Dr. Tricia Keilthy:

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul welcomes the opportunity to present our budget 2020 proposals. To give some context, our members see the daily struggle to make ends meet in households where there is not enough income to meet outgoings. It is when this struggle becomes overwhelming that families often request our help for the first time. Last year, we published a report carried out by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. The report examined the experience of families who could not afford a minimal essential standard of living. Research participants had an income between 3% and 39% below what was required to meet their basic needs. Half of the research participants were in employment and did not have an adequate income despite being employed.

The parents who took part in this study worked hard at budgeting and prioritising expenditure and tried to protect their children from the effects of poverty and low income. However, the experience of going without characterised daily life and parents were constantly saying "No" to their children, leaving them feeling guilty and ashamed.

The research showed that living on an inadequate income is very stressful and emotionally draining and can have a major impact on physical and mental health. The longer it goes on, the more difficult it is for families to see a way out. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul strongly believes that people who receive social welfare should have the means to remain integrated and participate in society. The danger of inadequate social welfare is that it can trap people in poverty and lead to greater social, health and economic costs in the future. Adequate social welfare helps people to reconnect to the world of work and allows them to live in dignity. Therefore, first and foremost, we are asking that social welfare rates are set at a level which is grounded in evidence and that is sufficient to lift people out of poverty and to provide them with a minimum essential standard of living. We are aware that reaching this goal will require action over a number of budgets and choices must be made in budget 2020 in the context of a potential no-deal Brexit. It will be crucial to focus increases in payments for those experiencing the deepest level of inadequacy, namely, households headed by one-parent, single working-age adults including those under the age of 26, people with disabilities and households with older children.

The issue of in-work poverty is a growing concern for us. In 2019, we published a report entitled Working, Parenting and Struggling. The analysis of the employment and living conditions of one-parent families in Ireland found that the living standards of lone parents are among the worst in Europe and that the rate of in-work poverty among these families more than doubled between 2012 and 2017. To reverse this upward trend in in-work poverty, budget 2020 should seek to increase the earning disregard for lone-parent payments to €166 to restore the 2010 value for hours worked at the national minimum wage. We are also asking that the hours requirement for the working family payment be reduced to 15 hours from 19 hours, in recognition of the greater difficulties lone parents face in meeting this threshold alone.

Although not directly within the remit of this committee, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul is concerned that a significant proportion of the poorest lone parents will lose out under the new national childcare scheme. The average weekly cost of school-age childcare is €145. However, the maximum subsidy a lone parent will get under the national childcare scheme is €45 per week for 12 hours when his or her child turns seven. This is at the same time when they are also subject to labour activation measures. We believe that a lack of sufficient childcare hours will undo any potential budget 2020 measures introduced by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection aimed at reducing in-work poverty among lone parents. Therefore, further investment in the targeted aspects of the national childcare scheme is required in budget 2020 to ensure that the poorest families do not lose out.

With regard to energy poverty, we are concerned that energy unaffordability persists without accounting for any potential increases in carbon taxes. The combination of increased energy prices, poor quality housing and the persistence of low income impacts on the households we assist. At current levels, fuel allowance is insufficient to meet the cost of energy for people on low incomes. An additional week of fuel allowance was introduced in budget 2019. This brought the payment to €630 for the winter months. To restore the payment to 2010 levels in real terms, it should be increased to €830. Increasing the living alone allowance by €3 can also provide additional protection to older people who are more vulnerable to energy poverty.

Last month, we received more than 200 calls per day from worried parents struggling with education costs. In our submission to the Minister for Education and Skills, we ask for investment to provide all children with free school books at primary level and an end to the practice of voluntary contributions. To help alleviate some of the pressure on families, we also ask that child benefit is made payable to all children until the end of secondary school regardless of age.

The exceptional needs payment is a critical scheme for low-income households and is often a scheme of last resort for people in difficult circumstances. However, delays and difficulties in accessing services create unnecessary stress and strain on people when they are vulnerable. It is critical that front-line Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection services are adequately funded and that the total budget available for exceptional needs payments is increased by €11 million to meet unexpected costs faced by low-income individuals and families.

Budget 2020 must reflect a real commitment to tackling poverty and deliver on the goal of a fairer and more inclusive society. This will require a genuine whole-of-government approach to budgetary decisions and assessing all public expenditure against its impact on poverty. When prioritising resources, decisions should be equitable, fair and just, should protect the vulnerable, should address structural inequalities and should promote the well-being of this and future generations.