Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

This social welfare Bill is the cutting edge of the knife wielded by the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government in budget 2009. It is an attack on the most vulnerable in society. Those who can least afford it are being made to pay for the failed economic policies of successive Fianna Fáil-led Governments for over a decade.

Make no mistake about it, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, the hardship now faced by the unemployed, by those dependent on social welfare, by older people and by children has come about not as a result of a world slump but because of a home-grown recession. A thriving economy was built by Irish workers in the mid-1990s. The basis for sustainable growth was laid. Fianna Fáil-led Governments from 1997 had it in their power to invest in sound infrastructure, develop efficient and equitable public services, foster industry to provide employment and raise revenue through exports to create an enhanced society as well as a prosperous economy.

What did they do instead? They saw a growing economy and decided, along with their friends the developers, the speculators and the bankers, to reap the rewards through ruthlessly exploiting the increased demand for housing and commercial property. They created a massive property bubble and a perilous over-dependence on construction for employment. The result is all too plain to see. The bubble has burst. Construction employment has collapsed. Government revenue has gone through the floor. Families are mortgaged to the hilt and many are losing their homes. Negative equity is rife and the full consequences for individuals, families, companies and financial institutions have yet to be seen.

All of this was predictable. Sinn Féin and others on the left in this House, as well as independent economists and social commentators, constantly highlighted the folly and injustice of Government economic policy. Introducing the Bill, the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, said the Government "has had to make some difficult decisions in order to secure our economic future". The right decisions should have been made a long time ago. The Government of which the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, has been a member for eight years has made the wrong decisions. Collectively, it has squandered the boom and now it is making the poor pay for its folly.

In August, an all-Ireland study on health and equality was published by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland and the Combat Poverty Agency, the latter of which the Government is now silencing. The report showed that in the 26 counties, 38% of those at risk of poverty — that is, living on an income of less than €202.50 per week — reported suffering from a chronic illness, compared to 23% of the general population. In the Six Counties, 47% of unskilled workers suffer from long-standing illness compared to 30% of professionals and managers. Budget 2009 and this social welfare Bill will result in even deeper health inequalities in this State. The incomes of low paid workers, the unemployed and a whole range of people dependent on social welfare will clearly suffer.

The Bill is especially mean-spirited in its attack on the benefits available for the masses of people becoming unemployed. The October 2008 live register and the seasonally adjusted figures for people signing on were up by a massive 57%, or 94,800, compared to October 2007. Redundancy figures were up 50% on October last year to an all time high of 32,076 or 729 per week. More than a quarter of a million people are now unemployed. Against this background, incredibly, the Government is actually cutting benefits for the unemployed. People will now need to have been employed for two years to qualify for jobseeker's benefit. The payment period for this benefit has been shortened from 15 months to 12 months, after which the unemployed person must to drop to the means tested jobseeker's allowance.

Can the Minister or any of her backbenchers put themselves in the position of a young construction worker, unemployed for the first time, with a young family and a mortgage? Can any of them imagine the plight of that young person? That worker now faces the shock of the dole queue, reduced social welfare benefits, price inflation, higher costs for health care and few prospects for employment in the short or medium term. This Government's policy has created unemployment and now it is penalising the unemployed. Shame on it.

The minimum adult social welfare increase of €6.50 to €204.30 is wiped out by inflation and is, in effect, a cut. The same goes for the paltry €7 per week increase in pensions, while the living alone allowance has not been increased at all. The €2 increase in fuel allowance can be seen as nothing short of an insult. So much for the Government's claimed special concern for older people. We saw the hypocrisy of that claim in the removal of the automatic entitlement to a medical card for the over 70s, which has been long debated in this House. Another especially mean-spirited cut is the ending of child benefit for 18 year olds. This will hit low income families most badly and will have the effect of driving many young people out of education. For an 18 year old, child benefit can make the difference between continuing in education, albeit with a real struggle, and being unable to continue due to the inability of the family to support the young person through that vital year. I have no doubt this measure will result in reduced numbers completing the leaving certificate. Young people from low income families will be going into a depressed employment market without basic qualifications. It is another extremely damaging and therefore short-sighted measure. Low-income families, especially those just above the poverty line and those who do not qualify for medical cards, will be especially badly hit by the 1% income levy. The VAT increase will also have a disproportionately adverse effect on these families.

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul reports that 800 people attended a crisis meeting of the organisation in Dublin last weekend to discuss how to cope with what it has described as a "soaring demand" — I repeat, a soaring demand — for its services. Calls for help have increased by almost 40% since last year. The society is an independent charity, so at least it is somewhat insulated from the ravages of the Government. These include the effective abolition of the Combat Poverty Agency, which has done so much to highlight the inequalities sponsored and presided over by this Government over many years and to advocate sounder policies which this Government has patently ignored.

This social welfare Bill is totally unacceptable and Sinn Féin will reject it at every turn.

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