Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House again and congratulate him on his appointment to this Ministry, which deals with one of the most crucial areas in terms of shaping our national life. Social protection plays a crucial role in terms of investing in Ireland's people and in the security, equality and inclusion which are essential to both sustainable economic growth and social cohesion.

In that sense, I welcome the recognition by the Minster that €9.6 billion, almost half of the social protection budget, is directed not necessarily to working age and other payments, but to that wider part of the remit. Rather than simply being a safety net, the Department of Social Protection is effectively the foundation for the State. According to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, almost half of all households would be at risk of poverty were it not for some form of social transfer they are receiving. I welcome the acknowledgement of that wider remit, and foundational role, in the Minister's contribution.

Given the importance of those transfers in maintaining our society, we saw a circumstance arise this year and during the period of austerity, and I will not elaborate because many other speakers did so, where those on the very lowest incomes, many of whom were on social protection payments, paid an additional price. While rates may have remained the same, charges were increased. In many cases there was an erosion from below practically in terms of what was received.

There is a concern in that we see a focus on working age payments but perhaps a neglect in the area of pensions and child poverty in terms of our very high child poverty rates. However, without the social protection system having remained strong, having been hard fought for, we would have seen far wider social cohesion during the period of the recession. As we look towards another period of growth but also potential uncertainty it is crucial that the Department of Social Protection be adequately resourced and prepared for any economic or social shocks it may endure. I have no doubt the Minister will fight hard for that resourcing, and I will support him in that regard.The programme for partnership Government recognises that economic repair must be complemented by social repair. The Department of Social Protection will be key in implementing this on behalf of Government. The programme for partnership Government also commits to gender and equality proofing of the budget, in which, again, the Department of Social Protection will need to play a key role. The Department of Social Protection has previously shown leadership in areas like social impact assessment and poverty proofing. I know from my role over many years in civil society, Older and Bolder, older people's organisations and the National Women's Council of Ireland and having attended many of the forums in this area, including the one referenced in the Minister's speech, that the Department has a strong record of evidenced based work and of consultation. I would strongly encourage a continuation of that practice of consultation and evidenced based work. In that sense, the Department of Social Protection should champion robust evidenced based gender and equality proofing, with civil society participation in that process, as is the case in Scotland. I also ask that the Department take a leadership role by designating in its budget for 2017 a specific budget line around implementation of the new public duty on equality and human rights.

I would like to focus now on four key aspects in terms of areas that I believe need to be restored, reviewed, reformed and in respect of which we need to reach out. In terms of restoration, the jobseeker's under 26 payment hit hard, the full impact of which we still do not know. A majority of those who have emigrated in the younger age group are women. We need to restore those payments, beginning with restoration of full payment for those on courses and in training. Reduced rate pensions is another crucial area. While the top contributory pension rate may not have been changed, 84% of those who receive that payment are men. This means that only 16% of those who receive it are women. The majority of women are on reduced rate payments and, as a result of shifts in the contributory thresholds, they have seen a practical, tangible weekly loss in income. Changes to the voluntary contributions have also impacted on women in particular and have made it hard for them to bridge the gap in their contributory record. They have also affected those moving in and out of PAYE or self-employed work.

Another area at which we need to look in terms of restoration are the auxiliary benefits around the household benefits package, including the telephone allowance. These are areas in which the impact of cuts has been harsh in many practical senses. We also need to look at how these cuts intersect with new charges which create extra costs that were not in place at the time the original rates were set. In that sense, there is scope for an overall review of social protection rates. People have talked about whether the payments should be benchmarked or should reflect minimum essential standards of living. This is an area that needs to be examined. We also need to look at rates which have been unchanged for over a decade, specifically, direct provision. The payments for those in direct provision have been, shamefully, just over €19 for well over a decade now. The McMahon report sends out the clear message that those rates need to be changed. I would urge the Minister to take that on board.

In terms of other areas that need review, there are policy areas that might need review. The Department of Social Protection has shown in the past that it is flexible when it comes to reviewing policies, looking at the evidence and being willing to change direction, as in the case of the cuts to the income disregards which were having a tangible impact in terms of people taking up employment and in terms of the Minister's actions in regard to the rent supplement. I urge consideration and review of the habitual residency condition, specifically looking to its impact on Travellers, Roma people and those who are leaving situations of domestic violence and its impact as a criteria in regard to child benefit in particular given the very concerning rates of child poverty as discussed earlier.

I would also urge the Government and the Minister in particular to review policy over recent years in regard to one-parent families. There has been a huge outcry across civil society about policy direction in recent years in regard to one-parent families. We know that one in four families in Ireland are one-parent families, that 58% of them are now experiencing deprivation and that more than 22% are in consistent poverty. This is an area of urgency and concern. The Minister previously referred in the Dáil to Dr. Michelle Millar's pending report on lone parents. I would welcome if the Minister could provide us with a timeline in terms of how we might engage with a review of that policy. I am aware of the Minister's statement that that report is not a financial impact assessment. I would like to know if he would resource a separate financial impact assessment which could also be used. I have practical suggestions on interim measures in regard to the jobseeker's allowance, jobseeker's transitional payment and one-parent families which, rather than detail here, I will forward them to the Minister's Department.

Another area for review is activation policy. We have some legacy assumptions that have underpinned our activation policy which I believe have been detrimental. The all or nothing approach, which demands full-time availability and which loses all of the potential for the building of labour market attachment and the building of quality part-time engagement, makes it harder for persons with a disability and persons with care responsibilities to begin their engagement with the system. In this regard, we need to look at the payments, the hours, the days and so forth.

I now focus on the key area of social protection reform. The Minister has given a commitment to review the PRSI system and to consider reform of the contributory system. Will he also please look to placing care credits at the centre of that reform and to placing the gender pension gap at the centre of pension reform?