Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In the context of his overall questions, the Deputy is correct. The 2014 expenditure ceiling - this is something of a technical public accounting mechanism - for my Department, as included in the papers published by the Department of Finance, will be €610 million lower than it is this year. In Government accounting one has revenue which is money coming in and expenditure which is the cash that goes out. The basic structure is that the ceiling will be €610 million lower next year. The Deputy is correct to state the ask will be €440 million because there are carryover measures and changes which include some of the savings made. As we have just been discussing, however, we must also be aware of the enormous impact on the system of the very large numbers of people, particularly jobseekers, seeking social welfare payments. I have stated there are a couple of variables. In the context of the number of pensioners, more people are retiring and they are also living longer. The impact of this in each of the past three years has been a figure of approximately 3%. The impact will continue to be felt for a further period. Even if nothing else was happening, the Department would be obliged to find just under €200 million per year in order to provide for retired citizens. This is due to the way in which the structure of the population is changing.

When we entered office, the numbers on the live register were heading towards 14.7% or 14.8%. The figure is now down to approximately 13.6%. The numbers have decreased and, therefore, some of the pressure on the live register has eased, which is something of a gain. While pensions are a cost, reductions in the live register represent an enormous gain. As stated, we are also spending more on employment supports. In the context of the €440 million to which the Deputy refers, we must consider the population demand. The critical aspect in this regard is the number who are unemployed. The major point I make to my colleagues in the Government is that we must get more people back to work. While Ireland is doing very well in attracting foreign direct investment, the jobs to which such investment gives rise do not - as I stated during the discussion with Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh and Aodhán Ó Ríordáin - necessarily benefit those areas and communities with the highest percentages of jobless households, families and individuals. Obviously, that is the really important aspect and it is a matter for the Departments with responsibility in the area of economics. I continually put forward my opinion that employment creation should remain the focus of the Government's ambitions. The more people we can get back into employment, the less pressure there will be on the €440 million to which Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh refers. There is also an economic argument in respect of this money. In previous years I have been able to negotiate the position downwards by making the kind of arguments members have brought forward.

I saw part of the documentary last night on the free travel scheme. We co-operate strongly with Dublin Bus, CIE and Veolia which operates Luas. As stated, we run a lot of multi-agency operations. However, I accept that there is a problem with the free travel scheme being abused. Last year when there was a great deal of discussion of this matter, I stated the problem did not relate to retired people or pensioners. There are many other categories of individual who are entitled to free travel. I refer to those who have companion passes and those with disabilities who can also avail of free travel passes. We have in place a hotline by means of which all of the travel companies may contact the Department. If a passenger presents what is supposed to be the current form of pass but which an employee of one of the companies believes to be forged, he or she can ring the hotline to check the name and number on the pass. In the clip from the documentary which I saw last night a guy was shown ringing the Department of Social Protection. We put that system in place.

Rolling out the personal services card is going to be critical. We hope to roll it out, in some cases, to retired people and pensioners this year. The cards will bear the legend "FT" which stands for free travel and biometric pictures of the owners will also be printed on them. Obviously, we will require technological co-operation in this regard from the transport companies and post offices. I am delighted to inform the committee - I had not yet made the announcement in this regard when I previously came before it - that An Post is the preferred bidder for the cash delivery services for the Department. It is a major employer in both rural and urban areas. I would like the company to use information technology to verify and authenticate people's identities. It already does much important work for us in this regard. If a person frequents his or her local post office, the people who work there will get to know him or her. In such circumstances and if a person's brother, cousin or someone else comes in his or her stead, then they are likely to be able to detect this.