Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

Lifestyle choice. I thank my Sinn Féin colleague for being so helpful in bringing the phrase to my lips. While Sinn Féin is on the sidelines criticising, the Minister is in the Department trying to make a difference.

We all know there is a minority of people for whom work is something their families never experienced. It is almost a generational thing. We must ask how we use our budgets and schemes to try to get these people to see work rather than welfare as a way forward.

I note what the Minister said about the redundancy payment scheme. If there is an immediate cut from 60% to 15% rather than a tapered cut, is there the prospect of firms, which might be thinking of placing workers on notice, doing so now when the 60% grant is available rather than waiting six or 12 months when it will be 15%? It was suggested to me that perhaps the Minister should consider tapering it over six to ten months from perhaps 60% to 50% to 40% to 15% rather than one cut from 60% to 15%.

We also had interesting discussions with the Minister on sick pay. It has not been finalised in this budget. I started out from a position completely contrary to that of the Minister. However, following her discussions with us in which she outlined what has happened at European level and internationally, it challenged us to look at what she said. We will have to reflect on it.

We could speak all day on child benefit, and we have spoken many times about it. It is inexplicable that we have been told we cannot put a scheme in place where the Department of Social Protection and the Revenue Commissioners can combine their resources so there is some degree of means-testing, taxation or whatever. There are generous people in this country who recognise that those with reasonable incomes should not take from those with lower incomes. The child benefit scheme is a prime example of where we could save a lot through taxation or means-testing and target more resources at those at the lower end of the economic spectrum. We will come back to all of that on Committee Stage.

I thank the Minister for her contribution and look forward to working with her on Committee Stage. She has the breadth, vision and the knowledge to accept that the Bill is not perfect and that we can make improvements to it.