Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

For this week's budget, in the Department we sought to restore supports to our clients after a lost decade of cuts but also to target the resources that we have where we feel that they are best placed to help. As well as the €5 increase across most weekly allowances, we have provided for an increase in payments for qualified children, an increase in the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, more generous income assessments for lone parents who are out working, an extension of the maintenance disregard for housing costs in the working family payment, an extra week's fuel allowance, an increase in the daily expense allowance, which was formally known as the direct provision allowance, a restoration to 100% of the Christmas bonus, an increase in the national minimum wage and additional funding to secure the free travel and the free television licence schemes. However, this budget is not only about incremental increases and I would like to emphasise two specific innovations which reflect strongly on our commitment to help working families.

For all parents, I am delighted to be able to announce the introduction of a new paid parental benefit scheme, which will allow both parents access to paid parental leave within the first year of their child's life. Both parents will have access to two weeks each of this benefit, which is non-transferable and which will be paid at the same rate as maternity benefit and paternity benefit, which would be €245 per week in the coming year. I am working with my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Deputy Stanton, and we will introduce the scheme at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2019. It is our intention to incrementally increase this scheme up to seven weeks' parental leave over the next number of years.

We have also introduced a new scheme, which is jobseeker's benefit for the self-employed. In order to improve access to social welfare schemes for self-employed contributors we had already extended treatment benefits and invalidity pensions in previous years but as part of the budget this year, I have announced the extension of access to jobseeker's benefit to the self-employed from 2019. This will provide a safety net not currently available to those who are enterprising enough to establish their own businesses and provide employment, for themselves but, in many cases, for others too. The backbone of industry in this country are family-run small businesses and we are here to support them.

Looking ahead to next year it is my intention to further increase the supports that we provide for children who are at risk of poverty and to their families. That is why this year I have provided funds to pilot a hot meals scheme for schools. As part of the initiative, hot dinners will be provided on a pilot basis to a number of DEIS schools. If it is successful, and there is no reason in my mind that it should not be, I hope to be able to provide the funds next year to roll it out on a permanent basis.

I have also provided funds in this year's budget for an examination of the extra costs of living incurred by people who are living with a disability. This is a complex area but I have given a commitment. I am keen to address the concerns raised by the people who live with the reality of living with a disability and those who represent them. We will use the outcome of the study to inform potential measures to address the issues of cost over the coming budgets.

Now that the core rates have been largely restored I believe it is time to fundamentally examine the way in which we approach the business of setting our headline welfare rates. A number of other countries have shown us how, by instituting a process of benchmarking welfare rates, typically using a system whereby core rates are fixed each year by reference to market earnings and or price levels. Some advocacy groups have called for a similar system in Ireland and the Government, in the roadmap for pensions reform published earlier this year, has already committed to adopting this approach in respect of pensions. We indicated that we would develop proposals to deliver on this commitment before the end of 2018. My personal view is that this core approach could be extended to other welfare payments. I believe that this system, if implemented, would provide the context and framework for an informed rational and evidence-based approach to setting welfare payments.

This week's budget announcement, both on the increases and the new innovations, reflect this Government's commitment to working with families and the most vulnerable in society. We seek to strengthen opportunity and create an environment for every citizen to be able to prosper.

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