Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

Older people rely on the fuel allowance and I am delighted the Government has been very conscious of that. It recognises that elderly people suffer the most during cold winter times. I acknowledge what the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, has done by increasing this allowance by 11%, bringing the weekly payment to €20. That forms part of a €30 million package which, in the current climate, is significant. The duration of the fuel allowance has been increased by two weeks to 32 weeks beginning next April. The Department is in the process of a policy review on State pensions. The new framework is expected to be announced by the end of the year and I look forward to it.

Some €56 million has been made available to improve the social welfare package for families and children. Over 30,000 families will avail of this increased funding. There is a €2 increase in the qualifying child payment, meaning parents will receive an additional €26 per child on top of their basic social welfare payments. All family income supplement threshold incomes have been increased by €10, bringing an additional 2,000 families into the net of entitlement under this scheme. The income threshold for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance has also increased and that allows an extra 18,000 families to benefit. While child benefit will no longer be paid to non-qualifying children over the age of 18 beyond 2009, a compensatory payment of €15 per week will be paid to disadvantaged families who receive social welfare payments for qualifying children aged over 18.

The early childhood supplement is expected to cost almost €400 million, another significant figure, with the aim of supporting parents with the expense of child care. Minor changes have been made to pay periods and age eligibility resulting in a saving to the Department of €93 million, which has been put to very good use elsewhere. A further €500,000 is to be given to the family support agency to develop a programme in support of parenting skills. Every Deputy recognises the need for such a programme in each of our constituencies.

People of working age will benefit from increases in social welfare payments. Increases of €6.50 a week will be applied to jobseeker's benefit, illness benefit, disability allowance, one-parent family payment, carer's benefit and carer's allowance. An additional €4.80 will be added to all payments in respect of each qualifying adult. All Members of the House should recognise that the increase in question is substantial in the context of this country's current financial constraints. Savings are being made in other areas. Changes are to be made to the qualifying contributions of those applying for payments under schemes like jobseeker's allowance. People will have to demonstrate they have worked for a longer period of time before they are entitled to get jobseeker's allowance. That change has been made in recognition of the financial constraints on the Exchequer. I hope we will be in a position to increase the benefit again in a couple of years when the economy picks up once more.

We are all familiar with the work done by carers, often in our own families. We owe such people a great debt of gratitude for the work they do. By increasing the amount of money paid to recipients of carer's allowance who are over the age of 66 by €7, to €239, the Government has shown that it recognises the importance of the work of carers. A similar increase of €6.50, to €220.50, will be made available to recipients of the allowance who are under the age of 66. A further increase of €6.50, to €221.20, will apply to those who receive the carer's benefit and constant attendance allowances. Carers do marvellous work for the elderly and infirm in our society. I pay tribute to them because without them, society would be much less well-off.

My friends on the Opposition benches were engaging in the usual scaremongering recently when they suggested the Christmas bonus would not be paid to social welfare recipients. I am delighted the Minister and the Government have confirmed the bonus will be paid as normal. I have spoken to people who recognise the Government's generosity in this respect. Many people, including old age pensioners, were expecting a tough budget. They were worried they might not get the same amount of money in this area as they were previously getting. I thank the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, for making an expeditious decision in this regard. I acknowledge her generosity, which is appreciated by the elderly people of this State. It is nice that they got the news early to allow them to plan for Christmas.

When one examines the overall state of the country's finances, it is clear this social welfare package is most generous. It would have been reasonable to assume that no increases could be made. Many people believed that greater restrictions and reductions in benefits would be necessary. Successive Fianna Fáil Governments have looked after this country's older people. As a backbench Deputy, I think that is how it should be. The people in question built up this country to bring it to where it is. They are entitled to receive our support.

I would like to make some comments in the overall context of budgetary issues. I refer to the problems being encountered by big countries throughout the world, such as the United States, Britain, Germany and our European neighbours. Some of those problems are caused by the downturn in the global economy and the banking crisis, which started in the US. Massive corporations like Lehman Brothers have collapsed. We should recognise that these are extraordinary times. It should be acknowledged that the Government took decisive action when it put in place the bank guarantee scheme. If that had not been done, we would not be talking about increases in the social welfare package. We would have to deal with major financial difficulties. I do not doubt that our Opposition colleagues will decry the scheme. They should recognise that Fianna Fáil and its partners in government have shown leadership on the banking issue. The decisive action we have taken has saved this country's banking institutions and benefited our economy as a whole.

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