John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his officials. I commend the work of all the staff in the Department of Social Protection. They work under difficult circumstances and make difficult decisions every day of the week. I concur with Deputy O'Dea, who outlined some issues. Some of the things I see as being a priority, as does Sinn Féin, would overlap with those referred to by Deputy O'Dea. I think there may have been a veiled threat about the length of the Government term, but we will not go there.

The first area I wish to touch on is the issue of poverty. Social Justice Ireland estimates that there are more than 750,000 people throughout the State living in a constant state of poverty. However, I have yet to see a comprehensive Government policy on how the State will deal with this. The Department has had to revise its figures for the target of how many people it would remove out of poverty, particularly children. The number of those it wanted to move out of constant poverty by 2020 was 70,000 but that has been increased to 97,000. That the Department has been obliged to revise its own figures by 35% shows there is no comprehensive policy in place to deal with poverty. I mentioned the figures from Social Justice Ireland. We also have CSO figures which show that in the region of 230,000 children are living in a constant state of poverty. This is up 12,000 in a single year despite the so-called economic recovery.

This Government and its predecessors have taken measures in the context of targeting lone parents. Again, I concur with Deputy O'Dea on what he said. The cut to the lone-parent family payment and the change in the qualification in respect of the age of children from 14 years to seven years has had a detrimental impact on lone parents. We know from the evidence available that lone parents are at the biggest risk of poverty. During the summer there were some high-profile cases that showed the impact measures introduced by the previous Government have had on access to education, the back to education allowance and so on. I know the Department is in the process of bringing forward a report on the barriers to lone parents accessing education. Perhaps we can get an update on that.

I deal with people every day who are experiencing fuel poverty. It is estimated by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul that 28% of our citizens are experiencing some type of fuel poverty. We know the measures that were introduced by previous Governments, such as the cut to the fuel allowance from 32 weeks to 26 weeks, and the impacts they have had.

We have all heard the cases and the real-life stories of elderly people, in particular, having to sit in public buildings and libraries and to take train journeys to try to avail of heat. I have spoken to many people who would get on the train to Rosslare, County Wexford, from County Wicklow a couple of times a week to get some heat because they could not afford to turn on the heating in their own home. I know there was a minor adjustment in the payment from €20 up to €22.50, which was welcome, but if one has a look at the cuts that have been imposed over the course of a year, €120 was cut in terms of the loss of the week. Is that is going to be addressed in the budget? I believe it is a key area that needs to be addressed. We know that winters are, unfortunately, getting longer and temperatures are dropping. We have had that experience over the last number of years. I ask whether that is going to be addressed.

Another issue I have raised with the Minister in the Dáil is the back to school costs. It is very much a topical issue at this time of year. Again, numerous reports have been brought out, such as the annual Barnardos report and the report of the Irish League of Credit Unions. They have put the cost of going back to school at €900 for a primary school pupil and anything up to €1,500 for a secondary school pupil. We know the cuts that have been implemented and the impact that they have had on people. The Minister, as opposed to answering the questions that I put to him directly in the Dáil, used what is now regarded as a long-established Government tactic of hitting back and not answering the question. He started using some example of what is in place in the North. Again, what he said was totally incorrect. In the North, all textbooks are free, public transport is free for pupils living more than two miles away from their schools and there are school meals. We are certainly not comparing like with like. The cost of sending children back to school in this State is substantially higher.

The measures that have been introduced by previous Governments have impacted dramatically on many families and have driven them into the arms of loan sharks. I welcome the initiative taken by the Irish League of Credit Unions which is making loans available to people who otherwise might find it difficult. What is the Minister going to do to address this issue? Will he look at increasing the back to school clothing and footwear allowance? As I said, costs are escalating. Many schools are moving towards iPads and there are associated costs with that as well as schoolbooks, etc. Can I get some specific answers on that?

The Minister mentioned the paternity benefit. My party certainly welcomed and supported it. It was something that was a long time coming. However, an issue has arisen there which affects fathers. If in the unfortunate situation where the child dies - I think the period is 24 weeks - the mother is entitled to the benefit but the father is not and has to go back to work straight away. The mother is entitled to two weeks' payment but the father is precluded. There have been a couple of examples of that in the recent past. This is a serious anomaly that is forcing fathers, who should be entitled to this payment by right, back to work, leaving the mother who is entitled to the benefit for the two weeks at home. At a time like that, when the mother needs as much support as possible from the father, he should be able to stay at home. After a period of 24 weeks, if in the unfortunate situation where the child passes away, such as being stillborn at 24 weeks, the mother is entitled to the benefit but the father is not.

He has to go back to work and this is a serious flaw that needs to be addressed.