Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas don Aire as a bheith anseo. Ní raibhimid ach ag cur ceisteanna agus freagraí ar a chéile an tseachtain seo cheana féin. The family income supplement is paid to workers whose income from employment leaves the family below the poverty line. In 2011 the numbers qualifying for family income supplement rose by 10%. I presume the same increase will occur this year. Applications have increased this year. Since this Government came to power, the number of workers classified as under-employed has increased by 120,000 to 150,000.

Under-employed workers are those who would work more hours if they were available. My statistics are taken from the quarterly national household survey. A report in May by the retail sector trade union Mandate found that 39% of its members had reported a fall in take-home pay, with an average decrease of over €105 per week. I believe the average was €109. Average retail workers' hours have declined by 4.3% in the past year alone. This represents a substantial income change.

As the unemployment grows and wages fall, the number depending on FIS to keep their heads above water will continue to increase. However, owing to a failure of the Government to resource properly the Department of Social Protection, application processing times have become inexcusably long across a range of social welfare schemes, some of which we have discussed. The delays under the FIS scheme leave families in desperate circumstances. They are forced into arrears in respect of many household bills and left at risk of energy disconnection and eviction and at the mercy of moneylenders. Some families are left hungry, as is evident from the rise in the incidence of food poverty.

The FIS scheme has been subject to a growing backlog of applicants, particularly in the past six months. The processing times are a source of embarrassment to the Government. I suspect this embarrassment, coupled with a desire to defer as many of the back payments as possible until the next budgetary cycle, or early next year, has prompted the Minister and her officials to make a cynical decision that the FIS section of the Department should process only those applications received on or after 5 November. The effect is that new applications for family income supplement will be processed before those submitted five or six months ago. The new applications may be processed immediately, while those applicants who are unfortunate enough to have submitted applications earlier this year will be left waiting. The existing applications backlog is being withdrawn from the FIS section and transferred to Letterkenny, but it is not clear what additional resources, if any, are being deployed to deal with the additional applications.

The Minister hopes to kid the public by kicking these applications to touch. She is attempting to pull a fast one at the expense of vulnerable families. I have been given to understand most of the families who applied before 5 November will not receive any payment before Christmas. Over 7,000 families, with almost 16,000 children, are affected by the delay in clearing the backlog. What are they to do for Christmas and about the growing arrears in their household bills?

Will the Minister confirm that there has been a decision to instruct the FIS section to send all applications not processed prior to 5 November to Letterkenny? Have additional resources been given to the relevant office in Letterkenny? If so, from where were those resources drawn? Will the Minister confirm whether any or all of the applications received prior to 5 November will be dealt with and subject to payment, if due, before the end of the year?

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