Noel Coonan (Tipperary North, Fine Gael)

I am delighted to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate and I compliment Deputy Enright on tabling the motion, which is opportune in light of the severe haemorrhaging of jobs nationally and, as the Minister of State is well aware, in our constituency of Tipperary North.

The Department of Social and Family Affairs provides an excellent service to Members and many Departments could take a leaf from its book in terms of the manner in which it responds to our queries. While I had much on my mind as I listened to the Minister of State, one of the most insulting comments she could have made about the excellent MABS service was that 90% of callers to its telephone help desk get assistance without needing to make an appointment. This comment was amazing and belittled the role of MABS and the serious effort made by its staff, much of it outside their own working hours.

The Minister of State was present when, almost 12 months ago at the start of the unemployment crisis, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin, visited Thurles in Tipperary North to open a new MABS office. They were told that the office did not have enough staff, amounting to one money adviser and one part-time administrator. The same pertained in Nenagh despite the constituency comprising 66,000 people. Subsequently, MABS applied to the Department of Social and Family Affairs for approval for a money adviser co-ordinator, but the application was rejected. This is the Government's opinion and is the subject matter of this motion. The current staff are doing an excellent job, but they cannot cope with the volume of work required.

I have been dealing with a constituent since April 2008 when he or she made an application for carer's allowance. However, the application was refused in July, a decision that my constituent appealed. The oral hearing was heard only this week, some 11 months later. Is this the service of which the Minister of State is proud and that she claims is good enough for the people during this crisis?

It has been interesting to listen to speaker after speaker confuse the issue of debt and to lay the blame for our difficulties on one factor after another without mentioning the roles played by the Government and greedy bankers. People must repay mortgages on properties that have entered negative equity because they were placed in that position by greedy people. I hope the Minister is listening to the debate and will take action.

To give another example, a woman in her late 20s is the mother of an 11 year old child who has been diagnosed with leukaemia. The grandmother made an application for carers allowance to look after her granddaughter and daughter. The case has been deferred because the medical evidence is not strong enough. It is not good enough for the doctors at the Department of Social and Family Affairs that an expert at St. James's Hospital has been treating the patient.

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