‘But once-off payments aren’t enough’
SOCIAL Welfare recipients are set to receive up to €2billion in extra benefits and payments to help offset the cost of living.
Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath has unveiled a raft of budget measures to help what he described as the most “vulnerable” in society.
The new announcements will see pensioners and those on disability receive over €2,300 more between now and the end of 2023.
“Taken together, the measures we are rightly introducing this year and in 2023 represent very substantial State support for the most vulnerable,” Minister McGrath said.
However, campaign groups and charities insist the new measures still won’t go far enough to help those living on the breadline.
As part of the measures, core social welfare payments are to increase by €12 per week, bringing the dole to €220 a week and state pension to €265.
On top of this, the Working Family Payment thresholds are to increase by €40 per week, while the Qualified Child Increase for children aged under 12 will be raised to €42 per week and for over 12s to €50 per week.
Meanwhile, the Fuel Allowance is to be extended to more households, bringing an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 extra homes into the mix for the payment.
For over 70s, the weekly Fuel Allowance means the limit is to be increased to €500 for single people and €1,000 for couples.
Those on the fuel allowance will also get a once off cash lump sum of €400 this winter, while those on the living alone allowance will get €200.
It means someone on the State Pension, Living Alone Allowance & Fuel Allowance would get cash payments of €1,100 by Christmas.
Carers, people with a disability, and those on the working family payment will all get a lump sum of €500.
There will be a double payment of child benefit rates in December, while the usual Christmas double payment bonus will accompany a special Halloween bonus this year given at the end of October at a total cost of €600m.
Increase
The rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance is to increase by €20.50 to €330 per month.
It will also be made available to parents of babies who have to remain in hospital for six months.
The top-up payment to participants on the Community Employment, TÚS and Rural Social Scheme will be raised by €5 to €25 per week.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health is also planning to make 430,000 more people eligible for free GP care next year.
However, Active Retirement Ireland, the country’s largest representative organisation for older people, has cautiously welcomed the Budget, but says it falls short in protecting older people against the cost-of-living crisis.
According to the charity, the winter fuel allowance will not go far enough for older people after two increases in gas and electricity costs in 2022 alone.
Maureen Kavanagh, CEO of Active Retirement Ireland, said: “The €12 weekly increase in the state pension, while below the rate of inflation, is still a welcome measure.
“However, for many older people the winter fuel allowance will not go far enough as they struggle to manage their tight household budgets.
“The fuel allowance would need to be doubled if it was to have any real impact on the day-to-day lives of our older people.
“Similarly, we welcome the scrapping of hospital inpatient charges, but this doesn’t go far enough for the most vulnerable. We need to see the charge for blood tests and prescription costs scrapped in order to make healthcare more affordable.
“While the tax credit for renters is a welcome initiative, it is putting pensioners who rent at risk of being frozen out of the rental market. This small but growing number of older renters will be left behind unless specific measures are implemented to help them.”
Meanwhile, ALONE, the organisation that enables older people to age at home, says Budget 2023 does not deliver for those on the lowest incomes.
ALONE CEO Sean Moynihan said: “A €12 increase in the pension is simply not enough to keep up with the increased costs caused by inflation. While one-off supports are welcome, they do not make up the difference in what was needed in core welfare increases.”