Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I will resist it. It gives me an opportunity to compliment not only the Minister but his staff. I am on record as saying the Minister, Deputy Brennan, has revolutionised the Department. The temperate language of the Opposition is a sign that even the Opposition accepts that and he is getting many back-handed compliments.

I attended a chamber of commerce breakfast this morning with Deputy Ardagh and other colleagues. Deputies Connaughton and Stanton may be interested to hear that the former Deputy, Alan Dukes, addressed the group. He reminded us of the time when the Fine Gael Party was brave enough to say the Government was doing a good job when that was the case. There is general acknowledgement that the Minister is doing a superb job. He is taking on issues that have long required to be tackled. He is grasping many nettles that some people believed would not be tackled. He is doing his job in a brave, political way and I strongly support him.

Pensions have been much discussed in the debate on the Bill. There is no question that this area requires to be dealt with and the Minister is leading the way. I take the lead from Deputy Connaughton, but not in a patronising way, as I have always complimented the Department of Social and Family Affairs, in all its guises, for the manner in which it deals with queries. It is important that we look after those who are in need of social welfare. We should not be afraid to look after them, as it is an important job. Throughout my political career I have supported the concept of social inclusion.

I apologise for referring to Deputy Ardagh again but I heard him say last night that we are the envy of the world, that anywhere one goes throughout the world there is a major improvement in the image of Ireland. Any parliamentarian who travels abroad can attest to this. We are now seen as a leading player, which is important. The Taoiseach once said that when all boats are rising it is important that we give additional help to small boats. I expect that this approach drives the Minister in his work in the Department. It is important that we do not lose sight of this notion as there will always be people who are on the margins.

Before I left my office this morning I got two calls in a short time about social welfare issues. When people are under pressure or have difficulty in satisfying the local employment office with regard to the information required for benefits we are sometimes required to intervene and I am happy to do so.

I support the Minister in his proposed renaming of certain social welfare schemes. The old age contributory pension will become the State pension — contributory. The retirement pension will become the State pension — transition. Unemployment benefit will become jobseeker's benefit. Unemployment assistance will become jobseeker's allowance. Unemployability supplement will become the incapacity supplement. Disability benefit will become illness benefit. Orphan's — contributory — allowance will become guardian's payment — contributory. Orphan's — non-contributory — allowance will become the guardian's payment — non-contributory. While it is a challenge, we will all have to get our heads around the new terms.

The Minister must continue to ensure that proper provision is made in the Department and that resources are put to good use in getting across a positive message to the public in so far as these issues are concerned. People need to know about the changes, what their benefits are called and how to access them. Some time ago I attended a function for the opening of a citizen's information centre where the then Taoiseach, Garrett FitzGerald, made the point which is still relevant today, that much of the work that reaches a public representative's desk would not be necessary if the systems were working. I do not wish to be unduly critical of the system but we must remember how important it is to send out a positive message about people's entitlements. Members of all political persuasions get numerous queries from all social classes which show this remains a continuing challenge.

Different aspects of the legislation will attract attention. The extension of pensions investigation powers will no doubt get some headlines, as will the measures affecting jobseekers and pensioners. Those who read the Bill will find other sections that affect them. I compliment the Minister in regard to the jobseeker's allowance. We must ensure that those who qualify will be able to access the services and will not encounter problems. It is important that we help the unemployed to get back into the jobs market.

I heard somebody make the point this morning in regard to the construction industry disputes that it is odd at a time when so many people are coming here to work that Irish people cannot get jobs. I know the Minister is examining this matter which I expect requires special attention. There will always be people who for one reason or another cannot find employment. I attended an important meeting yesterday when a deputation from the Jobstown Action Against Drugs Dependency Group, JADD, met the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern. It made the point that for some people even taking up a community employment scheme is a challenge. We should remember that. I have always taken the view that unemployment should mean job seeking.

I represent an area in Dublin South-West where great progress has been made in terms of employment. I was a founder member of the Get Tallaght Working group 21 years ago at a time when unemployment was a major problem for the area and it was important that jobs would be created. Employment has improved dramatically in the area since then. Tallaght is now leading the way, as it should, being the third largest population centre in the country. That said, people still face challenges and we should not forget about them.

Another highlight of the Minister's legislation is the early child care supplement, about which there has been much discussion recently. It was also highlighted in the Budget Statement by our colleague the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen. The Minister for Social and Family Affairs is providing for the payment of the early child care supplement, which I note is being administered by his Department on behalf of the Department of Health and Children. The legislation contains the necessary amendments to the Taxes Consolidation Act in order to exempt that payment from assessment as taxable income.

Some 260,000 families in receipt of child benefit will be paid the early child care supplement for approximately 350,000 children under the age of six. This is equal to about 50% of all families on child benefit and 33% of all children for whom child benefit is paid. The rate of payment at €1,000 per annum over four quarters, with three payments being made in 2006, has been generally welcomed.

I understand that payments will issue early in the month following the end of each quarter. I hope the Department will take the opportunity of publicising this fact and ensuring that people are aware of their entitlements. All public representatives will tell the Minister they are receiving many inquiries about this payment, which is to be warmly welcomed.

I wish to discuss one-parent family payments. I have already brought to the Minister's attention the concern expressed recently about a policy change regarding the length of time recipients have to visit their local post office. I am aware the Minister has reviewed that matter so I hope he will continue to examine that procedure on an ongoing basis.

The Minister stated he is committed to significant reforms to one-parent family payments and the need to deliver a better standard of living and fresh opportunities for lone parents and their children. The Minister has also spoken of the need for policies directed at breaking down existing obstacles to employment, increasing access to career enhancing education and training opportunities through targeted supports and enlightened social policies.

I have supported the Minister's plans both in this House and at the Fianna Fáil social and family affairs policy group of which I am the secretary. I have brought a number of issues to his attention which fall within his Department's remit. I am glad the Minister has informed us that reports and recommendations will be published within weeks for a more general debate before specific proposals are brought to Government.

Income support is provided through the one-parent family payment to over 80,000 lone parents at an estimated cost of €847 million this year. There has been no change to the income limits applying to the payment since it was first introduced in 1997. The Bill includes changes that will give lone parents an opportunity to increase their earnings without raising fears about loss of entitlement to the payment.

We should be careful to help people who otherwise might be caught in a poverty trap. Lone parents are among the many people who attend my eight clinics throughout Dublin South-West each week. They have told me of the challenges they face in trying to take up employment. The current buoyant economic period is welcome as people are finding employment. People who have been unemployed for a while may face a challenge in resuming work but lone parents face additional challenges, including child care and rental costs.

Members of the House have often spoken about the manner in which some of these issues are handled, so I am glad the Minister has indicated an enlightened approach to them. I hope the days are over when local authority inspectors hid in bushes to see if people had visitors for whatever reason. Such matters must be dealt in an enlightened way. Bearing in mind our commitment to social inclusion, we must ensure that lone parents are given an opportunity to be part of the rising tide that lifts all boats. They must not be caught in a poverty trap because of old fashioned ideas of what they should or should not be doing. In his reply, the Minister might indicate how he intends to deal with that. In his initial statement he said he will bring forward proposals in this regard and will open the debate so I will be interested to see his ideas being fleshed out in order to make progress.

Every day we get some sort of reminder that a general election is close. However, I calculate that there are over 450 days to the next election so it is important for Ministers to remain at the helm to continue the jobs they are doing. The Minister, Deputy Brennan, is certainly doing that. I expect that in the next year he will bring forward a number of exciting legislative provisions which will prove that this is a good, caring Government at work.

I support colleagues who made a case for the continued recognition of carers. I am a member of the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs, which is ably chaired by my colleague, Deputy Penrose. The record of that committee shows it has created many all-party initiatives which recognise the work of carers. In fairness to him, the Minister understands their importance. We must continue to support carers because there will never be enough of them.

The Carer's Association is located close to my constituency in Clondalkin. Every time a deputation from the association appears before our committee and other fora, its members clearly indicate the particular challenges they face. I often bring my life experiences to politics and in this respect I have had many dealings with this issue through family connections. My late father, who died ten years ago, was looked after for a while by my sister so I saw at first hand the challenges that such matters entail. I have heard colleagues talk about carers being under strain and facing such pressures for a long time. As public representatives, we all come across many people who are dealing with such challenging situations. Therefore, I hope the Minister will continue to understand our strong support for carers. I was glad to note that he made that particular point in his earlier contribution. He is on record as having said that carers are at the core of a welfare society, which is as it should be.

The Bill provides for increasing the rate of the annual respite care grant by €200 to €1,200 from June. In 2005, more than 36,000 grants were awarded. It is expected that the number of beneficiaries this year will increase further, which is welcome.

The duration of the carer's benefit scheme has been extended from 15 months to two years for each care recipient. In addition, regulations will provide for increasing from ten to 15 hours per week the time a person can work while still receiving a carer's allowance, carer's benefit or respite care grant. The Bill contains the necessary amendments to the Carer's Leave Act 2001 to provide for the extension of the duration of carer's leave from 15 months to two years.

I welcome the Minister's initiative on child benefit. He made the point that ending the unacceptable level of child poverty in an Ireland of considerable affluence in the 21st century was a target that must be achieved by the Government and society. In addition to substantially increasing the lower social welfare weekly rates by €17 per week in the budget for 2006, a number of measures have been taken to confront child poverty. The investment of more than €100 million in additional increases in child benefit will lift payment rates to €150 for the first two children and €185 for the third and each subsequent child.

To be briefly parochial, local colleagues and I have strongly supported the childhood development initiative based in Jobstown in Tallaght. The Minister is aware of the great work done in that regard. The Taoiseach visited Tallaght in the summer to launch the initiative report. When we talk of child poverty and the need to deal with the challenges and difficulties, I certainly support that initiative. It falls within the remit of various Departments, including Education and Science and Health and Children, but I know the Minister for Social and Family Affairs also takes an interest. He shares a constituency boundary with me and takes an interest in my constituency. No doubt he will continue to do so and I am always happy to have his help. I look forward to supporting the Bill and warmly congratulate the Minister.

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