Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and the opportunity to make a few brief points. Everyone appreciates the Minister is in a very difficult position. She is more used to being in my position than that which she is in now and she will know that whatever she does, she will be wrong. That is the difficulty the Minister for Social Protection faces at this time.

Senator Kelly made a point I was thinking about in the context of appeals processes and representations made in regard to invalidity pension in particular. The analogy I was thinking about was not so much the box. When I telephone the Department I sometimes feel it is as elusive as my ticket being drawn on "Winning Streak" because at times one wonders if there is a filing system at all because of the length of time it takes.

This is a serious issue. We are dealing with the most vulnerable who are in the most difficulty. It is hand to mouth survival stuff as opposed to looking after people. Notwithstanding that the people in the relevant Departments are working hard, are there enough people? Do we need overtime? Does more time need to be put in? Indeed, Senator Kelly made a very good suggestion in regard to CE schemes. Let us use the JobBridge programme, bring people in, give them administrative experience, give them the extra ¤50 per week and get them to work through this.

One of the criticisms I would have of the public service generally is that, in the main, the culture is that one works from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In the private sector and in the political world, it is a bit different in that one works until the job is done. I know that might not be quite realistic in the context of so many applications, files and so on but one thing is certain: we cannot, with credibility, stand over the system in operation and say everyone is doing all he or she can. We are failing miserably in that regard. I am sure all Members of this House and the other would say the most frequent requests with which they must deal relate to invalidity pensions and delays with appeals, along with medical cards.

The Ombudsman, Ms Emily O'Reilly, and FLAC are correct, and I am thinking of the mortgage arrears resolution process, the code of conduct and the inadequate way we are dealing with that problem. The banks adjudicate on the appeals process where a person feels he or she has not been treated fairly. The appeals process in the Department of Social Protection is adjudicated on by people in that Department. I can think of no justification where a plaintiff or a defendant would preside over an appeal in a court of law.

This should and must be examined.

The Minister can make no cut or saving that anybody on this side of the House will welcome and she knows all about that from her time in opposition. I appeal to her to be as fair as she can. She should be careful with child benefit. People have gone to the media to say they do not need child benefit or they can survive without it because they have a high salary. I am thinking of someone in the entertainment world particularly who made a statement in this regard lately. A book should not be judged by its cover. As when trade unionists talk about core income being what others might call allowances, the child benefit payment is probably used to pay essential bills such as light and heating rather than contributing to the needs of children, for which the payment was envisaged, and, therefore, it forms part of the core income to run the family home in many instances. It will be difficult to deal with that issue. Means testing would be the ideal way to go but the cost of administration makes that difficult. I do not know how the Minister will deal with it. If I had a solution, I would give it to her but I appeal to her to be careful about it. I wish her well in her deliberations over the coming weeks.