I listened to the debate last night and tonight. I was encouraged to see Fianna Fáil embark on a voyage of discovery because it was the only positive thing it had to say. The debate has centred around everything that is negative. The consensus in the Opposition seems to be that the size of the increase was insufficient.At least it was an increase and not a decrease. Compare that to what we were told a few years ago when disability benefit was cut and the pay related element removed.
A widower who never missed a day's work came to my clinic with a hurt expression on his face. He explained he had never been idle in his life. Unfortunately, he had recently been widowed and discovered he had to have an operation.The Government had removed the pay related section from his benefit. It was the first time I realised that the Government of the day was totally impervious to the needs of people in that position. He asked what he had done to deserve this. He had done everything that could have been expected of him and had worked all his life. The best the Government did when he was most vulnerable was cut what he regarded as his entitlements.
For the past two evenings the Opposition spent its time ranting and raving about the insufficiency of the most recent increases in the social welfare budget. It was reassuring to witness Fianna Fáil on its voyage of discovery claiming to have rediscovered the poor. It ran into the highways and byways, talked to various people, no doubt to its friends and supporters, and came up with the most negative comments possible on various aspects of this most recent budget. While acknowledging it is important that there be an efficient Opposition, if it is totally negative, fails to recognise important, constructive, positive budgetary proposals, it is not doing itself justice.
I would expect the Opposition spokesman on social welfare, when he contributes to withdraw the motion, apologise for having led us into fairyland, on this voyage of discovery with the suggestion that, had Fianna Fáil had its hands on the helm, things would have been different. Of course, they would have been different; there would not have been an increase of 2.5 per cent. Given its past record there is no doubt that, in order to meet arrears of equality payments, it would have cut payments to others, something it has not told us. I hope it will not assume office again for many years by which time it will have had time to reconnoitre. In the course of its voyage of discovery, if it manages to avoid the icebergs and rocks, perhaps the electorate will allow it back into power, temporarily, of course; otherwise there are sad days ahead for it.
I have listened for some time now to the half-hearted, puerile attempts by Opposition members to deride the proposed social welfare improvements. It is obvious the message has not yet got through to them that the resources provided this year for improvements in social welfare payments are the largest ever on an annual basis since the foundation of the State. The full annual cost of those improvements is £212 million compared to the £157 million provided last year. Despite the fact that the Opposition engage in peculiar practices, if it compares the £212 million with the £157 million, even it will recognise that the increase is more than one-third greater.
The reality is that Fianna Fáil is still on a learning curve leading eventually to graduation as an effective Opposition, which we hope will be sooner rather than later because, if not it will have misled very many people. We must remember that people are willing to listen and seek leadership from politicians but, if Fianna Fáil mislead them to this extent, I shall begin to worry about them.
This is a good budget, containing very positive, constructive proposals calculated to help the most vulnerable in our society. I make no apology for saying that families will be its main beneficiaries.Whether at work or dependent on social welfare they will be better off through a substantial increase in child benefit of £7 per child per month. In addition, child benefit will be paid for all 18 years old in full-time education and child dependant allowances for children aged up to 22 in similar circumstances.
The sick and disabled — this should bring something back to the minds of those in Opposition also — will receive an increase in their weekly payments to keep pace with the predicted rate of inflation this year and will be paid that increase six weeks earlier than usual. Unemployed people will receive the same increase and at the earlier date. In addition, they will benefit from the intensive placement and guidance service being introduced on a pilot basis for the long term unemployed, as well as extra places being made available this year in community employment accompanied by further improvements in the back to work allowance scheme. It must be remembered that unemployed people also have children — although one would not have thought so having listened to the Opposition the past couple of evenings — of whom there are 233,000 who will benefit substantially from improvements in child benefit.
Workers will benefit through improvements in personal taxation and reliefs introduced into the PRSI system and employers will gain from changes in business taxation and further improvements in employers PRSI contributions. In addition, pensioners will have their weekly payments increased in line with the predicted rate of inflation this year and will receive those increases six weeks earlier, something they have been seeking for a long time. Carers, who contribute so much to the disabled and incapacitated will benefit from an extension of the carer's allowance, a further improvement in the means test and a free travel companion pass for the pensioner for whom they are caring.
Bringing forward social welfare payments to June from August will increase the cost to the Exchequer, and the benefit to those concerned, in excess of 3 per cent, which was what the Fianna Fáil Leader suggested would be the right type of increase to be taken on board this year. That being the case, what was the purpose of their tabling this motion in the first instance?