Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I am fervently opposed to any cut in child benefit. One thing we can say about this Government is that it is consistent when it comes to cuts. I will give it that. It consistently expects the poor, the unemployed, pensioners and low-paid workers in the private and public sectors to bear the brunt of its plans to come out of an economic crisis. I shall return to the Government's plan, if such exists.

The Government seems hell-bent on finding money in places where cuts will be most damaging while remaining intent on protecting the wealthy, the banks and developers. What does this tell us about the Government's perception of what Irish society should be? It is shameful. The Government seems intent on adding to the inequality which grew during the Celtic tiger years. During the recession years it will increase that inequality and make those on low incomes and low pay who are struggling to make ends meet pay for the mistakes, the mismanagement and the bad planning of this and previous Fianna Fáil Governments and their friends, the developers.

The child benefit payment provides much needed support for parents who leave the workforce in order to care for their children. For those still working, it contributes to the crippling cost of child care fees. Child care costs in Ireland are far above the EU average. Irish families spend 20% of their income on full-time creche facilities, compared to 12% spent by families in the rest of Europe. Child care costs are so high that they are now out of reach of most people on low incomes and many of those on middle incomes. One must add to that the high costs of food, fuel and electricity prices in Ireland, the high cost of free education and the general high cost of living for those on or near the poverty line.

The impact of the proposals to cut child benefit will force many women, in particular, out of work and will leave women working in the home with less support. For families where women are now the main breadwinners, it will cause increased financial hardship, strain and stress on the family at a time when support is most needed. Families with massive mortgages will find the child benefit cut to be another setback as they try to manage to keep their heads above water. This is especially true for those families who, regrettably, have lost a job or two jobs, and are struggling to cope with the change from a time when they could afford the different services to now, when they are totally dependent on social welfare payments.

There are very few on the opposite side of the House, or, indeed, on this side, who have ever had to survive on social welfare payments alone. Very few of us in this House have been dependent for months or years on a social welfare payment. It is not something I ever wished on anybody but I wish that members of the Government would be made unemployed and that they had to suffer and live in poverty on the breadline for a number of months. I do not say that lightly because it is not something one would wish on another person. However, if a person were to live on social welfare, he or she might at least have some understanding of the consequences of cuts in social welfare payments and of leaving people for months and years dependent on social welfare, and the effects on their mindset, their children and the community in which they live.

That is exactly what is happening now. The Government has no plan in place to rescue from the dole queues the 420,000 people who are now unemployed. We have not seen a job creation package. The easiest way of dealing with the large social welfare bill facing the Exchequer is to make people employed again. That will not be done by cutting social welfare payments or reducing child benefit.

Let us not forget there have already been significant cuts in child benefit in the past two budgets. Now, in dire financial times, many people need help most and, by the looks of it, they are going to be most hit once again by the Government. Already in April, many of the families that will be targeted by this cut were targeted when they lost the Christmas bonus. That cut is nothing short of Scrooge-like, removing the little top-up for those who are dependent. We must remember that it was only those people who are entirely dependent on social welfare who received the Christmas bonus. They will be the ones affected by the cut. There is no logic to this because, apart from those dependent on welfare, the people hit most will be the local businesses, shops and suppliers of fuel to the pensioners who will not get that payment. The Christmas bonus payment did not sit in a rich man's or woman's bank account but was spent immediately. It needed to be spent to bring a bit of festive cheer to many families, particularly children, but also to heat pensioners' homes.

That is the small-mindedness of the Government. It does not understand the consequences and does not poverty-proof any of its actions. What it does is slash and burn. It does not care as long as the bankers and developers are not affected. It hits the people it sees as not having a voice. However, they have a voice in this House and that is why I support this motion. It gives a voice to the hundreds of thousands of people who will be affected by any cut in social welfare.

Orla O'Connor, head of policy for the National Women's Council of Ireland, said: "At a time when it is reported that €300 million has been lost in the deal to save Anglo Irish Bank, the obsessive focus by the Government in cutting Child Benefit as if it was the only source of saving at this critical time is unacceptable". It is unacceptable to target the poor in society now, or at any time. Those who have money must pay most. One taxes the rich, not the poor. I urge the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Haughey, to bring the message home to the Minister for Finance and the rest of the Cabinet that this is unacceptable.

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