Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

We could all speak for 20 minutes on this subject and highlight savings. It galled me to hear the Minister for Social and Family Affairs refer to her savings plan. Some €25 million will be saved in anti-fraud initiatives. Why were these not done over the past 11 years?

The fact we are paying child care costs in Warsaw, Tallinn and Riga has been highlighted by my colleagues. This is because we do not have our act together to bring in legislation in respect of the early child care supplement. The Minister did not refer to that during her contribution. It was brushed under the carpet. Some €1,100 per year is spent on every child under the age of six in Warsaw, Tallinn and Riga or other member states when the parent resides in Ireland. I have no difficulty with every child resident in this country, no matter what his or her background, receiving that payment but I cannot see the justification for the current situation. The Government continues to ignore it, while we are subventing the payment of child care in other EU countries. The Minister made no reference to that.

The Minister referred to €25 million of extra savings in anti-fraud initiatives yet in respect of child benefit, some €36 million per year in fraud is being detected by the Department of Social and Family Affairs. Of all the areas, child benefit should be easy to resolve because we should know whether a child was born in this country and registered. Some €30 million of that €36 million refers to Irish born children. Another €5.4 million concerns children, many of whom do not exist in other countries, where child benefit is being paid by the Irish taxpayer. Nevertheless, the Minister is only talking about savings of €25 million across the board.

Another galling area is justice. At the moment, in respect of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Department of Social and Family Affairs, social welfare and accommodation for asylum seekers is costing the taxpayer €521.25 per asylum seeker per week. It is taking up to eight years to process an application. It is not fair on those who genuinely seek asylum. It is not fair on the Irish taxpayer who must fund it. It would make more sense for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to use its consultancy money to bring in experts who can process these applications, ensuring people are dealt with fairly and quickly so that they get a decision rather than spending eight years wasting away in asylum accommodation.

Regarding the quality of the asylum accommodation, some €83 million was spent on asylum accommodation last year. In one facility, the public health nurse reported that the accommodation was so cramped that there was not room for babies to learn to crawl or toddlers to learn to walk. That is not value for money but it is occurring up and down the country.

The level of vacancies in the immigration services is one in five. We do not have the staff resources to process applications. It would make more sense to fill these vacancies, process the applications, give refugee status to those entitled to it and send home those who are not entitled to it rather than the way we are funding it at present.

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