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Half-Rate €462 Cash Payment: In their pre-budget proposal to Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys, the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development recommended many enhancements and modifications to Ireland’s welfare system.
The Social Protection Committee’s priorities for this year’s budget are to eliminate anomalies in the means-testing system and assist Irish households in adjusting to the rising cost of living.
After receiving 21 comments from interested parties, including individuals and organizations, they developed 13 suggestions aimed at ensuring “positive change” for the most vulnerable members of Irish society.
According to The SUN, among these suggestions is the introduction of a new Fuel Allowance Payment at a half-rate of €462 for individuals whose incomes are €100 over the current ceiling.
Fuel Allowance is a means-tested payment of €924, which is distributed either weekly or in two lump payments over the year.
The allowance is typically included in weekly social assistance payments and is paid for 28 weeks, from the end of September to April each year.
The stated half-rate would be €462 because the payment for 2023–2024 was €924.
To combat the high rates of inflation, the Social Protection Committee also advised the government to raise the core social welfare rates by at least €25 in Budget 2025.
Deputy Denis Naughten, the Cathaoirleach of the Committee, stated that expenses in Ireland have increased by a fifth since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak.
According to the Independent TD, expenditures have increased by 20% since January 2020, making them one-fifth of what they were before the pandemic.
“But the rates of increase in core social protection payments have not kept pace with this inflationary surge.”
“This Budget needs to permanently restore the purchasing power of payments to 2020 levels and acknowledge the ongoing pressure that a high cost of living places on low- and fixed-income households.”
In its Budget 2025 proposals, the Social Protection Committee urges the Government to keep its word and specify the date on which all welfare payments will be measured against a minimal essential standard of living (MESL).
The committee also recommended that this be benchmarked by average earnings and encompass all expenses related to ageing.
This covers the Working Family Payment and the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, among other secondary welfare payment benefits and assistance.
Additionally, the Committee has suggested that in Budget 2025, the Carer’s Allowance Income Disregard be raised to €1,000 for couples and €500 for single carers, with further increases planned for Budgets 2026 and 2027.
In addition, they requested that a plan be created to provide a non-means-tested Participation Income for Family Caregivers by 2030 and that the Carer’s Allowance means test be eliminated.
Additionally, there is a proposal to link income disregards for 2025 to account for changes in the national minimum wage, disability allowance, and social protection rates.
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They suggested that all means-tested programs regard income from self-employment and employment equally.
According to Deputy Naughten, the modifications will have a “substantial positive effect.”
“The Joint Committee feels very strongly that the increased cost of living and the removal of means testing anomalies in this year’s Budget needs to be the focus,” he stated.
“Through Budget 2025, the Committee hopes to bring about positive change for the most disadvantaged members of society by implementing the 13 recommendations that it has made.
“The Committee believes that implementing these recommendations would benefit the Department of Social Protection significantly without requiring significant additional funding.”
“We will keep in touch with the Minister and the Department of Social Protection and consistently look for updates on putting the recommendations outlined in this report into practice,” the statement goes on.
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