Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have been here for the past two hours and have listened to many contributions from all sides of the House. I have listened to the Sinn Féin Members, who have now all vacated the Chamber, and to Government Members across from me. I could spend my time answering the critics but I will not; I will just say three words: confidence and supply. I would prefer to address the positives in the budget and would also like to talk about the items in the budget that were not dealt with.

As Fianna Fáil spokesperson for older people, I welcome the aspects of this budget that will improve the standard of living for the older members of our country. Fianna Fáil has worked very hard to ensure that Fine Gael honours the commitments we secured as part of the confidence and supply agreement. We are proud to have once again secured a €5 per week increase in the State pension. This is the second year in a row we have secured an increase in the State pension, which means State pensions will rise in total by €10. There will be an additional one week of fuel allowance, bringing the number of weeks to 27. This will directly benefit 375,000 households. In addition, I welcome the new telephone support allowance of €2.50 per week for 124,000 people who are living alone. The loss of the telephone allowance in recent years cannot be overestimated. Older people chose to have their phone lines removed. The standing charge and VAT were a step too far, with the phone calls the cheapest part of the bill in most instances. Older people simply could not afford the phone bill in most cases. This also had a huge effect on vulnerable older people who needed the landline for a panic button. This security measure is extremely important for older people living alone who are vulnerable and dependent. This is certainly a step in the right direction. However, the criteria are strict, with only people claiming the living alone allowance and the fuel allowance set to qualify in budget 2018. Again, I was disappointed that this year the living alone allowance was not increased and stays at a paltry €9. When one member of a couple in receipt of the State pension dies, the loss of the spouse's pension is extremely difficult for the surviving spouse to cope with as the household bills remain the same. To lose a weekly income of approximately €230 at a time of grief is difficult, and I specifically ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection to look at this payment to see whether it is possible to increase the living alone allowance or to allow a reduced spouse's pension, even on a tapered basis, to ease the financial burden.

Regarding the health service, there will be additional funding for home care packages and a greater use of transitional beds to allow older people to get out of acute hospitals more quickly. This is essential. Given the modest budget, the key test is delivery for the 549 people on trolleys yesterday, of whom 41 were in University Hospital Waterford. I shudder to think what the numbers will be like as the winter approaches, with the flu season kicking in and the surge in demand for hospital care. I welcome the allocation of €55 million to the National Treatment Purchase Fund. This fund worked before and will work again if the will is there. Buying spare capacity in hospitals that have capacity makes sense. Targeting medical procedures such as hip and knee replacements and cataracts is an important part of ensuring money is well spent. Normally it is older people who are most affected by these ailments, affecting quality of life and mobility, and I believe a targeted approach would yield great results. It would seriously improve quality of life and would mean less people presenting at accident and emergency departments.

This was not a perfect budget, and in areas outside of the remit of the confidence and supply agreement, Fine Gael has not ensured that older people would not lose out. There was no mention of post offices at all in yesterday's budget announcement. The closure of post offices will disproportionately affect older people more than any other sector of Irish society. The lack of recognition of the importance of post offices is a worry for my party and, more importantly, for older people who rely so much on the local post office. An Post has confirmed that between 160 and 360 post offices will close across the country in the next four years. A national review is ongoing, with ten post offices closed on a temporary basis pending the results of the review. I accept that postmasters and postmistresses may choose to retire and it will not always be possible to retain the service in every town and village. However, every effort will have to be made to halt the decline and encourage users and customers to vote with their feet and choose their local post office. There is a whole generation that is not online or tech-savvy and who depend on the post office network. I will continue to campaign to retain post offices in order to ensure that older people can remain connected to their communities.

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