LABOUR TD Willie Penrose said the State had a Victorian attitude to social welfare.

“More money is spent on pursuing and supervising people to ensure that they do not work rather than on focusing efforts to ensure people get work and to provide adequate training in technological skills, construction and other trades so that people can get work,” he said.

Speaking during the resumed debate on the Social Welfare Bill, Mr Penrose said there was too much centralisation of services.

“I do not understand why services are centralised and taken away from the very people who have the expertise and who have dealt with people through the years,” said Mr Penrose.

“Decentralisation was supposed to be Government policy, but it has been abandoned for medical card assessments. Now assessments will take months and people will have to wait a long time for an outcome.”

MJ Nolan (Fianna Fáil, Carlow-Kilkenny) said changes in the jobseeker’s allowance were designed to incentivise 18- and 19-year-old jobseekers and to ensure that such young people were not led into welfare dependency.

“I have been around for long enough to have experienced this during the 1980s, when young people left school with no chance or hope and went on to social welfare straight away,” Mr Nolan added.

“Many of them remained in that position and some have not worked since.”

Michael Ring (Fine Gael, Mayo) warned that community welfare officers were under intense pressure.

“They are finding circumstances very difficult and many are out sick with stress because of their workload,” he added.

“The Minister was to supply extra staff; in some cases, she did so and in others she did not. It is impossible for the officers to work under the present conditions,” Mr Ring said.

Sinn Féin spokesman Arthur Morgan (Louth) said the Bill was another example of the Government placing the burden of the economic crisis on the backs of low-income families.

The Bill, giving legislative effect to the Budget provisions, was passed by 70 votes to 65.