Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to address the increasing deprivation rate here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5029/15]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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My question asks the Minister to respond to the recent CSO report that showed levels of poverty at the end of 2013 had risen appreciably over the previous period.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The CSO recently published its release on the survey of income and living conditions for 2013, known as SILC. This survey found that the basic deprivation rate was 30.5%, an increase of 3.6% on the 2012 figure. The two most commonly experienced indicators of deprivation were stated as “unable to afford to replace any worn out furniture” and “unable to afford a morning, afternoon or evening out in the past fortnight”. These indicators were experienced by one in four of the individuals surveyed. The rise in basic deprivation has affected all income groups and reflects the legacy on households of the economic crisis since 2008.

Since 2012 to 2013, the period referred to in this survey, there have been significant improvements in the economy. For instance, unemployment and long-term unemployment have fallen significantly. The January live register figures published yesterday show a reduction in the numbers of over 70,000 people unemployed since 2013. The unemployment rate fell yesterday again to 10.5%.

Poverty is strongly linked to unemployment and as employment increases, we can expect to see decreases in poverty and deprivation. The best way to reduce poverty is through getting a job. The Government has protected the incomes of the bottom income 20% - or quintile, as it is termed - by maintaining core welfare rates. While deprivation has increased, it should be noted that the at-risk-of-poverty rate has declined from 16.5% in 2012, to 15.2% in 2013. The at-risk-of-poverty rate for 2013 is, in fact, lower than that in 2005 at the height of the boom when it was 18.3%. A key reason for this fall is the effectiveness of social transfers in reducing income poverty. SILC 2013 shows that, excluding pensions, social welfare transfers lifted one third of the population out of poverty. In budget 2015, we further enhanced the poverty reduction effect of social transfers, such as increases in child benefit and the living alone allowance and the restoration of the Christmas bonus.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister seems to indicate that trends since the end of 2013 would show a different result if these figures were taken up now.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Excuse me, Deputy, it is difficult for us to hear the Deputy on this side of the House.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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My apologies. The Minister seems to indicate that the position has improved appreciably since the end of 2013 to which these figures relate. The Department of Social Protection in its assessment of the 2015 budget admits, more or less, that it is regressive, like all the four budgets that preceded it. I refer to the Minister's own document which states that the distributive effect of budget 2015 is uneven, with higher than average gains for better-off quintiles - who make up 10% of the population - and that middle and lower quintiles gain less than the average, with the smallest gain in the bottom quintiles.

The statistics for the end of 2013 showed that over 30% - more than 1 million people in this country - were suffering some form of enforced deprivation. It also showed that almost one in eight children - 135,000 to be specific - had sunk into consistent poverty.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please put your question, Deputy, as we are over time.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Is the Minister claiming that the situation has improved appreciably since the end of 2013? The Government's target is to reduce consistent poverty to 4% by 2016. In view of the fact that consistent poverty increased from 7.7% to 8.2% between 2012 and 2013, does she think she will achieve that target?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I refer to the survey published by my Department which states specifically that the particular models used are based on a model called Switch. It was not possible to take into account certain changes and this has been acknowledged. It is a comparison of social welfare and tax measures. Tax measures help people who are in work and who are liable to pay tax. Deputy O'Dea will have read the survey and he will know that it shows the impact of the USC reduction is significantly greater for everyone except the top quintile or the top 20% in the Department's survey. We focused on lifting 80,000 people out of the USC and on lowering the two USC entry rates. People earning more than €70,000 a year and €100,000 a year, paid a higher rate of USC to compensate for the reductions for those on lower incomes. This is all set out and people are aware of those changes. Those who earn €10,000 a year had previously paid the USC but now they will not pay the USC until they earn over €12,000 a year.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Surely the Minister will agree with me that the recent ESRI survey took into account USC changes and it also took into account projected increases in prices and in living standards. It concluded that almost half the population were worse off as a result of budget 2015.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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That is wrong.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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The conclusion from the Department is startlingly obvious: the more one earns, the more one gains, while the less one earns, the less one gains. I suggest to the Minister that this is as a direct result of all of the regressive budgets introduced by the Government. Is she aware that in countries which also had to impose austerity such as Poland, the statistics show an entirely different result? It was possible to impose austerity but to make different choices in order that one in 12 children in this country would not be living in consistent poverty. Does the Minister agree with me?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy cites Poland as an example, but our child benefit payment which went up in the recent budget and which anyone who looks at the impact of a budget will agree is extremely progressive is €135 per month. Is the Deputy seriously suggesting we move to the Polish system of child benefit, under which the payment is well below €30 or €40 per month?

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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I am talking about child poverty, not child benefit.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy is suggesting ---

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Different countries have different payments. The Tánaiste is misleading the House.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy is implying that the Polish social welfare system is better than Ireland's.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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It has a lower level of child poverty than Ireland.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Irish social welfare system provides an income which is many times that provided under the Polish system. The Deputy drew on the example of the Polish system.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Has the Tánaiste read the UNICEF report?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am just pointing to the facts. The recent increase in child benefit brings the payment to €135 per child per month and it will be increased again in the next budget. I have already undertaken to do this. The child benefit payment in Ireland is going up, while the payment in Poland is relatively quite small.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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Yet we have more children living in poverty.