Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are here a year after the Minister introduced changes to the one-parent family payment. There is some element of a climb-down in this Bill, which shows that people who object to this Government are not always wrong and that sometimes they can be right and have a point.

In so far as the Minister's proposals go, I welcome them. I welcome changes regarding the retained firemen. I regret there is nothing in the Bill relating to mortgage interest supplement, which was a particularly cruel cut introduced this time last year when people were put in the hands of the bank. Effectively, what has happened, and it is up to us to change it, is that people are not aware of mortgage interest supplement now. I met a couple last week who were a year on a revised payment with the bank and I told them they should apply for mortgage interest supplement, but they did not know about it. They had just been told by the community welfare officer that they were not eligible for it. People need to be aware of their rights.

I was disappointed when the Minister announced major changes to rent supplement and that, in regionalising certain counties, she did not do the same in County Meath. I am aware representations were made by some of her colleagues from County Meath on the rent allowance where rents in Dunboyne, beside the Minister's area, and in south Meath are vastly in excess of rents in other parts of the county, although it must be said that the rental market in County Meath is extremely tight and it is helping to create a massive housing crisis. The uniform rate for rent allowance in County Meath is not helping matters. I thought when the Minister changed it in Kildare, Fingal or other areas that Meath would be included but I understand it was not, which was a mistake. The Minister's colleagues told us they had been in contact with the Minister about it. I hope she would listen to them and re-examine this because there is a strong case to be made on the rents in County Meath. There are massive regional variations but, overall, they are quite high in what is a tight market.

This is the type of Bill that is published at this time every year.

It is not as controversial as last year, but at the same time we believe the changes the Minister has made do not go far enough. The tinkering around the edges with pensions will not solve our problems. The extension of PRSI contributions to individuals with an income from a trade or profession moves the game somewhat, but it does not address the real supports many people require. During the recent by-election in Meath East, I met an individual who is self-employed in a trade. He begged a welfare officer for €50, as that was all he needed to get his business back up and running, and now he has a six-figure turnover. A little help for the self-employed can help them and then help the economy. The person in question is employing people. His story was told in the Sunday Independentbefore Christmas.

People are not looking for a lot. I appreciate there are issues of cost. Perhaps a major debate is required on how we would pay for such a system. However, I urge the Minister to go further because one of the things that is holding people back from becoming self-employed or going into business is the lack of support when things go wrong. I refer to a small amount of support, not major support. I have lost count of the number of business people, self-employed people and small company directors who told me they would not under any circumstances recommend that their children go into business because while it is all right when things are going well, when things go wrong or a business fails, one is in serious trouble. That is not only a drag on those families but on the overall economy and is contributing to the social welfare bill because some people end up getting social welfare following a means test to which they perhaps did not contribute, whereas if a business person is able to stay alive with the hope that something could be provided, perhaps the situation could be turned around and he or she could get back into business, as happened with one individual whom I know. He was an inspiration to me when I spoke to him.