Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 9 September 2024
985. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if a double payment of working family payment will be made at Christmas this year and or if there will be a repeat of last year’s once off extra payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35056/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Minister for Social Protection, I am fully committed to making the case for a fair budget that protects the people most in need in our society - particularly families on low incomes and those people, including pensioners and carers who are dependent on social welfare payments.
In the last two years, recipients of the working family payment have received, in addition to their standard entitlements, a series of lump sum payments which were delivered in November 2022, April 2023, and November 2023.
As part of Budget 2024, I secured a €2.3 billion Social Protection package. This was, for the second year in a row, the largest in the history of the State.
This package provided a mixture of lump sum cost of living payments, along with across the board €12 weekly rate increase in primary payments.
Independent, post-Budget analysis from the ESRI also showed that the Budget package that the combination of basic rate increases with some lump sum payments was more effective than a simple price indexed increase. The Budget protected the most vulnerable in our society, particularly low-income families.
The CSO's 2023 Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC), published recently, shows that the 'At Risk of Poverty' rate in 2023 was 10.6%. This represented a very welcome reduction of almost 2% on the previous year's figure of 12.5%, reflecting the strong impact of measures we have taken in recent Budgets - including the cost of living support supports - in protecting the most vulnerable from the risk of poverty arising from inflation. Notably the benchmark consistent poverty rate of 3.6% is at its lowest level since records were first compiled in 2004 and is nearly 2 full percentage points, or 35% lower, than when this Government came into power.
In early July, I met with many stakeholders at our annual pre-budget forum with a view to continuing this progress. I listened to their views on their priorities in the forthcoming budget. In recent years, this has been a key input to my thinking on Budget formulation and the measures that I will bring forward for consideration of Government.
Any proposed Budget measures will have to be considered in both an overall policy and budgetary context.
