I am committed to increasing the rate of qualified adult allowances over a three year period, to 70% of the personal rate. In budget 2000 increases in QAA rates ranged from almost 8% to 17% which brought them to between 60.5% and 67% of the personal rate. The position varies from scheme to scheme. Further progress will be made towards achieving the 70% target in the forthcoming budget, the extent of which will depend on the resources available and the Government's other priorities.
Individualisation already exists to a certain extent within the social welfare system. In the social insurance system, those who meet the contribution conditions receive a payment in their own right. In the old age non-contributory pension arrangements exist whereby in the case of a couple, each over age 66, there is a joint means test and payment is then on an individual basis – each person receives the same level of payment.
The report of the working group examining the treatment of married, cohabiting and one-parent families under the tax and social welfare codes, published in August 1999, considered that individualisation of the system could best be achieved through the expansion of social insurance to enable individuals to establish their own direct rights and social welfare entitlements.