Dick Spring
Question:9 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the cost of implementing budgetary increases for social welfare recipients on 5 April; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1906/00]
Other Questions. - Social Welfare Increases.
The recent budget package represents the biggest ever social welfare allocation, amounting to approximately £423 million on a full year basis. Among the major improvements included in the package are: a £7 weekly increase in the maximum personal rates of pension for pensioners and an £11.70 per week increase for a couple on contributory pension; a £14.50 per week increase for a couple on a non-contributory pension; a £4 weekly increase in the personal rates for other social welfare recipients under 66 years, together with a £3.80 increase in the qualified adult allowance. In addition, as I announced yesterday, an increase of another £1.90 for 44,000 people under 65 years on invalidity pensions who—
Why do we have to go through all this? Why not answer the question?
—instead of the announced £4 in the budget will now get £5.90. There is also an £8 increase in the monthly child benefit for each of the first two children, with a £10 increase per month for each other child.
In addition, I brought forward the effective dates of payment for all weekly payments by four weeks. As a result of the changes introduced by me since my appointment to office, the budget increases are now paid for 35 weeks of the initial year as opposed to 29 weeks under the last Government.
The cost of the various increases in weekly social welfare payments, including FIS improvements, in the 2000 budget amounts to over £256 million on a full year basis. The additional cost of bringing these increases forward by four weeks to 6 April 2000 would amount to almost £20 million. I intend to complete the process of bringing forward the implementation date for increases in weekly payments by another four weeks in April 2001.
Do it this year. Be generous in the millennium.
I have already acknowledged we will do this in next year's budget. Child benefit is paid monthly and the budget increase takes place in September. This year's record increase in child benefit of £8 and £10 per month costs £106 million in a full year. The additional cost of bringing forward the implementation date to April would be over £44 million.
It is astonishing that the Minister has finally admitted that to bring social welfare increases into line with the tax year would cost, at the widest range, £44 million and £20 million at the most narrow.
No. It is £44 million for child benefit alone. We are talking about at least another £20 million for the other benefits. That is a total of £65 million.
Given that it was a Fianna Fáil Taoiseach who pushed ahead social welfare increases about 50 years ago, why does the party not this year bring all social welfare recipients and tax claimants into line? Is it not time, given the debacle of the budget and, as Deputy Rabbitte pointed out some weeks ago, the fact that we have witnessed a fifth budget being introduced by this Administration, for the introduction of a new social welfare budget for 2000? There will be massive changes in the partnership talks—
The Deputy has exceeded his time.
Should we not, therefore, have a new social welfare budget which gets away from some of the disgraceful decisions the Minister made and provides for decent incomes, dependent rates, child benefits and the other demands made of the Minister by the Opposition?
Is that a tongue I see firmly planted in the Deputy's cheek? I have had the honour, as Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, in each of the past three years to announce that each year's social welfare package was the largest in the history of the State. Each year I have been able to say that. I remind the Deputy—
The economy is going through the roof, it has doubled in size.
—that in the last year when his party was in power, it gave £215 million in a full year. This Government has more than doubled that in the intervening years.
They were bad times.
Over the period I have been Minister, the social welfare budget increases have been more than £1 billion. The record speaks for itself. I also remind the Deputy that the Minister of that Government, Deputy De Rossa, who is now a member of the Labour Party, although some people are not inclined to accept that—
He is our MEP.
Ken Maginnis did not know it the other day. He thought Democratic Left was still in existence.
Some of his party would like to get rid of him.
Deputy De Rossa gave the princely sum of £1.80, a 2.5% increase, to old age pensioners when inflation was 2.5%. He gave no real increase.
It is 3.4% now.
I call Deputy Jim O'Keeffe.
Shame on you. I do not know how the Deputy let him into his party.
I call Deputy O'Keeffe.
At the time of the budget row last month, there were inspired leaks that the Minister was to get a further £125 million to supplement the rather paltry figure he received. Will that happen? If it does, will he spend £20 million of that on equalising the social welfare and tax date at 5 April?
I have already given a commitment, as has the Minister for Finance, to bring back the payments to 5 April. We will fulfil that commitment. We are doing a great deal more than the previous Government did—
Tell us about the £125 million.
—when the payments in the initial year were only made for 29 weeks. They are now being paid for 35 weeks. With regard to the other issue, at the Ballaghaderreen meeting two weeks ago, I got the consent of the Government to spend another £25 million on social welfare improvements over and above—
Did the Minister talk to the Minister, Deputy McCreevy, about it? He has cut it.
—what was already agreed in the budget.
Where did the other £100 million go?
Yet again I am able to announce that this is by far the largest social welfare budget package in the history of the State. The Minister, Deputy McCreevy, agreed to the proposals I made.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.