs as "a landslide effect" for low-income families, meaning that basic necessities, such as nutritious food

constituents, but surely it does not sit well with anyone here, in government or opposition, that those outside this House in poverty and deprivation are reliant on the very privileged few who sit here dry and warm. There is an enormous privilege associated with debating motions like this … that govern our country. There is also an enormous responsibility. Hundreds of thousands of people are struggling with the choice between heat and food, and between their children’s needs and their own. I am referring to those in arrears on their electricity bills, those who scour supermarket

Minister will know from the statistics in his Department that people with disabilities and their families are among those most at risk of poverty in the State. They have been abandoned in budget 2026. That is not me as a member of the Opposition saying … them with a pitiful €10 increase in the disability allowance. This is an increase that does not even keep pace with real inflation. Food prices, rents and energy bills are all rising and the response of the Minister's Government is a slap in the face to those

food price increases and energy inflation. This is to say nothing of the significant increase in the day-to-day costs people with disabilities have no choice but to pay. Despite pre-budget analysis showing that one in five children lives in families below the poverty line