I thank the Chairman. As always it is a great pleasure for us to be here. We view our input to this committee as an extremely important part of work and an opportunity to speak to members across the political divide. I am not sure if it has been received but I sent a two-page presentation to the committee which highlights most of the issues we wish to raise.
Without going into all the detail, we are the largest voluntary organisation in the State providing social Christian care. We have more than 9,000 members and make more than 350,000 visits each year and put in over 2 million volunteering hours on these activities. It is fair to say we are one organisation that knows not only the extent of poverty in Ireland but where it is.
Last year we spent in excess of €42 million. That we have to spend of the order of €4 million on food in what is one of the wealthiest countries in the world is staggering. The fact that we spend over €3 million on education in a country that boasts free education is equally startling. We spend more than €7.5 million on general bills. That includes everything, from helping with the cost of bringing a young child into the world to, effectively, burying the grandparents at the other end. We are involved in literally every aspect of care that is required within the State.
Before moving on to speak about the budget and our reaction to it, I should say that recently a particular group was involved in the debate on the national anti-poverty strategy. By and large we welcome that. For the first time targets and deadlines are being set. However, there are elements within it that cause us some concern, one of which is the insistence that poverty is only real if it is consistent. In other words, there are two economic states in this country — one is either extremely poor or prosperous. Clearly, that is nonsensical. It is rather like the Minister for Health and Children suggesting there are only two health states — one is either perfectly healthy or in need of hospice care — and that we should, therefore, close all hospitals. Clearly, on its own, consistent poverty is an inadequate measure of the true extent of the problem.
The amount of money listed in the presentation is going to those at work on low pay, the people who are relatively poor. People will be queueing up to visit the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for help with first Holy Communion expenses. Many of them are at work. In September tens of thousands of people at work on low pay will ask us for assistance with the cost of school books. As we move towards Christmas they will seek assistance to pay for basic items. It is an inadequate response to say consistent poverty is the only real measure of poverty. The poverty confronting those who visit us is very real. Across the table one can watch a woman cry because she wonders from where the money to pay the rent or the ESB bill will come.
The experience of working with the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Brennan, has been a good one. We have found him very receptive and willing to listen and initiate many changes. We use this occasion as an opportunity to compliment him. We welcomed the social welfare and pension increases announced in the budget as they were badly needed. We also welcome the qualified child allowance, formerly child dependant allowance, although we would argue over the size of the increase. Given that it was the first increase since 1994, I commend the Minister on making the move, as I am aware there was considerable disagreement among officials on it being an appropriate response. It was appropriate. Had it been granted in 1994 its value now would be somewhere between €40 and €50 per child rather than €22.
The increase in income limits for family income supplement is welcome. It is a very useful scheme but the problem is that it has taken such an inordinate length of time to roll it out. We also welcome the increase in funeral expenses. Deputies will be aware that it is increasingly difficult for low-income families to meet the cost of funerals. Even the cost of opening a grave is two or three times the amount of the grant provided. We welcome the back to school clothing and footwear allowance but are very concerned about the fact that this is still one of the countries in Europe where families — even the poorest — are expected to pay for school books. Positive changes are taking place within the rent supplement scheme which had been a source of major concern for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for many years. We are supporting hundreds of thousands who find themselves in that predicament. Consequently, we welcome the changes made on an ongoing basis. Measures to remove those on the minimum wage from the tax net are always welcome.
With what are we not happy? The living alone allowance is extremely important to older people, among whom the level of poverty is high. That a person on a relatively small pension could be living alone is a cause of concern. We meet such persons throughout the country, particularly in rural areas.
Another issue which has not been addressed for many years — we consider this a scandal — is the amount of money paid to refugees. Given the small numbers involved, it is pitiful that we cannot treat them properly. The amount paid by way of direct provision is €19.10 per week, which sum has not been increased since 2002. It is totally inadequate. It is not a lot of money to give someone, from which he or she has to buy clothes, a newspaper or his or her hair cut. It is a trivial way of treating some of the most vulnerable persons in the State.
The increase in fuel allowance is welcome but, sadly, inadequate, considering the huge increase this year in the cost of fuel. While there have been reductions in the price of electricity, they follow very large increases. The cost of electricity has increased by 10% and gas by 20%. We spent almost €3 million last year on energy costs. Therefore, we are helping to keep the lights and fires on in many homes throughout the State. The increase of €4 per week was not adequate.
It is a scandal that children in this State do not have access, in any meaningful way, to free school books. There are schemes within some schools. A small amount of money, approximately €30 per head, is available to principal teachers. Given the cost of school books why is it that one can move 100 km or so up the road to Newry where no child in that area pays for school books? It is unbelievable in one of the wealthiest countries in the world that children do not have access to free school books.
I wish to turn now to the major areas of concern. One of the things we are constantly trying to do is to move people from welfare to work. However, we find that we, and more particularly they, are caught in poverty traps. It amazes us why we still have strange income thresholds. For example, being eligible for family income supplement is different from being eligible for a medical card and different again for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance. Why is it that a lone parent family has a different income threshold to a married couple? Are children not children? It seems very odd. That is one poverty trap we are willing to come back and talk about.
In terms of education, we constantly receive calls from school principals throughout the country. I cannot think of a county from which we do not receive calls, literally on a weekly basis, asking for help with the cost of education assessments. When we meet the Department of Education and Science officials they tell us that as far as they are concerned the scheme is good and that they intend to roll it out as fast as they can. When we put it to the officials, they do not really believe all these psychological assessments are necessary. When we ask them if they are suggesting that school principals are pulling the wool over our eyes, they say they are not saying that nor that they are telling us we should not help to pay for these. We spend a considerable amount of that €3 million each year on a service that should be provided by the State. It is a matter that causes great problems. We are happy to pay for it as long as we need to but there are many other areas where we could use that money.
The slow roll out of the early childhood education is a matter of grave concern. I appreciate there are plans. If we want to stop the problem of illiteracy which is something that is due to be tackled by the national anti-poverty strategy, albeit over an inordinate period of nearly ten years, which is slightly unbelievable, one way of doing so is to ensure young children start school properly. The best way this can be done, particularly for children in disadvantaged backgrounds, is to have them attend early childhood education. I do not mean child care but early childhood education. We will come back to that issue if members are interested.
A very unfair aspect of the tax system is the drift towards individualisation because in our experience it is inherently anti-family. It means that a single-income family with children pays considerably more income tax than a two-income family that may not have children. We are dealing every night of the week with families with children. In our experience the individualisation process has not been very fair. It certainly could be remedied and one way would be to give the PAYE tax allowance to the stay-at-home parent, whether that be the mother or father. If we are trying to move people from welfare to work we need to get rid of that poverty trap.
It was with regret we noted the comments of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, on 7 February in the Dáil when he said, in response to our suggestion, that we would have something like an SSIA life, in other words a low cost savings scheme to help people save small amounts of money so that they would not turn to moneylenders. They will certainly turn to moneylenders as we approach Holy Communion time and going back to school again. Those on social welfare or low pay have little wriggle room. Consequently, they have great difficulty in making ends meet. They cannot approach the credit union for a loan because they cannot save.
Regarding rural poverty, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is spread across the entire country and our members comment on cases of fuel poverty. Gas pipelines do not run to various parts of the country. ESB bills can be expensive and people are looking for coal and oil, which is very expensive. A considerable amount of our money is spent on this. There is a drift towards closing post offices and Garda stations and the breakdown in the social fabric of communities is a matter of great concern. It is grossly unfair to an old person who must travel a distance to collect a pension to wait around town all day for the bus to return home in the evening. There must be a way of examining this issue because it is causing considerable hardship. These are the areas of concern to us.
