Pearse Doherty TD
Deputy Pearse Doherty has criticised the Government over their inaction to tackle the societal problem of food poverty.
Deputy Doherty, who has called on the Government to introduce legislation which would prevent large retailers from disposing of and destroying unsold edible produce without having first offered it to charities and food banks, says the Minister is dragging his heals on the issue despite the rise in the number of people struggling to feed themselves and their families.
Deputy Doherty said he decided to raise the growing problem of food poverty with the Minister as it is recognised by many to be one of the worst by-products of the economic recession and years of harsh austerity.
“In fact, a report published last year by the OECD which examined the issue of food insecurity revealed that, when surveyed, the number of respondents in the state who reported being unable to afford food more than doubled in the five years from the time the same survey was conducted in 2006/7.”
“To highlight this issue, last week I tabled a Dáil Question asking if consideration has been given by the Government to the potential benefit which the introduction of legislation in this area could potentially yield for the thousands of people who find themselves unable to feed, not only themselves, but also their families due to financial constraints.”
“To my disappointment the Minister responded to my question to state that the redistribution of surplus food stuffs was currently being carried out by retailers on a basis of ‘voluntary engagement’ within the industry and that this was being promoted before any legislative measures would be considered by Government.”
“Of course, while businesses are involved in the donation of food to charities throughout the island and their actions must be commended, it is simply not responsible for any Government to neglect its duty as legislators when we have a situation whereby the number of people who cannot afford to feed themselves has more than doubled in recent years.”
“The worst part is that the Government has known of the extent of this problem ever since having taken office. A social inclusion technical paper published by the Department of Social Protection in 2012 revealed that ten per cent of the population was considered to be living in food poverty and yet here we are at the end of 2015 and what progress has been made?”
““Figures from the Environmental Protection Agency reveal that over 300,000 tonnes of organic waste is generated each year by commercial businesses here and yet this scourge is allowed to continue.”
“I am under no illusion that legislation is not going to completely solve this issue, but its role in possibly alleviating it cannot be overlooked either.”