Vol. 520 No. 1
49 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to respond to the ever-growing concerns expressed by those who are dependent on social welfare payments whose income is being eroded by inflation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15091/00]
71 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs his views on whether, in the context of the national anti-poverty strategy, the increases in social welfare are now out of line with inflation; his further views on whether this represents an increase in poverty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15033/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 49 and 71 together.
Last December's social welfare budget package, which is the biggest ever social welfare budget allocation amounting to more than £428 million on a full year basis, provided for a £7 a week increase for pensioners over 66, a special increase of £5.90 a week for invalidity pensioners aged under 65 years, and a £4 increase for other recipients under 66.
The £7 increase for pensioners represents an increase ranging between 7.9% and 8.9%, while the £4 general increase represents an increase ranging between 5.2% and 5.6%. With a predicted annual average rate of inflation of 4% this year, it will be seen that this year's increases are well ahead of expected inflation, representing real increases ranging between 1.2% and 4.7%.
In addition, special increases in the rate of qualified adult allowances have been provided this year, as part of an overall strategy to increase this allowance to 70% of the main rate by 2002. These increases, which range between 7.7% and 17.2%, represent real increases of between 3.6% and 12.7%.
Furthermore, as part of the process of aligning tax and social welfare changes by 2001, all of these increases have been paid four weeks earlier this year, from the beginning of May.
The National Anti-Poverty Strategy Statement: Sharing in Progress provides that all social welfare payments would be increased to the minimum of the lower range recommended by the Commission on Social Welfare by the end of 1999. This was fully achieved last year and now in 2000 all social welfare rates exceed to an even greater extent the commission's target rate.
With regard to the broader question of the adequacy of social welfare rates, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness contains a commitment to set up a working group to examine the issues of developing a benchmark for adequacy of adult and child social welfare payments, including the implications of adopting a specific approach to the ongoing up-rating or indexation of payments.
