Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes. The Acting Chairman might tell me when nine minutes have elapsed.

The Minister, Deputy Burton, may be in attendance in a few weeks' time when Neil Young and Crazy House will entertain us at the RDS. Given the deplorable impact of cutbacks and the great tightening of qualification criteria for social assistance, benefits and pensions since March 2011, I hope the Minister will be able to happily sing along if Neil Young breaks into "Are You Ready for the Country (because it’s time to go)", because the impact of the three budgets since early 2011 has been severe on different and significant cohorts of our most vulnerable citizens, many of whom of course are counting down the days until they have an opportunity to vote in a general election. The conservative media rant on about the €20 billion social welfare spending and always conveniently omit any reference to the Social Insurance Fund and the huge extent to which people directly fund their own benefits and pensions. I note the Minister recently has been talking hopefully about the need to end austerity, following the fine lead given by President Higgins. I hope she is sincere and determined in that belief and will not countenance another series of mean cutbacks in the social welfare budget for 2014, which I understand must be finalised by late July or early August in this first year of the European Union's two pack rules. I believe the Minister should have resigned last year, rather than presenting the social welfare budget of 2013 and she could have then joined Deputy Shortall and me on these benches. I hope that some of the positive aspects of the Bill indicate the Minister really is determined this time to end austerity for our most vulnerable citizens.

As the Minister is aware, the need to ensure we have a solid and reliable social welfare system is the key to supporting individuals and families through this difficult and still recessionary period. Like all Deputies, I frequently meet vulnerable people who really struggle financially. Their experiences with the Department of Social Protection are variable and unfortunately, many of the constituents I meet on a weekly basis - in the same manner as the Acting Chairman and other colleagues who are present - are encountering serious delays in respect of appeals and reviews, which they find to be particularly difficult. For example, I have come across individuals who have been waiting for more than a year for applications for invalidity benefit to be finally decided. Earlier today, I was addressing an invalidity pension application that had not been decided after a period of two and a half years since the first application. While I understand the Department is under strain with the continued baleful influence of austerity on demand and growth in Ireland and with increased numbers of citizens relying on welfare payments, it cannot be acceptable that individuals are waiting for six months and more for an invalidity pension appeal decision, for example. I note from figures the Minister recently supplied to me that there is no backlog in invalidity claims at present. She reported that almost 60% of her Department’s current claims in this regard are awaiting a decision for two months or less. However, the overall rate of processing invalidity appeals must be improved drastically. I also recently asked the Minister about claims for disability allowance and she reported that her Department has completed a major service delivery modernisation programme and that a plan now is in place to reduce the backlog of disability claims. I hope this will become evident as Members and the Department deal with people in the coming weeks and months.

I had tabled an oral question for the Minister yesterday in respect of one key area, namely, the cuts to rent supplement but unfortunately it was not reached. As the Minister is aware, I asked her about current expenditure and the ultimate impact the cuts in rent supplement rates are having on rent levels. I reiterate that unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to speak on it but I appreciate the reply the Minister supplied to me. I note she indicated that her Department’s expenditure on rent supplement in 2012 was €423 million but that it has been reduced to €403 million for 2013. Can the Minister confirm these revised rent limits with which Members are wrestling will be realistic? Yesterday, I was detailing to the Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, and to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, the huge problem of homelessness in this city of which the Minister is also aware. I refer, for example, to the 20,000 people on Dublin City Council's waiting list, many of whom have moved into homelessness because of decreases in rent supplement payments and no decreases in rents. I raised this issue with the aforementioned Ministers yesterday and appealed to them to campaign for a major public housing investment programme in 2013. I hope this is a proposal to which the Minister would also support and that it will come to pass because there is a crisis in this regard.

Section 9 amends section 2(1) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. It provides that retained fire fighters will be entitled to social welfare payments and I welcome this provision as a support to valued members of the fire services, who consistently deliver a high-quality service. It is welcome that the uncertainty that part-time fire fighters experienced in their entitlement to certain social welfare payments finally has been eliminated.

I also welcome the Minister's rethink in producing the measures she has introduced to assist lone parents who are moving from the one-parent family payment to jobseeker’s allowance in section 10. The changes to one-parent family payment, which formed part of the Department's reductions in budget 2013 are profoundly worrying for lone parents who are among the most vulnerable of social welfare recipients and are most at risk of poverty. I agree Members must support those citizens to help themselves to move out of the poverty trap and note the comments of the One Family organisation in that regard. However, it is essential to have in place a system in which employment opportunities are encouraged for lone parents. I have spoken many times to the Minister on the activation programmes in which the Department has been engaged. I acknowledge the Minister spent many years trying to promote such measures at local level. Again, a much more proactive and imaginative approach is required in 2014. However, I recognise the Minister is working to redress the present situation, in which lone parents traditionally have been disincentivised from seeking employment because of the effect this would have on their social welfare payments. Hopefully, all Members recognise the creation of a transitional arrangement for lone parents whose youngest children have reached 14 years is vitally important. Moreover, the Minister must ensure the Department fully supports those parents, who are very stressed and anxious about changes to the one-parent family payment scheme.

Lone parents also need support in the form of the provision of child care places. I note from the Minister's speech to the House that she does not believe the child care services have yet been comprehensively reformed to a satisfactory level. The debate Members have had in recent days on this vitally important matter on foot of the "Prime Time" programme might inform Government decisions in a positive way in the latter part of 2013. As the Minister is aware, lone parents are disproportionately affected by cuts to child benefit and the Minister should give a commitment to the House that there will be no further cuts in child benefit in budget 2014.

I have always believed that all citizens should have national identity cards, in the form of photo ID, for all interactions with the State, including with gardaí.

I remember discussing that matter as transport spokesperson for the Labour Party when the PULSE system was being developed. My preference was a national identity card rather than the date of birth mantra. I welcome section 11 and the role it will play in reducing the level of fraud.

I note, however, the recent experience of some of my constituents who are part of the cohort of 230,000 individuals who have already been issued with the new cards. Some of those did not positively engage with the Minister's Department and had their weekly payments stopped until they complied. It needs to ensure compliance but there is concern that citizens are being punished before we pass this legislation.

I welcome some of the reform the Minister is introducing in Part 4 regarding the establishment of the new pensions authority and consequent amendments. However, as the Minister has recognised, there is a need for further major reform, particularly in the fallout from the Waterford Crystal case. This Bill fails to tackle the inequity regarding the division of pension assets among members of pension schemes when defined benefit schemes have been left with a deficit after a company has gone into liquidation.

On the subject of pensions we cannot forget our hard-working citizens, particularly women, who are adversely affected by changes in budget 2013 to reckonable contributions to qualify for State pensions. I am aware of senior women who have worked for more than 30 years who discovered that they do not have an entitlement to a full or near full State contributory pension, and they are very upset by that.

I broadly welcome some of the provisions contained in the Bill but there are various issues the Minister must address more seriously. I hope that in budget 2014 we will not be faced with another remorseless attack on the most vulnerable people in our society.

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