Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Labour)

Like the previous speaker, I am delighted to speak on this motion. I welcome some of the comments that have been made. Good ideas are emerging as part of the reform agenda, particularly from members of the Opposition. Fianna Fáil has left us with a level of social expenditure that is completely out of sync with the State's capacity to meet the social welfare needs that exist. That is a consequence of 14 years of giveaway Fianna Fáil budgets that brought the country to near ruination. When the Government came to power earlier this year, it quickly realised that the country could not afford the bill that Fianna Fáil had left it. We realised that we needed to place the funding of the social welfare system on a more sustainable footing.

One of the core commitments in the programme for Government is restoration of this country's fiscal stability and economic sovereignty. As Deputies know, overall expenditure under this year's budget will be approximately €18 billion more than this year's overall Government income. The Government will get €42 billion from tax and PRSI this year. The Department of Social Protection is expected to spend €20 billion this year. Therefore, a transition to a more balanced budgetary position cannot be made without affecting the delivery of social services. The EU-IMF agreement commits the Government to a further adjustment of €3.6 billion in the 2012 budget. The Deputies opposite signed off on that agreement when they were in government.

The Department of Social Protection has a major contribution to make in achieving a more balanced budget, as it accounts for almost 39% of expenditure. The EU-IMF agreement commits the Department to reforms that can better support families with lower incomes, while ensuring that work pays and that welfare recipients receive adequate support. The Department accounts for 39% of gross current expenditure, which is equivalent to 13% of GDP. Most of the Department's expenditure, including associated administrative costs, can be divided into a number of broad areas.

A wide range of supports for people of working age account for approximately 50% of the Department's overall expenditure, or nearly €12 billion. Jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's benefit account for €3.6 billion. Just over €1.1 billion is spent on one-parent family payments. Carers receive nearly €750 million. Pensions and other supports for retired and older people account for nearly 29% of the Department's overall expenditure, or nearly €6.1 billion. Almost 60% of that, or over €3.6 billion, goes on the State contributory pension, which is the single biggest social welfare scheme. A further €951 million is required for the State non-contributory pension and €920 million is required for the widow's and widower's non-contributory pensions. Support for children and families accounts for almost 12% of expenditure, or nearly €4 billion. It is estimated that almost €669 million is spent on qualified child increases while €199 million is spent on family income supplement.

The manner in which the service is delivered is critically important to this debate. The service provided by the Department affects the lives of almost everyone in the State. In 2010, the Department processed approximately 2 million claims and made over 84 million payment transactions. Over 6 million telephone calls were received at the headquarters section. Almost 1 million reviews were conducted by the Department last year. In 2011, an average of 1.4 million people will receive a social welfare payment each week. When qualified adults and children are included, a total of more than 2 million people will benefit from weekly payments. In addition, child benefit payments will reach nearly 600,000 families, with nearly 1.1 million children affected positively every month.

The programme for Government states that the most positive way of reducing social welfare expenditure is to facilitate the maximum number of unemployed people to take up employment or self-employment. The Government's jobs initiative has already started that process. The rate of employer's PRSI in respect of employees on the national minimum wage has been halved from 8.5% to 4.25%. VAT has been reduced from 13.5% to 9% on a range of tourism related products and services. The introduction of the national internship scheme, JobBridge, gives work experience to unemployed people in the form of placements of between six and nine months.

JobBridge has assisted in breaking the cycle whereby jobseekers were unable to get jobs without having experience, either as new entrants in the labour market after education or training or as unemployed workers wishing to learn new skills. The scheme gives people a real opportunity to gain valuable experience to bridge the gap between study and beginning work. JobBridge and the national internship scheme are part of the Government's job initiative and were launched on 1 July this year. Claimants continue to receive their primary social welfare payment as well as a €50 additional payment for participating in the scheme. As of Thursday, 27 October, a total of 2,508 internship opportunities with host organisations were available on the Department's website. Some 2,185 interns have commenced internships under the JobBridge scheme to date. Some 630 of them have converted from work placements.

JobBridge exists to assist individuals to bridge the gap between unemployment and the world of work. It aims to assist individuals of all levels of skill, ranging from those who left school early to highly qualified graduates. It is a unique opportunity to develop new skills and earn valuable experience. Feedback on the scheme has revealed that many excellent internships have been offered to non-graduates in the retail and catering sectors. Participants are learning new skills, staying in touch with the labour market and putting themselves in a better position for full-time employment. The JobBridge scheme contains a number of measures to minimise displacement. Host organisations must declare that none of their participants is displacing an employee. The JobBridge team checks applications, where possible, to ensure vacancies advertised on the FÁS Jobs Ireland website do not involve displacement. If displacement is an issue, the inspection team ensures there is liaison between FÁS and management and can intervene.

Under the advisory groups on tax and social welfare, we are harnessing the type of experience needed to examine the operation and interaction of tax and social protection. Recommendations will be made on the most cost-effective solutions and how employment can be incentivised and improved and better poverty outcomes achieved, especially in the area of child poverty, by identifying specific, practical administrative improvements in their operation.

This is a very important debate. The programme for Government clearly sets out the Government's determination to do its utmost to protect the most vulnerable. The country faces a significant challenge in safeguarding, in as far as possible, the key income supports and services operated by the Department of Social Protection. We must recognise the severe impact of the economic collapse on families, individuals and communities.

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