Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are taking ten minutes each. Before I turn to the Bill, I wish to set out a few background points. In budget 2009, medical cards were means tested and the automatic entitlement to a medical card for over-70s was abolished. In the emergency budget of 2009, the social welfare Christmas bonus was abolished, jobseeker's allowance for those under 20 was reduced to €100 per week, children's allowance was subject to means tests and taxed, rent supplement was halved and overall education cuts, which affected many lone parents among others, totalled €134 million.

In 2010, jobseeker's allowance for those under 21 was cut to €100, the minimum wage was cut by €1 per hour, there was a 4% cut in social welfare payments, excluding the old-age pension, and child benefit was cut by €16 each month. This is a list of all the budget cuts since 2008. In budget 2011, there was a €20 cut in child benefit for a third child and a €10 cut to child benefit for the first and second child, an €8 cut in the jobseeker's payment, pension contributions were made subject to PRSI and USC and carer's allowance for those under 66 was cut by €8 to €186 per week. In 2012, child benefit for a third or subsequent child was again cut, disability allowance for new claimants aged 18 to 21 was cut from €188 to €100, JobBridge was introduced, and the winter fuel allowance was cut by six weeks and €120 per year. The list goes on for 2013 and 2014.

Everyone who is getting a €5 increase has suffered eight years of austerity and they are still trying to recover from it. While it is welcome that there is a €5 increase rather than a €5 decrease, it is an underwhelmingly small amount. The Government is also adopting the pattern of last year by bringing in the changes in March 2018, which is a third of the way through the year. The change will be impacted by the rise in electricity, gas and other fuel costs in February and March next year when the big companies introduce their increases. Tenants who get a €5 increase in their pensions will have so much taken out through increases in their local authority rents. It is not an effective budget. I was speaking to some lone parents who told me that while they welcome the income disregard increasing from €110 to €130, the partial restoration of the income disregard still leaves it €16.70 per week lower than when it was introduced in 1997. It is clearly an important point. Compared to 1997, these women face inflation in the costs of getting children to school and so on. As such, the budget fails to deal with the real crux of eight years of austerity and does very little to reverse it.

I do not think the Minister is taking the issue of maintenance recovery very seriously. Deputy Brady is putting forward a proposal in the AV room next week but I have received an email from SPARK. A lone parent contacted us last week. She is a mother of a young baby who was contacted by the maintenance recovery unit of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, who told her that under the conditions of the one-parent family allowance she was obliged to seek maintenance payments and a failure to comply would mean her payment would be ceased. She was assaulted during her pregnancy and she had a safety order against the father of the child. She advised the Intreo office of this when she initially applied for the one-parent family payment and also provided them with a copy of her safety order. She does not want to apply to the courts for maintenance as to do so she would have to reveal her address on the court summons and she does not want to see her ex-partner again.

This letter caused the mother huge stress at a very vulnerable time in her life. This woman is not only struggling to rebuild her life as an abuse survivor but is also raising a young baby alone. Fortunately, the mother contacted the maintenance recovery unit who were very understanding and told her they had not been notified of the safety order from the local office. There is a breakdown between the Intreo office and the maintenance recovery office and information has to be passed on more effectively. Maintenance recovery has to be looked at again because when a child turns seven the Department will not be able to get maintenance from the liable relative as the mother will lose one-parent family payment. Lone parents were badly affected during the recession and the Indecon report stated that the State saved €261 million on changes to the one-parent family payment between 2013 and 2016 while lone parents and their children at the consistent poverty rate increased by 50% from 2012 and 2015, according to the EU SILC report.

I debated the introduction of the anomalous pensions legislation in 2012, which was one of the most despicable acts by any Minister, especially given that it was a Labour Party Minister. I have consistently raised it in the Dáil with Deputy Burton, the Taoiseach and the Minister. It has to be dealt with and it cannot go on. I am pleased the Minister is attempting to deal with it. I have an amendment calling for a report on the 2012 anomaly and for it to be reinstated at the next budget at the latest, with a report to be laid before the House in three months' time.

This was supposed to be the social welfare and pensions Bill but we are told the pensions Bill will come in separately at a later date.

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