David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is not very often that I support a Social Welfare Bill, as we certainly were not given that opportunity in the past few years. However, I am supporting the Bill, not because I think it is fantastic or that the Government has done anything of significance for those on social welfare payments, but because it does provide for some increases for people whom we obviously need to support.

Before I go into the specifics of the Bill, we need to have a bigger and wider debate about poverty and inequality and their relationship not only with the social welfare system but also low pay. Many people in work cannot, for example, have a good quality of life and cannot afford to pay basic bills. The concept of a living or a social wage is gaining traction in Europe. The Government has a commission on low pay which is going to report back on the issue, while I have taken on the responsibility for the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation of developing an all-party report on the concept of a social wage and low pay and its relationship with public services. That is the other element in that many people are living in poverty because they do not have access to a home, housing, health care or education services in the manner they would want to have or should have and all of these issues are interrelated. We need to fundamentally reform the social welfare system. Obviously, finding a job is the best way to lift a person out of poverty, or at least it is one of the mechanisms for doing so. It is welcome that more people are in work and that the unemployment figures have come down. However, in recent weeks the OECD's report showed that Ireland had the second highest number on low pay among OECD countries. It is an indictment of everyone in the political system that so many people in the State are on low pay and cannot afford to pay basic bills. This means that we have to transform the system and look at the relationship between social welfare, work, low pay and access to public services.

Obviously, I do not need to remind the Minister of State that what is contained in the Bill is very modest. It does not make up for many of the cuts imposed not only in the past few years by the Government but also by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and even the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Governments before it.

While the €5 increase in child benefit is welcome, it must be put in context. I will not rehash all of the pre-election promises made by Labour and Fine Gael as it would start a political row that I do not intend to have. However, I must point out that the Government has cut child benefit over the last number of years. While we are giving back €5 per child, it must be considered in the context of cuts which ranged from €10 to €47 per month per child. We must also look at the €100 cut to the annual back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance for poor families, the cut to maternity benefit of €32 per week and the cut in the lone parent income disregard from €146.30 to €90. As a consequence of the last cut, a lone working mother is down to €28 per week. During the intervening years, the cost of living has been rising, which has eroded the value of the total child benefit payment further. That is the context in which many struggling Irish families will assess the value of the measures contained in the Bill. They must be looked at in the context of all the other cuts that have been put in place. These are not just cuts in social welfare but pay cuts and cuts in public services, all of which impact on poverty and inequality.

I appreciate that the Government took over a dire economic situation where the country was bankrupt and on its knees. No one is underestimating the ability of the Government and the State to deal with the very real problems we had, but many, including me, would argue that there was a fairer way. What one would want coming out of a government cycle is fewer people in poverty and less inequality. Almost all of the reports we have seen, including the OECD reports and ESRI reports - with the exception of the last one, which gave some positive welcome to the budget in terms of its progressiveness, although that was countered by NERI and other groups - show that many people still live in poverty. There is still deep inequality and it will only be solved if we start to fundamentally change how we do things. That must happen through not being afraid to tax wealth - not being afraid to tax those who earn more and use the money and resources we have to ensure that those who are working have decent pay, that those who are not working have a decent standard of living, and, most importantly that we invest in public services. I say that as we are going into an election in respect of which we can already see auction politics, with tax cuts being promised everywhere. What about investment in public services and making sure we have enough teachers in schools and nurses and doctors in our hospitals to provide people with access to health care? Carers and those with disabilities should be provided with the resources they need. That is the type of debate I would like to see as we move into an election, not solely one on tax cuts, which is my fear.

I welcome the provisions on the ability of the State to compensate the former Waterford Crystal workers. I warmly welcome those, having done a great deal of work behind the scenes on the issue myself. I hosted a number of briefings in Leinster House which Government representatives attended. We worked constructively together and I commend the Minister for moving on an issue on which the previous Government did not move. While it was down to the workers who took the court case, it is a very good day for all of us when the deal which will hopefully be voted on by the workers has been provided for by the Government.