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Social Welfare Rates

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2021

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Ceisteanna (97)

Joan Collins

Ceist:

97. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection when social welfare payments will be increased to meet the minimum essential standard of living. [26154/21]

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Freagraí scríofa

The Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) is an assessment, developed by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, of the minimum income needed to live and partake in the social and economic norms of everyday life for various household types.

My Department has partly funded the excellent, detailed work of the Vincentian Partnership for a number of years, and I find it extremely useful. 

One of the benefits of the work of the Vincentians is that it produces data on various household types, including the different costs that arise for households in rural and urban locations.  In that way, it complements data produced from other analyses such as the Survey on Income and Living Conditions produced by the Central Statistics Office.

The work of the Vincentians also highlights issues that may also be addressed with improvements in services.  In this regard, improved services, such as the extension of GP visit cards for children and the affordable childcare scheme can result in significant reductions in the minimum income standards needed by households.

The most recent report indicates that the welfare system already provides adequate supports for some household types, for example pensioners couples, but that there is an adequacy gap with respect to other households types, for example families with older children.

In recent years, my Department has recognised these challenges.  Budget 2019 introduced a new, higher rate of increase for qualified children aged 12 and over, across all social welfare schemes, and Budgets 2020 and 2021 again provided for a higher increase for older children.  Changes have also been made to enhance the Working Family Payment and One Parent Family payments.  Similarly, the Living Alone Allowance increased by a total of €10 per week over Budgets 2020 and 2021 in response to research highlighting the higher risk of poverty and social isolation for those who live alone.  I will again use evidence, including the work of the Vincentians, to inform my approach to the future Budgets.

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