Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 January 2014
390. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if she intends to implement any further policy changes arising out of the report of the advisory group on tax and social welfare; if she will provide an indication of when the social impact assessment of budget 2014 will be published by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3857/14]
View answerIn line with commitments contained in the Programme for Government, I established an Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare, with the aim of harnessing expert opinion and experience to examine a number of specific issues. These include making cost-effective proposals for improving employment incentives and achieving better poverty outcomes, particularly child poverty outcomes.
The Group’s overall method of working is based on producing modular reports on the priority areas identified in the terms of reference. To date the Group has completed three modules of work on reform of child and family income supports; the Budget 2012 proposals relating to Disability Allowance (DA) and Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA); and on extending Social Insurance coverage for the self-employed. The core recommendations contained in the Advisory Group’s reports remain under my consideration. Their reports continue to assist the Government in considering the appropriate direction of policy, taking into account the complex issues involved, including fiscal, operational and legal. The Group is currently progressing its final module of work on the issue of working age income supports and the interaction of the tax and social welfare systems to determine how the social welfare system can best achieve its goals of supporting persons through periods of involuntary unemployment while incentivising work and dis-incentivising welfare dependency. I look forward to receiving the Group’s report on this issue once their examination of the various issues is completed.
The Department is currently preparing an analysis of the Budget 2014 tax and welfare packages. This Social Impact Assessment will include an analysis of the distributive and poverty impacts of these changes on different family types as well as the impact on at risk of poverty levels.
Social impact assessment is an evidence-based methodology which uses a tax/welfare simulation model developed by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to estimate the likely distributive effects of budgetary measures on income and social inequalities. The ESRI published its analysis of the distributional impact of Budget 2014 in December last. This analysis is innovative in that that it captures for the first time tax changes relating to DIRT, pensions reliefs, health insurance reliefs and capital gains taxes. This analysis will inform the social impact assessment being undertaken in the Department. I will be examining the social impact assessment when it is finalised and I will publish it in due course.
