Given the Celtic tiger economy, the Minister is in a position to be more financially generous than in times of fiscal rectitude. The financial benefits that have accrued from successful fraud detection have also enabled the Department of Social Community and Family Affairs to improve the lot of the deprived. The Social Welfare Bill should give priority to old age pensioners and disabled people. The Minister has striven to improve the lot of the old age pensioners. I welcome the increases but feel that they could have been more substantial.
Every increase is welcome.
There is a huge discrepancy between people of wealth and affluence and those dependent on social welfare payments and the margin is growing. I appreciate that the Department has attempted to address this. The tiger economy is driving ahead in some sectors and some people are benefiting dramatically. Women in the past, who had to give up work to look after a family, found that this stood against them when they applied for pensions because they had not completed the necessary number of weeks at work. I am delighted that the Minister has stated that work is continuing towards introducing a greater degree of flexibility in the qualifying conditions to improve the position of women in the future.