Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to debate and welcome the significant changes that have been made, particularly for married couples, pensioners and single workers. In particular, it is important to point out that if the average wage is somewhere around €40,000 or €45,000, two earners, perhaps a married couple, would have approximately €95,000 between them. There is significant benefit for them in the budget. The changes to tax bands, credits and the USC band rate, the childcare fee reduction, the double child benefit payment, the electricity credits, the free school books and the reduced public transport costs, etc., will put a total of €4,569 in their pockets. That is welcome and to be lauded.

A married couple each with average earnings and with two children in a crèche will be taking home an extra €5,000 per annum. That is of enormous benefit to such people.

I listened to the Sinn Féin spokesperson on older people who clearly, I say respectfully, has not read what the outcome for married pensioners will be. The State pension increases for a couple will, over the course of a year, give them an additional €1,248. The double Christmas bonus will give them €531. The double payment will give them €555. The electricity credit will give them €450. If they are entitled to the fuel allowance, it will be worth an additional €300. That will put more than €3,000 in the pockets of retired pensioners who need it very badly. That is very welcome.

There have been significant changes and benefits. We talk, in particular, about people who are working. Consider a single person earning €22,900 per year, which is half the average salary, and who is renting. With the increase in the minimum wage, tax credits, changes in the USC band, the electricity credit, the rental tax credit and the reduced cost of public transport, such people will have an additional €3,686 per annum. That is a significant advantage to them.

A working single person will end up with €1,200 more in his or her pocket per annum. A married couple with one earner and two children, one in secondary school and the other in college, will have over €3,600 more in their pockets per annum. It is wrong for people to say there are not significant improvements in income. There clearly are such improvements and they are welcome.

I also welcome the additional 1,000 housing adaptation grants in the budget. However, I must say that this does not go far enough. It is time for the Government to publish the report on housing adaptation grants. As I understand it from reading the Alone report on its investigation in this area, there are at least 3,500 older people and people with disabilities who are waiting on the 26 local authority waiting lists. There are different numbers on the waiting lists of different counties. My own county of Louth has the highest number of people who have applied for housing adaptation grants and been accepted by the council but are still waiting. Some 562 people are in that situation. It is a high percentage. That is the number of people recorded as waiting for the grant. Galway County Council, which is in the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's county, has 550 on its waiting list. Limerick has 413 such people. There is a significant issue here and considerable change is required. We have not gone far enough and we must look after disabled people.

The Ministers in the relevant Department have not dealt with the issue. I have rarely seen a more obvious injustice and inequality in any Administration. There are people who are living in mobile homes where the energy is supplied by the park owner and they do not have individual electricity meters. They still remain locked out of the €800 electricity credit they should have got and that will remain the situation unless the Government changes its policy. The Minister of State needs to speak to his officials. Fat cats and millionaires in Irish society can get this credit while one of the most vulnerable cohorts in our society, those who live permanently in such accommodation, cannot get it. Part of the issue is that officials claim such people should get proof of engagement with an energy supplier for social welfare but they cannot get that proof because they do not have an energy supplier. They are a part of one group meter. It is important that I do not have to appeal this case to the Information Commissioner because of redacted details that the Department is refusing to release to me about why this policy is being maintained. I will continue to raise this matter. It is time to embarrass the powers that be in the Department to ensure this wrong is addressed.

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