Phil Prendergast (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection. The Minister for Social Protection stated: "It is up to other parties to explain how their policies would maintain the same level of commitment to social welfare clients". The Labour Party has proposed a PRSI holiday for employers who take long-term unemployed people off the dole and a graduate and apprentice programme which would guarantee relevant work-based training and opportunities to obtain new qualifications for all young people out of work. I also note the proposals for job creation and investment over the next five years.

It is estimated the Bill's provisions for reform of the lone parent's allowance will add 12,000 people to the live register over the next six years. Under Government activation plans from 2011, the one-parent family payment, which is not currently counted for live register purposes, will cease once the youngest child reaches the age of 14. According to a reply to a recent parliamentary question in the Dáil, the Minister expects this reform to yield Exchequer savings of €1.1 million in 2011, €5.5 million in 2012, €12.3 million in 2013, €20.7 million in 2014 and €26.2 million in 2015. The change will affect 900 parents in 2010 and 12,000 by 2016.

What employment creation does the Minister envisage for single parents? We are told that unemployment will remain at 13% for the next 18 months and every person unemployed costs the Exchequer €20,000. The types of jobs which are suitable for single parents include special needs assistants and home carers, areas which have been subject to Government cuts. These people want to return to employment and to make a contribution to the Exchequer. They do not want to be seen as sponging off the State but, with more than 450,000 people on the dole, they are finding it difficult to accept that €22 billion could be thrown away on zombie banks when their allowances are being cut as an incentive to get them back to work. I have met many people in my clinics who provide valuable services as special needs assistants. They make a positive impact on their schools and the children for whom they care. Their role is wider than that of classroom assistant. The loss of 12,000 of these posts does not bear thinking about.

The Minister stated the measures in the Bill will work in tandem with the integration of FÁS functions. We have had a jobs crisis for the past two years but it did not take that much time to help bankers and developers. Any savings made through these measures will be paid out by community welfare officers because they too have reached crisis point. Some people I know have had to wait several weeks for a response to their application for unemployment assistance because the system is overloaded. It appears that insufficient staff were allocated to deal with the unemployed.

In regard to cutting budgets generally, what jobs are available through the jobs activation programme? What advice can I give someone who presents at my clinic regarding where to seek employment, how they can qualify and how they will be assessed? If they go to work, what arrangements will be put in place to mind their children? Will a subsidised scheme be introduced? How much will the job creation programme cost?

The Government is proposing various schemes but for genuine job opportunities people need access to training, education and literacy improvement; drugs rehabilitation; child care; services for people with disability; and mental health services. The proposed reforms disadvantage large sectors of the community. I ask for answers on the issues I have raised.