Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan for her contribution yesterday evening and for introducing the motion. She made some very good points with which I do not disagree. I agree in spirit with the Deputy's proposal but I am not so sure about how it could work in light of the exclusion of those on the minimum wage. I do not know how it could work in addressing unfairness in the tax system. The subject matter of the motion is the standard of living of people on social welfare, who in many cases are without adequate means, but there is no point in denying that, in addition to those on welfare, there are those on very low pay. This creates difficulties for parliamentarians when stepping up to deal with the thrust of the Deputy's proposal. There are thousands upon thousands on low pay and on wages below the minimum wage. Those of us who represent working-class areas will know from our clinics that this is an issue. It is one that we must address as the economy improves.

The second and third paragraphs of the motion refer to the recovery. People on this side of the House, including me, recognise it as a very limited and slow recovery. We have never asked the people to go out on the street to celebrate it, and we should not adopt that attitude. In addition to trying to give people on social welfare more disposable income, we should also try to give people hope. The average person, especially an individual with small children, has gone through hell because of the collapse of the gombeen capitalist system we have. There has been no regulation, as stated by Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan last night. I will now make the point in my own way, perhaps. If we had had a mechanism in this regard in 2004 or 2005, we might not have gone out of kilter. We did not have a mechanism but that is an argument for another day. I acknowledge the link between what Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan is trying to say and the point I am making on people on very low wages, including those on the minimum wage, whom this Dáil should monitor.

No budget is perfect but we should all admit that we must get away from the old model of budgeting. This is an opportunity not only to bring fairness into the tax system but also to do, in spirit, what Deputy O'Sullivan is calling for.

I welcome the post-budgetary announcement by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, that there is to be an increase in child benefit and the Christmas bonus. This may not mean a lot to us here because we have well-paid jobs but it means a lot to somebody who has a very small income. As some people have said to me, it is a start. These things are welcomed by families with very little disposable income.

Deputy Ellis mentioned homelessness and housing. I am glad to be able to tell him the largest investment in social housing in the history of the State, since the British left, was announced today by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly. It is worth almost €4 billion and will result in 35,000 houses in the next five or six years. This is certainly worth noting.

See this speech in context