In my contribution I would like to deal with the questions of poverty and social deprivation. My party's Front Bench spokesperson, Deputy Connaughton, dealt with the provisions of the Bill in great detail and at length and I apologise if I repeat some of the points he made.
Poverty is becoming more deep-rooted in this country every day and it is clear that the Government have failed miserably to take the problems of poverty, social deprivation and division seriously. The question of how to eliminate poverty is nowhere near the top of the Government's agenda and the Social Welfare Bill before us illustrates this. The Government seem to be determined to ensure that a great many of our people remain dependent on the State. While handouts and payments are vital in dealing with the symptoms of poverty and social deprivation, they are of no use in tackling the root causes.
I said last year in the House that the gap between the poor and the better off was widening by the day. It is sad that one year later I have to say that the gap between the very rich and the very poor has widened even further. While the Minister has made some attempt to tackle some of the issues he has made no attempt to deal with the root causes.
The Irish are a very generous people. One can give many examples of the way they have responded to major problems on the world stage. I have no doubt that if they were encouraged and given incentives to help out in their communities they would do so, because they do not want a two-tier society. They are anxious to help but their goodwill has not been tapped. The Government have instead decided to continue their policy of handouts and are determined to ensure that the statutory bodies retain control. I am aware from my experience as a member of a health board that the statutory bodies are unable to tackle the social problems in our communities in an effective or efficient way. I have no doubt that voluntary groups could do this if given the necessary encouragement and resources, but I regret to say that the heavy hand of bureaucracy has not been lifted. I have also no doubt that the efforts of voluntary groups, particularly when it comes to care for the elderly, are resented.
I hope the Government do not believe their own hype and are not blinded by the glare of television cameras at press conferences when attempting to project that the economy is on the uplift and that everything is coming right. While some people are reaping the benefits of this, unfortunately the poor are being bypassed. In stating that everything will be OK and that the economy is on the uplift one is ignoring factory closures and the increase in unemployment. The figures speak for themselves. For example, the figures indicate — I sought to raise this matter on the Adjournment tonight — that there has been a 5 per cent increase in the number of people drawing unemployment benefit and assistance in February 1991 in Cork city alone as compared with the figure for February 1990.
I would argue that the rich and influential are doing very well but the poor are being buried and forgotten. For varying reasons I have spent a fair bit of time in the cities of Central and South America. The poverty in some of our cities — I am not overstating this — reminds me of what I have seen in some of the cities there. I have seen housing units being neglected and abandoned as people could no longer continue to live in them. People in our cities — I am not familiar with problems of rural areas — are not being allowed to live out their lives with dignity or make the most of their opportunities. Whole generations of families never get the opportunity to gain meaningful employment and are condemned to poverty and despair.
Even though 200,000 people in our cities are awaiting housing, including the homeless, those living in overcrowded conditions, in slums or with their families, the reaction of the so-called caring Government has been to allow my own local authority in the year before last to build one house. We got a better response last year when we were allowed to build between 16 to 18 houses. I hope there will be a slight increase in this number in 1991.
Health depends on the thickness of one's wallet. The attempt by the Minister to hoodwink the public into believing that everybody will have free health care is just so much hype. Another 200,000 people will be coming into the health service which is already over-stretched and cannot provide people with the attention they deserve. It is all part of the poverty that exists in our community. Poverty is not concerned with social welfare cheating; it is about people trying to lead a decent life and having the right of access to the social services.
How can children achieve high standards in education if they do not have a decent meal before going to school? Evictions and suicides are on the increase because of the pressures of poverty. People are opting out and giving up. We must attempt to deal with the elimination of poverty, not the continuation of the dependency mentality. I am not saying this Minister is the culprit. Indeed, I have a certain admiration for him. Successive Governments must bear the blame.
This Bill was published some months after the Programme for Economic and Social Progress. That programme set out supposed commitments in the area of social welfare. Many of these are meaningless because the targets would have been reached anyway by 1992. The figures make a mockery of the promises the Government put forward to deal with the problems of poverty. There must be a realistic commitment to a minimum payment of £62 or £63 a week, as recommended by the Commission on Social Welfare.
I welcome the new qualifying rules for old age pensions for people who had mixed insurance and I acknowledge progress in relation to the family income supplement. Many of the benefits set out in the Bill will not be implemented until July. Shortly after the announcement of the budget the moderate increase of 4 per cent was offset by increases in local authority rents. People in my area received a demand for a 50 per cent increase in local authority rents. Most of these people are old age pensioners or are unemployed. The former were asked to pay an extra £1.50 per week. Increases in gas and electricity charges have also been announced and there is a threatened increase in telephone charges. The Government are giving with one hand and taking with the other. They have control over these increases. Bord Gáis are making huge profits due to the resources off our shores but they have been allowed to pass on VAT increases to the consumer. Many of their customers in urban areas are poor and elderly. The allowance which is given to them will not cover the combined increases in electricity and gas charges. Basically there is no real benefit for the poor. Ireland is a country where more and more people are becoming marginalised and forgotten.
The Government are out of touch with reality. The Minister for the Environment said at a press conference some weeks ago that he intended to set up self-help projects in the housing area. The statistics show that 70-80 per cent of those on local authority housing lists are social welfare recipients.
The much hackneyed phrase regarding the gap between the haves and the have nots must be repeated because the gap is widening. I wish to refer to problems in my city which probably occur in most urban areas. There has been a 5 per cent increase in the number of people in my area drawing unemployment benefit or assistance. This is a scandalous statistic, behind which lies a litany of human misery, suffering and deprivation. This has spread from local authority areas to areas which were traditionally regarded as better off or well-heeled. The hidden poverty in so-called middle class areas where people are under pressure due to unemployment and other factors is increasing. Deprivation is affecting both young and old.
Children in my city are coming to school each morning but finding it impossible to concentrate because of hunger. But for the generosity, commitment and dedication of the teaching staff who provide hot food, soup and sandwiches, they would leave school hungry and return to homes without food or proper heating. Deprivation is so deep in some urban areas that teachers provide food and clothing for the children attending their schools. Some of these children have never spent a day at the seaside and in order to redress that terrible deprivation teachers and voluntary organisations have arranged for them to spend a day or two away. I pay tribute to those teachers and voluntary organisations. They do not get the recognition they deserve for services in deprived areas. I know of families in the most disadvantaged areas who have switched their children to schools which provide food each day. That is a sad comment on a Christian and so-called caring society as we approach the 21st century. Many of our legislators are so distanced from the reality of deprivation that they do not appreciate that this is happening and they have not the commitment to deal with these basic social problems.
The deprivation being experienced by young people is very serious. It means that our young people are not getting the start in life they deserve. The deprivation and poverty spreads right through our urban and rural areas and these people experience a sense of alienation and shame. Some people are ashamed of their situation because they are made to feel guilty by comments, such as those with regard to social welfare cheats, that we have heard this evening. People are made to feel ashamed of being poor.
There is unemployment of 70 per cent and 80 per cent in parts of our cities. The long term unemployed feel they are the forgotten people. The much heralded European development funds and the programmes set up for the development of our infrastructure seem to have bypassed the underprivileged in our society and the areas that most need the injection of funds. They do not seem to have had the benefical impact they should have had on areas of widespread unemployment. This has led to a feeling of despair and total neglect. We are spending these moneys on roads and bridges, improving our infrastructure admittedly but there is no real spin off for the poor. The development programme seems to pass by the unemployed.
High unemployment brings about a disimprovement in an area and then becomes unattractive for industrial investment because investors will not invest in an area that is run down. A run down area is not attractive to investors and unemployment continues. It is a vicious circle. Moneys from the development funds will have to be invested to improve these areas and give the people encouragement thus making the area more attractive to investors who are still investing in our country. That is not being done. I think there is a blind spot in our development policy.
A campaign is in progress at present — I do not know if it is a campaign by the Department or just by individuals — to harass social welfare recipients. A good friend of mine, a Deputy from Cork, made a passing reference a few moments ago to social welfare cheats. There are cheats, but people who are unemployed and victims of our society should not be made feel ashamed to be poor. I am not sure if there is a campaign by the Department to justify the harassment of social welfare recipients. I am told every day of the week that people are being questioned and then being cut off disability benefit or they are told they are not making any effort to get work. It is possible that a campaign of harassment is being forced on the Department by the return of emigrants and by the increase in our unemployment figures. In other words, there is a greater number to share the cake and there must be an attempt to cut down on the numbers to offset the influx into the social welfare system.
