Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As acknowledged by Senator Darragh O'Brien, this is not the first Government to face difficulties in tackling this issue. I acknowledged in my contribution last night that the previous Government had tried to tackle it. There is an underlying problem, which should be debated in the Seanad, namely, the elevated protection of property rights in the Constitution. I would welcome an honest debate on the issue in the Seanad, including on the hampering affect this has had on Government policy not only in the area of commercial or retail leases but in the area of levies on development land and land being sat upon by speculators and not used. We have had reports in the past on actions that should be taken by Government to penalise those who own land and are allowing it to remain idle. Often action is not taken because of a fear of the constitutionality of doing so owing to the courts protection of property rights, which is not an ungrounded fear. As I pointed out last night, there have been significant examples of progressive legislation that has been struck down by the Supreme Court in the past because of the property rights Article. I would welcome a broader debate on the issue in this House.

I welcome the positive news yesterday in terms of the reduction in the live register figures and in regard to tax returns. As I have previously stated, it appears that the adjustments to be made in the forthcoming budget will be of the order of less than €3.1 billion, which is welcome. The drop by more than 20,000 in the live register figures released yesterday by the Central Statistics Office was welcomed by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, who pointed out that every 10,000 drop in the live register saves approximately €95 million, which has a hugely significant impact on our public finances. The positive move is an indication that the Government's Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work programme being led by the Department of Social Protection are having a positive affect. The Minister, Deputy Burton, has spoken eloquently in this House and elsewhere of the need for social protection to be a springboard as well as a safety net. She is a genuinely reforming Minister in this area. I commend her on her work. I hope we will have further debates in this House with her on the Pathways to Work initiative and measures to tackle unemployment, which is the most pressing issue we face in this country today.