Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I also welcome the fact the Government made increases to core social welfare rates. However, it is important to note that they are not the solution to keeping people out of poverty. For some time now, the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice has been calling for a working age payment based on the minimum essential standard of living, and we support these calls. The consumer price index rose by 9.2% between October 2021 and October 2022. Even after these increases, people will still be chasing their tail as the cost-of-living crisis continues month after month.

One issue we will seek to rectify on Committee Stage is a review of the current system of means testing for people in receipt of the blind pension or disability allowance. The system is far too rigid. It does not allow for any discretion based on individual circumstances. Assessment is based on the income of all the earners in the household, which can cause problems.

The Government's report of December 2021 found that people living with disabilities face a higher cost of living, and we should have a system in place that rectifies this. We do not want a social welfare system that acts as a barrier to people with disabilities trying to access employment. The Report of the Child Maintenance Review Group, which was published last week, states that child maintenance requires radical reform as a matter of urgency. In 2018, Sinn Féin proposed the establishment of a child maintenance service. We outlined three basic principles for reform of the system, namely that the child or children would be central to all maintenance agreements, that lone parents would be assisted and supported throughout the entire process, and that maintenance would be treated as a means to lift children out of poverty and not as a source of household income. I hope the Minister and the Department will give these proposals serious consideration in light of last week's report.

The expansion of the fuel allowance is welcome but it is limited. We in Sinn Féin seek to have it expanded to include those receiving the working family payment, for example. We also called for a discretionary fund to help those who are struggling but are not eligible. This is a missed opportunity by Government in that people are struggling with the cost of heating their homes but find no supports available to them.

The final issue I wish to raise with the Minister is the difficulty people are having with the supplementary welfare and additional needs payments. Those applying for these payments are reaching out in desperation and we should have a process in place to acknowledge that. I welcome the awareness campaign the Department ran and I acknowledge she is addressing the backlogs but people should have the option to apply online for these payments. Many people feel embarrassed having to approach these services in their time of need. It is something cultural that needs to be addressed within the Department. It is the last line of financial support for those who are struggling and it should be compassionate in how it deals with people in their time of need.

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