Pat O'Neill (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. While the Department of Social Protection has a role in the protection of the most needy in our society, it also has a duty of care to people in employment because people feel there is inequality in regard to the benefits some claimants get under the social welfare system which they cannot access in employment. Many Members referred to children's allowance and the fact that the most wealthy people in the country are in receipt of it. The problem has been the inability to means test because computer systems were not linked. Would the Minister consider a basic rate of ¤70, ¤80 or ¤100 a week with people having to apply for a top up in order that they receive the payment automatically from the Government? If, for example, a claimant's income is below a certain threshold, he or she could be entitled to an additional payment for children. It would be worth considering because the administration of that would not be as onerous as means testing and taxing the benefit.

I refer to the social welfare culture in the country. There was a great article in The Times a few months ago about the establishment of the social welfare system in England. In cities in England, three generations of some families have never worked in their lives and rely on social welfare. That is down to education and to administrators such as us making sure these people have proper opportunities to access education and training schemes. Will the Minister consider a cap on the amount of social welfare that goes into certain houses? This issue has been raised with me when I meet people on the street. They say they have neighbours with five people in the house who are all on social welfare while they are out working. A man who works in the public service said to me, "I have educated my family and sent them through university. For me to gain the equivalent of somebody down the road from me who is on social welfare and married with four children, I would have to earn ¤62,000 because of the benefits these people can claim". That is an example of the inequalities in the social protection system. People feel it is not beneficial to work.