Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I do not agree it is unequal. There are countries in Europe that are high contributors to the social welfare system. If we look at the charts and compare what we pay and what we fund, we would be termed a high contributor but not high in terms of the taxation level. It is correct that means tests apply to many issues.

I cannot comment on the detail of the other point, although I attended the launch of the report and spoke on it. The report provides a revised account of where the Irish welfare system has come from and identifies that social deficits remain, despite the remarkable progress we have made. It recasts the social debate in such a way as to build consensus in terms of trying to improve the system for the future. That is what it endeavours to do. It highlights the existing deficits and areas where we could be more fair and reasonable. The Tánaiste has picked up on some of these already in the method of social care provision and disposable income. That issue moves away from the strict barrier of the means-tested arrangements and other countries use such a method.

A number of themes are identified, namely, that we should bring the same determination and innovation to social policy as we did to economic success. That is something with which I agree. If we put in the same effort we will remove many of the inequalities that exist in the system. We have done a great deal of that over recent years, such as the pre-1953 social insurance scheme. This was a major problem that has been eliminated.

The report also highlights improvements in services as the single most important route to enhancing social protection. It also deals with many of the profit and non-profit sectors. It sets out a scope and it is to feed into the social partnership process, to examine some of these areas, and to feed into the social welfare process. It is a very useful report in that it considers the deficits as well as the positive aspects of the country. I accept there are deficits and these are highlighted in the report.

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