Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Senator McFadden is right in thinking that the family income supplement is a valuable payment in cash to low-income families. Given the evidence we have seen of the difficulties faced by some low-income families, it is important that they can benefit from it. It is true there has been a lower than anticipated take-up of FIS, but this has improved as a direct result of advertising campaigns. Once people realised it was there they did benefit from it. Even public representatives can usefully let people know about its availability. What I was anxious to do this year, through the thresholds, was to ensure that more people could benefit from the supplement. Whereas 27,000 people benefited from it in 2008, I anticipate that at least another 2,000 will benefit from it next year because of the changes in the budget. Next year we will be paying €181 million through this scheme.

We have been carrying out a study on why people do not take up the FIS. The ESRI did early research and found that only about one in three of those eligible were actually claiming the supplement. We have been considering why families who should qualify and who did qualify did not take it up. When I have the results of that research I will lay it before the Houses of the Oireachtas, and we might get another opportunity to discuss it. It will certainly guide us in ensuring that those people who do qualify get the supplement.