Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to discuss the Bill, which is generally designed in line with the Minister's thinking. Reference was made to transferring responsibility for FÁS from the Minister for Education and Skills to the Minister for Social Protection, which is a radical and positive step. None of us will resile from the criticisms of FÁS, which were eloquently detailed by Deputy Feighan. While I do not agree with all he says, what has happened in FÁS must never happen again in any institution in the State. It was a disgrace and took away from the good name of those many staff members working at the front line in FÁS over the years, who have been under particular pressure in the past two years. It is welcome that it will move Department. While it is a technical change, it is very important nonetheless.

The Bill also provides for FÁS staff to be integrated into the Department of Social Protection, which is necessary. The restructuring guarantees that all the services will be under one roof and delivered more efficiently. Integrating the staff into the Department also has the impact of combining all the knowledge so people will not just go to the Department of Social Protection seeking money or a handout but seeking a hand up and help in regard to training and education. That is the best way forward.

Despite all the criticism of the Government's activation plans in regard to training schemes, many have done very well out of them and received an excellent education in recent years through training schemes such as the back to education scheme. There are, of course, others who are not satisfied, of whom we have certainly heard. However, the Minister will use all of his skills to ensure as many people as possible are brought into that system, thereby ensuring a satisfactory outcome for them and the wider economy by ultimately making them better prepared for jobs.

People ask where are the jobs. The point is that we must train workers in new skills. We must forget the building industry for many of those who used to work in it because, unfortunately, they will never work in it again because we will never again build houses at the rate we were doing so. I hate to say this. It is an issue I raised at a joint meeting of the Committee on Social and Family Affairs and the Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment in the summer of 2008, as the crisis began to hit. FÁS was telling us all about the great schemes it had to get people back to work in the building trade and I made the point that a huge proportion of those people will never work in the building trade again. It is very important that they are given excellent opportunities to train in areas that employers will find attractive, particularly foreign investors coming into the country who should find a trained workforce that is fit for purpose.

The rent supplement changes made under the Bill might be described as technical but they are necessary to ensure that landlords claiming rent supplement are tax compliant. It is just another way of bringing them into the net. The HSE must now be provided with the tax reference number of the landlord. There is an interesting provision whereby the landlord is allowed to say he or she is non-resident for tax purposes. My understanding is that if a tenant is paying rent to a landlord in that circumstance, the tenant is liable to return a certain amount of money to the Revenue Commissioners. Perhaps the Minister could check to see if this has any wider implications. It is an onerous obligation on tenants as well as on estate agents who deal with non-resident landlords. I hope nothing in the Bill will add to the burden on tenants. If the house is rented through an agent, I understand the responsibility for the landlord is with the agent. While I do not claim to be an expert in this field, it is an issue I have come across and it is worth investigating.

I would like to see more radical changes in the rent supplement system, as would the Minister. I accept it is difficult in current financial circumstances but I must agree with the criticisms, not of the Minister, but of the policy in that it is a disincentive to employment. There are no two ways about it. If someone wants to enter work and faces the prospect of losing rent supplement, it is a tremendous disincentive. The issue must be dealt with in a fair way. This idea of time-limiting the supplement also creates difficulty. At a fundamental level, we need to keep food on the table and ensure shelter, and the rent supplement certainly keeps many people sheltered in nice homes, by and large, though there are some problems. It is an issue, but making landlords more tax compliant will result in more money for the Revenue Commissioners. There will be more efficient services in the Department of Social Protection, including the electronic signature process for certification of some of those on jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's benefit. Much work is being done to tackle fraud. Only this week my wife received a letter regarding child benefit. I do not know why she was targeted for review but we signed the form-----

See this speech in context