I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for his kind words. It is great to be back in Seanad Éireann to introduce this Bill, my fifth and final budget measure, for approval. The purpose of the Bill is to give legislative effect to many of the very substantial improvements in social protection announced on budget day. I am pleased to say that this year's budget represents the largest social welfare package in the history of the State, with over €2.6 billion being invested to support families across the State. This should ha…

I thank the Senators for their contributions and their positive comments and engagement. This is an extensive package of supports announced on budget day and many of them do not require primary legislation, which are the lump-sum payments I am delivering at a cost of €1.4 billion to assist people with the continuing cost-of-living pressures they are facing. The lump-sum payments will provide much-needed assistance to pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, working families and others in need of financial supp…

I visited the marina talking to various groups. It was great to meet them. I said on the radio that people should not listen to social media because the people who make comments on social media say things on it that they would never be brave enough to say to your face.

We should listen to community groups, the people we meet in the supermarket and the ones walking up the street in Cootehill. They will soon tell me what is happening and what we need to change. I would not worry too much about social media. I thank Senators for all their kind comments. It has been an honour and privilege for me to serve as a Minister over ten years and, in particular, in the past four and a half years as Minister for Social Protection. I have worked with fantastic staff. They have been very diligen…

I have made this point a few times on including commitments to producing reports in primary legislation. While I understand why the amendments have been put in, the social welfare legislation is complex already and it is best if we do not put requests for reports into legislation. The actuarial review of the Social Insurance Fund published in March 2023 is a very detailed and comprehensive report that examines and fully costs a wide range of scenarios. One of its findings was the fund will experience significant lo…

Again, I do not propose to accept amendments that put requests for reports into legislation. On the pay-related carer's benefit payment, I recently signed a commencement order confirming that the new jobseeker's pay-related benefit scheme would be available from 31 March 2025. The priority is to launch this scheme, and the Government has been clear that this experience should be used to inform future decisions regarding pay-related schemes. I am delighted that this will kick in next March. It will make a big differ…

I will speak to the two amendments together. Regarding extending parents' leave and benefit, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has lead responsibility for parents' leave policy. I have responsibility for making the payments. Parents' leave and benefit are available to eligible parents within the first two years following the birth or adoption of a child. An extension to parents' leave and benefits by two weeks to nine weeks per parent was introduced from 1 August 2024. I cannot …

The amendment the Senator proposed states that the Minister shall lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on introducing a parental leave and benefit scheme to those parents who experience a stillbirth. I have said that in the case of parents who have a stillbirth after the 23rd week of pregnancy or where the birth rate is at least 400 g, they will get their full 26 weeks of maternity leave.

Senators will be aware that fuel allowance is paid to social welfare recipients such as pensioners and people with disabilities in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on social welfare payments. People on long-term social welfare payments are unlikely to have additional resources of their own and are more vulnerable to poverty, including energy poverty. The working family payment is a weekly tax repayment available to employees with children. We need to bear in mind that a person in receipt of the w…

The reduction applied to jobseekers who do not engage with the Department of Social Protection's range of supports to get back to employment will increase to €90 from January 2025. The current rate of €44 has been in existence since 2011. Senator Higgins must acknowledge that the social welfare rates have gone up considerably since then. The aim is to prevent unemployed people drifting further from the labour market and losing the skills that enable earnings progression. We know that the way out of poverty is to ge…

I refer to what Senator Dolan said. A one-parent family with two children aged four and six will benefit from an additional €2,424 per annum as a result of this budget. They get the Christmas bonus, they get the extra €12 weekly rate increase from January, and they will get the child support payment, which has been increased - for two children under 12 they will get an extra €8 a week. The child support payment lump sum is €200 in total, which is €100 per child. With the one-family payment and the child support pay…

The current model is working in increasing lone-parent participation rates and therefore reducing poverty. The report I referred to, the ESRI report of 2022, points out that when people engage, they have better outcomes. The Department adopts a reasonable approach to reducing jobseeker rates. People are informed twice. If they have a reasonable reason as to why they cannot engage – childcare requirements comprise one – it is considered. Once people engage, that is basically it. If people engage, we want to work wit…

I will speak to both amendments, but I do not propose to accept them. It is important to note that the State pension age has never been 65 and there has been no entitlement to a contributory State pension at 65. The Pensions Commission concluded its detailed analysis of the State pension system in late 2020 and recommended increasing the State pension age rather than decreasing it. The Government decided not to increase the State pension age, but rather to leave it at 66. I do not believe that a further report on S…

I thank the Deputy for tabling this amendment. While I understand why Deputies submit requests for reports by way of amendments, I have made the point previously, and will make it again now, that including commitments to produce reports in primary legislation, particularly legislation which is already as complex as the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, is not good practice for us. I will not be accepting the amendment but I will explain the provisions to which it refers. The actuarial review of the Social Insurance…

I propose to speak to the three amendments together. I make the same point that I would rather not put requests for reports into legislation. However, I will definitely do one of them if that is all right. I will explain. I recently signed the commencement order confirming that the new jobseeker's pay-related benefit scheme will be available from 31 March. The priority is to launch the scheme and the Government has been clear that this experience should be used to inform future decisions regarding pay-related schem…

Overtime.

I have no problem asking the interdepartmental group. I understand what the Deputy is saying there. Overtime is not basic income; it is extra income. If we go into the means-test space, we just look at household income. I will ask the group to look at that. I am not telling the Deputy that he will get the answer he wants, but we will certainly look at it.

I absolutely understand the point the Deputy is making. I have had this debate in the Seanad a number of times. The best solution I could find was for them to come forward with a proposal on an all-party basis via a Private Members' Bill and I am still waiting for it. If there is all-party agreement on it, I will be happy to take it, but there will have to be all-party agreement and no dissenters. Everyone will have to be on one page. Class K is currently the PRSI that we as public representatives pay. We cannot ev…

Well that one is still there.

I am just saying it as it is. I have sympathy for Oireachtas Members, especially those who lost their seats during the Covid-19 pandemic because they could not take up employment. Things were closed down. They had no income. I grant that there is a termination payment when Members leave these Houses. Having said that, I take the Deputy's point on maternity leave. We are bringing forward legislation to ensure Oireachtas Members can take maternity leave, but at the moment, they will not be paid for it. Members will b…