Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

This is the key section because it deals with the rates for social assistance payments and it covers a wide range of issues. The Minister said she had been in contact with the disability groups. I do not know if she had the time since the Budget Statement to read what Inclusion Ireland said in regard to the cuts. It stated that it regards cuts to people on disability allowance and carer's allowances as an attack on the direct living standards and the quality of life of people with disability and that it is also at variance with the national disability strategy - which is often spoken about by the Government as evidence of its commitment to people with disabilities - and that the moratorium on recruitment and other cuts in the health care budget will impact directly on the services people with disabilities can expect to receive. It further stated that in addition, cuts to agencies which protect people with disability and prevent them from being discriminated against on the grounds of disability, such as the Equality Tribunal and the Health and Information Quality Authority, will further disadvantage people with disability.

The cuts affect the jobseeker's allowance. More than any other group in society, young people are being made unemployed and are starting to become dependent on social welfare. The National Youth Council of Ireland distributed a fact sheet in regard to the budget cuts. It stated that 74,100 young people under 25 years of age are out of work. The figure is probably higher because that figure is from September. It stated that youth unemployment has trebled since the fourth quarter of 2006, that Ireland has the second highest youth unemployment in western Europe and 51,700 young people out of work are aged between 20 and 24.

In what she has presented, the Minister is saying these people wish to become welfare dependent. That is not true because young people want work. Proof of that is the 60% increase in the number contacting FÁS this year as compared to 2008. Young people also want work experience but the Government only announced 2,000 places on a workplace scheme in April. Some 500 of those places were supposed to be ring-fenced for those under 25. That was welcomed at the time. The workplace programme scheme is not working. Only 129 people have been placed. That amounts to one workplace placement place for every 3,282 people on the live register.

Many young people have just completed college or will be due to complete it in June of this year. They are already well educated. They want work experience but it is not there nor are the jobs. To penalise them because the Government cannot get its act together and create jobs is the biggest scandal in this budget and that is why these rates of payments are a scandal.

We are differentiating on the basis of age. It would be interesting if somebody took a case on the ground of age discrimination in regard to the payments. This section which sets the rates is the most odious of all. I would like a lot more time devoted to this Bill in order that we could tease out some of the other odious parts.

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