Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I support Senator McFadden's points and welcome the Minister back to the House.

I wish to deal with the impact of subsection (2)(a) which deals with the cut in jobseeker's benefit which will affect young people, in particular. It will have an enormous impact on young people. By reducing the payment to €100 for the younger group and €150 for the slightly older group, one is telling them to live at home or emigrate. They are the only choices. One could not possibly rent accommodation, buy food, pay for other expenses and live independently of one's family with an income of €100. Many young people are graduates and that is a grim prospect for them.

I have great difficulty with emigration. I am sad to think that we could lose a generation of young people. A recent statement revealed that 84,000 young people under 25 are on the dole. All of them will suffer the impact of the cuts. One third of men under the age of 25 are signing on, which is a massive amount. Many parents would find it difficult for their now adult children to move back home and young people would find it difficult also as it would rob them of their dignity and independence. Now they have to look forward to the boat or the aeroplane. I am sad because we could have a missing generation again in this country. My eldest child is 15. In five, six or ten years time I would not like that to be the prospect for him. I say to the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, that parents do not educate their children to emigrate. They educate them so they can live and work in their home country. Thank God we have not seen emigration for many years.

However, we seem to be faced with a brain drain, which makes no sense. Government policy is not tying up. On the one hand the Minister is saying she wants to build a knowledge and innovation economy. We know from all the studies, including the programme of international student assessment, PISA, that we must produce high quality graduates to build that knowledge and innovation economy. If that is the case, why does the Minister not want to keep young people in this country? Young people want to work. They are in a difficult situation because the Minister did not provide any opportunities for them. There are no internships, community employment schemes or apprenticeships.

The Minister has also affected disadvantaged students by cutting VTOS and Youthreach. She might be aware that the Oireachtas is conducting a study on early school leaving and under-achievement. What we have found in that study is that students in Youthreach find it far preferable to second level because mainstream second level was not flexible enough for them and did not suit them. It is amazing how teachers and instructors work with students in Youthreach programmes. Students can wander around and come in during the teacher's lunch break and talk to teachers. That type of flexibility is needed to enable Travellers or people from backgrounds with very little home support to stay at school. We must keep people at school for as long possible so they will get the highest possible qualification to enable them to compete for places.

I oppose the cuts in social welfare for young people principally because I wish them to be able to stay in this country. I also wish them to be able to learn to live independently. I am not talking about making them dependent on social welfare. I would be supportive of any requirements whereby after six months social welfare payments would be reduced if recipients did not make an effort to get a training place or a job. I am supportive of Fine Gael's proposal in that regard.

I spoke extensively yesterday evening on carer's benefit. As my colleague, Senator McFadden, indicated, carers work for their benefit. In many cases carers are on call 24 hours a day. They are prisoners of their loved ones, but they choose that option. Cutting their payments by €8.80 per week is particularly cruel. It is a cruel cut because much of the time the carer is invisible. Carers are generally at home. No one recognises them. Much of the time, what they do is not recognised as work although we know it is real work that requires incredible dedication.

I also deplore the cuts to payments for disabled people. All of the research shows that disabled people are most at risk of poverty, even in good times. During the Celtic tiger years, among the people who came to my office was a deaf girl. She was very skilled but even three years ago she found it impossible to get a job. Her benefit has now been cut. I condemn the cuts to the vulnerable and carers. In particular I condemn the cuts that affect young people who were not provided with alternatives.