Dara Calleary said child poverty and impoverishment among disabled people were the key issues Taoiseach Micheál Martin had asked him tackle in his first budget.
The Minister for Social Protection has focused €320 million of his €1.15 billion package on child poverty and he announced measures aimed at increasing employment among people with disabilities.
These, however welcome, come in the absence of once-off cost-of-living payments such as double welfare payments and energy credits that were vital to many households in making ends meet in recent budgets.
Central to tackling consistent child poverty – which is running at 8.5 per cent of all children – are significant increases in the weekly child support payment rates (CSP), which are paid in respect of children of adults dependent on social welfare.
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The rates will increase by €16 to €78 a week for children aged 12 and over, and by €8 to €58 a week for under 12s, from January 1st.
In addition, the income threshold for the working family payment (WFP), a support for low-paid families with children, will increase by €60 a week – meaning families can earn more and qualify for the payment. This is crucial given the increase in the minimum wage from January 1st as this could have meant families in receipt of it becoming ineligible.
The fuel allowance will increase by €5 a week, to €38 a week, from January and will be extended to those on the WFP from January.
The back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance will be extended to two and three year-olds from next year.
Core social welfare payments will increase by €10 a week – below the expected €12 weekly – and the Christmas bonus will be paid at 100 per cent to all long-term welfare recipients.
The increases are welcome, says Sarah Corrigan, a single parent of three children under 12, living in Cork City. An expected large rent increase in coming months, however, will “wipe them out”, she says.
Her “very fair” landlord is planning to sell up. Alternative rentals she has looked at “are astronomical”.
She “absolutely loves” her work as a social-care worker three days a week. She qualifies for a reduced one parent family payment and other payments, so her income will increase.
Housing remains her primary concern, and she awaits further detail on whether the tenant-in-situ scheme will be better funded. She is anxious to get back on the housing list from which she was removed recently.
“I will miss the energy credits, and the one-off payments were very handy, especially for Christmas and other bills.”
On disability, Mr Calleary announced measures to support carers and disabled people to access work and to stay in work should they acquire a disability.
The income disregard for carers will go up by 60 per cent to €2,000 for a couple and €1,000 for a single person. This is first step, Mr Calleary said, towards fully abolishing the means test for the allowance.
The domiciliary care allowance, a non-means tested payment to parents or guardians who care for a child under 16 with a significant disability, is to increase €20 to €380 a month.
Anyone who is disabled and takes up employment will be able to keep their fuel allowance for five years as they move off their disability allowance or blind pension.
The back-to-work family dividend scheme – which allows people keep their CSP on taking up employment – will be extended to people moving off their disability allowance or blind pension.
