Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on the Second Stage of the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Bill 2006. It is a great privilege to be in a situation whereby the Minister has a budget of €1.12 billion to spend in the whole area of social welfare. This money will be used to look after people who need to be looked after because they cannot look after themselves or because they are entitled to be looked after given the contributions and efforts they have made over many years helping to build and sustain the Celtic tiger.

When we discussed the Social Welfare Bill after the budget, I said to the Minister that it is a great honour for him to be able to work in the Department of Social and Family Affairs and to put money into social welfare. The challenge for him, which he is properly facing up to fairly well, is not to sit back and say he has done all of this, there is not much more to do and that he does not need to change anything. As he recognised in his contribution and in the fine initiatives he has put in place, the responsibility on him is even greater in times of prosperity to ensure he gets the best value for money for the taxpayers. As the Minister has said in this House on many occasions and recently in the other House, €1 in every €3 spent is spent on social welfare. That is a significant responsibility and it is important to ensure the investment in our social welfare system benefits all the people and is fairly distributed.

I wish to focus on a number of key issues, including child benefit. Since becoming a Member of this House, each year I have been pleased with the considerable improvements to child benefit. Child benefit is the main payment making a difference to the lives of families. Whether a family is rich or poor, a lone parent family, a family with two, four, six or more children, that payment makes a huge difference each month. It is not taxed or means-tested but, most especially, it is directed in most cases at the mother. It is one of the principal pillars on which our social welfare system is built and of which we should be proud. We must continue to protect it and ensure it does the job it is supposed to do and that it is primarily used as a method to address child poverty and alleviate the cost of looking after children which, as we all know, becomes more expensive each day.

Each year a considerable amount of the Minister's budget is spent on child benefit and it will continue to increase year on year. However, it is important we draw up the guidelines and parameters within which we will measure its success. While a certain amount will need to be paid, when we pass a certain point, the key challenge will be whether we are politically brave enough to ask if this additional money is addressing child poverty, which child benefit should address, and if it is time to ensure a redistribution so that everybody does not get exactly the same amount as we move forward.

I very much welcome the early child care supplement which will address some of the issues. We recognise that the years between birth and six years of age in a child's life are some of the most expensive. That is being addressed with a targeted measure. I do not want anyone in receipt of child benefit being taxed or means-tested but if we continue to give the type of increases we have given to date, we must ensure there is a proper targeted mechanism.

It is important to reflect on the record to date. For a family of four to receive a payment of €670 each month is significant, makes a difference and is welcome. A family of six will receive a payment of €1,040 following the introduction of the increases on 1 April. I acknowledge the benefit it will bring and, in particular, the fact it is targeted at children, the family and, most of the time, at the mother or the principal carer of the family.

Before Christmas following the budget, I reflected on the early child care supplement. I said it was a remarkable and radical initiative which I very much welcome. It is smart, effective and will make a difference. It will make a significant difference for some though not all families. However, it is a recognition that looking after children is important, whether one gets somebody outside the home to do so or whether one stays at home to look after them. The supplement should be commended and welcomed. I, for one, am proud of it.

While I know the Minister is not one to rest on his laurels, there is a need for flexibility to be able to spend time at home looking after one's children and to stay at home if a child is sick. If, God forbid, a child is out sick for two or three weeks and one must take time off, parental leave provides that flexibility but not everybody can afford to take such leave. A priority for next year, in the partnership talks, in next year's budget and so on should be the issue of paid parental leave on a phased basis. We started with maternity leave, paying maternity benefit on a phased basis. Maternity leave has now been extended and I commend the Government on that initiative. If we do not move towards paid parental leave, we are wasting our time and are merely pretending parental leave is of benefit to people. It is only of benefit to a group of people who earn a certain amount of money. It is not a universal benefit and a true child-focused, family-oriented measure. It is a great measure, particularly since it has been extended to eight years, and it is an important one in the lives of families.

As I have said before, our children are our future. They will look after us when we are old and grey, they will continue to look after this country and provide for all of us as we move towards old age and they will pay the taxes to sustain the country. We must invest in them and in the family so that children growing up do not become involved in anti-social behaviour and do not wander the streets with nobody to look after them. We must ensure there is a proper family structure of which we can be proud. We must prioritise the necessary measures in terms of what we need to do next in the areas of child benefit, child poverty, the family and child care costs.

We must make a clear decision on parental leave, which I suggest should be tied into social partnership. Following the partnership talks and in next year's budget, we should introduce paid parental leave for perhaps eight weeks next year for either parent. We could then increase it from eight weeks to 16 weeks, to 24 weeks and so on. If we do not make a commitment given the current position of the economy, paid parental leave will never be introduced and it would be a terrible shame to leave children and families that type of legacy.

In regard to childminding relief, I very much congratulate the Minister on the way he dealt with the social welfare issue and on the way in which people taking up this relief can pay social welfare contributions and build up stamps towards whatever benefits they wish to avail of in the future. It is smart and unique and is something of which we should be particularly proud. We spoke about childminding relief on many occasions in this House and suggested it to the Minister, the Minister for Finance and the Minister of State with responsibility for children. I was delighted to see it implemented and tied to the social welfare contribution. This radical and important relief gives a sense of equality and value to people looking after up to three children in their own homes and who can earn an income of up to €10,000 per annum.

It is all about joined-up Government. We cannot have child minding relief and child benefit if we lack other elements that allow flexibility in the workplace such as parental leave and support for organisations and companies that allow for shared working hours, mother hours and term-time hours.

The extension of carer's leave from 15 months to two years is important. Someone came to me after the budget who was approaching the end of the 15 months and that person was delighted because it made a huge difference. The carer's leave and carer's benefit model is highly effective. Parental leave and benefit for the period of leave is the most logical next step.

Sometimes we ask if the €11 billion in social welfare makes a real difference to people's lives. The respite grant makes a huge difference and the significant increase and universal availability for anyone looking after a child with a disability or an older relative are particularly welcome. They have made a major difference to the lives of these people who are providing such an important and valuable service.

We have spoken before about the effectiveness of the Department and its officials in communicating with people. We must recognise the changing society in Ireland and the many different nationalities working here. All information on benefits, particularly child benefits and the family income supplement, should be available to those who do not have English as a first language. Many workers in lower paid jobs whose first language is not English are entitled to support from the State. It is important, therefore, that they are made aware of the benefits and payments they can get under different schemes.

We appear to have stopped talking about rent allowance but spending it in the present way is a complete waste of money that is making private landlords richer every day. That money should be dedicated to the purchase of houses administered by the local authorities to build up our housing stock. We would also no longer need to rely on local authorities building 100 units each year. The rent allowance being paid every month should be used by a treasury management organisation to buy assets in order that we no longer make private landlords any richer.

I appeal to the Minister to examine the situation for those in receipt of the widow's or widower's pension who cannot claim carer's benefit. It is scandalous. If I look after someone and my husband is working, I have an income disregard for his salary. If I am a widow or widower I can only get one pension from the State. That is not fair and must be changed.

I commend the Bill to the House.