The minimum rate is increasing from £5 to £10.
SECTION 22.
Question proposed: "That section 22 stand part of the Bill."
Question put and agreed to.
SECTION 23.
Amendment No. 28 has been ruled out of order.
Amendment No. 28 not moved.
Question proposed: "That section 23 stand part of the Bill."
This specific section relates to supplementary welfare allowance. However, there is a problem for people on unemployment assistance or unemployment benefit who lose their child dependant's allowances when their children reach 18 years of age, although they may be going to third level college. While few people in my area have experience of this situation, some of them do. I am drawing this fact to the Minister's attention because some people are struggling to keep their children in college. They qualify for third level maintenance grants, but they still find it difficult to keep their children in college, particularly if no one in the house is working. The Minister should ensure that child dependants' allowances are paid to parents whose children are continuing in school or college, provided they live at home.
Although the amendment I tabled has been ruled out of order, the Minister should consider the situation outlined by Deputy De Rossa. I do not want to delay the meeting by repeating what he said, but some families are hard pressed and this amendment would help them with the cost of full-time education. I ask the Minister to seriously consider the amendment, although it is out of order.
(Laoighis-Offaly): Certain anomalies still exist for people over 18 years of age and are in full-time education. There are many young people who repeat the leaving certificate and while for some social welfare payments it has been made possible for their parents to claim them as child dependants, that is not the case with all payments. That is an anomaly.
We should be encouraging those young people to repeat the leaving certificate if they want to do so and we should be encouraging their parents to allow them to do so. I ask the Minister to have a look at the anomalies that still exist and to try to have a uniform situation whereby young people who go back to second level education and may be over 18 years of age, would be entitled to have the child dependant's allowance paid where their parents are on social welfare.
This is always the trouble with bringing in these schemes and that is why everybody, including my colleagues in the Department of Finance, are always worried about me bringing in new schemes. We brought this in on a phased basis for the long term unemployed and the thinking behind it is that people who are long term unemployed have reduced resources and consequently are in greater need. We can look at it for the future.
I appreciate the point made by the Deputies. However, it depends on how short term we go. Some people are on the short term payment rates for a very short period while others are on them for longer. We will look at it for the future.
I appreciate the Minister undertaking to look at this for the future. There are people in my constituency who are finding it extremely difficult to keep their children in college and are making many sacifices to do so. If they could have the child dependant's allowance restored to their unemployment assistance it would be a huge benefit. It would not be huge in the sense of the amount of money they would get but in terms of the difference it would make to their meagre weekly income. It could mean the difference between being able to keep the children in college or have them drop out. I accept the good intentions of the Minister, but I ask him not to put it on the long finger too far into the future.
There are different issues here. One is the question of people who are in the second year, or between the second and third, or third and fourth years in college. The other scheme which was brought in last year, applies even to people who would qualify in the short term. I hope to be able to make an announcement about that soon. In relation to those on long term assistance, the point is that if we are to consider the scheme for those in short term assistance it has budgetary consequences. It is most likely to be considered on a phased basis. We will look at the issue raised.
Question put and agreed to.