I thank Deputies Mansergh and Gogarty for sharing time with me.

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Bill in the House today. With a vibrant economy like ours, it is important to remember those who are vulnerable and perhaps less well off and to look after our carers and the elderly. Carers provide an invaluable service to their loved ones, a care for which one could not possibly be rewarded enough. Our nursing homes are pretty full, and yet we have so many dedicated caring people to care for their loved ones at home or elsewhere. We all have experience of the people concerned as we have them in our community and, some of us, in our families. For this reason, I was particularly pleased to see the hike in the home carer tax credit of €130 per year, to €900, in the budget delivered by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Cowen, last week. There will also be a rise in carer's allowance and carer's benefit of up to €14 per week. The earnings threshold for entitlement to carer's benefit will increase by €12.50 to €332.50 per week, effective from April 2008.

The budget also delivered good news for older people with a €14 increase per week for contributory pensioners, with payments to qualified adults increasing by up to €27 per week. Non-contributory pension rates will increase by €12 per week to €212. Also — importantly for many elderly people — the duration of the fuel season will be extended by one week to 30 weeks, which is very welcome. There will be proportionate increases for those on reduced rates, from the first week of January 2008. The respite care grant will increase by €200 to €1,700 from June 2008.

The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to easing the burden on parents with young children through the budget. There is a hike in child benefit, with the lower and higher rates to increase to €166 and €203, respectively, per month. The early child care supplement is set to increase by €100 per child per year to €1,100. This supplement is of significant benefit to parents and families. The back to school clothing and footwear allowance, of which many avail, will increase by €20 to €200 for children aged between two and eleven years and by €20 to €305 for children aged 12 to 22 years, where appropriate. These measures will take effect from June 2008. Some €2 million extra is also to be provided for the school meals scheme. I am confident more schools will take up this initiative.

There is also an increase in maternity and adoptive benefit of €14 per week in the minimum rate, bringing it to €221.80 per week, effective from January 2008. The upper income threshold for entitlement to the one parent family payment will increase by €25 per week to €425 from May 2008. A single reformed method for assessing benefit and privilege from parents' income for the jobseeker's allowance will be introduced from April 2008. The annual grant payable as part of the back to education allowance scheme will also increase by €100 to €500 from September 2008.

I commend the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Cullen, who is well aware of the needs of the more vulnerable members of society, whether the elderly, the less well-off or carers. I know from speaking to my constituents in County Donegal how appreciative they are of the measures he has introduced and the increases in social welfare that have taken effect in recent years. I am sure he will continue in the same vein and I assure him of our support. These measures will help to foster a more secure living environment for those most in need, which has proven to be a priority for the Government. I look forward to further successful years for the Minister in the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

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