Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

One thing I have learned in this Department is that it must have a strong policy content at its core.

One of my first statements to the House was to the effect that I did not want the Department of Social and Family Affairs to merely be an administrative Department responsible for paying out funds and acting as a form of social ATM. I am trying to move it on a daily basis towards a point where policy considerations relating to carers, lone parents, travel, etc., will be at the centre of the decisions we take. We try to pursue a social agenda which helps people build better lives for themselves.

I am of the opinion that the Department must continue to have a strong social policy philosophy and objective at its core. It must not increase allowances willy-nilly simply because that is the way it has always been done. The Department must consider the reasoning behind allowances and how they assist people to move to better places. That is what I have tried to do in respect of pensions, lone parent's allowance, carer's allowance etc. It is important that we continue to operate in this manner.

The Deputy is correct that there are many research facilities available to the Department. Many very fine Government and voluntary organisations provide research on a timely basis. Research-based decisions are critically and continually important for a Department which is as vital to the lives of so many people as is the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

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