Last night the Minister said the Government was most anxious to protect the weak and vulnerable in society. CORI's overall conclusion on reviewing the Government's six budgets was that the Government had failed to address poverty and social exclusion. There is no doubt about how CORI feels about this.
On the subject of young widows and widowers, I welcome the €11 increase for widows and widowers over the age of 66. However, the increase for a widow I know with four children, three of whom attend secondary school and one of whom attends primary school, is only €6. They live in rural Ireland. She will have to find the increased college registration fees for next year for at least one of the children. She will have to find the increased cost of running a car in terms of tax and insurance. Her late husband drove a diesel car, which also now adds to the cost. An increase of €6 for a young widow or widower is unrealistic. I realise that any proposal of mine or of my colleague, Deputy Ring, to increase the cost to the nation, will not be welcome, but I urge the Minister to see whether, over the next 24 hours, she could rejig the figures to find money for this sector. The person I know is in no position to go back to work. I highlight her situation as an example. Another constituent, a young man whose wife died at 32 years of age leaving young children, is equally seriously hit. If he wants to be involved in the workplace, he must pay to ensure that his children are properly looked after.
The idea that somebody is entitled to €11 if he or she is over 66 years of age and to €6 if he or she is under 66 needs to be examined. It is argued that single parents, for many reasons, because the family is divided or they were never married and so on, have similar problems. However, where the husband or wife in a reasonably well-off family dies, this is the sort of payment on which the family must rely. Payments for dependant children are not increased either. That is unacceptable.
As I listened with interest to a number of Government Deputies highlighting the fact that someone fortunate enough to get into a nursing home will now be able to have his or her own telephone I thought of the people who are on waiting lists for nursing home subventions or who have been denied the subvention on some technicality. I would welcome the provision of extra comforts for residents of nursing homes if the major issue of the availability of subventions had been dealt with first. The provision of nursing home subventions is the responsibility of the Minister for Health and Children but the Minister for Social and Family Affairs shares Cabinet responsibility and I hope she will examine this very serious matter. Aged and disabled people cannot get access to subventions.
I had a sad telephone call to my office this morning. A man who had been desperately hoping a subvention could be provided for his wife, who had suffered a stroke and has been in hospital for the past five weeks, rang to say there was no further need for me to seek the subvention because his wife died this morning. This sad story will provide some relief for the health board. This man had been told it would be impossible or very difficult for him to get help to look after his loved one.
The issue of carers must be examined although there have been improvements in recent years. Of the 100,000 or more carers only 23,000 are getting any help. I know of cases, as I am sure the Minister does, of people who have been looking after an aged in-law and who lose the carer's allowance when their spouse dies because they cannot receive carer's allowance as well as the widow's or widower's pension. Some leeway should be given so that a person in receipt of another social welfare payment could receive at least half of the carer's allowance. If such a person got a job he or she would be entitled to retain the widow's or widower's pension but because he or she must stay at home to care for an elderly person that is not possible. I hope the Minister remains in office in order to examine this question.
I return to the issue raised by my colleague last night. How can media publicity and consultants' reports be justified when people are expected to be satisfied with an extra €6 per week? I understand almost €20 million was paid out last year for consultants and reports. We must add to that the publicity, which gives the Department a good profile but at a cost to the nation. Full page advertisements in national newspapers look well and get the Department necessary media goodwill but there must be cheaper way of getting a message across.
The back to work and rent allowances have been capped. When will these spending cuts end? No increase has been granted in the fuel allowance and 190,000 people on short-term social welfare will not get a Christmas bonus. In the last six budgets a single person on social welfare has benefited to the tune of €39 per week while a person earning €50,000 is better off to the tune of €261 per week. Is this an indication of a fair and just society?
I welcome the €10 increase for old age pensioners and any benefit which improves their lives but I condemn the overall thrust of this Bill and of the budget. Those who are worst off will be overcome by inflation and by numerous hidden cuts. Within weeks they will realise that they will be much worse off before the end of this year.