Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion and on the Government amendment to it. Since the Government has taken control of the country - which was so badly let down by the previous Administration - its primary ambition has been to restore economic sovereignty and to create a nation of which our children and their children can be proud and in which they can grow up and prosper. I have no doubt that all Ministers are battling extremely hard to keep to an absolute minimum the impact of the cuts which must be visited upon the people they represent.

I compliment the Minister on what she said and I welcome her commitment in respect of reform. The recently published review on child income support makes specific reference to merging, in a more coherent fashion, the tax and social welfare systems. It also refers to the position of self-employed people in the context of accessing social welfare payments. Anyone who canvassed for support during the general election campaign and who met self-employed people will be aware that these individuals have experienced particular difficulties in accessing such payments. The Minister has referred to this matter in the past.

There are four different schemes by means of which child income support is provided. Of these, family income support, qualified child increases and the back to school clothing and footwear allowances are all targeted in nature. These three payments should be amalgamated into a single, universal payment. The ambition in this regard is to encourage parental employment and reduce the administrative burdens and stresses on families seeking to secure three different payments.

Sinn Féin's motion begins quite well and we all recognise the fantastic work being done by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Barnardos. The motion notes the promise in the programme for Government in respect of maintaining social welfare rates. We all want that promise to remain intact. In the context of this motion we are dealing with a case of what I would term the pot calling the kettle orange. In the North, where Sinn Féin is actually in power-----

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