Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

"Scoile"; get it right.

The Government has ensured the personal rates of weekly payments such as jobseeker's benefit, illness benefit, invalidity pension, disability allowance, blind pension, carer's allowance, the half-rate, the State pension, the widow's and widower's pension and the one parent family payment will not be reduced.

I welcome the Government's decision to listen to the concerns of many of us with regard to the disability allowance. We did not have to listen to Joe Duffy and neither did the Minister. It is a credit to her and says more about her than anything she has done. It was clear that concern existed, it was expressed quietly to the Minister and the change was made. As somebody who has spent most of my life involved with disability I welcome this change and I commend the Minister and the Government on making it. This is a Government that listens and recognises when something is wrong and needs to be changed. It made the change with the minimum of fuss and great promptness. It should also be put on the record that it was never proposed to change the payment for those already in receipt of disability allowance.

The job of Government and Opposition Deputies is to protect the most vulnerable, and it is also the job of the Government and the State. I very much welcome the fact that we have done this. I congratulate the Labour and Fine Gael backbenchers for going to the Minister, Deputy Burton, and for her proactive approach to that issue.

This is not just about ideology or politics, it is about people. It is about the Ireland that we want to see in ten to 15 years' time. Today, the Government has taken decisions which will have an impact. Tomorrow, the leaders of Europe will make decisions which will have an impact also. Both the budget and this week's summit meeting in Brussels are about ensuring that Ireland and Europe can prosper and families can flourish. It is about our nation restoring its sovereignty and be a proud, independent State making its contribution on the European and world stage. The Government has set out its stall to restore our country's fortunes. This is about taking tough decisions and making the hard call, but at the end of the day it is about people.

See this speech in context