Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 July 2023
146. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she plans to increase supports available to homeless families and children given the rise in homelessness; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33169/23]
View answerThe Government Strategy “Housing for All” includes a number of commitments to tackle homelessness and it is led by my colleague the Minister for Housing Local Government and Heritage.
Budget 2023 provided a social welfare package worth almost €2.2 billion which included a range of measures to support families with children. In addition to the lump sum payments and double payments paid last year, personal rates of payment on working age schemes increased by €12 per week to €220 from January. In addition, the weekly rate of payment for a Qualified Child has been increased to €42 per week for a child under 12 and €50 per week for a child over 12.
Building on these Budget measures, in February, the Government announced details of a cost-of-living measures package worth €1.2 billion, which included a €410 million Social Welfare package. These measures included a once-off lump sum payment of €200 in April, paid to people on the Working Family Payment, lone parents, low-income families, carers, those on disability payments, and pensioners among others. In June, recipients of Child Benefit received a €100 lump sum for every child for whom Child Benefit is paid. The payment was made to 638,000 recipients in respect of 1,203,000 children. The estimated cost of this measure is €122 million in 2023.
Furthermore, the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment has been increased by €100 for the 2023 scheme year, to assist families with the increased cost of returning to school. The rates of payment for the 2023 scheme year are €260 for children aged between 4 and 11 years and €385 for children aged 12 and over. This payment will provide additional support to approximately 153,000 families, including those availing of the Temporary Protection Directive. The estimated cost of this measure is €27.3 million.
The supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides, where necessary, Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. Government has provided €66 million for the Additional Needs Payment schemes and €3.27 million for reoccurring supplements in 2023. This is a demand-led scheme with no budget cap.
In addition, since my appointment as Minister for Social Protection, I have introduced significant expansion to the school meals scheme, including hot school meals, which also support parents and children with a daily school meal.
