Vol. 508 No. 4
84 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the minimum payments payable if the recommendations of the Commission on Social Welfare were updated to current values for a single person, adult married couple with no dependants and the rate per child dependant. [18883/99]
The minimum personal rate of payment recommended by the commission on social welfare was £50 a week, in 1985 terms. Up-rated to take account of increases in the cost of living in the interim, this minimum target rate now stands at £71.80 a week. The lowest current rate of social welfare payment is £72 per week.
The commission also recommended that the rates of payment for adult dependants, now qualified adults, should be set at 60 per cent of the basic payment for a single person. Accordingly, the commission's up-rated target rate for a couple now stands at £114.90 a week. The lowest social welfare rate for a couple, that is, where a QAA is paid, is £115.20 per week.
As a consequence of the increases in social welfare rates which took effect from the beginning of June 1999, all personal rates are now above the commission's minimum target rate, ranging between 100 per cent and 124 per cent. In addition, all rates payable to couples are above the commission's target rate, ranging between 100 per cent and 130 per cent. This year's social welfare increases fulfil the commitment contained in Partnership 2000 to implement the minimum rates recommended by the commission before the end of the partnership.
The commission did not make any specific recommendations in relation to the minimum rates to be paid in respect of child dependants. They did, however, recommend that child dependant allowances – CDAs – should be rationalised across the range of social welfare schemes – there were 36 different rates payable at that stage. The commission suggested that this could be achieved on a cost neutral basis by providing for a standard CDA rate of £10 a week, in 1985 terms, for all schemes, although this suggestion was not included as a specific recommendation in their report. It should be noted that this proposal would have involved reducing the CDAs payable for certain social welfare recipients, e.g. widows.
The rationalisation of CDA rates has been largely achieved and there are now just three different rates in existence – £13.20, £15.20 and £17 a week – the commission's suggested CDA rate of £10 up-rated to 1999 terms would amount to £14.35.
However, on the wider policy front, it is now generally recognised that the loss of child dependant allowances by social welfare recipients on taking up employment can act as a disincentive to taking up available work opportunities. This problem has been highlighted in various reports, most notably the final report of the expert working group on integrating tax and social welfare.
