John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this Bill and the adjustments that are being made following last week's budget. There are many things I welcome in the Bill. We all have a few concerns as well and I will refer to them later. As Deputy O'Reilly pointed out, the State pension, the carer's allowance, fuel allowance, electricity allowance, free travel and half carer's allowance have not been touched. There was also a lot of fear that child benefit might be reviewed again but I welcome the fact that it has also been protected. I am delighted that free travel has been protected because, as I have also said many times in this House, it is important it is preserved for the people who really deserve it, such as those for whom travel is a lifeline so that their isolation can be reduced. It is very important that it is not abused in any way. I congratulate the Minister on the fraud measures she has brought in over recent years and these measures need to be applied here as well so that we always have free travel for those who need it and it cannot be exploited by anyone who might abuse it.

When this country was bankrupted five years ago, it was a daunting task to ensure that these core measures would be protected, and I welcome the fact that this has happened in the budget. The fact that there are 34,000 extra people employed means that there are 34,000 extra taxpayers rather than social welfare recipients. That has enabled the Minister to do a very difficult job in a fair way in this budget. When we look at countries like Greece, where people in similar circumstances have not been protected in any way like here, it shows the fairness and the upfront way that the Minister has met the challenges presented to her.

There are a number of areas of concern that I would like to see examined again. There has been much talk in recent days about medical cards. We all met this in our constituencies, but I am reassured by guarantees that people who need medical cards will get them. Some genuine applications in recent weeks and months have been handled badly within the system and there is no point in trying to say anything else. It is important that this is addressed, but the fact remains that an additional 250,000 medical cards have been provided by this Government since coming into office, 74,000 of them discretionary medical cards, resulting in more than 1,868,000 people having full medical cards.

Those are not figures of a Government taking medical cards from people. Discretionary medical cards are awarded to people who are unable without undue hardship to arrange GP services for themselves and their family, even though their means exceed the HSE's income limits. In these cases, social and medical issues are taken into account when considering whether undue hardship exists for the applicant. One issue on medical cards needs to be reconsidered. The income limit for a couple aged over 70 is €900 and €500 for a single person. I believe the limit should be €1,000 for a couple.

If current employment trends continue as we all hope they will, there will be a natural decrease in the need for medical cards. If an extra 34,000 are working this year and they were not working last year, it is safe to assume that a proportion of them would be delighted that they no longer need a medical card and will be able to meet their medical needs from their own resources because of their new-found job and salary.

There has been much comment about the ending of the bereavement grant which I understand was not claimed by some people who did not know it was available. Again the full facts did not emerge in this regard. It was important to preserve the payment of the State pension or other social welfare payments for six weeks following a person's death, as was done. If there are individual difficulties, families will have recourse to seek assistance with the cost of the funeral under an exceptional needs grant. Again the most vulnerable people are being protected by a grant, in this case of up to €2,000 for a funeral, if individual circumstances warrant it. There is also a once-off payment of €6,000 where there is a dependent child. It is important to give all of the facts.

The removal of the telephone allowance for landline rental has caused upset and concern, particularly in rural areas. It is accepted that this was money that was going directly to telephone companies. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, needs to work with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, on alert schemes and pendant alarms. It is important that people do not lose communication thereby feeling isolated and living in fear. We need to set up a system to protect those who may have been affected by this provision.

I have noted that 34,000 extra people are working this year compared with last year. I welcome that 1,200 new teachers are to be appointed in the next year and that Garda recruitment will recommence. We have heard of the 3,000 people a month. It is obvious from the straws in the wind and those announcements that there will be an increase in employment. This will mean people will move away from social welfare dependency and become taxpayers and contributors, which will ease the decisions that need to be made in future budgets. It is important we keep on that pathway in coming weeks and months.

The Government has had to take many difficult decisions on social protection in the past three years. Some 250,000 people lost their jobs between 2008 and 2011. The Government had to face that issue at a time when the cupboard was bare and the country was bankrupt. It has met that challenge in an upfront way as shown again in this budget. I hope it will take into account the concerns I have expressed. A few things need to be tweaked and some assurances need to be given. Overall a good job has been done. It is important for us to protect the vulnerable and elderly. Much has been talked about the youth guarantee and the importance of providing jobs, training and so on. It is important those are delivered on in coming months and years in order that we not only get out of the bailout but make life better for all, young and old. We need to have fewer people unemployed and more people in employment.

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