Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

"So what?" somebody says. One would be talking about a cut of approximately €11 per week on jobseekers' payments instead of the proposed €8 per week, which would involve a €19 cut for a couple. Where else in the social welfare budget, over and above what we have done, would the Opposition make these cuts?

The Government, in a hugely challenging budgetary environment, has done its utmost to protect the most vulnerable in our society in these circumstances. The adjustments we have made cannot be viewed in isolation and must also be seen in the context of the fact that over the past decade the Government has trebled the social welfare budget, whereas, over the same period, prices of goods and services have increased by less than a third. The total increase in social welfare expenditure has gone from €6.7 billion in 2000 to a total expenditure of €20.9 billion in 2010. In that time, the Government has significantly extended coverage, removed barriers and increased entitlements, such that the level and extent of social support payments has been transformed beyond recognition.

We have maintained the half-rate carer's payment for those who have another social welfare payment and find themselves in a caring position. We have maintained all of the innovations that were introduced by the late Mr. Seamus Brennan when he was Minister for Social and Family Affairs. We changed the system fundamentally so that a person is only entitled to one payment from the system. We made carer's allowance the highest rate of social welfare payment in the social welfare code because we recognised-----

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