Vol. 472 No. 3
239 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Social Welfare the date on which the ESRI report was commissioned as promised in the programme, A Government of Renewal, to review the minimum adequate income rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23357/96]
Initial contact was made with the ESRI on this report in February 1995 and the general outline and data requirements were discussed.
The Department then consulted with other interested bodies on the review including the Combat Poverty Agency, the National Economic and Social Forum and the Department of Finance. There was ongoing contact with the ESRI over this period and work was in hand within the institute. The final terms of reference for the study were then agreed and a formal contract between the Department and the ESRI was signed in March 1996. It is expected that the report will be published by the ESRI before the end of the year.
Together with the national anti-poverty strategy this study and other key reports, such as that of the expert working group on the integration of tax and social welfare, will contribute to informing public debate on the issue of poverty, while also providing a basis for assessing the adequacy of the current rates of social welfare entitlements and the standard of living of social welfare recipients.
