Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

The measures in social welfare must be welcomed as the increases are more or less in line with what many NGOs and my own party had been looking for in pre-budget statements. This should also be put in context. In 2005, the EU-SILC survey indicated the poverty level for an individual Irish citizen was €192.74 per week. That was in 2005, so we can take it for granted the level is above €200 in 2006. One social welfare payment is above that level after the Government's changes today, the contributory old-age pension at €209.

The Government is boasting about expenditure on social protection but it remains one of the lowest levels in Europe. There were fairly mealy-mouthed words from the Minister for Finance about recognising and protecting the elderly in society. We must recognise that €209 is barely above income maintenance levels in our society, and we spend less as a proportion of our national income on pensioners than any other European country. We would need to up the level of the State pension by at least another 50% before we would be in line with other European countries and the levels at which elderly people deserve to be living.

The Government tends to speak about flagship initiatives in each budget. Unfortunately, it seems to then either drop them, forget about them or give a derisory mention. Last year the issue was child care, the year before it was disability. Rather than adding on each year the Government goes to the next fad or item which is politically sexy.

With regard to the issues I mentioned, the measures in this budget are fairly insulting to people affected by both. The additional expenditure towards disability benefit is not new, but expenditure the Government is obliged to put in place because of sections of the Disability Act coming into being from June. If the Government really wanted to promote this agenda, it would provide additional resources for opening up new areas. That is not the case.

The same is true of child care which even last year the Government got wrong. It failed to recognise child care is not about what happens with children when their parents are at work. Child care must be about a broader agenda. It is about child development. No measures were introduced last year and none was introduced this year on how we can truly cherish the children of this nation. If the Government is still serious about a constitutional amendment on children's rights, it could start showing it by providing resources in areas where they are needed.

The role of carers continues to be treated in a derisory way. The increase in the respite grant is welcome. However, the reality is the Government fails to recognise the carer's payment only goes to 15,000 carers out of a probable group of 125,000 people who care for a family member or close friend. When we add to that the fact that more than 50% of those involved in caring are over 60 years of age, we see nothing but a state of stasis from this Government on how the role of carers can be properly recognised and resourced.

The next section is called "helping young families" and deals with assisting first-time home buyers. The Minister for Finance made the fairly bald statement, which many of us made previously, that a cut in stamp duty across the board would merely be added to house purchase prices and the benefit would go to the house seller and developers. I appreciate the leader of the Progressive Democrats and the Tánaiste would not be happy with that statement.

However, one measure hidden in the bowels of the budget deals with stamp duty relief. It is a measure for €20 million on the contract aspect of the mortgage. The only problem with it is that it is a small measure which benefits all house purchasers, speculators as well as first-time buyers. If the Government was serious about getting young people into housing, it would adopt measures we proposed, including exempting from stamp duty people who downsize, such as elderly people, and allowing the vacated properties to be bought by first-time buyers.

If the Minister wishes to think imaginatively and act differently he should listen to this side of the House. If he wishes to carry on as usual and cause further problems in the future, this budget will only exacerbate it.

See this speech in context