SINN Féin Foyle MLA Karen Mullan has said poverty is the result of policy choices and can be eliminated.
“I fully support the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Times like this force us to reflect on the causes of poverty, and the need to help eradicate poverty and destitution in all countries, particularly in developing countries.
“Today is also an opportunity to talk about the stubborn rates of poverty and destitution which blight Irish society.
“Decades of neglect and relentless Tory austerity in the north have locked thousands of citizens into a vicious poverty cycle. As a society we all suffer when we condemn fellow citizens to a life of destitution.
“Poverty is the result of policy choices; it is a human-made social disease which must be eradicated. Inequality continues to soar as governments place the profits of elites and the super-rich ahead of the most vulnerable in our society.
“Those interested in meaningful change must stand up to a rotten economic system that has left so many behind, and fight for a better society founded on equality, solidarity and universal rights.”