Independent TD for Donegal, Thomas Pringle, has criticised the ‘shop around’ suggestions made by some Ministers amid the cost of living crisis.
Minister of State at the Department of Finance Sean Fleming has since apologised for saying that the Irish public should ‘shop around’ instead of complaining about the rise of the cost of living.
Deputy Pringle responded to the comments and said: “A lot of people in this country are just about getting by. Many are struggling. And so they turn to their government for answers and what is the response they get? Stop ‘complaining’ and ‘shop around’. I am truly disgusted at how out of touch this government is,” he said.
“Even if there was a possibility to better your financial situation by ‘shopping around’, why should people have to forgo the odd coffee, brunch, holiday or their Netflix subscription? Why should they have to forgo the small things that make life a little bit more enjoyable and bearable, just so they can afford somewhere stable to live?”
Deputy Pringle said raising the minimum wage would go a long way to help Donegal and rural Ireland repopulate and rebuild.
“It is becoming increasingly impossible to live in this country on a minimum wage. We don’t need to read the recent shocking inflation report to know this. We see this and we have seen this in our communities for some time now. The cost of living in Ireland has risen exponentially to the point that people are becoming increasingly squeezed, because while the cost of living has skyrocketed, the minimum wage has barely moved.
“The minimum wage should be set to match the rate of inflation,” he said.
The deputy addressed the Dáil today to speak in support of the People Before Profit-Solidarity motion to raise the minimum wage to €15 an hour.
Deputy Pringle said he has been struck by the sense of hopelessness among young people recently.
The deputy said: “They are unable to have the same life as the generation before. The cost of living is making it difficult for them to save, to own a car, to start a family, and entirely impossible for them to ever own their own home. Yet their wages do not reflect their increasingly difficult financial situation.
He said Government has again completely neglected rural Ireland.
Deputy Pringle said: “The idea of ‘shopping around’ completely ignores people living in rural areas of this country who don’t have the option to shop around. In my constituency of Donegal, there are many areas that would only have one local shop.” Travel even to the nearest supermarket would often mean travelling long distances, he said.
Deputy Pringle said: “Rural Ireland, once again suffering the consequences of a negligent and incompetent government. Raising the minimum wage would go a long way in helping rural Ireland repopulate and rebuild and it would significantly help all those struggling with the rising cost of living.”
