Derek McDowell (Labour)

I am in a minority in my party, as we Dubs are in all parties. Occasionally, we have to speak up for ourselves and for those civil servants who want to stay in this glorious city of ours.

My party supports a serious programme of decentralisation which is intended to provide for regional development based on the spatial strategy. I do not see that in this plan. What I see is a programme for local government candidates from Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats throughout the country. I do not believe civil servants should be asked to sacrifice their careers on the basis of a local government manifesto for Fianna Fáil.

What we have seen today in regard to social welfare is a serious disappointment. I spoke on this issue a couple of weeks ago during Private Members' business when the Minister Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Coughlan, was present. I said – the Minister seemed to agree – that we would be entitled to judge this on the basis of the programme for Government which stated that it would make serious progress towards meeting the target of having the lowest rate of social welfare at approximately €182 in 2007. That requires a real rather than an actual increase of approximately one quarter over the four years in between. What we see today just about marks time with inflation and does not greatly exceed the increase in other incomes. We will not make any progress on the Government's targets set out in the programme for Government which refers to €182 as being the lowest rate of social welfare benefit in 2007.