Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I believe the seanfhocal, is ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine, exemplifies the approach of most Irish people to the safety net that is the social welfare system. Social welfare is viewed positively as a way of supporting those citizens who require help and this belief sets us apart from many other nations. For example, a representative of the American non-profit sector, who spoke recently in Leinster House at a briefing on that sector, unintentionally highlighted the different approach to social welfare between our two countries. The distrust and unease many Americans hold towards government was abundantly clear and was in stark contrast to the opinion of most Irish people, who view the Government as playing a paternalistic role in providing for the citizens in times of difficulty. This strong belief manifests itself in the fact that in 2013, Ireland will spend nearly €20.3 billion or 37% of State expenditure on social welfare. It is a colossal sum of money, accounting for nearly €2 out of every €5 of Government expenditure. At a time of such financial pressure on the country, when the Government is required to borrow more than €1 billion per month to cover day-to-day spending, one must out of necessity review and examine social welfare.

I will take this opportunity to commend the Minister, Deputy Burton, and her Department on the work achieved in protecting primary weekly social welfare rates and on introducing many other reforms. Examples include the increase in regular engagement with jobseekers to assist them in securing employment or further education. I note that 37,800 jobseekers received referrals in the first four months of 2013. Similarly, I note the success of the ICT skills conversion course, which has helped more than 700 jobseekers to acquire new skills to avail of employment opportunities in the ICT sector, as well as that of JobBridge, which is one of Europe's most successful internship programmes and has one of the highest placement-to-job ratios.

The Bill before Members contains further significant reforms, which will help core social welfare weekly supports, while also helping to ensure the provision of that assistance and support those citizens genuinely need. New provisions include the roll-out of the new public service card. In this context, I note and welcome the establishment of a new centre just off Eyre Square in Galway, which will enable the smooth and speedy delivery of new public service cards, which will help to guard against fraud and to ensure the right supports reach the right people at the right time. The introduction of the jobseeker's transition arrangement also is most welcome and will assist parents of one-parent families in re-entering employment. The Bill also contains provisions relating to the Civil Registration Act 2004. I have raised this Act a number of times and appeal to the Minister to introduce the necessary changes to facilitate families of Irish citizens who die abroad in obtaining an Irish death certificate or an equally valid certificate from the State. It is well over two years since I first raised this issue and I acknowledge many other Deputies also have done so, both this year and in previous years. I appreciate that changes to the general register must be carefully drawn up and well thought out although I am at a loss as to the reason there has been such an inordinate delay.

I have published a Private Members' Bill on this subject but out of courtesy to the Minister and the Department, I have not entered it into the lottery system for hearing. However, I seek to have this matter progressed. People in my constituency are affected and in the words of one daughter speaking on behalf of her parents, they would like to get a death certificate for her brother, who died tragically, before they die themselves. Consequently, this matter should be progressed. I also have raised measures to strengthen genealogical services and tourism. I am encouraged by provisions in this Bill, which act as a stepping stone to achieving this overall aim. I also wish to place on record my previous suggestion that the Central Bank premises on Dame Street be acquired for use as a centre for genealogy and social history research, as such a use would sit very well with the status of that building.

While Members must defend and uphold the principles underpinning the social welfare system, they must also defend the value and importance of work. Employment must always pay and the reward for working must always outweigh the benefits of remaining in receipt of social welfare. Supporting the social welfare system and believing that a person must always be rewarded for working are not irreconcilable opposites. It is unacceptable that recent figures from the Department show that more than 43,000 people or one in seven recipients of jobseeker's payments have never contributed to PRSI.

Such statistics are deeply worrying for every taxpayer.

I welcome the news today of the largest drop in unemployment since the start of the economic collapse, which is encouraging. I am also encouraged by many other aspects of the Bill including the extension of the public services card, the new jobseeker's transition arrangement, the special qualifying provisions for retained firefighters, and the establishment of a pensions council among others. We must continue to work hard to ensure the social welfare system and its supports, as well as the efforts at reform, are focused on assisting genuine, honest citizens. Such a focus is central to the type of country we want and recognises the substantial and positive effects of social welfare budgets on all aspects of Irish life.

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