Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I thank the Minister for her attendance. I wish to touch on some of the positives in the recent announcement which result from the Minister's input and the confidence and supply agreement, such as the €5 per week increase in social welfare payments, including the old age pension. The reinstatement of the 100% Christmas bonus is very welcome, as are the reduction in prescription charges for the over 70s, the extension of the fuel allowance payment to 27 weeks and the increase in the back-to-school allowance which affects many people in that category of need.

However, I would like to mention some areas it might have been better to have looked at in a more positive light.

It is disappointing that the living alone allowance has not been increased because those who receive it feel somewhat disenfranchised. Obviously, they are extremely vulnerable. They would have liked an increase in the living alone allowance. Even though many people who live in urban and remote environments rely on their phones, there was no further enhancement of, or attempt to reinstate, the allowance to help such people. Those who live alone depend on their phones to contact the outside world when things go wrong. They also need phone connections to facilitate panic and security alarms. The mobile phone network is not always reliable or consistent and can vary from location to location. I am asking for the phone allowance to be looked at because it is of great importance for elderly people who live on their own and need their phones for contact and especially for security.

Self-employed people need to be able to access better supports when they are out of work. Many of them create employment in their own right and thereby create vibrancy in the local economy. If they end up out of work for any reason - perhaps because of a slowdown in their jobs or because they are out sick - they continue to have to contend with outgoings like mortgages and living costs. They cannot access the State payments or supports that can be accessed by others who are not self-employed. This is something that needs to be examined because, for reasons with which we are familiar, self-employed people who create employment are the lifeblood of local economies. They should get better supports. We should seek to roll out support mechanisms to them over a phased period so that they are not disenfranchised in the way they have been up to now.

I would like to mention two other issues, the first of which relates to defined benefit scheme pensions. A number of people in my constituency have brought to my attention an issue that arose when a defined benefit scheme closed down. The retired members first made a claim under the insolvency payments scheme in respect of unpaid employers' contributions as long ago as 2010. Eight years on, no decision has been made on that. I ask the Department to consider the need for a body or organisation to which these grievances can be referred. The pensions organisations do not have the resources to challenge pension schemes or well-financed companies. That is causing a major problem for people who have done the right thing by making contributions, but in whose cases returns have not been made by their employers. Such people are finding a major negative. There are considerable time delays in having such issues dealt with.

I wanted to raise an issue relating to the Tús scheme with the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty. It is a pity that she has left the Chamber. I am well aware that she has been here all evening. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, will bring the point I am about to make to her attention. There is a lack of flexibility in the Tús scheme. As public representatives, we all see this in our communities. People who have been on the Tús scheme for 12 months have to move to the JobPath scheme. When they have moved to JobPath, they are not allowed to pursue, or engage actively with, the Tús scheme in parallel. This is causing major problems. As unemployment decreases and employment increases, fewer people are coming through from the social welfare system to fill positions on the Tús scheme. I have worked closely with my colleague, Deputy O'Dea, on this issue. The Minister accepted the proposals made by Deputy O'Dea regarding the CE scheme. The flexibility that was afforded in that case should also be afforded in the case of the Tús scheme.

People who work with voluntary groups and organisations all over the country - the list is endless and it includes football clubs, athletics clubs and tidy towns committees, etc. - have to finish up with the Tús scheme after 12 months and go into JobPath. As we know, JobPath involves meeting a team leader or case worker once a week to get help in putting CVs together as part of the effort to access full-time employment. That does not take up 19.5 or 20 hours a week. I have raised this with the Minister and her officials. I hope she will consider the introduction of some type of flexibility in this scheme. There is no cost to the State. I am well aware that we cannot make changes that would impose a cost on the State. To the best of my knowledge, having spoken to and received information from officials in the Department, there is no cost to the State. It is clear that after people have done a Tús scheme for 12 months, they have to move to JobPath. They should be afforded some flexibility so that they can continue on the Tús scheme while engaging with their JobPath case workers in parallel. The coaching they receive in the context of JobPath helps them as they try to get into full-time employment. I understand that meetings with case workers take up approximately two hours a week. This means that community groups and clubs could get 17 hours a week, as opposed to the 19.5 or 20 hours a week they currently get. This would be extremely welcome because they are getting nothing in these circumstances at the moment.

I have contacted the Department and tabled parliamentary questions to ascertain why people are not coming through in various areas to fill vacancies. As we all know, the reason is that some people are ineligible and others might not meet particular criteria. As the rate of unemployment decreases, the numbers are not there. The fact that someone is on a Tús scheme or a CE scheme for one or two years - I am focusing on the Tús scheme at the moment - will not prevent him or her from seeking out full-time employment. I do not see a negative here. Participation in a Tús scheme is not a negative against a person. It does not prevent him or her from getting full-time employment. That will not happen. If he or she is driven by the search for full-time employment, he or she will seek it out in its own right without engaging with JobPath. I understand the policy that is there. I understand the regulation which provides that a person in these circumstances must engage with JobPath after a year. That is fine, but I ask the Minister to look at making the regulation more flexible so that people can engage with JobPath while working on a Tús scheme at the same time. That would be of considerable benefit to JobPath participants, especially those who are socially excluded for the time during the week when they are not involved in any scheme. It would also be a major advantage for host groups, such as sports clubs, and for the community. The added value that these schemes and those who participate in them bring to host groups and communities is underestimated. Without this extremely valuable work, we would not have the wonderful organisations and communities that we have. I hope the Minister will consider this point.

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