Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

My questions to the Minister are threefold. While he has already answered some aspects of them, I will ask again in order to get more detailed information. Given the differing rates of payment he intends to introduce under the new Social Welfare and Pensions Bill, is the Minister satisfied that any constitutional implications have been satisfied? In light of the difficulty in which the Government has already found itself following the court decision, is he satisfied that the different rates of payment to people with similar entitlements will not cause further trouble in the future? Is the Minister able to put a cost implication on the aspect of people in receipt of disability payments, in particular, and other social welfare payments, other than pensioners, who have been affected by the court decision? Will the Minister indicate the cost implication of that element alone because media reportage on this area to date has been solely on the pensioners issue?

My question is broader than abuse in which the Government might have been involved through poor regulation and poor management. Some family members and people known to the social welfare recipients abuse social welfare payments to people in institutional care. To what extent has the Department identified this to be a problem and what suggestions has it made to ensure that people cannot remove cheque payments from books, cash them outside the institution in question, pocket the money received and not use it for what it was intended? We are all aware that potential abuses exist and abuse is practised. Is the Minister and his Department aware of such abuse and what steps are being taken to prevent it occurring?

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