Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

This is a crucial debate. It is a privilege for any democracy to have a social welfare system. At this difficult time, we must look after those who need social welfare most.

I spoke briefly with the Minister and sincerely hope she is able to address the entire social welfare system. I am privileged to be involved in food, horticulture and forestry. I hope my contribution does not come across as racist. Having visited many factories and yards, I find it incredible that people are much better off not working than working. Last week, I discussed the price of vegetables with representatives of one of the main stores. They informed me that when the company opened a new store in north County Dublin only 63 people applied for 70 jobs. Also in north County Dublin, 70 jobs paying up to €30,000 per annum became available in the spring but only three Irish people applied for them. The other 67 positions were filled by people who moved here from Poland. I visited a meat factory in the midlands with 20 vacancies. Of the three Irish people who started work, all left after the first day whereas the 17 Brazilians who were recruited remained. At a function I attended the other night for a fine gentleman, Fintan Ginnity, the former chairman of the Meath county board, I was seated beside a lady who informed me that her company failed to find recruits for three full-time jobs. I also visited three other factories, one of which employs 327 people, of whom 305 are not from Ireland. These are incredible figures. People from other countries are coming here to take jobs in a number of sectors. We need to reskill people if we are to expand the agricultural sector in the next five years. We must train and encourage people to take jobs in processing, factories and so forth.

Deputy Troy spoke passionately about social welfare. All of us deal with the same type of people and we must ensure they are protected. Since 1 January, some 50,000 people have come into the country and acquired PPS numbers. Since 2007, some 555,000 people have come here and acquired PPS numbers. These are the facts.

I welcome this opportunity to conclude the debate on this motion. The Government is determined to restore our national sovereignty. We want to be financially independent and to pay our own way. As the Minister has detailed, Government spending in 2011 will be roughly €18 billion more than this year's overall Government income. The Government will get €42 billion from tax and PRSI this year, €20 billion of which will be spent by the Department of Social Protection. Despite severe constraints, the Government is determined to do its utmost to protect the most vulnerable people in Irish society. We also recognise that the people who turn to the Department for protection generally had no role in causing the economic crisis. They must, therefore, be shielded from the worst of its consequences. There are considerable challenges ahead, including the need to safeguard, as far as possible, the key income supports and services operated by the Department.

A number of Deputies raised the issues of the fuel allowance and household benefits schemes during last evening's session. Difficult decisions had to be made in respect of these schemes in light of commitments made by the previous Government. A number of measures for savings in 2011 and future years were specified as part of budget 2011, but were not announced by the Government at the time. These included a saving of €30 million in the energy and telephone elements of the household benefits package in 2011 and subsequent years, but the specific way in which the saving was to be made was not specified. They also included the abolition of the smokeless fuel allowance, with a saving of €7.7 million in 2011 and €17.5 million in subsequent years. The number of free units provided under the electricity and gas allowance were reduced from 2,400 to 1,800, with a view to generating savings of €17 million in 2011 and €65 million annually. In 2010, approximately €367 million was spent on the household benefits package. It is expected that up to €371 million will be spent by the end of this year, even when the changes mentioned have been taken into account.

The key element of our transformation from a passive system of income support to a more proactive model is the establishment of the new national employment and entitlements service. The service will merge FÁS employment and community employment programmes as well as community welfare service into the Department of Social Protection. The idea is to create an integrated service providing a one-stop shop for people seeking to establish their benefit entitlements, looking for a job and seeking advice on their training options. FÁS and the Department of Social Protection are already working on a number of pilot projects to identify those who are most at risk of falling into long-term unemployment and the provision of appropriately tailored responses to their needs. These will be rolled out nationwide next year as part of the national employment and entitlements service. This new service will offer users a high level of personalised employment support. It will give special attention to those on the live register most at risk of long-term unemployment through proactive approaches and modern case management systems.

As the Minister has already said, the formulation of budget 2012 presents considerable challenges. The budgetary process will be informed by the comprehensive review of expenditure which has been completed by the Department. This Government will always endeavour to do its utmost to look after the most vulnerable people in our society and to ensure that measures introduced are fair and equitable, while continuing to take the necessary steps to put the country back on the road to economic growth and stability. I commend the amendment to the House.

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