Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I record my appreciation for the work undertaken by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and others on behalf of the most vulnerable members of society, particularly families who for one reason or another are unable to survive financially, especially at times of difficulty or acute financial pressure.

Government support for families facing financial difficulty is provided mainly through the social welfare system which provides substantial income supports. In this regard, the Government is committed to improving significantly the standard of living of welfare dependent and low-income households and to making a decisive impact on poverty and social exclusion. Over the period since 1997, the Government has greatly increased the levels of income support provided through the social welfare system, and this was again evident in the increases announced last week as part of the budget. Expenditure on social welfare has increased by nearly 270% since 1997. In 2007, almost €15.5 billion is being allocated to social welfare compared with €5.7 billion in 1997.

The 2007 budget has provided more than €1.4 billion of an increase, the largest social welfare package ever in the history of the State. This is more than five times the amount allocated to social welfare in the 1997 budget. Almost one third of all current Government expenditure is being provided for social welfare in 2007 to support and benefit 1.5 million people directly. In recent years we have lifted more than 250,000 people, including 100,000 children, out of poverty. We have travelled some distance towards eliminating poverty and the measures I have outlined will pay a major part in confronting remaining poverty.

We are confronting the issue of fuel poverty, which I know is a concern of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Last year, I increased the fuel allowance by €5 a week to €14 and this year I increased it to €18 a week. This means that the level of the fuel allowance, which is paid to 274,000 recipients, will have doubled in the past two years. As I already announced in September last, as and from next January the number of free units of electricity and gas paid under the household benefits scheme will increase from 1,800 units to more than 2,400 units per year as part of a €50 million package to protect welfare customers from price increases.

I also announced a wide-ranging employment support package of €21 million in the budget, with measures built in to alleviate poverty and support activation by improving income disregards and tapers for the unemployed and qualified adults. The full package of measures I announced for carers will cost more than €107 million. It includes increases in the income disregards for entitlement to carer's allowance and a €300 increase in the respite care grant to €1,500 per year. I am also introducing fundamental structural reforms for carers. In future people in receipt of another social welfare payment, who also provide full-time care, will be able to retain their main welfare payment and receive another payment equivalent to a half-rate carer's allowance. Some 18,000 carers are likely to benefit by up to €109 per week. The recent budget package is a strong statement of the Government's commitment to the elderly, children, carers and all those who, for one reason or another, are more vulnerable in our society.

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