Maria Bailey (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his officials for attending and for the detailed information we were afforded prior to the meeting, which was helpful. I welcome the continued support for carers, lone parents and people with disabilities. The increase in the disregard for the one-parent family payment from €90 to €110 is part of a package of measures along with the winter package from the Department of Health for home care, etc. I welcome that we are heading in the right direction. When we consider the live register figures for 2011 which were mentioned earlier, none of us would have thought we would be where we are today even though we still have a long way to go. The dramatic reduction in unemployment to just over 7% is a monumental improvement. I did not hear any fanfare around the budget but perhaps I was not listening properly. However, I heard about careful, prudent measures to support people who have been extremely vulnerable over the past number of years. A total of 800,000 people have been identified and helped in a small way while 1.2 million will benefit from the increase in the Christmas bonus to 85% this year. I very much welcome that and I am more positive than others.

The Minister could not enter negotiations on dental, optical or hearing benefits because he had to wait for the Social Welfare Bill to pass. I raised questions about a number of issues prior to the meeting and they were answered quickly. I appreciate the response form the Department. I welcome the Supplementary Estimate.