Cost of Living Issues
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-15
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Louise O'Reilly (SF), Dublin Fingal West

Half of Dublin is on homeless HAP. I know what it is and the Minister does not need to explain it to me. The fact is that when we factor in housing costs, we see the true picture of poverty in the State. A quarter of children under 16 years of age, 26.7%, are growing up in poverty. Almost a quarter of workers, 22.3%, are living in poverty. These are very real figures. I ask the Minister to give consideration to additional cost-of-living-measures for people who are experiencing deprivation in the here and now. I am aware of homeless HAP. I talk to people every single day of the week. As I said, half of Dublin is probably on it at this stage, because all it is doing is fuelling those price increases for rent. I am sure that keeps some people happy, but the people I represent want to know whether the Minister is considering short-term measures, because they are in dire straits.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:30+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-15