Dáil debates

Tuesday, 22 November 2022

Social Welfare Bill 2022: Second Stage

 

6:40 pm

Photo of Paul McAuliffePaul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have to put this Bill in context. It is in the context of the Social Welfare Bill and the Finance Bill, of the announcements made on budget day and the resources this Government has been able to gather from the people of Ireland and those people who invest in Ireland to create wealth so that we can redistribute it. At the beginning of Covid-19 many people would have said it would be surprising if Ireland was in a position to make an €11 billion intervention without borrowing. We should not forget how the money arrived here. It was due to effective management of the economy.

There is a once-off issue here which is the war in Ukraine. That is having an energy impact. Therefore once-off payments are one way to approach that because we do not know what will happen next year. We have left aside resources to deal with further increases if they are needed. In regard to how we protected people on energy price rises, Dr. Barra Roantree of the ESRI said:

...the Government’s approach to insulating households from the recent rise in energy prices has been effective. Targeted welfare measures combined with universal household energy credits will do more for most lower income households this winter than had welfare payment rates risen in line with inflation both this year and next.

We have done more than if welfare payments had risen in line with inflation. That is not to say that we do not understand the pressures that increasing energy costs place on families. On increasing energy costs we have effectively doubled, between extending weeks and additional payments, the fuel allowance in the time that this Government has been together. I also welcome the increase in the fuel allowance eligibility thresholds for those over 70 to €26,000 annually for an individual and €52,000 annually for a couple. That is an incredibly welcome intervention. That will have a real impact. Many people who did not believe they would ever get fuel allowance will now be able to apply, that is almost 81,000 people. They will also be able to get access to the Better Energy Warmer Homes scheme. That means they will be able to insulate their homes for free. That is real action in tackling the energy crisis. Of course we have already seen the increases with the double payment for child benefit in November, the €500 cost-of-living payment, the €500 disability support grant and in December we will see the Christmas double payments. I welcome all those measures.

I also welcome drawing a line under the CE supervisors’ claim for pensions which this Bill does. As the Minister knows we have spoken about it many times. Many people will be unhappy with this arrangement. I am happy that finally the Government has acknowledged in this payment that we should make a contribution to pensions with an average payment of €11,000 to 2,500 beneficiaries for that period between 2008 and 2023. Some will be cut out by that who perhaps worked until 2010 and might only get two years. I feel sorry for them because if you are a meals-on-wheels service and you have a limited company established by a CE supervisor to carry out that meals-on-wheels service that is funded by the HSE that really should not be in the Minister’s Department. That should be a HSE service delivering meals-on-wheels. We should think about that as a proper pensionable position. Overall this is about protecting people who live in this State. It is about managing the economy and making sure that we as a Government do our very best.

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