John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The main purpose of this Bill is to give legislative effect to the budget day announcements which primarily see increases of €5 across a range of social welfare payments and the extension of maternity benefit and leave for premature births.

As I said last year, in a society where we try to treat people equally I find it somewhat unfair and unacceptable that those working people who will benefit as a result of changes in taxation will see their benefit accrue from 1 January, but those dependent on social welfare must wait another three months. That has not been the case traditionally and it is noticeable that this period is extending. Every effort should be made in future budgets to align those two, not just from the point of view of the payments but that where there are benefits people are treated equally.

Shortly before the budget the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection and asked the committee if there was anything it would recommend. We emphasised two issues: lone parents and the contributory State pension. I acknowledge some changes that are aimed at lone parents. Deputy O'Dea referred to the challenges facing those, particularly children, in lone parent households: 26.2% of lone parent households were in consistent poverty in 2015; 36.2% are at risk of poverty and 57.9% of them experience deprivation. I acknowledge some progress has been made in that regard in this budget but the Department commissioned reports on it and the committee investigated this area and there are huge challenges. The risk of poverty and deprivation in that group of people is very significant and further work needs to be done.

The second issue is the State contributory pension, and I was disappointed on budget day not to hear any mention of the anomaly arising from the 2012 changes. The Minister's appearance before the committee today was very helpful. She clarified the situation. For the first time many realised that the cohort of people directly affected by the 2012 changes will be addressed as a stand alone issue, separate from the future total contributions system. I look forward to the Minister's report to the Cabinet sub-committee and advancing that. It is important that those people who were disproportionately affected in 2014 are dealt with fairly. The Minister has acknowledged this because for too long it had been indicated that the only solution for them was as a result of a change to a brand new pension system. Dealing with these people as a group that has been adversely affected is important.

I have a slight concern about mortgage interest supplement despite raising this with the Minister at the committee meeting this morning. It is not mentioned in the budget or the Bill. The Minister answered me but it was very specifically due to expire at the end of this year and there have been no new entrants for several years. The Minister said there will be solutions. She needs to bear in mind the people in receipt of this. I ask her to make a commitment that they will continue to receive that payment and that whatever administrative changes the Minister or Department need to make will be seamless for those people. The last thing we need is for somebody in receipt of this payment to be at risk of losing their own home as a result. It is a relatively small sum of money, approximately €4 million was spent this year, and it is a declining number of people but they have not found solutions to their housing problem. It is a real issue and the concern is that the Minister's predecessor had indicated that this was due to expire and I would like a clear comment on how it will be dealt with.

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