Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

We should be conscious from the taxpayer's perspective that welfare payments have doubled in five or six years, from €7 billion to €15 billion. That is a considerable investment by the taxpayer in tackling poverty. It is not only a question of income, since other Departments are also involved. Recent budgets were to a large degree targeted at tackling child poverty, which we dealt with in earlier questions.

The target of 2% that we set out in 1997 has been reached. However, I acknowledge that it could be challenged. I explained that the old method was the Living in Ireland survey, which in 2003 was replaced by the EU survey on income and living conditions, SILC.

Consider the continuing low levels of unemployment, the substantial resources put into doubling social welfare benefits, and the downward trend in consistent poverty. In 2001, we were at 4%, and welfare spending has almost doubled since, not to mention the fact that we have had economic growth of 4% or 5% per annum. The Department does not disagree with my contention that we would almost certainly have reached the figure of 2% by 2007 if we had still been using the old measure. As we are no longer doing so, no one will really know. If we were at 4% in 2001, I am confident that, six years later, with all the resources applied and the economic growth, the figure will be at 2%. Therefore, the Government has met its target of 2% by 2007, which it set in 1997.

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