Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas arís leis an gCathaoirleach, leis an gcoiste agus leis an gcléireach don chuireadh a thabhairt dom plé a dhéanamh ar na polasaithe agus na tosaíochtaí do mo dhá Roinn le linn an téarma Rialtais seo. Tá áthas orm freisin fáilte a chur roimh ár gcomhghleacaithe ó Sheanad Éireann. We had a very good discussion earlier in the select committee and I look forward continuing that with our colleagues from the Seanad.

As I said earlier when presenting the Revised Estimates of the Department, the budget of my Department is almost €27 billion for 2025 and, as the Chair commented, it is the largest of any Government Department. It goes without saying that my primary and principal responsibility as Minister and that of everybody who works in the Department of Social Protection is to ensure this money gets to the right people, at the right time, throughout the year, month by month, week by week and day in, day out. When we speak of numbers and big amounts, there is always a danger you forget that, behind all of those numbers, there are people who need the support and assistance. The support and services provided by my Department represent the most crucial financial support for hundreds of thousands of people the length and breadth of our island. These people - pensioners, young families, people with disabilities, carers and their carees, the unemployed - all rely on our Department to support them, often at times of huge difficulty, personal challenge and stress.

I know members will join me in recognising the hard and dedicated work of everybody who works in the Department of Social Protection. We notice this support in times of crisis - a worldwide pandemic, a continuing war in Europe, a cost-of-living crisis, a major weather event - but this support from the Department of Social Protection right across the country is delivered continuously every day without fuss or fanfare but with efficiency, courtesy, care, respect and empathy. I thank all of the staff in every Department of Social Protection office across the country. I have made it a priority since becoming Minister to get out and about to meet staff members in their workplace and hear directly from them about their work.

In this regard, following Storm Éowyn earlier this year, I met many of the people affected. The Department's community welfare service processed almost 94,000 claims for HAS, with almost 55,700 households already supported with more than €13.6 million through the HAS multi-stage response. That work was often done at night, at weekends and through home visits at times of weather challenge. I acknowledge the huge work that went in from the Department at that appalling time for so many people.

Another crucial part of that perspective also comes through the work of this and other committees, which provides a crucial channel for feedback on the concerns of citizens countrywide and provides insights and suggestions for improvements. I assure the committee of my continued support for its work and I look forward to our engagement over the next four and a half or so years. I will not always take it on board, but I will listen. I respect the committee system and this Oireachtas.

In addition to providing those crucial day-to-day services, as part of the programme for Government, my Department has already been charged with delivering on key commitments. The first of these is already delivered. The new jobseeker’s pay-related benefit was launched on 31 March. When you lose your job, the sudden loss of income can be difficult to adjust to, and this scheme seeks to help insulate people from that shock during the period of uncertainty while they seek new employment. More than 12,500 people have been helped by this scheme since its launch, and this is also a pathfinder scheme for other longer term policy objectives. The programme for Government commits to the introduction of a pay-related parent’s benefit, along with exploration of other areas where this pay-related model could be appropriate. Policy teams in the Department are hard at work on the policy considerations regarding these changes. The pay-related jobseeker’s benefit scheme will give us crucial empirical evidence to inform wider considerations. I will share our reviews of the pay-related jobseeker's benefit with the committee early next year to assist members in their deliberations on the other programmes.

The next major policy item on our agenda is the committee’s consideration of the bereaved partner’s pension Bill, which we will be returning to here in a couple of weeks. This Bill, upon enactment, will extend access to the widow’s, widower’s and surviving civil partner’s contributory pension to qualifying cohabitants for the first time. This legislation will extend support to bereaved partners of committed relationships that were not formalised through marriage or civil partnerships. I especially acknowledge John O’Meara and his family, whose loss led to the legal challenge that ultimately overturned the law. I also acknowledge the role played by Deputy Alan Kelly. We have a shared responsibility in the Oireachtas to follow through and expedite the implementation of this important piece of foundational and progressive social policy, and I look forward to working with both Houses on that.

Another headline item I want to mention as part of my social protection remit is the continuing progress towards implementation of My Future Fund, which is the automatic enrolment retirement savings system. My Future Fund is transformative. It will revolutionise how people save for their retirement. It is a landmark policy, and I note the key milestones recently achieved. We have advertised for the role of CEO and board members of the new national automatic enrolment retirement savings authority, NAERSA. These key roles will be filled through the Public Appointments Service. The CEO role will be based primarily in County Donegal, and it is important to note that this is the kind of practical and balanced regional development that I support - regional development that is aligned with my responsibilities in my other portfolio as Minister for Rural and Community Development agus an Ghaeltacht, but which I would be keen to champion even if I did not hold that brief.

Following the completion of a competitive procurement process, the names of the successful bidders for NAERSA’s investment management service contracts have been published and contracts will be signed imminently. These investment management companies will play a huge role in ensuring that My Future Fund is a success and represents good value for money for all participants. The initiatives I mentioned are all landmark measures I am determined to bring to fruition in the very near future. I am also determined to make progress across all major facets of the Department’s responsibilities over the lifetime of the Government. In particular, I want to see closer co-operation with colleagues in other Departments and real improvements in services and supports for people with disabilities. This is a top priority for the Taoiseach, the Government and me in my role as Minister for Social Protection. The new national disability strategy is being prepared and will focus on improving access to services, bringing down costs and improving outcomes for people with disabilities. In that regard, I am particularly delighted to serve on this committee with the former Minister of State, Senator Rabbitte. I thank her for her work in this space.

I am conscious that many disabled people face barriers in the workplace and when looking for employment. I want to address those barriers. The Department of Social Protection will lead in co-operation with colleagues in the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on developing the employment pillar in the disability strategy. We have already taken some steps; just last week we announced significant improvements to the wage subsidy scheme. I was pleased to launch these improvements with the Minister, Deputy Foley, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and the Taoiseach, who was present and is fully committed to this scheme. We are also committed to assisting people with the cost of disability through the introduction of a payment and other measures that will be outlined in the strategy.

We all recognise the crucial role of family carers. The Government remains deeply committed to supporting carers. We are committed to significantly increasing income disregards for the carer’s allowance in each budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of this Government. We have made significant changes to these disregards. In July, the weekly income disregards will increase further. For single carers this will increase from €450 to €625. For carers with a spouse or partner, this will increase from €900 to €1,250.

Another of my key priorities as Minister for Social Protection is protecting and, where possible, subject to budgetary constraints, enhancing the value and impact of core social welfare payments. In this regard, alongside improving outcomes for people with disabilities and carers, I will focus on tackling the issue of child poverty over the lifetime of this Government. This is vital. We know that children living in income-deprived households cannot or are restricted in their ability to benefit from education and other social activities to the same extent as other children. This has lifelong consequences. Addressing this issue is not only a moral imperative, it is a question of investing in the future well-being of our entire society and island. The reduction of child poverty will deliver benefits in the short and long term not just for individual children but also their families, local communities and ultimately for our society.

This is a broad overview. I look forward to a good exchange with members. I acknowledge and appreciate the work of the previous Minister, Heather Humphreys, during her time in the Department. I wish her well in her next chapter. There is little doubt that 2025 will bring challenges in this Department. In my short time as Minister, the team in the Department has demonstrated an ability and agility to deliver on the Government’s demanding reform agenda, providing critical support to the most vulnerable across the full breadth of our island. Progressing all of these policy areas in a financially sustainable way will be a challenge but I look forward to that challenge and to working with the committee. I and colleagues across Government will have to balance the competing priorities that face us as a society in critical areas such as social protection, housing, education and health. I look forward to meeting stakeholders covering the whole gamut of social protection at our Department’s pre-budget forum in July. I look forward to a continuous, constructive and at times, I am sure, robust engagement with this committee over the next four and a half years.