Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I will continue where I left off last night. The family income supplement is a benefit to those on low pay within the system, but it is not available to the self-employed. With all the supermarkets setting up and leaving small shopkeepers and others on low income, or even forcing them out of business, the FIS should be extended to the self-employed. Their books are acceptable to the Revenue Commissioners so their need of supplementary income should also be acceptable.

The idea that there would be an increase in the take up of the pharmacy scheme has also been on the go for several years. We were originally told that 40,000 would be on the scheme and later we were told that there would only be 20,000. The reality is that there are only around 8,000 on this scheme at any given time. Farm organisations stated that it should be at least twice that number. Unfortunately, there is a fear among farmers to apply for it. There seems to be an attitude among some social welfare officers — I emphasise that it is only some officers — who think that farmers should not be entitled to it.

Both the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach have mentioned the situation regarding old age non-contributory pensioners. I thank the Minister for Social and Family Affairs for the change that allows them to earn some income without being cut. We must go back to the actions of the former Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern. He brought in the half rate pension for those who had contributed for five years or more under the scheme introduced in April 1988. Those people could not pay the full ten years because they were too old at the time. Whenever Deputy Jim O'Keeffe and I tried to get the pension to be pro rata we were assured that such would be the case. In reality, when it was introduced the rate was only 50%. The Minister admits that these people have served the country well through the years and are entitled to a fair share. I urge him at this late stage to look at that. The amount of money would not be that big because some people would have paid for six years. Some people would have paid for the full ten years, but they were born a few days before 1 April of a certain year and they were not eligible to get the full contributory old age pension. Instead of getting 90% or 80%, they get 50%. These people wanted to pay but because of their age, they could not.

Other Deputies have referred to the fact that there has been a substantial increase in maternity benefit and maternity leave. Why is there no paternity benefit? It is one of the things that keeps me from doing anything like that, because one needs to be sure it is available before one does anything.

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