Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I might be joining that party yet — one never knows. I wish to speak about the back to education scheme. In this regard I welcome today's judgment and hope the Minister will not appeal it. I tabled a priority question in the Dáil on 26 June 2003 and told the former Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Coughlan, that somebody would take a case against the Department and win it. I congratulate the person who has done so. Shame on the Department for taking badly needed money from people who want to re-educate themselves and return to the workplace.

Consider the Department's attitude to people seeking unemployment assistance. Even when such people produce a number of letters for the Department officials, they are told they are not actively looking for work. A court case is now taking place in this regard and I support the person involved. I will send the person some funding for the case because the way in which some of our citizens are being treated is a disgrace.

I am sick and tired of what is happening to my constituents. There was a time when people with very little education could get jobs in restaurants, pubs and hotels, but those days are over. People are now coming from the accession countries and taking these jobs from them. Some of our citizens are being marginalised both by the system and the officials in the Department. I feel so strongly about this that I must ask the Minister to review the manner in which they are being treated. They are being treated badly.

Although job hunters produce letters showing they are actively looking for work, they are told by officials they are not doing so. Furthermore, there is no work in their areas and it is time the Minister and his officials did what is necessary to stop the court case from going ahead. How can one prove one is actively looking for work if an official says one is not, even after his being shown three or four letters to the contrary? This is not right and it is time the Minister addressed it.

I could put something else on the record tonight but I will not. However, the way our citizens are being treated is wrong. They are Irish citizens, born and reared in this State, but they are being turned away by the Department of Social and Family Affairs and have to beg from community welfare officers every week. I will table a parliamentary question on this matter next week and the Minister will find there are many people pushed away by the Department and degraded by the HSE areas.

The Minister has been caring and has taken on board many points made in this House and I therefore ask him to sit down with his officials to address this matter. People come to my constituency office crying, upset and disturbed over the way they are being treated. I do not want to say any more tonight on this matter because I spoke to the Minister privately about it, and I do not want these circumstances to persist. If somebody wants a little help and there is work for him, he will accept it. I compliment the judge on the correct judgment he made today.

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