Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House and the opportunity to speak on this particularly innovative Bill. We have heard the Minister outline the statistics on spending and the doubling of the social welfare budget in the past six years to €13.5 billion in 2006. However, the Minister recognised that the issue is not just about payments or money. To deal with this sensitive and complex area and tackle the causes of unemployment and social disadvantage will take close study. The reform of any social policy must be tackled in a sensitive way and the Minister is succeeding in this respect. In recent years a number of changes have been made to the welfare system which have improved matters on the ground for people in their everyday lives.

In this debate and in previous speeches the Minister pointed out that every individual has potential, regardless of their circumstances, living conditions or educational background. The Bill recognises this point and changes the system that has been in place for a long time to benefit those who have been falling through the cracks. Every day of the week, people young and old, who have not kept up with the changes and opportunities which have arisen in recent years due to our increased prosperity and income, are falling through the cracks.

Of 80,000 lone parents who care for 130,000 children, few of whom I have experience did not want to get back to work or go on to further education. Some of the schemes introduced, such as the community employment scheme, which fulfilled a need at the time of its introduction, have outlived their usefulness. This is an area we must examine. The community employment schemes encouraged young people, in particular young parents and more particularly lone parents, to enter a cycle whereby they would join a scheme for a year, obtain an extension for a second year and then obtain a further extension for a third year. At the end of that time, they would have no qualifications.

While the scheme fulfilled a need when there was an employment shortage, those on the schemes ended up with nothing. Unfortunately, such people re-enter the welfare system and do not have an opportunity to move on. The Bill recognises that situations arise, particularly for lone parents, where support of the unemployed is required to ensure that no matter what the circumstances, they are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities which arise.

It has been noted in numerous debates that training and education are the keys to employment. The more we can encourage and enable people to become involved in further training and education, the better. The Bill deals with this matter in great detail and takes it as a potential area for improvement, which must be welcomed.

The Bill also tackles pensioner poverty. For years, pensioners have complained that when they reached retirement age, they found it tough to cope with their basic needs, whether on a State contributory or non-contributory pension. Moreover, if such people had a small pension or top-up income as well as the State pension, it disallowed them from many other payments. The changes to the means disregards will provide an opportunity for many in this grey area. Such people must be catered for, which is the aim of the Bill.

People are entitled to a decent pension and a certain element of dignity. The quality of life of pensioners, particularly those who have served this country, needs to be seriously considered and investment made to improve it. Such consideration of pensions has been evident in recent years. If people wish to continue working after reaching retirement age, they should be encouraged to do so. The provision of a special earnings disregard of up to €100 per week for people who want to work after reaching retirement age gives people an incentive to do so. The matter of gardaí having to retire from the force at the age of 55 or 57 was raised earlier. However, I know of a number of gardaí who have gone on to work many years after reaching retirement age. In many cases gardaí do not have to continue to work for economic reasons, but in some cases where they have children at college they need to do so. If a person joins the force at the age of 18 or 20 and must retire from it at the age of 50, it is likely that the person will have responsibilities as regards children. A similar position applies to widows and widowers. Having regard to demographics, the reality is that unfortunately there are quite a number of relatively young widows and widowers who have young children. The will now have the opportunity of having the dignity to be able to get a job and support themselves and their family, and that is to be commended. That need is recognised in the Bill.

The child care supplement combined with the child benefit increases will directly benefit more than 260,000 families and will provide opportunities not only for lone parents but families where both parents are working. This measure is innovative and is one that has been discussed for many years. Provision is made in respect of child minding income whereby if a family member is available to mind one's child, one may take advantage of that opportunity and formalise the arrangement by paying a small stamp which will qualify that person for other benefits further down the road. We have spoken about this matter for many years and it is welcome that this measure is now being introduced.

Lone parents face obstacles in gaining access to education and employment. The Bill will allow them to earn more and to take advantage of opportunities without jeopardising their entitlement to the benefits they already receive. The sensitive and complex issue of cohabiting has been tackled and resources used to monitor this area in the past can now be invested in other areas. That move is welcome.

Some 1 million of our people do not have pension provision and that needs to be seriously considered. Many other European Union countries such as Germany and France have major issues regarding pensions. Usually, when those countries sneeze we get pneumonia and end up in a position ten times worse. The national pensions review by the Pensions Board made three main recommendations including incentives similar to the SSIAs which are up and running, higher tax reliefs and options to defer the State pension. It is estimated that by 2050 there will be 1.5 persons of working age for every pensioner, the current position is that there are 4.5 persons of working age for every pensioner. We must plan for pension provision in the future. This Bill together with other enacted legislation lays the groundwork for a matter we must take extremely seriously; I realise the Minister is doing that.