Written Answers - Community and Family Affairs.
Proinsias De Rossa
Ceist:
13
Proinsias De Rossa
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the specific proposals it is intended to make in regard to social welfare in relation to the commitment in An Action Programme for the Millennium; if the Government will refocus the tax and welfare system in favour of the family unit; if these will be implemented in the forthcoming budget or Social Welfare Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16434/97]
Jack Wall
Ceist:
18
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the input, if any, his Department will have on refocusing the tax and welfare system in favour of the family unit, as set out in An Action Programme for the Millennium; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16508/97]
Michael Bell
Ceist:
21
Mr. Bell
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the plans, if any, he has to introduce legislation regarding community or family affairs; if so, the elements of these subjects which any such legislation will involve; if community and family affairs are separate sections inside or outside his Department; the staffing arrangements to each of these two sections; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16413/97]
Jack Wall
Ceist:
25
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the policy initiatives, if any, he has introduced to reflect the emphasis given to the family in his Department's new title; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[16507/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 18, 21 and 25 together.
The Government programme, An Action Programme for the Millennium, contains a number of specific proposals directly in relation to social welfare.
The Government is committed as part of the programme to addressing the issue of social exclusion, marginalisation and poverty and to ensure that a two-tiered society does not take root. A number of key priorities are set out in this context.
With regard to the family particularly, the Government is committed to protecting the family through political, economic, social and other measures which will support the stability of the family. Policies will be evaluated to monitor the effect on social policy and key priorities will include a refocusing of the tax and welfare system in favour of the family unit; providing a mechanism to allow women, who take time out for family reasons, to continue contributions for pension purposes and for the establishment of a national mediation service.
With regard to older people, there is a commitment to provide substantial social welfare increases (including an increase in the old age pension to £100 per week over a five year period) and to increase the value of carer's allowance in real terms.
There are also commitments concerning the funding of voluntary agencies, and ensuring that social welfare policies do not discriminate against rural areas.
I would also add that the Government is committed to the fulfilment of the terms of Partnership 2000, which include a number of policy issues relating to my Department, including the implementation of the national anti-poverty strategy.
Since July of this year, the Department has been renamed as the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs and has been assigned additional responsibilities for which it will shortly take over from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform along with appropriate staffing resources. These include responsibility for marriage support services, family mediation services, births, marriages and deaths registration legislation, and for progressing other issues, in particular initiatives in the community for children arising from the Commission on the Family.
An interim report of the Commission on the Family was published in November 1996 and the final report is due to be submitted in November 1997. Any further developments in this area will take account of the commission's recommendations.
I also draw the attention of Deputies to the interdepartmental working group which is currently examining the treatment of one and two person households under the social welfare and tax systems. This working group is due to report in March 1998.
Further progress in each of the areas mentioned above, including consideration as to how the tax and social welfare systems can be made more family-friendly, will be considered in the context of the forthcoming budget.
With regard to community affairs, the voluntary and community services section of my Department manages the range of supports provided for the Department for community groups, viz, the community development programme, family and community services development resource centres, money advice and budgeting service and the once-off grants schemes (women's, men's, lone parents, voluntary organisations).
These support services are administered on a non statutory basis and there are no plans at present for introducing legislation governing the operation of these services. There are some ten staff currently assigned within my Department to administering these services. Staff in the Department's regional and local offices throughout the country also play a key role in managing these schemes at local level.
