Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

It is unusual to be pressed on how to give back money. If someone wishes to return money, I promise the Deputy we will find a way for him to do so. I am sure the HSE would be glad to have the cheque returned.

A number of speakers, albeit none of the Deputies present, used phrases such as "pittance" to describe increases in social welfare. I will outline some examples of how the increases will affect families. A family with two children under six years with an income of €20,000 will receive €2,000 in child care allowance, €3,600 in child benefit and, most important, €4,233 in family income supplement, as well as €240 back to school allowance. In summary, the family will receive a total child support package of €10,073, whereas the equivalent figure for last year was €6,400. I will publish these figures in due course.

I do not wish to try the Acting Chairman's patience but I wish to outline a further example. A family with four children, two of whom are aged over six years and two under six years, with an income of €20,000 will receive, in round figures, child care payments of €2,000, child benefit of €8,000, family income supplement of €8,000 and back to school allowance of €480. In total, the family will receive additional social welfare, specifically for children, of €18,000 on top of earnings of €20,000, bringing its income up to €38,000. The equivalent figure for last year was €12,000.

The previous figure referred to a family on low pay in receipt of family income supplement. A family with two children aged under six years in which the parents are unemployed will receive unemployment assistance of €16,000, child care allowance of €2,000, child benefit of €3,600, fuel allowance of €406 and back to school allowance of €240, giving a total income from the State of €22,335. Last year, this ordinary family with two children would have received €18,000 from the State.

If an unemployed person had four children, two of whom are aged under six years and two aged over six years, the family would receive €17,000 in unemployment assistance, which includes child dependant allowance, €2,000 in child care allowance, €8,000 in child benefit. Taken together with the other smaller allowances I mentioned, this gives a total income of €28,000, as compared to €24,000 last year.

I accept the point made by many Deputies that social welfare payments are made using taxpayers' rather than Government money. An unemployed person who received €18,000 social welfare last year will receive €22,000 in social welfare after this budget. In another scenario, a family in which the parents are unemployed will have its income jump from €24,000 to €28,000. I will try to publish these figures in some format in the future.

I do not propose to take Deputies through figures on pensioners but they are equally dramatic. For example, in the case of one pensioner, income will increase from €1,800 to more than €8,000 due to the new disregards introduced in the budget.

I thank Deputies for considering Second Stage and look forward to their contributions on Committee Stage.

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