James Bannon (Fine Gael)

No major review of the social welfare system has taken place since the establishment of the Commission on Social Welfare in 1983. That contrasts poorly with other areas, such as health and education, in which we know that there has been an embarrassment of riches when it comes to reviews and reports. Unfortunately, as we know only too well, there has been very little Government implementation. During my term as a member of the Midland Health Board, approximately 128 reports were presented by the Government, with little or no action.

While it has lacked the periodic review common in other areas, social welfare has seen three official reports on the system. The first, published in 1949, was a White Paper on social security. There were also two Green Papers, on a national income-related pension scheme in 1976, and on social insurance for the self-employed in 1998. I am sure that the Minister would agree that an update is overdue.

The first of the three reports appeared five years after publication of the 1942 Beveridge report, which revolutionised the British social welfare system. That report had an impact on Ireland and led to a children's allowance being established here in 1944, one year ahead of Britain. The main vehicle for social reform has traditionally been pre-budget submissions, with the most important concern being payment rates. It was through such a submission in 1982 that the National Social Services Board called for the establishment of a commission to carry out a fundamental review of the system. The commitment to establish such a review was part of the programme of the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government that entered office in December 1982. The commission's main terms of reference were "to review and report on the social welfare system and related social services and to make recommendations for their development having regard to the needs of modern Irish society".

The Minister will agree that modern Irish society has changed and evolved since 1983, but the Government has failed to modernise the social welfare system. Fine Gael calls on this lame duck Government to address and amend social welfare provisions in the upcoming budget in the light of current needs and entitlements. The main aim of social policy and social welfare is the alleviation of poverty, although Charles Murray sounded a note of caution regarding anti-poverty policy in the US when he wrote that "we tried to provide for the poor and produced more poor instead". This Government is certainly guilty of producing or permitting poverty among its citizens, and we are currently second only to the United States with regard to the relatively high proportion of the population living in poverty.

For example, as we approach this House each morning and leave each evening, we see people sleeping in appalling conditions in doorways, something mirrored in every town in the country. That must be a great embarrassment to a Dublin-based Minister for Social and Family Affairs and the current lame duck Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government. They should be named and shamed as the Government responsible for our spending much less on social protection than other European countries, with the greatest gap between rich and poor of any member state.

Let us recall the millions of euro of taxpayers' money wasted on aborted schemes such as e-voting, PPARS, Abbotstown, the faulty port tunnel and, last but not least, the website that never saw the light of day. It is the Minister's job to deal with that, but year after year nothing happens. The gap widens, and successive social welfare and pension Bills fail to rectify the problem. According to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, more than 50,000 householders are on the waiting list for social housing, and the estimated number of homeless households remains high, in 2002 totalling 3,773, compared with 3,743 in 1999. The number of children living in overcrowded, damp houses that are in disrepair has more than doubled between 1991 and 2002.

President McAleese is quoted in today's edition of The Irish Times as saying at the Filling the Vacuum conference that Ireland is at a crossroads where it could seek to become an equal society in which there was compassion for others, or a State wrapped in individualism, deaf to the voices of the excluded. We know this Government is deaf and blind when it comes to the marginalised in our society. My colleague, Senator Terry, outlined the ways in which this Government has deliberately fostered social exclusion and the areas most affected. Why has the Minister turned his back on families and individuals who are struggling to survive on inadequate social welfare provision while the rich get richer with the assistance of this shameful Government?

The Minister must give serious consideration to the fuel allowance for the elderly and less well off. That has not been addressed by the Government although it has been in power for eight years. The neglect of our elderly, some of whom in rural areas are living in cold conditions, is shameful.

The Government has cut the essential repair and disabled persons grants for the elderly. When I was a councillor ten years ago, an elderly person could get up to £22,500 under the disabled persons grant, and £16,000 under the essential repair grant. The maximum elderly people are getting now in the disabled persons grant is €12,000 and the essential repair grant is a maximum of €5,000. It is a pittance compared to what the Minister should be paying to the elderly and less well off.

In a time of plenty, the elderly, sick and less well off are suffering most. That is the reality. The Government can have as many spin doctors as it wants but I am talking about the reality, something I know about as a person on the ground in touch with the community, as are all my colleagues. People on the Government side of the House turn a blind eye to reality but come the next general election, the people will be waiting in the long grass to give the Minister their answer.