PENSIONS PAID to retiring ministers and construction workers were contrasted by Fine Gael TD Catherine Byrne.

She said communities and families were fearful for the future, adding that the Government had already announced it would cut social welfare by €2.8 billion between next year and 2014.

“Over the past several weeks, however, we have seen that retiring ministers will receive huge pensions and golden handshakes, while a man who has worked 47 years on a building site will be lucky to get €30 a month in a pension from the Construction Industry Federation,” she added.

Speaking during the debate on the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010, she said it sought another €350 million to supplement the €21 billion already paid out this year. Many people did not want to be on social welfare, she added. “They want to work and live in a society in which work means something,” said Ms Byrne. “The social welfare system is preventing this because it can be more beneficial to stay at home on welfare.”

Ms Byrne, who represents Dublin South Central, said she did not understand the Bill’s provision for a mobile telephone sign-up facility for the dole. She said it would worsen social welfare fraud.

Labour’s Michael D Higgins said Minister for Social Protection Éamon Ó Cuív had spoken of the Government’s main priorities being the restoration of stability to the public finances and dealing with the jobs crisis.

“It is interesting to contrast such a statement with the statements of his grandfather (Eamon de Valera) who led so many Fianna Fáil governments at a time when there were many decent people in that party who introduced many decent policies for the best of reasons,” he added.

Equality, said Mr Higgins, had been mentioned in the democratic programme for the first Dáil and could be inferred from the 1922 constitution. De Valera, he added, had gone further, suggesting equality was a fundamental right.

Fianna Fáil’s Dr Jimmy Devins, who represents Sligo North Leitrim, said he had previously spoken about what he perceived to be widespread abuse of the social welfare system.

“I have had personal experience of it myself when it was brought to my attention by people in receipt of social welfare benefits,” Dr Devins added.

“Anything that can be done that will prevent or lessen fraud is to be welcomed.”