Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

Of course, Tallaght is a different place today. I am not saying there are no problems and challenges but, like many other areas, it has undergone considerable improvements. In the context of this debate it is important to point out that where difficulties and challenges remain, the Department of Social and Family Affairs must always be in a position to respond and to do so in a caring way. I have often made the point that the services provided by the Department must always be client-friendly. We must stress to the Department the need to continue to promote its services in a positive way.

I remember, many years ago at the opening of an information centre, former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald making the point that the work of public representatives would be reduced somewhat if the services offered to the public were easily identifiable and available. I am not just talking about the Department of Social and Family Affairs, but it is relevant to its work. Many of the queries we all get at our clinics every week would not be necessary if this were the case. There has been a lot of progress in recent times, but it is something we must continue to work on. To be parochial for a minute, I will mention the excellent Department of Social and Family Affairs facility in Tallaght, which is situated in a first-class modern building and does exactly what we would ask of it — it provides a good service to the public in a client-friendly way. We should continue to establish more of these services. I hope that this type of facility, which is available in the third largest population centre in the country, will become available in as many centres as possible throughout the country.

The Government's commitment to child income support is demonstrated by the fact that nearly €148 million, or €194 million if we include the early child care supplement, has been allocated to improve the range of supports for children. The policy direction followed by the Government in recent years has included the dedication of substantial resources to the universal child benefit scheme. Budget 2008 provided for payment of an additional €2 per week in the qualified child increase, which is paid to all social welfare recipients with children. It also provided for increased weekly income thresholds for all FIS family sizes, with additional resources being directed towards larger families as research has shown that this is where poverty is more likely to exist. I also welcome the Minister's announcement that these improvements will benefit 26,500 families who are already receiving the payment and will entitle a further 2,700 families to that payment.

I am also pleased with the increase of €6 in the lower monthly rate of child benefit and €8 in the higher rate, bringing the new monthly rates to €166 for each of the first two children and to €203 for the third child and subsequent children. The increase will benefit more than 570,000 families in respect of approximately 1.1 million children. This is to be welcomed. The Bill before us also provides for an increase of €100 annually in the early child care supplement, bringing the annual rate to €1,100 and the quarterly rate to €275. This will benefit 420,000 to 430,000 children by the end of 2008 and is a further demonstration that the Government's commitment to child care is very much in place.

Other colleagues, including the previous speaker, mentioned the need to support lone parents. I noted with interest the Minister's contribution on lone parents and the Government discussion paper proposals for supporting lone parents, which recommended expansion of the availability and range of education and training opportunities for lone parents, extension of the national employment action plan to focus on lone parents and the introduction of a new social assistance payment for low-income families with young children. This is an issue of specific importance to me in many areas of my constituency. At my weekly clinics in Tallaght, Firhouse, Greenhills and Templeogue, and throughout Dublin South-West, I have encountered many cases in which the need for the facilities——

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