Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to the Sinn Féin motion on the subject of social protection payments, particularly those relating to child income support payments, and to sum up the arguments in favour of the Government's amendment. A number of Deputies made reference to statistics released earlier by the CSO showing preliminary results of the 2010 survey on income and living conditions and I will be pleased to make reference to these results later in so far as they relate to children.

As the Minister for Social Protection highlighted last night, the improvements that have been made in both child income supports and child care provision in recent years have been significant. In 2011, it is estimated expenditure by her Department on supports for children and their families will be more than €3 billion, two thirds of which will go on child benefit. Child benefit is paid on a universal basis to approximately 600,000 families in respect of 1.1 million children. In addition to child benefit, qualified child increases are currently paid in respect of 500,000 children and 26,000 families benefit from family income supplement, which provides additional income support in respect of approximately 60,000 children.

These income supports for families have been supplemented by expenditure by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Some €166 million is being spent on a universal, free preschool year and a further €43 million is being made available to provide additional targeted child care support for low income parents under the community child care subvention scheme. Furthermore, in response to the issue of the universal nature of child benefit highlighted last night, the Government is conscious that this payment can be an important source of income for all families, especially during a time of recession and high unemployment.

While it was possible to deliver significant increases in payments to families when resources were available, we simply cannot afford to keep spending at the same level we did when our tax revenue was much higher. We must act responsibly and recognise that a failure to stabilise the public finances and return to a more balanced budgetary position will jeopardise our ability to fund income supports and social services in the future and make the situation worse for everyone, including social welfare recipients, in the longer term. These adjustments cannot be achieved without affecting social welfare spending, including child income support payments.

I would like to touch on the issue of poverty, which was raised a number of times in the earlier part of the debate. Poverty and disadvantage is firmly rooted in our society and many of us entered politics to do something constructive about it. It is all the more essential that the supports we provide be directed at changing this repetitive cycle of need and hardship. This problem must be tackled from a number of directions through income support, early childhood supports, education, training, job opportunities and providing the prospect of improvement and hope for a better future. The Government is committed to the elimination of poverty and the national poverty target in the national action plan for social inclusion is a key expression of this objective. The pace of progress in reducing poverty is dependent on increasing employment and a return to sustainable growth.

The CSO figures released today show that jobless households account for 70% of those in poverty and demonstrate the importance of prioritising employment in tackling the economic crisis.

The challenge is to restore economic growth. In meeting this challenge, the Government is determined that those who are most vulnerable will be protected. Tackling child poverty is a priority for the Government and a key goal of the national action plan for social inclusion. It is widely acknowledged in research that the factors contributing to childhood poverty include living in lone parent households, labour market inactivity of parents, low parental educational attainment and living in households dependent on income supports. The environment in which a child grows up is a major determinant of health and success in adulthood. The capacity of parents and communities to provide a nurturing environment must be enhanced and fostered. Early childhood supports - including those relating to parenting and life skills - and income supports are essential to ensuring positive life outcomes. Social protection resources must be targeted to ensure that those most in need of support receive it . We must also ensure that supports are used in the best way possible in the formative years.

Results on poverty rates, released today as part of the CSO's survey on income and living conditions for 2010, show the emerging effects of the recession on households, the decline in average incomes and the impact of the economic crisis on living standards. One of the key indicators of concern in the context of this debate is the consistent poverty indicator. For children, this remained broadly stable between 2009 and 2010. Income supports would be expected to have played a strong role in maintaining this indicator in light of broad income trends. The report also highlights the significant role played by social transfers in reducing the at risk of poverty rate from 51%, before such transfers come into effect, to 15.8%, after they are made. In effect, this is a poverty reduction effect of 69%. Consequently, the social protection system can be seen to have a stabilising effect for families and their children during this difficult period of economic recession.

The Government is still considering the best approach to take in respect of the budget for 2012. My colleagues and I are well aware of the difficult situation of many of our citizens, particularly those who are reliant on the social protection system. I fully appreciate that for many families child benefit and other payments in respect of children are an important source of household income. As the Minister, Deputy Burton, indicated, the Government will endeavour to do its utmost to cater for the most vulnerable in society and ensure that any measures introduced will be fair and equitable, while continuing to take steps to put this country back on the road to recovery, economic growth and stability.

See this speech in context