asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans she has to improve the lot of lower paid social welfare recipients such as single adults living alone on unemployment assistance who receive £34.05 per week out of which they are expected to meet all their domestic and living needs.

The Government have in a period of severe economic and budgetary difficulties significantly increased in real terms the payments being made to all people who depend on social welfare.

That is untrue.

Special consideration has been given in this regard to the long term unemployed who are receiving unemployment assistance, resulting in provision being made for higher levels of payments to them in each of the past four years.

In the period end-May 1983 to mid-May 1987 the increase in the consumer price index is expected to be of the order of 22 per cent. In this same period the long-term unemployed have received increases of about 40 per cent resulting in an increase in real terms of about 18 per cent.

Further measures to improve the position of those receiving the lower social welfare payments are being examined in the context of the review of the social welfare system which is currently being carried out by my Department in the light of the Report of the Commission on Social Welfare.

Could the Minister tell the House if she expects that anybody can live on £34 per week?

The answer to that is, as I have said on several occasions both inside and outside this House, that I appreciate as much as anybody else the difficulty that people find on living on that small amount of money. It is, however, considerably better in real terms since we came into Government than it was beforehand.

Rubbish.

Would the Minister agree that single persons living alone having to pay for food, heating, lighting and rent on £34 per week are really in the category of someone living on the streets of Calcutta, that they are in dire financial circumstances? Would the Minister consider that they are a special case for particular treatment under the social welfare schemes?

As I said in answer to the question earlier on, obviously one has to consider, in the light of the Commission on Social Welfare and in a budgetary situation, the position of those on the lower social welfare payments. I would repeat that it is because of concern for that group that we have increased their rates by considerably more than the rates for anybody else over the past four years.