Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Creating jobs and tackling poverty are two of the key challenges that Ireland now faces and it is essential that our tax and social protection systems play their part in addressing these issues. To this end, and in line with commitments contained in the programme for Government, I established the advisory group on tax and social welfare in 2011, with the aim of harnessing expert opinion and experience to examine a number of specific issues and make cost effective proposals for improving employment incentives and achieving better poverty outcomes, particularly child poverty outcomes.

The group's overall method of working is based on producing modular reports on the priority areas identified in the terms of reference. These areas include, among others, child and family income supports, working age income supports, issues concerning social insurance for self-employed persons and the budget 2012 proposals concerning disability allowance and domiciliary care allowance.

The group commenced its work programme by prioritising the area of family and child income supports. It subsequently submitted its report to me. I have been considering its findings since I received the report. I have held discussions with my ministerial colleagues on the issues raised in it. In this regard, I asked my officials to undertake further analysis of the implications of the reform options outlined in the report. They supplemented their analysis of the report by using the SWITCH tax-benefit model to determine the financial impacts and poverty outcomes that might arise from the proposals made in the report. A detailed assessment of the administrative and operational changes that would be required to implement the proposals was also carried out. I intend to publish the advisory group's report on this issue in the very near future. The group recently submitted to me its report on the budget 2012 proposals concerning disability allowance and domiciliary care allowance. I intend to publish this report in the near future. I understand the group is considering the issues involved in providing social insurance cover for self-employed persons and the issue of working age income supports.

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