Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this Bill. There are many elements of it that I welcome, particularly the increase in child benefit and the living alone allowance. Other changes provided for in the Bill that do not require legislative change include the new water subsidy, the increase in JobsPlus places, extra funding for JobPath and additional funding for the school meals programme.

Job creation is a core objective of the Government, and creating the correct conditions for both employers and employees is at the heart of this.

Helping jobseekers get a foothold on the employment ladder is an important element in addressing unemployment, but so too, where necessary, is upskilling and reskilling. Providing jobseekers with a structured path back to work has proved successful to date in many instances, and the newly created Intreo centres are key to this success, providing a one-stop-shop for jobseekers looking to re-enter the workforce.

While the idea of having a case worker for every jobseeker is laudable, the current practice means that case workers are simply overwhelmed with the number of jobseekers they are dealing with, and the experience in many cases is not a positive one for the jobseeker or the case worker. A ratio of case worker to jobseeker of 500:1 is unworkable. The plan to decrease the ratio to 200:1 is more workable, but it still leaves case workers in a difficult position, given the volume of people leaving and joining the live register each month. I hope the positive trend of decreasing numbers on the live register in recent months will continue. It should result in a reduced workload for case workers and a more positive experience for job seekers.

Studies have been conducted in recent months on the financial impediments for those returning to work. The new back-to-work family dividend is a common-sense approach to addressing this, providing €29.80 per week per child for 12 months after the person's return to work, reducing to 50% in the second year. JobsPlus is designed to help those who are long-term unemployed return to work through providing incentives to employers, and 3,000 unemployed people have benefited from this to date.

Young people seeking to access employment have experienced great difficulty in recent years, because while they have had the necessary skills for the task, the required experience was not available. To this end, the Youth Guarantee initiatives are an important step in helping young people to access either further training or employment at a crucial time in their lives.

Many young school leavers are willing and anxious to work and often the lack of some crucial skills, be it health and safety permits such as Safe Pass, ECDL qualifications or food hygiene certification, prohibits them from entering the workplace. It makes sense to provide them with the skill set needed for the jobs they are most interested in. Often their parents are willing, but financially unable, to help them access the additional courses or qualifications needed.

Helping families with young children through this most difficult time is a core objective of the Government and that is why the Bill contains measures increasing child benefit and the provision for school meals. More than 600,000 families will benefit from the increase in child benefit, while the increased allocation of €2 million for school meals will see approximately 6,000 children benefit. I note that 10% of DEIS schools have not yet signed up to the scheme of free school meals and I would urge them to consult further with parents on this issue as I have seen to date a positive reaction from parents whose children are benefiting from this initiative.

In recent weeks I have spoken to many who live alone and find it difficult to cope financially. I refer to the elderly living alone struggling to heat their homes and also younger persons on allowances, such as disability allowance, who may have decreased mobility and a greater need for heat in their homes. I welcome the increase in the living alone allowance. While it is a small amount weekly, it is a step in the right direction and an acknowledgement of the difficulties faced in single person households, where costs cannot be pooled and home maintenance and other bills must be borne by one person.

Overall, the measures in this Social Welfare Bill build on the Government's work to date, continuing our commitment to help those of all ages access the world of work, while at the same time seeking to reduce child poverty and the poverty prevalent in single income households. The numbers on the live register continue to be much too high, but each week now we hear increased job announcements and, thankfully, an increasing number of those are in areas outside the main cities. We must ensure that as the country emerges from recession the benefits are felt nationwide, and I believe that the measures in this Social Welfare Bill seek to do just that.

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