Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will contain my remarks to what is in the Bill although I recognise that Sinn Féin Deputies, and only Sinn Féin Deputies, have repeatedly raised their issues with JobPath, not only in this session but in previous sessions. I suggested a number of weeks ago to their spokesperson who apparently has a large dossier of complaints that he might give them to me. I am still waiting on them but I cannot do anything about their expressed concerns, if they are genuine, if the Deputies do not give me the information. I am quite happy to look at it, although I dispute the claims they have made so far. JobPath is one of the most successful activation programmes we have ever introduced.

Again, I thank all Deputies on all sides of the House for their contributions on Second Stage. I will not be able to respond in detail to all of the issues raised in the time available to me but I want to touch on some key specific points. Obviously, we will have an opportunity on Committee Stage to tease through some of the issues in greater detail.

Deputy O'Dea, among others, including Deputy Denise Mitchell who raised it again tonight, raised the issue of the payment of maintenance and how this is treated differently to guardian's payments. I want to emphasise at the outset that the Bill does not provide for anything new in terms of the guardian's payment. The sole purpose of the section is to clarify and confirm the existing policy and practice relating to these payments. Social welfare legislation provides that the means test for schemes such as jobseeker's allowance and one-person family payments takes account of the income and assets of the claimant and his or her spouse or partner, if applicable. Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions and maintenance payments as well as property owned, other than the family home, and capital such as savings, shares and other investments. The assessment of means is a way of checking if a person has enough means to support him or herself and to determine the amount of payment, if any, for which they may qualify.

All cash income to the person and, where relevant, the person's spouse, civil partner or cohabitant is assessed except for specific exclusions which are set out in the legislation. Child benefit and guardian's payments are fully disregarded in the means assessment as are foster care allowance payments by the HSE. Maintenance payments, whether or not they are paid in respect of a child, are assessed by first disregarding any housing costs incurred up to €4,952 per annum, or €95.23 per week, and then assessing the remainder at 50%. Therefore, the total value of any maintenance payments is never fully assessed as means and, accordingly, a family in receipt of maintenance will always be better off than a family where maintenance is not a factor. Means-tested payments are based on the premise that recipients do not have adequate income to support themselves. Disregarding all maintenance payments could lead to a situation where well-off people qualify for means tested payments which are aimed at low-income families, thereby spending taxpayers' money in cases where there is no real financial need for assistance.

Matters related to the public services card, PSC, have been raised both in the course of this debate and more widely in the past number of weeks. I want to address a few of those points. First, I will ask the question raised as to whether the PSC is becoming a compulsory identity card. Quite simply and categorically - I will state this as clearly as I can - it is not compulsory to have a PSC. It is not a national identity card. To respond to Deputy Denise Mitchell, it is not the Government's intention to bring in an identity card. If it were any Government's intention to introduce a national identity card, the first place it would have to come is this House and have that discussion with all opposition parties, no matter who is in power.

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