I welcome the delegation and thank it for its very concise and well-researched submission. The delegates stated the main ten-year headline target in the 1997 NAPS is to reduce consistent poverty to 2% or, ideally, eliminate it by 2007. What is the current position in this regard and where will we stand in 2007 if the current trend continues?
The Minister said to me on numerous occasions that income poverty is relative. He suggested that when some people become wealthy they are relatively well-off but that everybody gets wealthy together. He implied that the measure is silly and that all the other countries in the developed world, including the EU and UN, are wrong and that we are right. What is the reaction of the delegates to this view?
I feel a bit punch-drunk when I read the statement that Ireland has the highest rate of relative poverty in the European Union. Does this include all 25 member states? I note that Mr. Hanan is nodding. It is a scary statistic.
On the integration of those furthest from the labour market, the submission states there is "a need for a ‘bridging visa' for migrant workers who can demonstrate that they have been exploited and the right to work must be restored to asylum seekers". The employer controls the work permit and, therefore, if an employee feels aggrieved that he is getting insufficient time off for lunch, working too many hours or working in poor conditions, for example, he is afraid to complain to any agency because he fears the work will be withdrawn and that he will be told to go away, thus leaving him in limbo. Is this correct? Does this not indicate that the current system is a form of bonded labour, which is only a step above slavery? Does a similar system exist in other European countries? If not, what other work permit systems exist?
Everyone emphasises the need to take up appropriate and quality work and there seems to be pressure on people to go out to work. Someone recently said to me that the most valuable form of work one can do is to rear one's children. In a way, however, that is regarded as being less important than participating in the economy. Is there a danger in this over-emphasis on going out to work? I am not suggesting people should not do so but maybe they should have more choice.
We need 73,000 social housing units and we read every day that house prices are rising in increments of €30,000 and €50,000. I was told last night of houses in an estate which went onto the market at a certain price and before the day was out had risen by €50,000. This has a serious impact on people of low means and no means.
The school drop-out rate is extremely high. Over 1,000 students drop out every year between primary and secondary levels. I was asked to be brief although we could continue to discuss this topic for a week, never mind ten minutes.
The register of electors is all over the place and is the subject of much discussion. Voter turn-out and voter apathy are important issues and people can be empowered if they vote and make a difference. I am aware of the work of the Vincentian Partnership for Justice but many people remain apathetic about the political process and do not want to engage in it. If the process works properly, however, it can deal with these matters.
Last week in the Dáil we suspended our very modern Standing Orders for the day and the EU Commissioner for Agriculture came into the House for a wide-ranging debate. Have the delegates considered how we do our business and how we might advance the reform agenda in here, and make it more relevant to the public?