Minister for Social Protection attacks Sinn Féin policies during cost-of-living debate in the Dáil

Sinn Féin’s policies are “trash” and would “crash the economy”, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys has claimed in the Dáil on Tuesday.

Ms Humphreys said the party are “very good at telling everybody how to spend money but you’re not so good at telling us where to find it or how to pay the bills”.

The Minister was speaking as Sinn Féin brought forward a motion calling for a spring bonus for those reliant on social welfare payments. The party has also called for the fuel allowance eligibility to be extended and a discretionary fund to be established to provide financial support to households experiencing severe utility debt.

Ms Humphreys said the Government was working on a further package of measures to help with the cost of living crisis. She claimed that while the Government “stands by working families”, Sinn Féin “wants to abandon them”.

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“Sinn Féin has no time for ordinary people who get up every day to go out and do a day’s work and we know that,” Ms Humphreys said.

“That’s long been your party’s policy – you want to tax the working man and woman into oblivion.”

The Cavan-Monaghan TD pointed to the Government’s recent Budget including the cost of living financial supports.

“None of these supports would be possible under Sinn Fein because your policies are trash and would crash the economy,” she said.

‘Wake-up call’

Sinn Féin deputy leader Pearse Doherty said almost 600,000 people now live on incomes below the poverty line and pointed to the latest report from Barnardos which he added needed to be “a real wake-up call” for Government.

“You shouldn’t be second guessing this report,” he said. “These are people on the frontline telling them what it’s like in real life, not in the ivory towers that Government ministers sometimes reside”.

The Donegal TD said the report found that the number of parents using food banks had doubled to 10 per cent while some parents were skipping meals to ensure that their children were able to eat.

Mr Doherty said the average gas and electricity bills had more than doubled for households and those costs could not be absorbed. The Sinn Féin TD said “something has to give” adding “we’re witnessing a tale of two Irelands”.

“Yesterday the European Commission updated its growth forecast for this year, with economic growth here now expected to reach 4.9 per cent and this was celebrated by many including Government ministers,” he said.

“Some people really need to have a reality check because they need to come down and recognise the challenges that 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’s the question that people ask.”

Mr Doherty said the Government had failed to tackle the cost of living crisis and that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party were “out of touch with the struggles of ordinary families”. He said people were struggling despite the recent Budget and that the Government needed to “get their head out of the sand”.