Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for what is a carefully crafted document. She does not give away too much and obviously has stuff up her sleeve. I congratulate the women and men who campaigned to have the measure regarding pensions reversed. In an extraordinary moment, the Minister took the megaphone from me outside the Dáil to address the crowd when she was first made Minister, and it was a welcome thing to do. She stuck to her word and began to reverse this terrible, discriminatory cut. It was a clear case of discrimination.

Can the Minister say again when the legislation will be passed? On what date will the payments be made? Has any audit been done by the Department on the negative impact that may result for a certain cohort of people as a consequence of this, particularly after 40 years? There are already some pensioners who are saying they will suffer as a result. These are not homemakers but others. If the Department has done an audit on this issue, can I ask that it release it to us? I thank Senator Higgins for saying we had an obscene tax break of €2 billion for private pensions but that we had become worried about the few bits and pieces we were going to give back in social protection. The social welfare system addresses the question of solidarity but the imbalances and the naked preference of one over another are quite something.

The question of fuel poverty is not unrelated to pensioners. The Minister might remember a kerfuffle in the Dáil last year, during an extreme weather event, over the question of ensuring that another month's fuel payment was given to everybody, following which councils were instructed to leave the heating on in apartment blocks that housed older persons. We will see much more of this in the future and I would bet my house that we will see more and more extreme weather events throughout our winters. Fuel poverty is a huge issue. A recent MABS study in Ballyfermot showed that one quarter of all households suffered from fuel poverty, which is a very high figure. There have been increases in gas and electricity prices and the retrofitting of homes is taking place slowly. It is happening and attics are being insulated but it is not being done quickly enough and there is not enough focus on it. As the weather gets colder and weather events get more extreme, people have to spend a huge amount of their income to stay warm. They make choices between staying warm and cooking hot meals. Climate change will impact on old people and we need to show solidarity with those who suffer fuel poverty.

The information about the live register caught my eye immediately. It is good news that another 40,000 people left the live register last year, and a total of 80,000 over the past two years. It must be asked, however, what kind of jobs these people are going into. Other studies, for example by unions and Social Justice Ireland, show an increase in low pay and low hours, which means people leave the live register but are not able to cope with what they have. The Minister does not mention any comparator between the return of people to work and the impact on the working family payment, which used to be the family income supplement, FIS. In my view, many are returning to low-paid, low-hours work. The issue of employment rights is now going to be fully part of this committee and I am delighted about that because it makes sense. There are lots of employers that do not give employees the full 19 hours which would allow them to benefit from the working family payment so we will find a cohort of people who will fall short of being able to claim the payment. We need figures showing how many workers who leave the live register fall short of being able to claim the working family payment. This would apply to a lot of women in the hospitality sector, the food industry etc., many of whom are lone parents. Is there a way that we could assess individual cases where employers refuse to give the 19 hours for family income support payments?

The Minister said it was not acceptable to wait 18 weeks for a carers allowance application. That is four and a half months and it is a long time to wait. I find that there seems to be an almost automatic refusal when an answer does come, often accompanied by advice to the effect that an applicant can appeal. The appeal process takes even longer. What do departmental officials say about that? What is the rate of refusal? In my clinics, I see evidence of a very high refusal rate for carers and an attempt to put them into a long appeal process. Can the Minister comment on that?

In regard to lone parents, the Minister spoke about the universality of child benefit. This universality should not be touched but there are extra costs in rearing a teenager. The Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice stated that it cost €46.65 extra per week and I am sure those who came up with the figure did not just suck their thumbs and produce it. It costs nearly €50 per week more to rear a teenager than to rear a young child but this is not taken into account. I accept the universality of the payment and the benefit of that. Is there no mechanism, however, to means-test an extra payment for children aged over 12? It might focus on lone parents who might need an extra few bob. Somebody on ministerial pay would not need the extra money. The Minister's teenage kids are happy teenagers and do not need it but many lone parents do need it. Is there a way she could look at means testing in this area? To do so would acknowledge the science which finds that it costs more to rear teenagers. Can the Minister look at giving child benefit not just up to the age of 18 but up to when children complete their leaving certificate? A lot of kids turn 18 in November or December but do not do their leaving certificate until the following June. That hits a lot of women and families I know and I have been asked to raise it.

I acknowledge the fact that, as the Minister said, she raised the income disregard again last year. However, it is still much lower than it was in 1997, when it was at IR£115, which equates to €146.50. What a shame that, in the 21st century, we are keeping something that addresses the poverty of children at so low a level. Would the Minister favour getting rid of the income disregard in its entirety? The Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, has said he is considering getting rid of FEMPI.