Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputies. Section 25 provides for the payment of rent supplement to be refused in respect of accommodation which is situated in an area notified to the Minister for Social and Family Affairs by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government as one of regeneration for the purposes of providing for greater social integration.

I should point out that the provision contained in this section is not a blanket refusal of rent supplement in areas of regeneration. I have made specific provision in the Bill in two areas to ensure that those who already reside in such areas and who are in receipt of rent supplement may continue to receive payment and that those already residing in such areas in private rented accommodation and who may have recourse to rent supplement in the future would not have their entitlement restricted by these new provisions. I believe those two provisions in the Bill will give sufficient flexibility in the administration of the scheme.

The measures were introduced in 2004. From what I am hearing today, I may have misunderstood and am open to correction on this statement, but I understood that there was substantial support from most, if not all, local public representatives in this area. I may be wrong about that, but that was my understanding. If this is not the case, I am happy to accept that. Of course, they can make their own decisions in these matters, but that was my understanding.

It was a directive signed in 2004 and the Department is of the view that since it began, there has been no difficulty in its implementation in any real sense. The numbers involved have not thrown up any particular issues. The only reason we are putting it in legislation is because of legal advice available to the Government to the effect that the directive on its own might not be sufficient legally and we should take the opportunity afforded by the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill going before the House to underpin what is now the practice in legislation. It is important that we take the opportunity to do this.

There is a positive motivation behind this which has existed for years. This is to ensure, rather than prevent, greater social integration in so far as we can through our schemes. There is a commencement date on this provision and, obviously, the operation of the scheme will be kept under constant review. There was also a view that areas of regeneration should be given a fresh start and that we should not just replicate what went before. It was thought that a fresh start at trying to develop a strategy towards social integration would be a good idea. As I said previously, I understood there was substantial political support for that concept over the years.

I made a full statement on the matter of community welfare officers on Committee Stage, so I will not repeat it other than to assure Deputies that the excellent work undertaken by community welfare officers is valued by me, the Government and everyone else in the country. Those attributes will be maintained. The same staff will administer the same schemes and will provide the same personal service under the same legislation as the guidelines are at present. The only change is that, technically, they will not be employees of the HSE but will be employees of the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

The legislation will ensure maximum flexibility and discretion. There is no intention to dilute or interfere with this discretion or flexibility in any way. There is already a significant level of liaison and ongoing interaction between the community welfare officers and the Department's staff and other agencies and this will facilitate it. This is not a new idea but goes back many years. On Committee Stage, I listed off all the various reports, some of which go back decades, which recommended this direction.

The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which, from memory, involves €800 million and is administered by approximately 700 staff, is already funded by the Department of Social and Family Affairs from which policy with regard to the scheme comes. There is ongoing dialogue and the process, as it moves forward, will include substantial dialogue. A communication and consultation strategy has been devised which will allow for ongoing dialogue with all stakeholders associated with the programme. A series of regional meetings is being organised by the HSE and the Department for all staff in the HSE community welfare service. The first of these meetings will take place this month. These meetings will provide the opportunity for further constructive engagement and feedback on the implementation process.

A document outlining the high level proposals of the Department and the HSE has been sent to SIPTU and IMPACT, which are the unions representing staff in the community welfare scheme, and to the unions in my Department. The first meeting of the joint liaison group involving management of the Department, the Department of Health and Children and the HSE with IMPACT and SIPTU took place last Wednesday, 14 March. A meeting also took place yesterday with the unions in my Department to discuss the matter. All of these discussions and consultations are ongoing and I hope we can make some solid progress in those discussions. These very fine officials have nothing to fear from the Department of Social and Family Affairs. On the contrary, I believe they will be a fantastic asset to the Department. As I said previously, they are carrying out departmental policy and are paid by the Department, the HSE strategy does not really have a clear role for community welfare officers as part of a health strategy and the title "community welfare officer" suggests we should recognise reality. Welfare officers are looking after people on welfare, and it is appropriate they are technically employed by the Department with responsibility for welfare.

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