Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for their contributions to the debate on Second Stage and the spirit in which the contributions were made, which was constructive in the majority of cases. In this Bill, we are providing further help for welfare dependent families through the introduction of the back to work family dividend to help jobseekers with families and lone parents return to work or increase their number of hours. We are also enhancing the support for lone parents through the extension of the eligibility for jobseekers allowance transition arrangements and the changes in eligibility for one parent family payments, where lone parents are also providing full-time care and attention to another person. All of these improvements have been made possible as a result of the many sacrifices the Irish citizen has made.

I would like to respond to some of the specific points because we will debate the provisions in detail on Committee Stage. Senator Darragh O'Brien welcomes the back to work family dividend and I acknowledge that. He and Senator Moloney raised the SUSI grant. We will work through that and I will provide further information on Committee Stage. Senator Naughton referred to jobless households, which is one of the most disappointing elements in the area. Through the Celtic tiger, households with no one employed were continually caught in the spiral of poverty. Money was thrown at it but there was no improved outcome.The Government, with limited resources, has been trying to realign the social welfare system into a positive engagement process that will help people back into employment.

Senator van Turnhout referred to the gender recognition legislation which I brought through the House in February. I approached it in many ways as possible and listened to the various issues raised in the debates on the Bill. I tried to amend and adjust the legislation accordingly. That is why I took on the whole idea in the Seanad of the two-year review of the legislation. The role of general practitioners and how it should operate in the system was also expressed strongly here and in the other House. We received correspondence from the Royal College of Physicians when the Bill was taken in the Dáil. I thought it was right of me to hold back before it went to Committee Stage to discuss the issues raised with the college. That has happened and correspondence has been exchanged. I hope to make progress on this matter in the near future.

I know the matter deeply concerns Senator van Turnhout and she explained the lack of research and information available on how children are affected by gender recognition. From that, we have organised an initial meeting on 28 April with interest groups such as TENI, Transgender Equality Network Ireland, the Minister for Education and Skills and other education stakeholders including boards of management, principals and, hopefully, parents. I have done some research on the matter and listened to alternative views. Everyone wants to do the right thing for the children in question. The first approach is to engage with the education stakeholders to ensure the children's experience in the education system is good. This consultation must go on for some time to be built into a substantial proposal. Above all, we need to get this right. There is a need for research into this area. I am at the beginning of this path and I hope I can help to advance it.

Senator Moloney asked why the back to work dividend stops at the fourth child. There is an element of resources and costs of the scheme. While we have made significant progress and turned the economy around, as Senator Ó Murchú said, we are still quite constrained. These are choices that Governments find they have to make, resulting in them having to put in a qualification basis. There have been changes to how medical card eligibility is assessed for those going back to work which the Department and the Health Service Executive can explain further to the Senator.

Changes contained in section 4 will have no impact on how these schemes are currently operated or on how eligibility for these schemes is determined. Much of this is about resolving issues around the language used in previous Bills and rectifying other changes.

I acknowledge Senator Noone’s contribution. These Bills have been introduced against the backdrop of the economic crisis and emergency with which the Government had to deal. We have been able to make much progress in this area and in reforming social welfare schemes. This is the first budget in which we are giving money back to taxpayers to keep economic growth.

Senator Cullinane made many remarks on the Government’s policies. It must be remembered the Government’s first action in the middle of an economic crisis was to reinstate €1 to the minimum wage that had previously been taken away. Senator Cullinane referred to various reports but one report he did not mention was the ESRI one that showed the Government’s social welfare policies and social transfers have prevented many people from falling into poverty and that the safety net worked. There were many people in distress who were not on social welfare but by keeping the core social welfare rates in place the safety net worked. It was difficult for everybody.

Senator Cullinane referred to IMPACT’s report on JobBridge. I was at the launch of that report and spoke at it. Dr. Mary Murphy did acknowledge in the report that JobBridge helped many. The Indecon report on the scheme contacted over 4,000 participants of which over 53% responded. Over 60% of those who participated in JobBridge moved into employment subsequently. It is extremely important that we were able to help people back into employment. If we had to wait to get the scheme perfect, we would still be waiting, as would the 60% of participants who have moved into further employment. One cannot wait until one gets the perfect scheme. JobBridge has operated well. With the economy recovering and changing, the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection believes it is time to revisit and review the scheme to see if it can be improved. I will be talking to the many stakeholders including IMPACT about this matter. Figures are always thrown about but the Indecon report showed the scheme caused displacement. However, this was only 4%. When one considers that 30,000 people got an opportunity in the scheme, then 4% is a tiny marginal effect.

I thank Senator Cullinane for his remarks on JobsPlus. This has been an extremely good initiative from the Government, already helping 5,000 people back into employment by this quarter. Up to 60% of these were unemployed for two years. It is doing exactly what it says on the tin. The reason it has worked so well is that it is simple for the jobseeker and for the employer to draw down the money. We will be promoting this scheme further. The Government is determined that those who have been on the live register the longest will have the best opportunities to get back into employment. JobsPlus is serving the State well and is working very well.