I wish to raise the matter of the need for the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs to take steps to create an equitable situation with regard to support for the parents of twin children. I raise this matter because a member of the public has drawn it to my attention.
We often hear about a level playing field. It has become a cliché in political life. Everybody is looking for level playing fields. This is a classic example of a situation where there is not a level playing field but where it would be possible for the relevant Ministers to introduce equity.
This country has a traditional regard for the family, particularly caring for children. Although I am not a parent, I have relatives in that happy position and I know how expensive it is to raise children. My brother has four children and it is very difficult to scrape together the money to clothe, feed and educate four children on the average income. This is compounded where there are multiple births.
The State recognises this, but it recognises it particularly in the case of triplets as if multiple births only start with three children. This is a curious confusion of language because grammatically twins are also a multiple birth. They are not sufficiently recognised. There has been some movement over the years with once-off payments but there is a flavour of their being ex gratia payments and certain people are accidentally excluded from this category. For example, my correspondent has twins but because they were either over 12 or under four at a certain point they were excluded. Now both of these young people wish simultaneously to go to university. The expense of one child going to university in a given year is considerable. When that is multiplied there is an additional burden. That is a great pity.
Commitments have been given but were never fully lived up to by various Governments, not just the present one. Under the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1965, parents of triplets receive 100 per cent extra for each child per month. Twins were treated as two single births in their payments up to September. Due to a countrywide campaign during the 1997 general election, parents of twins now receive 50 per cent extra per child per month. The current rate for triplets is £210 per month while for twins it is less than half that. It is £94.50. This seems to be discrimination.
I would like to refer to the history of this which I mentioned earlier in order to show this situation has existed under different Administrations. It is not just the responsibility of this Government. Deputy Proinsias De Rossa, as Minister for Social Welfare, increased a once-off payment from £200 to £500 for the birth of twins and introduced a new grant of £500 payable on the twins reaching the ages of four and twelve, effective from 1 January 1996. That was an arbitrary time – perhaps that is inevitable – and some people were excluded. In reply to a question in the Dáil, Deputy Pronsias De Rossa stated:
The grants are intended to assist with the particular financial pressures at birth and as the twins enter primary and secondary school. These improvements, which were provided for by way of section 5 of the Social Welfare Act, 1996 are in addition to the £2 increase being provided in the monthly rates of child benefit from September next and the £7 increase provided for in September 1995 payable for each child.
This is an improvement but it is not sufficient. It is not the full shilling and some people are arbitrarily excluded. All twins over the age of 12 were excluded from the grants. There is no grant available if both twins wish to avail of third level education. This is precisely the point raised in correspondence by my informant with whom I have no doubt the Department is already familiar.
This was raised by the Minister's colleague, Deputy Brian Lenihan, in the Dáil on 6 March 1997. He stated:
There is an anomaly in the payments for multiple births. The Minister of State is aware that the parent of twins is discriminated against because the amount prescribed for multiple births is in excess of that prescribed for twins. The Minister for Social Welfare, when in Opposition, viewed this as a justifiable case for reform, but he has opted not to remove this anomaly from the social welfare system. I urge him, even at this late stage, to consider whether the special payment for multiple births can be extended to include twins so that this differentiation can be equalised. The current arrangements are discriminatory. For example, a person who gave birth to triplets last year received £184 in child benefit while a person with twins received £58.
These are similar to the updated figures I placed on the record. He went on to state:
Certain changes were introduced in the initial grant to alleviate the position of parents of twins, but the financial differentiation seems remarkable and difficult to justify in principle.
I urge the Minister to re-examine that issue to see if this anomaly can be eliminated from the social welfare system. With the declining birth rate this could be done without any great loss to the Exchequer. In the context of a declining birth rate, the birth of twins to a couple is a far more fundamental development than it might have been ten or 20 years ago. The Minister should review these arrangements to ensure there is no inequality of treatment as between the parents of twins and the parents of triplets or greater numbers of children.
I have placed this on the record to show this was a view maintained by Fianna Fáil in the other House at a particular juncture. The Minister of the coalition Government was being criticised at that point.
I also refer to a debate during Question Time on 26 November 1996 when the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, referring to twins stated, "Perhaps it is in the air in Mayo, but most of the lobbying in County Louth relates to twins." He was getting a fair dose from his own constituents. He continued, "Double the monthly rate of child benefit is paid in respect of multiple births or triplets or more. There is more lobbying for support for twins, probably because there are fewer sets of triplets than twins". Deputy Joe Higgins chimed in to say, "Perhaps the Minister might even consider doubling the payment to end discrimination against parents with twins." This is a case of Deputies from two ends of the political spectrum – Mr. Higgins, an independent socialist and a Fianna Fáil Deputy – both employing the word "discrimination" and seeking an end to it.
I also have a letter dated 13 July 1998 from the Minister's office addressed to Deputy Brian Lenihan who forwarded a copy to my correspondent. He seems to have some degree of sympathy with the cases being argued. He said, "You will appreciate that this proposal would give rise to additional costs and could only be considered therefore in a budgetary context. I will however give the proposal serious consideration in the context of the next Budget." I do not know whether that consideration was given, but there was no satisfactory result from the point of view of my correspondence. Included in the dossier I received was a newspaper cutting which suggested that there was a possibility of a court chal lenge on constitutional grounds. That would be a pity, but I do not think it has taken place so far. One should have recourse to the courts only as a last resort in these matters. There seems to be considerable agreement between the political parties on this issue. The costs will not be great and it will introduce proper equity to the matter. It will remove discrimination and do what the Constitution consistently purports to do, which is to cherish the family and its values.
I hope the Minister will give a positive response and indicate to the House that this form of unnecessary discrimination against parents of twins will be removed in the foreseeable future.
