Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

All other personal weekly social welfare rates will be increased by €12 per week. This will bring the lowest full adult social welfare rate to €197.80 per week.

Child Income Support

The Government has significantly increased financial support for children in recent years. It intends to continue to do so by increasing child benefit by €6 per week for the first and second child, bringing it to €166 per month, and by €8 for the third child and subsequent children, bringing that payment to €203 per month. It will also increase the early child care supplement, payable in respect of all children under six, by €100, bringing that payment to €1,100 per year. These increases mean that families with two children under six will receive a tax free payment of €6,148 in 2008.

Other Social Welfare Measures

The budget summary contains a range of other social welfare improvements, the full details of which will be announced by the Minister for Social and Family Affairs. I particularly welcome the €2,000 increase in the widowed parent grant to bring it to €6,000, which will come into effect today.

Health

In recent years health has been by far the largest beneficiary of new resources available for public services. The Government is committed to keeping health as a key priority area. It is equally committed to working to protect Ireland's economic and fiscal situation as the key prerequisite to providing the funding required to develop and improve health care.

Much of the public debate about health services is focused on the increased cost involved. While there are valid concerns about the growth of health spending, both nationally and internationally, the proper context for this debate is one which views health spending as delivering benefits as well as accruing costs.

We are determined to see that the extra budget resources now being made available by the Government to the Health Service Executive secure the optimum improvement in the quality and delivery of health services. To achieve this objective, the Government will work in partnership to overcome any obstacles to change in the health system and to continue to improve policies and practices in all areas of service delivery. My colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney, and the Health Service Executive will advance this work through the health forum established under the social partnership agreement Towards 2016.

Despite budgetary constraints, the Government is providing nearly €16.2 billion for health next year, an increase of over €1.1 billion on this year's provision.

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