Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes, he is. I want to refer to the social protection part of the budget, although it is difficult to speak about in depth when we do not have all the details, as the Tánaiste will announce them later. I will refer to some of the details I picked up from the budget speeches of the two Ministers. This is the first budget since 2009 that has been introduced without a cut. The Senators opposite may say we are self-congratulating in that respect. We are not, but it is an achievement bearing in mind that this time last year we were facing a €2 billion cut in this budget. Thankfully, we have turned that around and rather than cutting, we have invested. I noted from a contribution in the other House that €19.4 billion will be allocated to social welfare in 2015. That figure rang a bell because when we came into government, the deficit was €19 billion and we now investing that much money in social welfare.

Getting people back to work has been and will continue to be the Government's main priority. If we get people back to work, fewer social welfare benefits will have to be paid and more revenue will be accrued from income tax. We will be able to target more money towards services that desperately need it and provide support for those in dire need of them.

The back to work family dividend is a new measure and one of the incentives introduced in this budget. It will provide €29.80 per child in the first year and 50% of that will be retained in the second year. It is great to see the introduction of initiatives to encourage people to take up work. We constantly hear from people and from the Opposition that people are better off unemployed. We need to address that and put in place initiatives and incentives, such as the new family dividend, for people to return to work.

There will be a doubling of the number of positions on the JobsPlus scheme, which encourages employers to employ those who are long-term employed, with the payment of €10,000 in respect of a person unemployed for over two years and the payment of €7,000 in respect of a person unemployed for over a year. It is great that employers will be in a position to take on more people. The sum of €1.6 million will be made available to provide 300,000 work and training places in support of Pathways to Work and €12 million will be provided for the JobPath initiative in 2015. We cannot create jobs but we can put initiatives in place to help create jobs. I note from Twitter that the INOU welcomes the jobs activation measures. It is good that it acknowledges we are working in the right direction. Even though we managed to maintain the basic rate of social welfare payment, there is no doubt people on social welfare took hits over recent years from this and the previous Government. There is no point in saying they did not. We are turning it around and moving in the right direction. The economy is coming around. We are beginning to unwind some of the tightening up we had to do and some of the cuts.

There is a small increase in the living alone allowance for the elderly. I would have preferred if that small increase had been put on the basic rate. Increasing the living alone allowance will only benefit a person living on their own while a couple will not benefit from it. There are measures I would have loved to have seen done better. There is no doubt about that. This measure will help people in receipt of an invalidity pension who get the living alone allowance. The reintroduction of 25% of the Christmas bonus is a start and it is to be hoped it will be increased in the years ahead. The Tánaiste was adamant that this came out of the 2014 Vote. That money was available as a result of people returning to work. If we get more people back to work in 2015, one hopes we will again be able to increase the Christmas bonus. That provision which gives people that little bit of extra money at Christmas is very important, especially for the elderly and recipients of social welfare.

The increase in child benefit, albeit a small one, is a step in the right direction. I am disappointed there was no mention of child care provision in this budget. It is a major issue for young couples trying to maintain two jobs, pay a mortgage and having to pay for child care. I had hoped there would be some reference to it. I will speak in more detail on it when the social welfare Bill comes through and I apologise for taking all that time.