Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this Bill. This Government inherited a collapsed banking system and a collapsed construction industry. The Labour Party was the only party that voted against the blanket guarantee. It is hard to think now that back in 2008, it was possible to vote for a zombie bank such as Anglo Irish Bank which put us in debt to the tune of €32 billion, money that will never be recovered. That is part of what we inherited in 2011. We also inherited savage taxes that had been introduced at that time, levies, welfare cuts and the most unkind cut of all, a reduction of €1 in the minimum wage. In addition, as one can read in the book written recently by Deputy Gilmore, there was only money for five months in the Exchequer. That was to last for the rest of the year after the Government was elected in 2011. It was as chaotic and desperate a situation as one could imagine.

We sought to carefully manage the economy and to protect all the core social welfare benefits that existed at the time. We built on the strengths that we had. The result of all of that is we now have the fastest growing economy in the European Union. We are creating 1,100 jobs weekly, with 130,000 jobs having been created in the past three years. Unemployment is now at its lowest ebb.

That was only possible because the people came with us. It was the sacrifices of the people of this country that made it possible. It is only right and fitting, therefore, that the people who made those sacrifices benefit now from the recovery that is taking place. That is the reason this budget has focused in particular on social welfare. This Bill focuses on social welfare benefits such as pensions paid to older people, increases in the rate of child benefit, the respite care grant, the family income supplement, the fuel allowance, the jobseekers transition payment, the community employment top-ups and the 75% restoration of the Christmas bonus, which is very welcome after a 25% increase last year. All of that is being done along with a reduction in taxation. The worst rates of the universal social charge have been reduced and the income at which a person pays universal social charge has been increased again.

The intention and focus of all of this is to ensure there will be a fair recovery. That is the thrust of our policy. That has been shown by the social impact assessment of the welfare and income measures in the budget which was published today. It shows that there are higher than average gains for the bottom two quintiles, while the smallest percentage gain is in the top quintile. The social impact assessment shows that households with children will benefit the most from the budget, particularly working lone parents. Indeed, the ESRI has shown that in contrast with most other crisis countries, inequality has been reduced in Ireland over this period of time. This was achieved due to the policy choices of this Government. The OECD figures also show that this country has a progressive taxation system.

That did not happen by chance. There were enormous challenges that other countries have been unable to meet. We have been able to meet and overcome them.

We have done that in consultation with the people. It is important we ensure the recovery is fair.

I am delighted to welcome the measures in the Bill. There is a lot more work to be done to ensure inequality and poverty are reduced and we will continue to take further steps to ensure that. The minimum wage has been increased for the second time and will come into effect in January. The Low Pay Commission has been looking at these issues and there is now a big push for a living wage on a voluntary basis. I believe this is an exciting opportunity which we will be able to push ahead very rapidly in the future.

I very much welcome the introduction of two weeks' paid paternity leave for the first time in the history of the country. This is something I would foresee developing into the future. We will have an equal balance of child care between men and women and the State will have to recognise the importance of the family in this respect, so men can participate fully in the rearing of their children. This is the beginning of that development.

This is a decent Social Welfare Bill which is moving very strongly in the right direction. I welcome the steps it contains and look forward to further improvements in the years to come. I commend the Bill to the House.

See this speech in context