Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan for bringing this matter before the House. I welcome the opportunity to speak on it. It is always important to take stock of the impact on citizens of decisions we make. Everything we do should be grounded in such thinking and we must consider all aspects. When one considers the social impact and social set-up of many people, one realises hard-pressed people include not only the unemployed but also people on lower incomes. In many ways, those on lower incomes have fewer supports. The system makes it more costly to go back to work on a lower income. On the other hand, there are people with seemingly good incomes living in big houses who cannot afford to put heating oil in the tank. People in such circumstances may have debts, owing to business or other commitments, and they are trying to pay them back. I have encountered cases of people who are unable to send their children to college. Ironically, if the parents were not working, the children would qualify for grants and could go to college. However, the income criteria are such that the children do not qualify. Therefore, there is much upset and discontent over many of the inequalities. This is a feature across the board. As Deputy Durkan reminded me a moment ago, much of this boils down to money, where one spends it and the effort to stretch a very limited budget across the whole spectrum of competing interests.

On the day that is in it, I very much welcome the social housing strategy for the period to 2020.

The commitment is to provide 35,000 additional social housing units, to look at the provision of housing through the private rented sector, and, in particular, that there would be mixed tenure developments because that is about social integration.

It must be acknowledged that since budget 2008 there have not been increases in social welfare payments and the budget sought to give something back, and the 2015 budget did that, by raising the entry point for the universal social charge, increasing the income tax standard rate for a single individual and reducing the top of rate of income tax. Ironically, one is a high earner in this country if one is on €33,800 - previously it was €1,000 less than that. We restored 25% of the Christmas bonus. We provided the back to work family dividend to help families move from welfare to work. We will increase child benefit come January 2015 by €5, and by €5 per child the following January, and the living alone allowance has been increased to benefit 180,000 elderly people.

None of this could be done but for the economic backdrop that we have created with economic recovery gaining momentum, 80,000 net jobs created, unemployment having fallen from 15% to 10.9% and, pertinent to the rural regions where I am from, a regional action plan for jobs to be launched shortly by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, to stimulate investment and create more jobs in the regions as opposed to the centres of population where one would naturally expect that growth would begin.

I welcome all of the capital investment programme that has been set out by Irish Water. It will make a big difference in a county such as my own, where we have serious problems with water and sewerage treatment. I also welcome the investment and ambitious plans for the roll-out of broadband to rural Ireland.

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