Brendan Daly (Fianna Fail)

I will not unduly delay the Bill. I compliment the Minister on a very innovative and forward-looking piece of legislation. The Department of Social and Family Affairs has been one of the most innovative Departments during my years in the House. Its work is reflected in the way in which it has approached the changes in society over the last number of years and the very positive approach towards the provision of services to people in different localities. I compliment staff in regional offices on the advice and guidance they provide to people in respect of their pension entitlements and the very co-operative and positive way in which they deal with public representatives. Major changes have taken place within the Department with regard to the provision of services and informing the public about these services during the years in which I dealt with it. Many areas still need improvement in this regard. Many people have failed to claim entitlements because they were unaware of them. I understand the Minister noted a few days ago that a considerable number of people are losing money because they are unaware of the family income supplement, which would be a fairly substantial income supplement.

I will draw the Minister's attention to a few issues in respect of this Bill. Farm assist is a supplementary payment for farmers who are earning very small incomes, possibly from dairy farming, in areas like the western seaboard. Many farmers in this group have been squeezed very tightly in the last few years, particularly as a result of the rising cost of fuel, and do not get the return from farming they once received. The farm assist scheme provides them with a supplementary payment. We must not lose sight of the fact that there are people in small farming areas whose resources are very limited and who depend on payments like farm assist or the supplementary welfare allowance. When he is streamlining legislation, the Minister should ensure that the position of farmers who receive payments under schemes like farm assist does not worsen as a result of legislative changes. I want to ensure that smaller farmers who currently receive farm assist do not lose out as a result of the changes set out in this Bill. I am sure that they will not lose out but it is important for us to draw attention to the possibility of such a scenario to ensure it does not happen.

I have met with a number of elderly people who are concerned about refuse collection. A considerable amount of refuse collection was previously undertaken by local authorities, most of whom had refuse waiver schemes for elderly people, pensioners and people with disabilities who were living alone. When refuse collection was privatised, as has happened on a wide scale in my constituency, many people were forced to pay refuse charges. Could the Minister examine whether it is possible to devise a scheme akin to the household benefits package scheme which would give elderly people, particularly those living alone, an entitlement to free refuse collection? There is evidence of an increase in the illegal disposal of refuse, which may lead to the burning of refuse and resulting environmental problems.

For a considerable number of years, different Departments, chiefly the Department of Agriculture and Food, have encouraged farmers, particularly those in isolated areas, to give more land over to forestry. Generous schemes were introduced to encourage farmers to plant substantial areas of land, which was frequently of poor quality but which would be very productive from the perspective of forestry development. This is not a debate on forestry but many farmers now receive an income from the returns from forestry. In many cases, this income is putting elderly people out of the range of pensions. As other speakers have noted, elderly people expect to receive pensions and it is very difficult to convince them that their income from forestry puts them over the income limit for a pension. Could some relief be given in respect of income accruing from forestry development, particularly on the western seaboard?

I received a telephone call last night from a woman who suggested that the Minister might examine the possibility of introducing a waiver for her motor tax as she is over 67 years of age and believes it would be very encouraging if she was enabled to continue driving.