Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When it comes to social protection, we must remember how we approached budget 2022. We approached it with every single social welfare rate below the poverty line. There had been no increase in the core social welfare rates in the previous two years. I hoped we would approach this budget with the lessons of Covid-19 learned, in particular lessons relating to the pandemic unemployment payment, which was introduced at a rate of €203 and was quickly increased because the Government realised that such a payment, although it is the rate across almost all of our social welfare system, was totally inadequate.

I hope we will come to a point where we do not have a circus about a fiver ahead of every budget. People typically get nothing or they get a fiver. We need to move to evidence-based amounts and increases when it comes to social welfare. We need to set payments to the minimum essential standard of living and that is what we have outlined as a first step in our budget. I have raised this matter repeatedly with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and had she not left the Chamber, I would have thanked her for outlining our fuel allowance measures. I know what our measures are. The Minister failed to acknowledge the discretionary fund we proposed for all of those many people and households, workers in particular, who will not be able to access the fuel allowance. We proposed €30 million to widen eligibility to the fuel allowance in our alternative budget. The measure brought forward by Government to increase it from €100 to €120 is an allocation of €1.9 million. I am not sure how many people are going to get access to the fuel allowance, given the Government is committing €1.9 million when we proposed €30 million. The Minister referred to a carer's pension she wants to introduce. We have such a measure in our alternative budget. She did not reference young jobseekers. We put forward that they would be equalised so we do not tell 18 to 24-year-olds that they can have €112 or less to live on per week. We equalised the system, whereas the Minister has given them an extra fiver so those young people will now live on €117 per week.

However, today is about saying there are parts of this budget we absolutely welcome. I want, in particular, to welcome what has been announced for family carers. They waited 14 years for a change in the income limits and I hope they will not wait another 14 for the next one. We need this to be a first step and to see greater support for our family carers. They, in particular, have been through a difficult 18 months and deserved a strong and good package in this budget to recognise their care and the work they do every single day. I also welcome the fact that the Minister referenced the carer's pension and I hope she will look at our proposal in that regard. I also hope she will look at the current situation with the total contributions approach to make sure that is actually working for our carers when it comes to the calculation of the State pension.

I want to also mention the disability allowance and the fact that we need to see the cost of disability payment introduced. We have an Indecon report from 2004 telling us this payment needs to be introduced. The Government is now looking at more research and more reports. We all know there is an additional cost for persons with a disability. We have acknowledged that, it is there and we just need to introduce it.

It is regrettable that there have been no moves on the collection and payment of child maintenance for lone parents. We know that lone-parent families experience more consistent poverty and deprivation than any other household. We need to recognise that and I hope the child maintenance review group, when it reports before the end of the year, will put forward the need for a statutory child maintenance service, something we have repeatedly put forward. I hope the Government will act to ensure that lone parents and their children are supported and that we do everything possible to lift them out of poverty.

See this speech in context