Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Otto von Bismarck said that politics is the art of the possible. We saw what was suddenly possible during the pandemic when the rule book went out the window and hospitals were effectively nationalised. It was suddenly clear to the Government that it was not possible to exist on the basic rates of social welfare.

While I welcome recent discussions around linking social welfare rates to previous income, we must ensure we do not leave part-time workers and the lower paid behind. Social welfare rates should be based on a minimum essential standard of living. We in Sinn Féin want to reform our social protection system by ensuring that all social welfare rates are adequate and protect those who rely on them from poverty. The current social welfare rates are far behind where they need to be and this has been highlighted by the cost-of-living crisis.

I met recently with a number of groups providing food bank services in south Kildare. They are doing great work in tackling food poverty but if we had a living wage for workers and an adequate safety net for those who lose their jobs or cannot work, they would not have to exist. The irony is that we have Government politicians looking for photo ops with these food banks, which is a disgrace.

While there are good people working in our social welfare system, there is far too much red tape. All of the application forms need to be reviewed. The form for carer's allowance, for example, is 40 pages long. The whole system needs to be streamlined. Applications for disability allowance are taking three months to process. There are huge backlogs in supplementary welfare applications. People with no incomes are being forced to live hand to mouth while they wait on a decision. The Department is clearly under pressure. The Government must invest in the people necessary to bring the service into the 21st century and it needs to start paying a living wage to civil servants. New entrants are paid little more than the minimum wage. We should be leading by example.

We also need to make it easier for people who have not been in good health in the past to get back to work. If someone starts a job or a business and his or her health does not hold up, he or she can often spend weeks trying to get back into the system. Sometimes the stress of failing becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need to ensure they can hold on to entitlements for a reasonable period and can get their payment back immediately if necessary. The safety net will encourage them to take risks if they are able to. We have submitted a number of amendments around rates and criteria and I urge all Deputies to support them. Maybe Deputy Cathal Crowe might understand that as well.

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