Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputy Dan Wallace.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss social welfare issues, which impact on many people's lives, including lone parents and pensioners. Kevin Myers's article in The Irish Times did significant damage and it hurt many people, particularly lone parents and their children. Such articles do nobody a service, as they inflame emotions and stigmatise large sectors of our society. However, I acknowledge his apology a number of days later.

I welcome the Minister's proposed review of the lone parents issue. Steps have been taken in recent years regarding the retention of the lone parent book and providing lone parents with the opportunity to enter the workplace. However, a fundamental poverty trap remains and this must be analysed in detail. Conclusions must be reached regarding how best to address it. A lone parent is often isolated in private rented accommodation or local authority housing without the support structure normally provided by a family and this has a negative effect on the ability of people to raise families.

Local authorities must recognise this and, when housing is allocated, decisions must be reached which do not result in a load of lone parents being placed in one section of an estate with two parent families placed in another section. Nobody benefits from this. Local authorities should ensure housing is allocated to a cross-section of people. They should design mixed schemes so lone parents are allocated housing beside two parent families and elderly people. For example, elderly people could assist them in child minding and provide them with advice and expertise. If the current policy is pursued, many people will not have an opportunity. The Minister has acknowledged this and will address it in the review.

Whatever the review throws up, the housing policies of local authorities do not take account of varying demographics. The educational qualifications of many lone parents do not meet the modern day requirement to enter the workplace. This issue must be addressed quickly because not only will the lone parent be consigned to poverty if his or her educational standard is not enhanced, his or her children will also be consigned to poverty.

That is evident in our communities at present. I suggest that whatever schemes are put in place, incentives are provided to encourage lone parents to return to education or get involved in training schemes. When people with a low level of education become lone parents, the State should afford them an opportunity to return to education. If incentives are required they should be put in place to ensure that when children are older their parents get an opportunity to return to the workplace. People who have access to education are more likely to be in a position to find work. To date that is an area in which we have failed. Various schemes are in place to get people back to education but we have to take a more positive and proactive approach to the issue.

Child care is another matter of concern. I am amazed at how local authorities continually refuse planning permission for small child care facilities in housing estates. I am at a loss as to why they do not grant planning permission to people who want to convert their living rooms or garages to establish child care facilities for four, five or six children. The argument against giving planning permission is that the proposed developments are not in keeping with a residential environment, that they should be elsewhere. I contend that child care facilities should be available in the estates in which people live so that they have easy access to them. People without cars or a great deal of money cannot access child care because child care facilities are not permitted to be built in the areas in which they are most needed. Planning regulations are at fault in the majority of cases.

I congratulate the Minister for addressing concerns regarding SSIAs. It is a positive step that has alleviated many concerns of people on social welfare payments who have SSIAs. I welcome the increase in the disregard to €20,000.

The Minister is bringing forward a recovery of overpayments provision. Section 21 provides that the approach to recovery, from current or future social welfare payments, of overpaid amounts will be prescribed in regulations. Nobody condones people who abuse or rip-off the social welfare system but where people have received overpayment for one reason or another, there must to be some form of flexibility to take into account the means people have at their disposal. I have seen many cases where the fault for overpayment lay with the Department. The recipients were unaware of what was taking place and assumed they were entitled to the money. When such mistakes are discovered the overpayment is claimed back which has led to significant anxiety and financial hardship on the recipient. I urge the Minister to introduce a flexible system that would take into account people's concerns about their ability to pay.

The Supreme Court decision regarding reimbursements for nursing home payments may have significant implications for the public finances. I support any position the Government may take to try and secure moneys from elsewhere, other than the Department of Social and Family Affairs. We have made commitments and we should aim to distribute the fruits of the economy to those who most need it. We should closely examine accessing funding from the national pensions reserve fund on a once-off basis. The fund currently contains €11.5 billion. An extraordinary amount of money may have to be reimbursed to the families of people who were in State nursing homes. It has been acknowledged that a group of people was hard-done-by in the past and wrongfully treated. However, other groups should not be made to suffer as a result.

We should try to come up with an arrangement whereby public finance commitments would be honoured, targets for social welfare payments would be met, taxes would be kept low, while at the same time we should try and ensure we meet our commitments in terms of the Supreme Court decision. I raised this point to stimulate discussion on how we can raise the money rather than simply by increasing income tax or cutting back on spending, which would be difficult in view of the commitments, demands and needs that exist in society, especially in regard to social welfare, health and education.

I congratulate the Minister on his progress in the Department to date. He has grasped a few nettles and encouraged people into thought-provoking debate. I welcome the review of lone parent supports. While we are making some efforts to address the matter we must ensure we have a cohesive system in place that does not militate against lone parents seeking education, child care or access to the workplace when they so desire.

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