Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister. I and the Labour Party would be very supportive of FIS. The one concern we have is that it is not used as an addition to, or substitute for, very low pay, that employers can avail of at the State's expense. We must be careful. We have to try to balance that. I think that is what the Minister has in mind, in his own way - that it should not be used that way. It is very important.

The figure of €420 million signifies a significant element of low pay across the economy. That is what the starting figure is for this scheme. Of course, if a person has four or five children, or if a person was, like me, one of ten, that would certainly mean any such person would be a big recipient of this. If it had been out in the 1960s, my family would have been. I might as well be straight and honest with the Minister.

There are two aims with the introduction of a working family payment, namely, to reduce child poverty and to ensure no family is better off on welfare than in work, which would have a positive effect. How far advanced is the Minister in bringing forward this type of proposal for inclusion in the 2018 budget? What is his aim with these plans?

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