Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

The Minister went on to say:

This additional payment will also be applicable where an 18 year old is in receipt of disability allowance in his or her own right. Compensatory payments will be paid to the person who was receiving the child benefit for the 18 year old in question. In addition, the back to school clothing and footwear allowance will be increased by €215 to €520 per annum for eligible 18 year olds.

It is important to rectify the impression being given that no parent of a child of 18 years or older will be entitled to any type of child benefit payment. As the Minister indicated, those who are dependent on social welfare will receive additional benefits.

The Minister also spoke at length on the role of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, and the Combat Poverty Agency. Again, the message has gone out that these agencies will be disbanded and their staff let go. That is incorrect. This Bill will amend the Citizens Information Acts 2002 to 2007 so as to enhance the functions of the Citizens Information Board through the assignment to it of a responsibility for the provision of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service. MABS staff provide a highly valuable service to people who are in debt and who need help and advice in coping with debt problems.

I can testify to the usefulness of the service provided by MABS, having put several constituents in touch with it. On all occasions, the advice provided was very welcome and helpful. We must ensure the necessary supports are in place for the staff in these agencies. Under the proposed new structure, advice will be available to them which is not available today. It is important also to point out that the status of the 53 independent MABS companies with voluntary boards of management will not be changed. Nor will the employment status of the 240 employees who provide the local services. These people are not in danger of losing their jobs as a result of the provisions in this Bill.

The Bill imposes certain curtailments in respect of such payments as jobseeker's benefit, illness benefit and health and safety benefit. Currently, people who have paid just 52 weekly contributions in total qualify without restriction for these benefits. The Bill proposes that these benefits can be claimed for 12 months, after which claimants must move onto a means test basis. Under the current illness benefit procedure, by contrast, welfare is provided without time limitations. A forthcoming OECD review identifies this provision as unusual across the OECD, and for good reason. As the report observes, there is a great risk that people in such circumstances will never return to the labour force. Therefore, the Government's proposed changes seek to provide an incentive for recipients to seek re-employment and to discourage advantageous welfare dependency.

Illness benefit is designed to provide income replacement for insured persons during short spells of incapacity or illness. It is important to note that other payments are available to people who must remain out of employment for a long period because of a disability or medical condition. However, given that there is currently no limit on the amount of time for which illness benefit can be paid to people who have more than 260 social insurance contributions, more than 28,000 persons have been receiving the payment for more than two years. The Government has decided to change the entitlement to illness benefit to two years' duration for claims arising after 5 January 2009. However, existing claimants will not be affected and their conditions will continue under the current guidelines unless they cease claiming for more than three days, wherein the new rules will apply.

Existing schemes such as the back-to-work and back-to-education schemes which are aimed at people in receipt of illness benefit for two years or more will continue as before as an incentive for recipients to return to the job market. If the employment is not successful and claimants return to illness benefit within 26 weeks, they will retain their previous entitlement to illness benefits. Existing arrangements for claimants who avail of the carer's allowance will also be maintained. Again, it is important to get the message across that people are not being thrown to the wolves and that benefits remain available to them.

The Minister has amended the previous decision on changes to the domiciliary care allowance and disability allowance. The initial proposal was to extend the age requirement in both cases from 16 years to 18 years for new claimants. I understand these changes were proposed by some within the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies who deemed the age for receipt of domiciliary allowance to be too low. They observed that it offered no incentive to children to pursue work or education options and might encourage them to "fall into the dependency trap too early".

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