Labour backs calls for Minimum Standard of Living
- National Minimum Wage and social welfare payments must establish living income for all
Labour social protection spokesperson Seán Sherlock said Budget 2024 must be a levelling budget for all people in Ireland.
Supporting Treoir’s call to implement a Minimum Standard of Living, Deputy Sherlock said the conservative coalition cannot fritter anymore of tax payers money on spin and press conferences.
Deputy Sherlock said:
“Budget 2024 should be a milestone budget for the Irish economy and an opportunity to level the playing field between the have lots and the have nots that has widened under the coalition of convenience.
“The shocking increase in child poverty rates lies squarely at the door of this Government. Data from 2022 showed more than 27,000 additional children were in consistent poverty last year. It’s outrageous.
“Labour has called for an economic dialogue on the left, in partnership with the environmental movement, trade unions and other stakeholders to radically address Ireland’s current measurement of growth and economic success.
“Under Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, standards of living are falling, not rising. The Civil War parties, in particular, have been happy to let the State play second fiddle to the market – uncritically.
“Radical change is needed. Labour supports Treoir’s call to introduce a Minimum Standard of Living for all people in Ireland. We do need to stamp out the scourge of low pay that is rampant across crucial sectors in our economy, like retail, hospitality and care, and we also must protect those out of work in an economy where greed is rife and costs keep rising.
“It is ideology – the political choices of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael – that is holding back real prosperity for so many communities and working people. The reality in Ireland is we measure everything except what makes life really worthwhile. We are one of wealthiest countries in world, yet too many of our own people feel impoverished – not just economically, but spiritually and culturally. That must change.”