Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The Bill described as the Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009 could be known as many things, quite obviously one of them is as an emigration Bill for those aged up to 24 who find themselves unemployed because that is exactly what it is. It is a recipe for emigration and encouragement for young people to leave these shores. It is not, as the Minister claimed yesterday, about keeping them close to the work ethic. Quite clearly, it is about dissuading them from remaining on these shores. It contains many other elements, as I indicated earlier. Quite disgracefully, in the list of cuts entailed in the Bill is a further cut of €36 per month from people providing essential care in the homes of countless thousands of Irish citizens. That is a shameful action on the part of the Government. The Bill is being rushed through today and tomorrow to facilitate the conscience and nerve of the backbenchers of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party. That is what it is all about.

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