Seanad debates

Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage

 

3:45 pm

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

In response to Senator Thomas Byrne - I seem to recall he was not here for the discussion on the previous section - we have had very difficult decisions to make in regard to the social welfare budget. My Department's allocation stands at around the €20 billion mark, which is the highest spend of any Department. In 2005 - just as the boom was getting boomier, as a former Taoiseach described it - expenditure on maternity benefit was €132 million. By last year, four years into the most catastrophic collapse our economy has ever experienced, that expenditure had risen to €303 million. The measure in this Bill seeks to save €30 million under this heading in one year. Although it was indeed a difficult choice, we are standardising the maternity payment at €202 per week, which is among the highest level in Europe. People should not always be seeking to put Ireland down.

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