Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 11, after line 34, to insert the following: “Report on means-testing for blind pension and disability allowance

21.The Minister shall prepare and lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on the means-testing eligibility requirement for blind pension and disability allowance and the impact that income threshold limitations have on access to these schemes and that the report shall be presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Social Protection within 9 months of the enactment of this Act.”.

The Government has committed to reviewing the means-testing of payments but there is not yet any information on when this will happen. Social assistance payments are available to those who do not have enough PRSI contributions to qualify for equivalent social insurance payments. For example, someone who becomes unemployed but fails to qualify for jobseeker's benefit due to insufficient PRSI contributions can apply for jobseeker's allowance instead, which is means-tested. However, as entire household income is considered as means, it can be difficult to qualify for the full rate of €220. Even the highest rate of payments does not take into account the varying costs experienced by households across society.

The concentration of deep income inadequacy is due to the current structure of our social welfare system. Existing rates of social assistance payments do not adequately support even a minimum essential standard of living. The existing system of determining rates underestimates the cost of ensuring an MESL and we see this exemplified in households with children headed by one adult when calculating rates of means-tested welfare payments. This means the current system for determining social assistance is flawed and must be replaced with a comprehensive model to ensure social welfare supports are fit for purpose. Sinn Féin believes that social assistance payments, which are typically subject to means testing, must be based on ensuring a decent standard of living. We propose ensuring that all currently means-tested payments are set at rates that meet the minimum essential standard of living in order to ensure that those who rely on these payments are protected from poverty at the very least. We must also bear in mind the cost of disability that people on blind pension and disability allowance are subject to.