Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

As has been mentioned, this Social Welfare Bill will be the last such Bill before an election is held and must be seen as part of a package over the past five years. I intend to vote against this Bill, not because of opposition for the sake of opposition - I disagree absolutely with the Tánaiste, Deputy Burton, in this regard - but because the Government has just produced its fifth regressive budget in a row. By regressive, I mean yet another budget that favours the well-off, as opposed to those on the lowest incomes. In her contribution, the Tánaiste, Deputy Burton, stated this budget was carefully designed and it certainly was. It was carefully designed to try to win votes but it will not work and certainly will not save the Labour Party's bacon. The people the Labour Party claims to have protected while in government cannot wait for Labour Party Members to come knocking on their doors next spring or whenever the election is called. Those people are not waiting to thank them for all they have done for them but are waiting to give them the electoral kicking of all kickings and they could not deserve it more.

I wish to concentrate on the issue of core welfare payments, such as jobseeker's allowance, jobseeker's benefit, the one-parent-family parent payment and disability benefit. These are the key welfare payments provided by the State. They were reduced drastically between 2009 and 2011-12 and have been frozen since then. To restore these core welfare payments to their 2009 level, taking account of inflation, would require an increase of at least €27 per week for a single adult and €40 per week for a couple. This makes a joke of the Government's repeated claim to have protected core welfare payments, quite apart from the range of cuts it has made in non-core payments.

The reality of budget 2016 is that a single unemployed adult will gain €95 per annum, while a single person earning €75,000 per annum will gain €902. An unemployed couple will gain €157 per annum, while a couple jointly earning €125,000 per annum will gain €1,400 per annum.

The number of people living in consistent poverty which currently stands at 376,000 has doubled since 2008, while 1.4 million people are experiencing deprivation, an increase of 128% since 2008. There are 700,000 people at risk of poverty, including 211,000 children, which equates to one in six children. In other words, there is widespread endurance of poverty. For the Government to have done nothing in the Bill in terms of increases in core welfare payments is an utter disgrace. For example, repayment of half of what was lost owing to inflation would have meant an increase of €6.50 per week. This could have been done as part of a commitment to restore rates to 2011 levels, consistent with inflation, with a further commitment to restore rates to their 2009 levels over a number of years. However, the Government chose not do this.

Other factors in the high poverty rates are low pay and insufficient working hours. Taking into account those who are out of work and those who want and need additional hours, the unemployment rate is 20%. Approximately 80,000 people living in or at risk of poverty are in employment. The 50 cent increase in the minimum wage is extremely limited. A minimum wage of €9.15 per hour is 25% below the proposed living wage of €11.50. Again, the Government should have committed to increasing the minimum wage to the level of the living wage over a number of years. This would have meant an increase of at least €1 per hour this year, followed by a similar increase next year and the year after.

Overall, in terms of the provision of good public services, a health service that works and a strong social security safety net, the Government has continued the failed approach of the past. In 2016 Ireland will spend one of the smallest shares of national income of any developed country, with only the United States spending less. However, this is nothing new. Between 1995 and 2000 the percentage of GNP spent on public services fell dramatically to 36%. This model of low pay, low income taxes, low corporation taxes and resulting poor social services, including a crisis-riven health service, has been imposed by successive Governments. Nobody voted for it. Out of this will come a new political movement that will offer a real alternative.

Child care payments have also been drastically reduced in the past few years, despite a commitment from the Labour Party that such payments would not be touched. I recently tabled a question to the Minister on the reintroduction of child benefit for children who continued in education up to 19 years of age. This measure would have cost €58 million. However, the Government chose not to address the issue.

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