Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 2: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the disclosure by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul that it spent some €41 million assisting families in need over the past year; his views on whether it is acceptable that a voluntary organisation such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul effectively should have to subsidise State supports to this extent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43406/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I record my appreciation for the work undertaken by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and others on behalf of the most vulnerable members of society, particularly families who for one reason or another are unable to survive financially, especially at times of difficulty or acute financial pressure.

Government support for families facing financial difficulty is provided mainly through the social welfare system which provides substantial income supports. In this regard, the Government is committed to improving significantly the standard of living of welfare dependent and low-income households and to making a decisive impact on poverty and social exclusion. Over the period since 1997, the Government has greatly increased the levels of income support provided through the social welfare system, and this was again evident in the increases announced last week as part of the budget. Expenditure on social welfare has increased by nearly 270% since 1997. In 2007, almost €15.5 billion is being allocated to social welfare compared with €5.7 billion in 1997.

The 2007 budget has provided more than €1.4 billion of an increase, the largest social welfare package ever in the history of the State. This is more than five times the amount allocated to social welfare in the 1997 budget. Almost one third of all current Government expenditure is being provided for social welfare in 2007 to support and benefit 1.5 million people directly. In recent years we have lifted more than 250,000 people, including 100,000 children, out of poverty. We have travelled some distance towards eliminating poverty and the measures I have outlined will pay a major part in confronting remaining poverty.

We are confronting the issue of fuel poverty, which I know is a concern of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Last year, I increased the fuel allowance by €5 a week to €14 and this year I increased it to €18 a week. This means that the level of the fuel allowance, which is paid to 274,000 recipients, will have doubled in the past two years. As I already announced in September last, as and from next January the number of free units of electricity and gas paid under the household benefits scheme will increase from 1,800 units to more than 2,400 units per year as part of a €50 million package to protect welfare customers from price increases.

I also announced a wide-ranging employment support package of €21 million in the budget, with measures built in to alleviate poverty and support activation by improving income disregards and tapers for the unemployed and qualified adults. The full package of measures I announced for carers will cost more than €107 million. It includes increases in the income disregards for entitlement to carer's allowance and a €300 increase in the respite care grant to €1,500 per year. I am also introducing fundamental structural reforms for carers. In future people in receipt of another social welfare payment, who also provide full-time care, will be able to retain their main welfare payment and receive another payment equivalent to a half-rate carer's allowance. Some 18,000 carers are likely to benefit by up to €109 per week. The recent budget package is a strong statement of the Government's commitment to the elderly, children, carers and all those who, for one reason or another, are more vulnerable in our society.

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. I accept and acknowledge that there has been a substantial increase in expenditure, especially in specific areas of the social welfare system such as for pensioners. Nevertheless, how does the Minister and his officials explain that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul must do this work? The Society of St. Vincent de Paul's ultimate aim is to render itself redundant because it is no longer required. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul does its excellent work because it must. It takes up church gate collections and organises raffles throughout the country. How does the Minister explain that in a time of unprecedented wealth and economic activity, voluntary organisations such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul must spend €41 million annually and help 300,000 families in financial difficulties? Those families must have been let down by the State social support system or they would not find themselves in such dire straits, necessitating recourse to those great volunteers who do tremendous work at all hours of the day and night, visiting people to ensure they are not hungry and have heat.

Some €7.5 million of the emergency support was for families who had no food, no money and no resources, €4.6 million was for food and €3.1 million for fuel. Approximately €1 million was spent reconnecting families to gas and electricity supplies but fuel prices escalated and, though the Commission for Energy Regulation reduced the increases, the prices projected for the next few weeks will still significantly impact on people with fixed incomes. Despite the Minister increasing the fuel allowances it was certainly not enough. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul sought a further €6 to the additional €18 and an extension of the period in which they were provided.

Does the Minister agree that fuel poverty is still one of the greatest threats to the comfort of elderly people and many on fixed or low incomes? They find it exceedingly difficult to meet significant fuel price increases and to keep warm and be able to prepare hot food, which is vital for their health. A lot has been done but much more needs to be done to prevent the activity of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul being curtailed and its spending cut. The figure of €41 million relates to 2005 so the 2006 figures will be worse.

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is at the forefront of this issue and encounters much hardship and deprivation. On behalf of all in the House, I thank the society for its work. Its volunteers knock on hundreds of thousands of doors in any one year and they are worth listening to. We did not meet all the requests in its pre-budget submission but we achieved much on issues such as school meals, CDAs, thresholds, automatic payments, basic rates, pensions, lone parents and family income supplements. We have met most of its main requests. Why it needs to spend €41 million on top of all the funds it receives is a good question. I assume it is that, just because one is poor or under pressure, prices are no cheaper. For what it could have bought for €5 million many years ago it now needs €41 million. It behoves us to listen to what the Society of St. Vincent de Paul states.

I recently offered a vacancy on the Combat Poverty Agency to the vice-president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Professor John Monaghan. He was concerned whether there would be a conflict of interest and I had to ask him a couple of times to convince him to take it because nobody knows the subject better than he does. It will help that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is represented on the Combat Poverty Agency and I am sure most people in the House will agree.

Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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I applaud that appointment.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 3: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the efforts his Department is making to support the diversity of family life and prevent the increasing number of breakdowns of marital and non-marital families; the key issues identified by his Department as contributing to and resulting from family breakdowns; the number of people availing of the different types of family services delivered through the Family Support Agency; the breakdown of same in each of the years 2004, 2005 and to date in 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43568/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department, through the Family Support Agency, has responsibility for a number of initiatives to support families and help prevent relationship breakdown. The scheme of grants for voluntary organisations providing marriage, child and bereavement counselling services is a non-statutory scheme of once-off grants to voluntary organisations providing a range of family counselling services aimed at enhancing stability in family life and assisting families and their members to deal with difficult periods which they may experience.

In 2006 over €9 million was provided by the agency and a total of 541 organisations countrywide have received funding under the scheme. During 2006, the agency also commissioned a review of the scheme and preliminary findings from the report indicate that up to 70,000 people benefit from the counselling provided. Some €10 million has been allocated to the scheme for 2007.

The Family Support Agency also administers the family and community services resource centre, FRC, programme. The emphasis in the family resource centres is on the involvement of local communities in developing approaches to tackle the problems they face and on creating successful partnerships between the voluntary and statutory agencies in the areas concerned. I am pleased to say that the Family Support Agency will deliver on the target set by the Government under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 of including 100 family resource centres in the programme nationwide by the end of 2006.

Government commitment to this key sector has seen an increase in funding from €8.39 million in 2004, to €12.94 million in 2006. The 2007 allocation of €18.75 million more than doubles the level of funding provided in 2004.

The Family Support Agency also has responsibility for the family mediation service, FMS, a free, professional and confidential service for couples, married and non-married, who have decided to separate or divorce and who together want to negotiate the terms of their separation or divorce with the help of a trained mediator.

A number of issues have been highlighted in recent research as contributing to relationship difficulties and family breakdown, including styles of conflict resolution, poor communication and partner criticism, domestic violence, alcohol abuse, child care and unfaithfulness. The FMS suggests that the age profile of their clients may be decreasing with more young and unmarried people seeking mediation.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

Family mediation assists separating couples to look at the resources and options open to them and to reach an agreement that meets the interests of both and those of their children. The service has 26 professionally-trained mediators working from a total of 16 centres nationally. Funding for the service has increased from €2.45 million in 2004 to €3.71 million in 2006. Funding will increase to over €3.9 million in 2007. The service assists almost 1,500 couples per annum.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his response. Does he accept that one in every six marriages ends in divorce? Is he concerned about the number of families, marital and non-marital, which break down? What is his Department doing to promote positive family development and family values? He has told us his views on the reasons behind the increase in family breakdown. Does he agree that more research needs to be carried out into the issues behind family breakdown and barriers to new family formation, and has he any plans in that regard? Has he carried out any research into the impact on children of family breakdown?

Is the Minister aware of the criticism of Barnardos and its assertion that early intervention and prevention is essential to address family problems? Many families accessing such services through the Family Support Agency and the Health Service Executive experience delays. The approach seems to be one of intervention rather than prevention so will he take action in that area? Is the Government concerned at the number of lone parent families with children under 20, which increased by 82% between 1995 and 2004, according to the Central Statistics Office report, Measuring Ireland's Progress 2004?

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The Family Support Agency is the main agency to address the issues the Deputy raises. It funds 541 organisations countrywide and deals with family counselling in all areas, including separation, divorce and bereavement. Those 541 organisations do a magnificent job. As I said, the preliminary findings of the study we carried out indicate that up to 70,000 people benefit from the counselling service. I have allocated €10 million to the scheme for 2007 and it is through those organisations we can give the most immediate support in cases of break-up.

The Family Support Agency provides a mediation service, post-break-up, for marital and non-marital families and funds organisations dealing with prevention. I have put the concept of offering the mediation service after the decision has been taken to separate to the Family Support Agency. Otherwise, its great talents might be too confined. I will ask the agency to determine whether it can become directly involved on the preventative side, but perhaps it feels it should do so through the organisations. I must rely on its professional judgment.

Deputy Stanton referred to the protection of children, which is the objective in this regard. While the relationship issue is important, protection of children in that situation is more important. For this reason, the Family Support Agency has substantial funds and resources to conduct acres of research, in which respect it is doing a good job.