Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

This Bill will give legislative effect to the 2010 Budget Statement. As Minister for Social and Family Affairs, I am conscious of the needs of more than 400,000 people on the live register. I also fully understand that a wide range of other groups, such as people with disabilities, carers and pensioners, depend on the welfare budget for vital support. I assure the House that the Government, in the context of a tough budgetary environment, has done its utmost to protect the most vulnerable in society.

While I appreciate that the cuts we make in the welfare area will not be easy for people, I genuinely believe that if the Government does not take steps now to reduce overall public expenditure and restore stability to the public finances, we risk making the economic situation far worse for everyone, including welfare recipients, in the long term.

In 2010, €21.1 billion will be spent on social welfare. This is €676 million or 3.3% more than the expected final expenditure figure of €20.4 billion for 2009. The pre-budget outlook published by the Government last month estimated that if no changes were made to welfare payments in 2010, expenditure on welfare would be almost €22.3 billion next year. The Government is introducing cuts in welfare rates and schemes that will generate savings of €762 million in 2010 vis-À-vis the pre-budget estimate. This will reduce overall public expenditure and improve the financial incentive for jobseekers to take up work or training.

In doing so, we have avoided making any cuts in the State pension and fully protected more than 420,000 children in welfare dependent and low income families from cuts in child benefit. We have also ensured that cuts in weekly rates for those aged under 66 years are lower than the decreases in prices over the past year or thereabouts and the value of the euro for welfare recipients is better in real terms.

Before I detail the areas where changes are being made, I will first outline the supports being maintained at their current levels to provide reassurance to people who were concerned supports may have been cut. As I indicated, pensions and other payments to people aged more than 66 years, including payments for pensioners' dependent spouses who are aged under 66 years, are not being cut. This means more than 474,000 people aged over 66 years are being fully protected in the budget. Extra allowances which are paid to pensioners who live alone and those who are aged over 80 years will continue at their current rates. The household benefits package, which includes the free television licence, electricity-gas allowance and telephone allowance, is also being fully maintained, as are the fuel allowances and free travel scheme.

The half rate carers allowance scheme will stay in place. The half rate illness benefit and jobseeker's benefit payments for widows or lone parents will also remain. The additional payments for lone parents and people with a disability who participate on community employment schemes are also being retained. The domiciliary care allowance, paid to parents and guardians of severely disabled or ill children under 16 years of age is not being cut. The value of the respite care grant is being maintained at €1,700 per annum. Funding for the 107 family resource centres and grants for counselling and mediation programmes are also being maintained. I mention these benefits because people were concerned that these elements would be hit in the budget. I am pleased we were in a position to maintain them at current levels.

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