Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues in congratulating the Minister on the birth of her grandchild. I hope she gets to spend some time with the new arrival on Zoom or in person. I also thank the Minister and her staff for their ongoing commitment to the provision of social protection supports during this pandemic. The Minister and all of her staff have been working unbelievably hard. Her office is very efficient and we are all very grateful for that.

We all know that unprecedented social protection supports have been provided during this pandemic by the Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael-Green Party Government. An extra €10 billion was provided by the State throughout the pandemic in 2020. Before Covid-19, the social protection spending Estimate for 2020 was €21.2 billion, but post-Covid-19, the spend for the year was €31.5 billion, an enormous allocation by the Government to the most vulnerable which must be commended. From the very start of the pandemic, the Government has endeavoured to protect people who lost employment through no fault of their own. Many people in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, have never been in receipt of any social protection payment previously and they are very glad of it at this time. The priorities for the Government throughout this crisis have been to protect public health by limiting the spread of the virus and to put in place income supports that mitigate the financial impact on households.

We all accept that the restrictions are very difficult and that people are becoming fatigued. However, we all need to realise how dangerous the virus is. Vaccines seem to be forthcoming and every day we get more news on those that are coming our way. Let us hope we can all knuckle down, try to protect our mental health, stay at home and continue to do what is necessary to fight the virus.

In early January 2021 the Government confirmed that the PUP rates will stay the same until 31 March. The Minister said that she hopes to review the PUP beyond the end of March but I hope the rates will stay the same. Any decrease in the rates will affect people badly, particularly with regard to financial commitments like mortgages. I hope that the PUP will be extended beyond March at the current rates. Spending on PUP to date has reached €5.5 billion, with more than 14 million payments made since March 2020 to more than 820,000 people, making it one of the largest social protection interventions in the history of the State. We are facing record unemployment as a result of this pandemic. Many businesses may not reopen when the pandemic is over and it likely that increasing numbers of people will be looking for social protection supports into the future.

Obviously people are very grateful for the supports provided by the Department of Social Protection. Members have already raised the matter of the fuel allowance during the course of this debate. I ask the Minister to review the threshold for that allowance and to consider extending it to those who have only recently lost their jobs. They will not be entitled to the fuel allowance for between 12 and 15 months. Perhaps the Minister would clarify if that is the case because it seems very unfair.

I got involved in the D12 FoodBank for the first lockdown in March. This food bank in Dublin South-Central has reopened now due to the huge demand for food parcels. The D12 FoodBank does a massive amount of work and is run by volunteers.It is unfortunate for the State that people are resorting to food banks but it is a fact on the ground. The PUP is very generous but there is still a need on the ground for food packages. Is there something the Minister's Department can do to support these charities that are popping up during the pandemic while the situation is very bad?

Another question that has been asked of me is when the extra parental leave will be introduced. A timeframe for that would be useful.

Also, I am happy to hear about the extension to the community employment, CE, schemes. I am aware that is not a matter for the Minister's Department but there is a major delay in the processing of births, deaths and marriages, which does affect social protection. People are not able to get death certificates on time and it is affecting the progression of estates and whatnot.

I am learning that another unfortunate result of the pandemic is that many immigrants are leaving the country on the basis that they do not have employment and fall outside the criteria for entitlement to the PUP. That is a real shame because they are a major loss to the fabric of our society. It is a pity we cannot do that little bit more for immigrants.

The pandemic has had a real effect on young people, those on low incomes and immigrants. I know the State is doing so much to protect those cohort of workers but if we could do a little bit more, in the long run it would contribute hugely to the fabric of our society.