Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 41 together.

In November 2010 the then Fianna Fail-Green Party Government negotiated an agreement with the European Union-ECB-IMF funding troika which included undertakings regarding the social protection area, each with a specific timeframe for delivery. That Government agreed a structural adjustment programme which we are now working through and which I stress is subject to a weekly, monthly and quarterly reporting process as well as ongoing discussions on all expenditure headings, including social protection.

The progress made on current commitments is discussed with the troika delegation when it visits Dublin for each quarterly review, the achievement of commitments is noted where relevant, and the agreement is revised to reflect any new or follow-on commitments made in the course of the quarterly review, as appropriate. All of the commitments in the social protection area that were required to be delivered up to the present time have been delivered in full and on time.

Spending on social protection in 2012 is expected to account for almost 40% of current Government expenditure. The EU, the ECB and the IMF recognise the scale of spending on social protection and have emphasised the importance of reform in this area both as a contribution to fiscal consolidation and to facilitate economic recovery. The troika has not identified any specific programmes that should be curtailed or discontinued but rather expressed overall targets to be achieved.

However, as Deputies will be aware, the Government announced expenditure ceilings for all Departments for 2013 and 2014 when budget 2012 was brought before the Dáil last month. These provide for savings of just over €1 billion in total by the end of 2014 in the social protection area above the savings from measures introduced in budget 2012 and previously.

In that context, the Government has agreed with the troika that by the end of March the Department will draw up a comprehensive programme of reforms that can help better targeting of social support to those on lower incomes, and ensure that work pays for welfare recipients. The Government has also agreed that it will take steps to strengthen activation and training policies to help jobseekers get back to work.

The work done to date in respect of both of these commitments builds on policy documents published in 2010 in the areas of pensions, child income supports, payments to people of working age and payments to people with a disability.

It is not intended that the reform programme would be finalised by end of March. My intention is to bring reform proposals to Government initially and then to the Oireachtas in advance of finalisation, with implementation to commence in budget 2013.

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