Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I wish to share my time with Deputies Tom Hayes, Pat Breen and Michael Bannon, with five minutes for each speaker. I would appreciate it if the Acting Chairman could let me when my five minutes are up.

I wish to raise two important issues and put a few questions to the Minister and his officials about the payment of child benefit outside the State. Will the Department launch an immediate investigation into this area? If these people have left the State, are they still entitled to claim child benefit? If they have made applications and are working in the State, they are legally entitled to get the payment for children outside the State but what happens if they leave the State and work elsewhere?

Instead of attacking farmers and those on farm assist, we should immediately check this matter, which I will monitor over the next number of months. There should be an immediate investigation to find out how many people are drawing child benefit outside the State, whether they are working in the State and the last time an official from the Department of Social and Family Affairs checked to see whether they were in the State. I understand that a sizeable number of people are drawing child benefit who have left the State and who think that they are still entitled to the payment because they were once here.

They are robbing the taxpayers and I want an investigation into it immediately. The Minister's officials should leave alone the poor farmers who are hardly able to live on what they earn. Every day officials are out checking them to find out how much they got in agriculture payments. They would be better off going after the people who are defrauding the State rather than those who need money to live on a day-to-day basis.

My second point relates to the waiver charges, an issue I raised when I was social welfare spokesman. I ask the Minister and his officials in the Department to try to do something for people once and for all who must pay for refuse services. I ask that it be included as part of the household package with their units of electricity allowance, television licence and the free schemes for elderly people who are on a low income. That is the biggest rip-off affecting elderly people and they are finding it very difficult. The local authorities have washed their hands in terms of responsibility for refuse. They have handed it over to the private sector but those in the private sector have no respect. They are robbing old people. There is no waiver scheme in place. When the Minister gives an increase in social welfare, the local authorities take a major part of that increase and now it is being used in respect of refuse collection. I ask the Minister to investigate that immediately.

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