David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)

The amount of work and detail involved is staggering. Everybody involved must have put in tremendous work over many months, as the Minister stated, and should be thanked. The work was done behind the scenes and is of a type that does not get headlines but is very important. It makes the complex social welfare system more accessible to all. I welcome the Minister's commitment to produce a guide to the Bill. He stated he would bring forward amendments to change anomalies and simplify the language of the text, which is welcome. The simplification of the language in legislation has been called for by many people for many years. We need to move in that direction as soon as possible.

This is a consolidation Bill. In one sense, it could be argued it is not supposed to do anything except to bring all legislative provisions together in one document. Over 12 years, much has been done by successive Governments but, as the Minister acknowledged, much more needs to be done. The main reason for a social welfare system is to support those who need support, such as those suffering from poverty — in a modern democracy that is how it should be — and to help people to help themselves. We are all aware of the problems that can be caused by poverty traps and we work hard to ensure that people are not trapped in poverty because of the provisions of a scheme the House might bring forward. We work to support people but we must accept there is an element of social engineering — a terrible term — in social welfare enactments to encourage people to help themselves.

The Minister brought forward the Bill and outlined what has happened in this regard in recent years. Much has happened. The economy has powered ahead, mainly due to the hard work of the people. If one drives at 6 a.m. one will see traffic everywhere due to the massive increase in the number of people travelling to work early. In the evenings, the traffic is also intense as people make their way home. This shows the high level of economic activity but also indicates the pressure on people in society to survive, rear their families and keep a roof over their heads. We live in a high-cost society. In such a society, the marginalised and the poor get left further behind.

The Combat Poverty Agency came before the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs yesterday to make a presentation on its budget submission for 2006. I commend the agency for bringing its submission to the Houses of the Oireachtas and for making its announcement here rather than elsewhere. Ministers could take note of this and perhaps more announcements could be made in the Parliament rather than at press conferences on a Monday morning or Friday evening, when Members cannot be present.

The Combat Poverty Agency referred to the working poor. It stated that 9% of those in employment could be classified as working poor and gave a figure of 160,000 workers earning less than 60% of median income. This poses a major challenge. We must recognise that an issue needs to be addressed and that some people work extremely hard just to make ends meet but are not able to do so because they earn a very low income.

We await the Minister's announcement on the family income supplement, an issue to which we have often referred. The Combat Poverty Agency claimed that family income supplement is only taken up by 50% of those entitled to do so and that the position is similar for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance. The Minister referred to the bringing together of a number of these schemes, such as the child dependant allowance, the family income supplement and the back to school clothing and footwear allowance, in one second tier payment. He has an opportunity to achieve this in the upcoming Social Welfare Bill. We await the Minister's proposals.

Members on this side of the House cannot do this. We can only state there is a need to ensure that those who depend on such payments get them. The methodologies of applying would put accountants off, never mind those who are already struggling to make ends meet and keep a roof over their heads. I encourage the Minister to bring forward a system which ensures that those who are entitled to and need these supports get them, and to do so in a way that is simple to administer and does not require the filling out of acres of forms and does not have deadlines. For example, if one misses the deadline for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance, one does not get it.

Another issue I raised at yesterday's committee meeting and again on this morning's Order of Business of which I ask the Minister to take note and which is under his remit from the point of view of poverty is the administration of the education grants. I and my colleagues have encountered situations where people still have not got the money in June and July of the following year. Perhaps the Minister will bring this issue to Cabinet. Why, for instance, is it not possible for the calculations on the administration of the education grants to be carried out earlier in the year? The tax year finishes in December and the Department of Education and Science usually produces the scheme the following July and then the vocational education committees and the county councils must try to get their act together. There are seven months in which much work could be done.

The reason I raise this is that it is quite possible that this area could end up in the Department of Social and Family Affairs. It might not be a bad idea if it did because the Department already has much of the expertise and information which is being collected a second time by the VECs and county councils to support families which need it through this scheme. Perhaps the Minister will take that on board and suggest it to Cabinet. In fairness, the administration of schemes by his Department has improved immensely over the years. If any of us contact officials in the Department about an issue, they are very efficient in coming back to us with an answer which is how it should be. Education is one sure way out of poverty. Work is certainly important but education is more important.

That leads us on to child and income poverty. We have debated how we measure poverty and so on but I think we all agree child poverty exists even today, as does consistent poverty which means people go without food. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and other agencies are working hard and struggling to try to ensure families have something to eat and can heat their houses but they should not have to do that. Another challenge the Minister must face is dealing with child poverty. In fairness to him, he has said time and again that he is committed to dealing with this issue. He has talked the talk and the challenge in the coming months is to walk the walk. Let us see what the Minister will bring forward in the budget and the Social Welfare Bill.

The Combat Poverty Agency said yesterday that its study found that poor children were at triple risk of social exclusion from school, their peers and from social and cultural norms and that as well as the immediate social costs, child poverty generates long-term economic costs in terms of lower productivity, more unemployment and additional social provision. That is an area which must be tackled soon because there is no guarantee that the money will be in the coffers in the years ahead given the growth of other economies and the challenges our economy faces with the cost of oil, energy and so on. The Minister should consider the rising cost of energy which is impacting negatively on people who depend on the fuel allowance which has not been increased even though people pay much more for oil in particular. He should act in that regard soon because it is having an impact.

The Minister referred to his commitment to carers. We are all committed to and laud and appreciate the work carers do. It has been argued that they save the Exchequer a fortune and we need to do more for them. The grant brought in last year was definitely a help but more needs to be done. We will support the Minister in anything he does to assist carers in their role.

I bring to the Minister's attention the role of children who care. The Oireachtas committee, which my good colleague, Deputy Penrose, so ably chairs, has considered the role of children who care. The child caring for a parent who is ill must go to school, cope with education and return home in the evening and mind the parent or whoever is in the house. That is an area on which the Minister should focus to see if anything can be done to support children who are carers. The Carer's Association of Ireland has called for a national strategy for carers, which is not a bad idea. We should look at everything to see if we can come up with a strategy for caring. It is cross-departmental.

I said earlier that perhaps money will be in short supply. We are all a bit concerned about what we see as money being wasted by the Government which could be used to help those who need support. I recall a number of months ago having a debate with the Minister about the back to education allowance. We debated the need to reduce the qualifying period which had been increased from six months to 15 months. The Minister brought it back to 12 months but we suggested bringing it back to nine months. I welcome the fact he did so recently, although it took quite a while.

At the time of the debate the Minister admitted he could not change it because there was a shortage of money. Now we see that hundreds of millions of euro have been squandered by the Government, yet nobody is accountable. The Minister for Social and Family Affairs whose remit is to help those in poverty told us he did not have the money, yet his colleagues were squandering it willy nilly. Nobody is accountable for all this money which has been squandered. The Minister should ask questions about what is going on. He admitted he did not have the money to change the qualifying period but, thankfully, he eventually found it. Despite this, his colleagues were squandering money left, right and centre.

I refer to the need to be aware of what is happening in rural Ireland. I spent three 12-hour days at the ploughing championships last week listening to farmers talk about the issues and problems they face, the fact their income continues to decline and the concerns they have about the future. The Minister referred to a number of schemes which assist farmers, and rightly so. However, the take-up of these schemes could be better, particularly the farm assist scheme which perhaps should be expanded because rural Ireland is getting an awful hammering. If the sugar beet industry is not supported and safeguarded by the Minister for Agriculture and Food, we will see many people in serious trouble. The Minister of State, Deputy Sean Power, knows that is a serious issue, particularly in the south of the country. I call on the Minister to look at that area.

On many occasions the Minister has acknowledged the difficulties of the one-parent family scheme which he mentioned. I hope that in the coming weeks he will bring forward his long awaited, promised amendments to the scheme. We are not sure what they are yet but no doubt he will announce them in some newspaper and they will appear some Sunday morning. We will see the headline "Brennan has new scheme" or whatever instead of "Brennan thinking or talking about new scheme". The Minister must have a hotline to the various Sunday newspapers because almost every Sunday morning, one sees headlines such as "Minister thinks about this or that". One of these days we will see a headline that the Minister has done something. That will be a change. Perhaps some of the reporters might ask him what he is actually doing.

The one-parent family scheme supports individuals rearing a child on their own, which is important. However, given the mechanics of the scheme, very often the partner cannot live in the house or else does so by sneaking in at night and leaving in the morning. The inspectors must keep an eye on this even though, as the Minister said on a number of occasions, it is not really their role. A mechanism must be found to tackle that and to see what can be done with this scheme.

I refer to the school meals scheme. Several years ago there was an issue over the take-up of the school meals scheme. Will the Minister speak to his colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, to ensure moneys made available for the scheme are used? We know how important breakfast clubs are and some years ago several agencies made a presentation on food poverty in Ireland to the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food. It is frightening to think that people in Ireland today are suffering from food poverty, particularly children going to school. From my many years in the classroom, I know if a child is hungry, he or she cannot function. Many families on low incomes cannot buy nutritious food. If a child's diet is poor and he or she is allowed to drink soft drinks and eat sweets, the child can become hyperactive in the classroom. This causes problems for teachers and I have some grey hairs that will testify to that. Other Ministers too need to examine this area.

I welcome this consolidation Bill and agree with the notion of a guide for it. Having legislation in simple English is laudable. We look forward to amendments the Minister may introduce to make it more accessible. The Minister has been in office for a year in which he has issued many statements on his thinking. In a way he has generated debate on many issues which is laudable. We now wait to see what the Minister will bring forward after all his pondering and musing. I hope it will not be like the mountain groaning only to produce a mouse.

The child care issue is one all Members are tackling. It is causing a major financial headache for many families and leading to poverty. Many parents must go to work and yet they are doing so to simply pay for child care. This area needs to be examined as we are behind the rest of Europe in the provision of quality child care. Recently I spoke to a young man in Dublin who told me the most stressful time in his life was when finding a childminder for his new-born son. He spent months searching for a quality childminder as his wife had to return to work because of the huge mortgage they were paying on a modest house in the capital. The Government must address these issues because families are at breaking point on it.

What proposals will the Government bring forward for pensions? I am not happy with the idea of mandatory pensions which the Minister has suggested he will examine. This is an area one has to be careful about. However, at the same time we need a system whereby people will have adequate income in their old age. I do not believe making pensions mandatory is the way to go. When the Minister introduces his proposals, they will be debated hotly and heavily in the House and various experts will advise the social and family affairs committee. Demographics are changing at such a rate that it is hard to keep up with what is going on. With new people coming from other countries, the birth rate is growing. We have a situation where more people must work. Flexible working times also need to be examined.

It was rumoured the Minister would go to Europe. However, he has decided to look after the home turf for another while. He will not escape the musings and the schemes he has promised us. In the next six months we hope to see these come to fruition. I look forward to debating them with him.

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