Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Social Welfare Bill. It must be acknowledged that the legislation contains a number of positive elements, including an increase of €5 per month in child benefit, a 25% Christmas bonus for long-term welfare recipients, an increase in the living alone allowance to €9 per week and the introduction of a back-to-work family dividend of €29.80 per week per child for 12 months, to be paid at a reduced rate of 50% in the second year. While these measures are welcome, they must be viewed in the context of the measures taken in previous social welfare legislation. The increase in the living alone allowance for elderly people amounts to an additional 20 cent per day. Elderly people have, however, lost the household telephone allowance and the household benefits package has been filleted through the withdrawal of assistance with electricity bills. In addition, despite promising to abolish the prescription charge of 50 cent per item on taking office, the Government has increased prescription charges to €2.50 per item. One must also bear in mind the reduction in income limits for medical cards and changes in the items covered by the cards. While the recent budget contains a number of welcome and positive changes to which the Bill will give effect, they must be viewed in the context of the measures introduced in the lifetime of the Government. Unfortunately, the Government has frequently targeted the less well-off, the vulnerable and those who do not have the wherewithal to stand up for themselves.

I intend to focus my attention on the lack of progress in tackling the issue of affordable child care. A recent UNICEF report was discussed with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs during Oral Questions this morning. The report shows that child poverty rates in Ireland have increased dramatically. The Minister stated that the matter was primarily one for the Minister for Social Protection and pointed out that the best way to help children out of poverty was to get their parents back to work. I agree that the best way to support families is to ensure someone in the household is earning a decent wage. In recent years report after report, both at national and international level, has noted the high cost of child care in Ireland.

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The most recent Indecon report commissioned by the Donegal county childcare committee highlighted that the cost of child care was preventing people from returning to work and forcing families out of work. The Government has done nothing to tackle the problem. In the almost four years it has been in power we have only had one debate on the affordability of child care, a debate which was facilitated in Private Members' time and which I initiated.

Some may ask what this issue has to do with social welfare, but it has everything to do with it. I acknowledge a step was taken in the budget in terms of the family dividend. If a person returns to work, he or she is allowed to keep €29.80 a week, which goes some way to help. What about those who are in work and in receipt of a low wage and who will be forced out of employment because of the cost of child care? Are we telling them to give up work for a while and claim benefits in order that they can receive €29.80 a week for 12 months and 50% of it thereafter?

I welcome the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, to the Chamber. When she announced changes to the eligibility criteria for receipt of the lone parent's payment two years ago and reduced the age up to which people could claim, she said she would not bring in the changes until we had a Scandinavian model of child care in Ireland. We certainly have no Scandinavian model of child care today. However, there have been reductions in the lone parent's payment, a commitment on which the Minister reneged. Last year she introduced, as part of the budget, 6,000 places for the after school child care programme, for which €14 million was allocated. At the end of June this year, only 154 of the 6,000 places had been taken up. I would appreciate it if the Minister listened because I am identifying a problem in a scheme she announced last year.

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