Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I thank Deputy Kelleher for his good wishes. I am unsure whether Fianna Fáil has decided on its spokespersons, but I welcome the Deputy here today.

The programme for Government contains a commitment to maintain social welfare rates. I cannot at this time give an explicit commitment on child benefit rates, as specific decisions on payment rates are made in a budgetary context. However, the Government considers it a priority that a more fundamental examination of our system of family and child income supports is required. It is for that reason we will ask the commission on taxation and social welfare, when established, to examine and make recommendations on these payments, with particular emphasis on addressing the cycle of child poverty. These are the commitments in the programme for Government. In the context of the commission on taxation and social welfare, the programme sets out a number of areas which will be examined, including the issue of child and family income supports and the issue of the self-employed and their relationship to the social insurance system.

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