Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 27 Feb 2001

Vol. 531 No. 3

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Increases.

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

76 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the cost in punts and euros in current terms of bringing social welfare increases forward to January 2002; and the intended timing of child benefit increases in 2002. [5739/01]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern):

Last December's budget provided for the implementation of the increases in the weekly rates of social welfare payments to be brought forward by four weeks to the beginning of April 2001 to coincide with the start of the tax year. In addition, I have already announced that this alignment of tax and social welfare changes will be maintained when the tax year is brought forward by 13 weeks to coincide with the calendar year from January 2002. This will mean that the increases in social welfare weekly rates will have been brought forward by 23 weeks, over five months, since the Government came into office.

In addition, the substantial increases in monthly child benefit announced in the budget are being paid three months earlier, from June this year.

The cost of bringing forward the implementation dates of the increases in weekly social wel fare rates to January 2001 will depend on the level of increases provided in the next budget. Together with the timing of the child benefit increases next year, these are matters to be decided by the Government in a budgetary context.

However, by way of illustration, the cost of bringing forward the increases in the weekly social welfare rates and the consequential FIS improvements provided in last December's budget by a further 13 weeks would have been in the region of £112 million or 142 million. The cost of bringing forward the increases in monthly child benefit provided in the December budget by each further month would be £27.4 million or 34.8 million.

Question No. 77 answered with Question No. 47.