Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the total amount of savings that she expects to achieve from the abolition of exceptional needs payments for religious ceremonies; the number who received such payments in 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19152/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Under the supplementary welfare allowance, SWA, scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment, ENP, to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The Department provides money for clothing for adults and children in exceptional circumstances. The Government has provided €47.6 million for the exceptional needs payment scheme in 2013. The special payments are payable at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments are targeted at those most in need of assistance.

A review of the guidelines on exceptional needs payments was carried out for the Department by a working group made up of community welfare service staff. One of the recommendations from the review was to address the different approaches taken, in different areas, in relation to the payment of exceptional needs payment in respect of religious ceremonies, mainly communions and confirmations, and to ensure that the SWA scheme is responding to financial need rather than to meet expected and foreseeable costs associated with such occasions. In 2011, only 25 payments for religious ceremonies issued in the north west of the country with more than 5,600 payments having issued in the eastern region, including Dublin. Average payments also differed for this period and ranged from between €189 in the north east to over €300 in the east of the country.

The working group recommended that payment of the allowance specifically in respect of religious ceremonies should cease. This recommendation has been implemented by the Department and it is expected that this measure will achieve annual savings of €1.5 million.

This recommendation does not affect the discretion available to officers administering the scheme in issuing an exceptional needs payment to assist an individual or household in a particular hardship situation which may arise. In 2013 to date, the Department has assisted some 600 families with costs towards children's clothing under the exceptional needs payment scheme at a cost of approximately €60,000.

The number of payments and amounts paid in respect of religious ceremonies in the years 2010 to 2012 is provided in the following table.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The relevant figure given by the Minister is €1.5 million. This is the amount the Government will save by depriving 14,000 families, many of whom are living in destitution, others on the verge of destitution, of this particular payment, out of a total budget of €56,472 million. I put it to the Minister that it is disingenuous to say people can have access to the exceptional needs payment in view of the fact that the Government slashed the it last year by €6 million in the budget. The Minister mentioned a figure of €46 million but failed to mention that the amount was €52 million the previous year. The reduction took place at a time when the newspapers carried reports of community welfare officers referring their clients to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and other charities. While the Minister has made various references to lavish payments and dresses costing €300 etc., will she agree that the cap introduced last year of just over €100 per family does not allow for this type of lavish expenditure? Will the Minister review the exceptional needs payment budget with a view to increasing it or, has she any intention of restoring the payment?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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When the former staff of the HSE, the community welfare officers, came into the Department of Social Protection about a year and a half ago they made many comments on how they could spend scarce money to the best advantage of people in need, both individuals and families. They came up with this proposal and pointed out that in the north west - Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim - such payments were almost unknown. Payments were made in exceptional cases where there was an unforeseen need in the family whereas in the east, particularly in the Dublin area, the average payment per child had increased to €300. They recommended that we review the payment and ultimately phase it out so as to provide for unforeseen needs. In respect of a number of events, people are aware of them in advance. We are spending almost €50 million on exceptional needs this year. The Deputy can sniff at €50 million and throw his hands up at it but the fact is that the party of which the Deputy is a member left this country in a state of such economic difficulty-----

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is giving a history lesson. She did not say much about that during the election campaign when she promised the sun, moon and stars.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister to conclude, please.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----that we had to find savings because we were relying on others.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Among the poorest of the poor.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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No.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Is that Labour Party policy?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The fact is we have maintained spending on social welfare at €20.3 billion. We have done that in the face of the enormous difficulties in which the Fianna Fáil Party left the country.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The community welfare officers advised the Minister how to spend scarce money. She was not too worried about scarce money while on this side of the House when she could find money for everything under sun. It is a mean cut and it should be reversed.

Why did the Minister wait until the eve of First Holy Communion and Confirmation, with the result that people did not have the chance to plan ahead? She spoke about expenditure coming to an average payment of €300 in the east and nothing in the north west. The fact remains that since last year the cap was €110. Will the Minister agree with me that no one can be particularly lavish with €110? She has made a statement that people can shop around and buy clothes at a reasonable price. They might be reasonably priced for the likes of the Minister, but they are not for the people whom the Labour Party was supposed to and elected to represent. These prices are out of their range and the Minister is out of touch.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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It is difficult to find money in the challenging economic situation left to us by the Deputy’s party.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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A situation in which the Minister was more than willing to take over.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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However, I have found nearly €50 million for special needs payments. The Deputy can scoff all he likes.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has slashed special needs payments.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Please, Deputy.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy has a cheek.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is a joke. She has some neck.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Fianna Fáil-----

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Protect child benefit - vote Labour.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Please, Deputy.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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This year the Department of Social Protection will spend €20.3 billion. That is a figure with a lot of noughts in case Deputy Willie O’Dea had not noticed.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I understand that.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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It comes from hard-working taxpayers’ tax and PRSI payments.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister was not too worried about spending hard-working taxpayers’ money when she was on this side of the House.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I will not apologise to the Deputy for having to make a decision to target that budget of €20.3 billion as best I can among older people, parents with children-----

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Did the Government target the rich? Why did it not target those earning over €100,000?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----and the 250,000 people who, unfortunately, lost their jobs owing to Fianna Fáil’s policies after 2008.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Government’s solution is to crush the poor. Is that Labour Party policy?

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Please, Deputy.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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We are getting people back to work.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Get off the stage.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Some 250,000 jobs were lost under Fianna Fáil.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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On a point of order, how many people has the Government got back to work?

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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That is not a point of order.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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On the other hand, we are getting people back to work. Under Fianna Fáil, 250,000 jobs were lost.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is a bluffer. The unemployment rate is the same.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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For the first time since 2008, we have got considerable numbers of people back to work.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister to move on to Parliamentary Question No. 2.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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How many are back in employment?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy has his legacy and has to live with it.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Tell that to the Minister's friends in the media.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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May I move on to the next question?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Labour Party members might be fooled into believing that, but no one else does.

Alan Farrell (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Come on, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I ask Deputy Willie O'Dea please to stop.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I will wait until he finishes. If he likes, I will sit down and let him rant about Fianna Fáil. Perhaps he wants to apologise. His apology is long overdue and I have not heard it from him yet. He should apologise to taxpayers and hard-working people.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Protect child benefit - vote Labour.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Please, Deputy.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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He is getting excited because the Ard-Fheis is near.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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It would take a lot more than the Minister to excite me.