Marie Moloney (Labour)

I wish to inform Senator Norris that I did not intend to reprimand him earlier. The Bill is so wide-ranging in nature and so important that we will require all the time available to us to discuss it. If it were eventually necessary to apply a guillotine to the debate, Senators would complain. We should, therefore, adhere to discussing the Bill itself. As Senator Norris correctly pointed out, it is the Leas-Chathaoirleach's job to guide Members and not mine. In that context, I apologise for my earlier intervention.

The Minister has an extremely difficult job. Senators must be realistic — social welfare comprises 40% of the Exchequer budget and cuts are required. I would not like to have been in the Minister's shoes and to have been obliged to identify where cuts should be made. I do not know where I would have started in that regard. Senator Mooney referred to low-hanging fruit. Unfortunately, there was no such fruit left. Such fruit was removed in previous budgets. Consequently, any cuts the Government would be obliged to make would be deep.

When considering the legislation last night, I asked myself what would have happened if we had reduced social welfare rates and retained the secondary benefits referred to. To her credit, the Minister has been able to restrict the cut to social welfare to just over 2%. If such a cut had been applied across the board, a single person on jobseeker's benefit would have lost approximately €200 per year while a person on an old age pension would have lost €230 to €240. For someone in receipt of social welfare who is being paid in respect of an adult dependant, the loss would have been €364. Such a cut would have caused more hurt than that to which the reductions introduced by the Minister will give rise.

I ask Senators to bear with the Minister, who has done a good job. People will be hurt but that is the nature of what occurs when social welfare payments are reduced. Unfortunately, the Minister has been obliged to cut social welfare but she has done the very best job she could in the circumstances. I ask Senators to give her as much support as possible.