Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill, although we were given very short notice. The Bill could be described as a mixed bag. Overall, the Labour Party supports and welcomes it. However, we have reservations regarding certain aspects of the Bill and we will deal with these by way of the introduction of amendments.

The Minister referred to the level to which the cost of social welfare has increased in recent years. There is no doubt the current bill of €24 billion is massive. However, it is important to clearly outline why that amount is so high. The cost of social welfare is as it stands at present because the rate of unemployment has increased substantially. Every person who loses his or her job costs the State in the region of €21,000 per year. That is the real shame and indictment of the Government, which in recent years completely ignored the importance of protecting existing employment and creating new jobs.

Most Cabinet Ministers have become fixated on tackling the huge issue relating to the banks. However, the Government took its eye off the ball in the context of ensuring that employment would be placed centre stage. No work has been done in this area and there was no consideration of the kind of supports to be put in place or of the work that needed to be done to protect the maximum number of existing jobs and to encourage the creation of new ones. That has been a huge failing of the Government in recent years and it is the reason the bill for social welfare is so high.

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