Ms Issy Petrie:

The Society of St. Vincent De Paul welcomes the invitation to share our proposals for budget 2022. I will begin by outlining the impact of the pandemic, which provides the immediate context for our priorities and has amplified the difficulties facing those in poverty.

As the largest charity of social concern in Ireland, SVP has continued throughout the pandemic to support low-income households remotely. In 2020, we received over 160,000 requests for help and in the first three months of this year we received more than 45,000 calls from individuals and families struggling to make ends meet on a reduced or inadequate income.

Households are struggling with food and energy poverty, with social isolation and to meet their costs after their rent or mortgage are paid. We also support households who live in temporary accommodation and direct provision centres, and those who are moving into new homes but without the resources to access bedding or household basics. In our experience the pandemic has been hardest for those who are already struggling. Due to the concentration of job losses in certain sectors the financial impacts, in terms of income loss, have been felt most by those who are already on low incomes who had more debt and fewer savings. We commissioned Red C to conduct research and that shows the pandemic has caused financial pressures, including increased household expenditure on basics, an erosion of savings to meet ordinary living expenses, falling behind on bills and being forced to cut back on essentials such as food, heating and electricity. The research found that over a third of one-parent families had cut back on heating or fallen behind on bills, and a quarter had cut back on food due to the cost. Also, 42% of people who were unable to work due to illness or disability had gone without heating due to the financial pressure of the pandemic. The impacts have not been felt evenly and 85% of those who found it difficult to manage financially before Covid have experienced some form of financial strain as a result of the pandemic compared with 23% of those who live comfortably.

Prior to the public health crisis, more than 600,000 people, including 200,000 children, were living below the poverty line. Almost 100,000 of those children were in consistent poverty, so they were also experiencing deprivation. These numbers, and the very high deprivation rates for groups such as lone parents, those who are unemployed and those who are unable to work due to illness and disability show that there is a significant mismatch between the cost of living in Ireland and the incomes of the least well off.

As well as the moral imperative to address this, we published research in 2020 that showed poverty weighs heavily on the public purse, costing the State €4.5 billion per year. This is spending that could be avoided if we invest now in adequate social protection. In that context, we are calling for the social welfare system to progressively realise income adequacy for those using our shared safety net. We propose that the minimum essential standard of living data, produced by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, be used as a benchmark for adequacy. The pandemic unemployment payment and the work of the Department this year have shown how a strong social security system is a vital safety net and a public service of which we should be proud. However, social welfare that provides an income below a minimum essential standard of living and meets only very basic needs, can instead contribute to locking people in a cycle of poverty without adequate means to access opportunities or participate fully in society. Adequate social welfare helps people reconnect to the world of work and allows people to live in dignity. This is not only what SVP believes is necessary but 96.7% of the members of the Citizens' Assembly on gender equality also agreed that we should set social protection payments or supports at a level that lifts people above the poverty line, prevents deprivation and supports an adequate standard of living.

There have not been increases to core social welfare rates in recent budgets. While increases last year in the child payment were very welcome, and are a well-targeted measure, these increases must be accompanied by higher core rates. Without increasing core social welfare rates, many households will be missed and will continue to struggle to make ends meet. Furthermore, child poverty can only be fully addressed when the minimum needs of the entire household are considered.

I will now highlight the situation of lone parent families, who continue to be the group most at risk of poverty in Ireland and the group we help most often at SVP. Research shows that high housing and childcare costs combined with low levels of income mean that it is challenging for many families with children to make ends meet. As well as investing in childcare and housing, we need to ensure that our social protection system is responsive to the needs of lone-parent families. Lone parents face additional challenges because they both the primary earners in and primary carers for their families. We recommend that jobseeker's transition payment be extended until the youngest child turns 18 because this will allow parents to access training and employment opportunities, as well as better in-work income supports.

On energy poverty, our submission outlines the difficulties people have faced over the past year in the context of higher utility bills. However, many were already finding it difficult to keep their homes warm enough. In 2019, of the people living in poverty in Ireland, 15% could not keep their homes warm enough, an increase of almost four percentage points on the previous year. This is why energy poverty must be tackled as part of a just transition. For the Department of Social Protection, we recommend that the fuel allowance be extended to those on the working family payment and those who have been on jobseeker's payments for less than a year, and that the length of the payment be extended to 32 weeks.

The cost of transport is a significant barrier for rural households and the cost of a car, which is vital for so many, is an additional €59 a week. We need to make sure that Local Link and an integrated rural transport system provides an accessible and affordable service throughout Ireland.

Finally, we recommend that poverty-proofing be embedded as an integral part of the policymaking process, rather than an exercise that takes place after a policy has been adopted. All Departments need to produce an assessment of measures that relate to their own areas so we can see the impact of all policy and budgetary decisions. A just recovery from the pandemic must begin with investing in our essential services, including social protection. Everyone should be guaranteed an adequate income in order to participate fully in society, whether they are in work or not. This is an investment in the long-term resilience of families and individuals and is vital to protect more people from poverty.