Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh as ucht an Bille seo a thabhairt isteach. I commend my colleague and friend, Deputy Ó Snodaigh and his staff on bringing forward this Bill. He has long been an advocate for a fair and adequate social welfare system and this Bill is evidence of his knowledge of the subject and his dedication to producing solutions as an alternative to attacking welfare recipients. The Bill aims to correct problems with overpayments of social welfare. However, when we speak about overpayment we must be clear that we do not imply that people are currently receiving large sums of money which allow them to live lavishly because of a mistake in processing or elsewhere. The overpayments we speak of are simply situations where people are receiving more than the law states they are entitled to at the present time.

Social welfare provision in this State is inadequate and inefficient because it is not founded on the idea that people are entitled to a living wage which allows them to live in comfort. The purpose of the social welfare system is simply to allow people to survive until they can find a job. It is true that some people on social welfare have never worked but these are a small percentage of the nearly 500,000 people who are unemployed and live on meagre amounts despite what the vitriolic bile of the right wing press might claim. If we were to provide a minimum living wage for all we would be able ensure a decent living standard for our people and cut out many of the inefficient and costly structures and schemes that currently exist.

There is no reasonable way the Government can oppose this Bill. We might wrangle over some of the details but the idea is sound and it deserves measured and constructive debate. Social welfare forms can be complicated. The people who fill them out and process them can make mistakes. It is estimated that 3.4% of expenditure on social welfare is lost to fraud or error, with error being more common. Mistakes are made and people are technically overpaid. We are regularly told of the high cost of our social welfare system and about the large budget the Department commands, which underlines the importance of examining areas in which savings can be made without cutting people's existing entitlements and rights. This one-off opportunity for people to declare their overpayments, wipe the slate and have them corrected is surely something on which we can agree. We have offered amnesties to many different types of people. Certainly we have had amnesties for those who earned vast sums and knowingly failed to properly declare their taxes. We should afford the same opportunity to those who are struggling to survive and might be suffering sleepless nights worrying about overpayments they are afraid to declare for fear of being asked to pay back money they do not have.

The most recent report by the Irish League of Credit Unions revealed that over half of the people it surveyed had less than €100 after essential bills at the end of the month and that 1.6 million had €50 or less. This gives us a clear understanding of how people are struggling. Many of these people are working but we can be sure that social welfare recipients are not leading the table of disposable income. They get a small sum which they spend locally on essentials. It is a considerable burden for anyone in this difficult situation to have to worry about a debt they accidentally accrued, never mind requiring them to repay the money if they are found out. We have seen cuts to carers, single parents, the elderly and all the other social welfare recipients in this State. People are struggling to keep their heads above water, feed and clothe their children and keep their homes warm. We must explore every avenue before we impose further cuts on the most vulnerable in our society. This Social Welfare (Amnesty) Bill 2012 is a fair, level headed and realistic approach to dealing with an issue which is costing the State money. I urge Members to support the Bill.

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