Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Brady for sharing time. I am delighted to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is a very tough and imaginative Bill and there is nothing wrong with that when one is being fair, and the Minister is fair in every aspect of this. I welcome it and hope we see more of it over the coming months and years under his stewardship.

Fianna Fáil in Government has had the best interests of the most vulnerable at the core of our budgets over many years and despite the recent economic downturn, we have continued to ensure that people most at risk are provided for. This is borne out by the fact that €500 million more has been spent on welfare this year than in 2009. The Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010, introduced into the house by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Ó Cuív, contains a number of amendments to existing social welfare legislation. One of the main provisions set out in sections 17 and 18, is the change to unemployment benefit payments if a person refuses to accept a job or training deemed suitable. That is not unrealistic or unfair. If somebody is offered a job and is unwilling to interact and be proactive in terms of seeking training and education, why should they not be penalised to a degree? In some ways I would go further but that may be for another day. I welcome what the Minister has initiated.

This Government is committed to getting as many people back into employment and training as possible. For example, this year the total number of training and work experience activation places funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation will be approximately 147,000. A question was asked on whether the places would be there when people were offered suitable training courses, and the answer is clearly "Yes". Some €20 million has also been allocated to a labour market activation fund, which will seek to support innovative proposals over and above mainstream provision for the unemployed and it is expected that it will provide at least 3,500 training places this year alone.

In the area of youth unemployment the work placement programme is available which comprises 2,000 places, of which 1,000 are for graduates in addition to community centre and VEC schemes. This is just a small fraction of the various schemes being driven by Government. We are providing training and work placement opportunities and where there are appropriate work and training opportunities, people who choose not to participate should be sanctioned. Most people would agree that one cannot have a system without a sanction mechanism in place.

One of the current conditions to obtain jobseekers allowance is that the person must be available for and actively seeking work, and this new provision will ensure that people who are in a position to work or participate in training will be far more incentivised to do so. Another provision is the change to the one parent family payment. Now the one parent family payment is payable until the youngest child reaches 18 years of age or 22 years of age if in full-time education where means and other conditions are met. From April 2011 payments for new customers will only be made until the youngest child in a lone parent family reaches the age of 13. In comparison to other countries which have similar schemes, the Irish system of support until the child is 22 years of age while in education or 18 years if not in education is extremely generous and well above the norm. We are making changes but we will still be above the European average and are very competitive in terms of these aspects.

There is a special provision for married and cohabiting couples who are recently bereaved and who have children aged 13 years or older. They will continue to receive the payment for up to two years or until their child is 18 years old to enable them to come to terms with their changed circumstances. That is a particularly welcome provision because it shows that it is not a one size fits all approach. Exceptions are made and there is compassion within the system. There will also be special provisions for families with children for whom domiciliary care allowance is paid.

The reason for these changes is that the Government believes the current system encourages long-term welfare dependency and does not encourage movement away from income support. The changes in this Bill will bring Ireland's support for lone parents more in line with international provisions. The EU countries that are achieving the best outcomes in terms of tackling child poverty are those that are combining strategies aimed at facilitating access to employment and enabling services such as child care with income support and this is the type of system that the Government wants to move towards. Whether we have economic difficulties, this is the system towards which we should move. The Bill also provides for the Minister to appoint persons other than serving staff to be appeals officers. This will allow for the employment, on a temporary basis, of retired appeals officers as appeals officers to clear the huge backlogs of appeals office, which is another welcome aspect in the Bill.

The Opposition attempts to give the impression that it is the guardian of the vulnerable, but as the recent decision by Dublin City Council to abolish the bin waiver scheme proves, this simply is not the case. This unnecessary and disappointing decision was taken in late 2009, when the majority Fine Gael and Labour Council voted in favour of it, and its full impact is now starting to be felt. The six Fianna Fáil councillors voted against the budget but were unfortunately outnumbered. Under the new system, those people who were previously entitled to a waiver do not have to pay a standing charge, but have to pay for their bin lifts. If people keep up to date with their payments they will receive four free lifts a year. Individuals who use the bag system and were receiving free bag tags will now get 36 tags a year and will have to pay for any tags over that amount. This move, which was passed by the majority Labour vote on Dublin City Council, has unfortunately exposed the old and the vulnerable to more expense, and could have been avoided if the Labour Party and Fine Gael had worked to re-organise rather than abolish the scheme and the waste management section in Dublin City Council.

The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society. The provisions in this Bill, as well as continuing this protection, will encourage people who are in a position to do so to enter training, education and work and move away from State reliance. It is important to put it into context, in terms of the increases in pensions and welfare payments over the years. In the past decade, pension rates and unemployment benefits have increased by 130% and child benefit increased by more than 330%. During the same period, the cost of living increased by 40%. This is a tough, fair and imaginative Bill and I welcome it.

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