(Dublin North-West): On the last day I referred to the number of families living in poverty now, caused in many cases by unemployment and in some cases by illness. I outlined the experiences of many of my constituents. There is an urgent need to create employment and the Government should take immediate action. The fact that we have joined the EC has in part been responsible for the high rate of unemployment, particularly in urban areas like Dublin. We got some benefits from our entry into the Common Market but we seem to have got to the end of those that came to the farmers. It is time for the Government to consider renegotiating terms with the EC in regard to the creation of jobs. Between 70,000 and 80,000 jobs have been lost in the manufacturing and service industries since we joined the EC. Many businesses that were in operation when we joined the EC have closed down. Very little is manufactured here now; it all comes in manufactured. I have no doubt that joining the EC has brought this about and resulted in poverty and misery for many families.
People who have worked all their lives and have become unemployed through illness are being treated shamefully by the Department of Social Welfare. Married women who have been employed for years and have lost their jobs and applied for social welfare are being continuously harassed by staff in the employment exchanges as to why they are not getting a job. They are not very long on social welfare before they receive a letter from the Department indicating that the Department are not satisfied that they are making an effort to find a job.
There are also widespread complaints about the medical referees in the Department. They make decisions which would indicate that they take no account of medical reports from highly qualified specialists. In some cases they do not examine the person who appears before them and yet write a report stating that the person is capable of taking up full time employment. Are these medical officers fully qualified medical doctors?
There are widespread complaints about the abuse of the social welfare system. People who are not entitled are in receipt of benefits while people who are entitled have been cut off. I refer in particular to the small farmers whose dole has been cut off. Fianna Fáil introduced this small farmer's subsidy, described by many as the small farmer's dole. The decision of the Government to do away with this has put many on the poverty line. At the time Fianna Fáil introduced this subsidy there was widespread emigration from the west, where a very high number of small farmers live. The subsidy was introduced to encourage farmers to stay on the farms which were not big enough to provide a livelihood. Many small farmers whose valuation did not exceed £20 were entitled to that subsidy. When I was working in the by-election in County Donegal, in which Deputy Cathal Coughlan was elected to this House, there was widespread concern among the small farmers there about the Government's decision to remove this subsidy. Deputy Brendan McGahon raised the problem of the abuse and fraud that exists in the Border areas where people from the North took millions of pounds from the Republic in the form of social welfare payments. Deputy McGahon also expressed his concern on radio and said that he had all the details of the fraud. Has the Minister ever carried out any investigation into this?
Some years ago Fianna Fáil introduced the supplementary welfare scheme as a replacement for home assistance. This was a step in the right direction and was a great improvement. But there is still room for improvement. The community welfare officers should be given greater flexibility in the face of the increasing demands made on them. The community officer has no authority to provide for extra special payments and this could account for what happens in cases such as I outlined when I spoke in this debate before. I said that I hoped that the Combat Poverty Agency would, when set up, take account of this. I am disappointed at the length of time the Government have taken in bringing in this Bill into the House. When the Government came into office they abolished the National Community Development Agency. It is most unfortunate that we have had to wait for over three years to have this Bill introduced in the House and I know it will be quite some time before it becomes law. In 1982 Fianna Fáil allocated £2 million to fight poverty. When the present Government took office they decided not to honour the Fianna Fáil commitment but instead talked about their proposal to set up agencies. This Government brought back a number of small grants which were directed to the voluntary organisations.
I think we would all agree that the situation in regard to poverty is contributed to by the levels of education, job insecurity, health conditions, and the low rate of income, particularly where the family are on long term social welfare assistance and there is not sufficient money to buy essentials.
This Government have a bad record in relation to poverty and it can be said that many Government policies have been responsible for creating poverty. Under the National Community Development Bill a body was set up with funding provided. It is sad that the Government have seen fit to abolish that board on which there was a wide representation of voluntary organisations, such as St. Vincent de Paul. That organisation are very familiar with the extent of poverty which exists in this country today.
By dismissing that National Community Development Board the Government saved about £8 million over three years. This was part of the Government's policy on cutbacks. I would like to pay a tribute to members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society for their tremendous dedication and work in the area of poverty, for their work among the poor and those affected by poverty. The present financial constraints make the job of that organisation more difficult.
There are many people who wait for the St. Vincent de Paul's representative to visit them. In Ballymun alone there are 3,000 and 4,000 families waiting for the St. Vincent de Paul representative to give them a few pounds each week. There is something seriously wrong with a society when people living in poverty have to depend on a voluntary organisation like St. Vincent de Paul. Will the Combat Poverty Agency change the position in any way and ensure that people living in poverty will not have to depend on the small weekly donation from St. Vincent de Paul? When the Combat Poverty Agency are established I hope they will not be just another layer of bureaucracy but will help all who need it and be free from red tape otherwise the exercise of setting up such a board will be useless. There is a great need to identify those in need of assistance and the machinery must be there to give this assistance without delay.
I wish to refer to another matter which will have a terrible effect on our old people. The Government decided in the 1986 budget to introduce a retention tax. This means the old, the sick, the most vulnerable in our society will have their savings taxed for the first time ever. A case brought to my attention recently was that of a small self-employed shopkeeper who retired because of age and health. He invested his money in a financial institution and the interest was paid every month — £250 a month, or roughly £60 per week. He is very worried now because he knows his interest will be taxed. He will have to live on a mere pittance. He does not get any pension or assistance from the State but it appears that from now on he will have to look for assistance from St. Vincent de Paul.
Many old and sick people who got the free fuel allowance in 1984-85 were refused this allowance in 1985-86. Many old, disabled and sick people could not understand why they did not qualify for the allowance this year but we all know this is part of the Government's cutbacks.
Many people no longer qualify for the medical card. Even though there are members in the household with serious health problems because of the income of the household they did not qualify for the medical card. The health boards referred these people to the drug refund scheme. Many of these people cannot afford the drugs the doctor prescribes and have no option but to do without the drugs or medicine. Even if they did manage to pay for the drugs they would have to wait until the money is refunded and poor people cannot afford to wait until it is posted to them.
There is also a need to review the number of diseases listed particularly bronchitis. Because of our very severe weather many people are affected by bronchitis. Such people should be entitled to the medical card since this would help to alleviate hardship on them.
In 1985 the Minister for Health got great publicity when he said he was extending the double payment at Christmas to all social welfare receipents, but he did that at the expense of the pensioners because there was a 25 per cent reduction in pensions to compensate for extending the double payment at Christmas. This was a rob Peter to pay Paul decision. When Fianna Fáil were in Government they gave all old age pensioners the double payment at Christmas and they were the first Government to do so.
Many young people who have completed their studies have great difficulty in getting employment. If they are living in the family home and have reached the age of 18 they may apply for social welfare assistance. Because they are living at home there will be a means test and more than likely they will be granted between £8 and £10 per week. Many applications will be rejected because of the income in the family home. This is deplorable because it means a young person of 18 years or over has no independence. In order to gain independence many young people leave home and live in hostels or local authority accommodation. When that happens, it costs the State a lot more because the local authority have to provide accommodation at a low rent and the health board have to furnish that accommodation at a certain cost to the taxpayer.
During the Committee Stage of the Social Welfare Bill this question was raised with the Minister of State. The Minister Deputy Pattison, stated that if they were to extend this scheme and abolish the means test it could cost the taxpayer an additional £30 million. Many young girls nowadays get pregnant and this is a terrible situation. Some of these girls have to leave home because they cannot get work and they cannot get social welfare while they are living with their family. This should never happen. This is a matter of great concern and is a great expense to the taxpayer because when a young girl has a baby she is given the unmarried mother's allowance and she gets local authority accommodation which must be furnished by the health board.
I am anxious to know what resources the Government intend to provide for the most disadvantaged people in our society. We cannot think seriously of doing something about poverty if we do not outline the resources that will be available. The main cause of poverty is unemployment. In fact, it is the main cause of all the evils we have to tolerate in our society today. At present the poor here receive incomes which are inadequate and the services and financial assistance provided by the health boards are also inadequate. Cutbacks in the hospital services are massive particularly in this city. As far as I am aware only one hospital in this city is on emergency service at night, and this is a great problem for the seriously ill. Some people who are seriously ill have great difficulty in getting into hospital, as was outlined in the House by my colleague, Deputy O'Kennedy.
Recently I called to see a woman in my constituency whose husband had died. She told me that she took him into a Dublin hospital and there the doctor decided to perform a slight operation on him but the hospital authorities told her that there was no bed for him, that she would have to take him home. She brought him home by taxi and there she discovered that he was bleeding severely. She had to call her neighbours and he had to be taken back to hospital by ambulance. He was 77 years of age and she herself was over 70. Unfortunately, because of the extent of bleeding the man died. Had a bed been available in that hospital that man would be alive today.