Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)

There has been much discussion about protecting the weakest and most vulnerable in society. Minister after Minister has come into the House to give assurances that they will be protected. I need to know how this protection will be ensured given the likelihood of significant cuts. Not alone will they be unprotected, they are already suffering. There is a need for home help but not alone is the huge demand for home help not being met, in the case of existing services the hours are being cut back. I have been contacted by a large number of concerned constituents about this in recent weeks. I have noticed a subtle shift of emphasis in regard to the granting of medical cards, again in regard to the people most in need of them. If the people we describe as most in need are not being protected now, how will they be protected when the cuts kick in? We were told that money for health and education would effectively be ring-fenced. However, already in the health area people are clearly not being protected. I worry about the day when the cuts kick in. We now know that in the case of health, money has not been ring-fenced.

During Private Members' business on the past two evenings we debated at length the pulling out of the Bernard McNamara consortium from public private partnerships. One of those directly affects St. Michael's Estate in my constituency. For ten years this area has been waiting for that development to go ahead. It has been brought forward and moved back and there have been various shifts in regard to it. Now, we know for sure that the developer is gone and these people are left in limbo. What is the plan in regard to them? We debated this and the blame is being sprinkled all over the place, but ultimately it comes back to the Government. Again, we are moving into lean economic times and cuts. When times were good we could not deliver on the critical housing needs of this very vulnerable sector. What hope do we have now that the money is no longer available? I would like a commitment, not platitudes. Over the past two evenings we heard nothing but platitudes from every Government speaker and promises were made to take effective action. Let us hear what that action will be and how it will be delivered.

There is an ever-growing number of schools in my constituency that are in need of serious refurbishment or new buildings. Some of those needs date back ten years. Inchicore national school, Scoil Mhuire Óg in Crumlin, Loreto secondary school and, most recently, Our Lady's in Templeogue have been in touch with me and my constituency colleagues. All of them are on a waiting list and all have received a "cut and paste" answer from the Minister to the effect that he will be in touch. That is all they are being told. We are told there will be no cuts in education. Can we be assured of the capital programme that is so urgently needed for those schools and for the parents and pupils who have waited patiently?

We are told there is no need to panic. In regard to the threat of job losses, if one receives the number of requests I have received from people looking for advice on financial management and being sent on to MABS, one might start thinking that perhaps there is reason to panic, to be concerned about what people will do when they are unemployed

Last week I obtained from my colleague, Deputy Shortall, the figures relating to the numbers on the live register for last year and this year. In two of the social welfare offices that service my constituency there was an increase of 35% and 27%, respectively, for those two years. The total number on the live register from the two offices was an extra 1,682 compared to the same time last year. This information relates to a part of the city that was neglected and was just beginning to improve. If we are to have chronic unemployment, what chance is there for those people? What is the Government doing to ensure those people have a future to look forward to?

I want to refer to the cuts in arts, sport and tourism. The savings here come to a proposed €6 million. The capital programme for the National Sports Campus Development Authority is being deferred. What will happen to the contracts that were signed in April with the design team and the project management team?

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