Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the opportunity to speak on the Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. With a budget of almost €21 billion per annum, reform of the social protection system should be an ongoing process. Given the amount of public funds involved, constant vigilance and progress are required. I welcome many of the provisions in the Bill, in particular the new social protection cards which will enhance the identification process.

In my previous existence as a postmaster I worked in an office that paid social protection to many clients. Positively identifying the correct claimant has always been an issue. The post office system has done a good job in giving the cash to those who are entitled to it but the enhanced security offered by the new card is more than welcome. Some might criticise me for saying that the new card does not go far enough. Such cards should contain much more information than a photograph, name and date of birth. Information such as whether one is an organ donor, one’s blood type, driving licence and insurance details should also be on the card. In effect, it could be a one-stop shop.

I accept the Minister has addressed the issue but work remains to be done in certain respects. I refer in particular to the type of constituency in which I live, which the Minister visited recently. She would acknowledge that the same issues do not apply in such an area. We do not have many public services, other than those provided by doctors, nurses and hospitals. We have a high ratio of self-employed people, for example, in construction. Much work has been achieved to facilitate people moving in and out of the social protection system but it could still be further refined. I come to the table with problems and I do not have the solutions but the matter requires extra attention.

Incorporating lone parents into the jobseeker’s system is a welcome initiative. Currently, the lone-parent system is a poverty trap and it has to be addressed. I welcome the Minister’s initiative to encourage lone parents to come back into the jobs market. They have a significant amount to offer. They wish to be in work and it is unfair to say that they are happy with a situation where it would not be advantageous to come back into the jobs market. The system should be incentivised. There are opportunities for lone parents and the social protection system will facilitate that, allowing people to work a couple of days a week, for example, and still maintain many of the necessary benefits and services social protection can offer.

I wish to be a little parochial again. I again refer to my interest in the post office. We had a debate in the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications, of which I am a member, and we published a report on the future of post offices.

While the gradual move towards a cashless society has many advantages, I hope the Minister is aware that a sword of Damocles hangs over the future of many post offices. In any future tendering conducted by the Department of Social Protection, the effect and impact of such moves on many rural and urban post offices should at least be considered and kept in mind by the Minister and her officials.

Finally, I wish to pay tribute to all the officials and staff in the social protection offices throughout the country, whose courtesy, dedication and work is much appreciated. I have had nothing but good experiences with them. They are at the coalface and deserve a mention for facilitating the reforms and the measures provided for in this Bill.

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