Beverley Flynn (Mayo, Independent)

I thank Deputy Dennehy for sharing time. I welcome the Bill. That the Minister has been able to keep the area of social welfare out of the news in recent months and since he came to that portfolio is a good thing. Certainly it was an area of great criticism in the past. There have been many welcome improvements, particularly the many benefits payable to women.

In regard to the national pensions review, the Minister has highlighted the number of people who have no pension provision. I welcome the move by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, who put the initiative in place for SSIA holders to add a bonus of €1 for every €3 transferred into a pension.

I wish to refer to a number of points that have been raised by working mothers and those who decide to stay at home and look after their children. Eventually they may return to the workforce. The number of years they stay at home looking after their children are disregarded for the purposes of calculating their pension and PRSI contributions. Is there any way credits could be given to women who decide to stay at home to look after their children until the children reach a certain age rather than disadvantage those women when they reach pension age? I notice in the Bill that the Minister has taken on board some of the points made by women's groups. This is a welcome development because for many years women's groups have been calling for reforms within the social welfare system and their calls have often fallen on deaf ears.

Under the social welfare code, payments for a qualified adult are paid to the person who is the principal claimant. I understand there is a system where one can opt for separate payments but one must ask for it. It does not happen as an automatic entitlement. It would be a positive step if as an automatic entitlement the payment for the qualifying individual were paid directly to the individual without the necessity of going to the Department and asking for that separate payment. Believe it or not, even now there are women who find that a difficult issue. It is a topic on which I have spoken in the public domain and the response from women on issues of that nature is amazing.

That the Minister has increased the respite grant for carers by €200 is welcome. That is an excellent development in section 30. The extension from 15 months to two years of the carer's benefit scheme is welcome. This initiative enables families to look after relatives in their home and it will ease pressure on many other State services that are creaking at the seams. Where there is the facility for people to look after elderly relatives or special needs people within their home, that time extension is valuable. I welcome also the increase from ten to 15 hours for part-time work. People come to my clinics who care for elderly parents not on a nine to five basis but 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That people can take up a part-time job in some cases is a welcome relief and the increase from ten to 15 hours for same is a welcome development.

The child care package in the budget was generous. At the time I thought the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, was implementing the new early child care supplement for me, given that I had just had a new born baby. My two children are under six years of age. It is a welcome development for mothers in the provision of child care. We could all argue the case that €1,000 per child is only a small element but at the same time it is in addition to the increased child benefit that has been provided in recent years. The increased child benefit has been substantial certainly in my time in this House and it has gone a long way towards helping parents, mothers in particular, to provide child care.

I compliment the Minister on taking on board the issue of childminders and the €10,000 disregard for income tax. Given that the PRSI element has been covered, they will have an entitlement to pension and maternity benefits. That is a positive step. With regard to the €100 earnings disregard for those in receipt of pensions, given that we rely on 50,000 immigrants to keep the economy growing, it is important to encourage as many older people as possible back into the workplace. Many people well into their 60s and beyond have much to offer society. That they can play a role and earn an income without affecting their pension entitlements is a welcome recognition of how society is shaping up. Overall, the Minister is implementing many of the changes announced in the budget. He has made great headway in this Bill which I endorse. With regard to the rights of women I ask the Minister to take points on board the points I have made in the future because our social welfare system can be made more friendly in that area.

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