Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy John Moloney, for sharing his time in this fashion. I am glad to have a few minutes to speak on the issue. I am sorry Deputy Costello has left the Chamber because he asked what we would say to Europe when it comes a-calling to find out what we were doing to eliminate poverty in 2010, which will be the eliminate poverty year. When it comes a-calling, we will say that in a time of very difficult economic circumstances, even allowing for the changes we have provided in the Social Welfare Bill, €21.1 billion will be spent on social welfare in 2010, which is €676 million or 3.3% more than what is expected to be the outcome figure for this year. We will be telling Europe that we are budgeting 3.3% more for 2010 than we budgeted for 2009.

I remember from my time in education when they would talk about cuts, yet the expenditure would have increased. That is the case this year with social welfare. Expenditure has increased by 3.3%, but nobody wants to talk about that or recognise that it has happened in a time of great difficulty.

I want to mention the carers because like every other Deputy in this House we all met with groups of carers in recent months not just at the centralised arrangement which took place in Buswell's Hotel, but also at local level. There is a carers' representative in the midlands and she came to see me at my clinic with a group of people who were in receipt of the half-rate carer's allowance. The thrust of their argument was that they would be left with the half-rate carer's allowance. I remember it distinctly because they were vehement in their exhortations to me that they would be left with the half-rate carer's allowance. For some reason, a rumour went around that the half-rate carer's allowance was to be abolished, bearing in mind that it only came in in 2007, and I suppose they thought it would be targeted for removal in 2009 but it was not, and I am happy it was not.

There were no cuts in the carer's allowance or other allowances for those over 66 and the half-rate carer's allowance was retained, and there has been great acknowledgement of that.

I freely admit this has been in the midst of receiving many telephone calls, or meeting disgruntled people, perhaps from mothers with children in particular. While I accept this, I also accept that child benefit rose greatly in recent years and simply could not continue to rise in such a fashion. In particular, I wish to record that I have met people who have told me they were glad the half-carer's allowance was kept as a payment. I also wish to pay tribute, because from desultory and brief conversations with the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin, in recent months-----

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