Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy knows, I announced on budget day that the Government will spend over €2.1 billion on social protection measures, including over €880 million in order to provide for a €12 increase in the weekly rate of social welfare payments from January 2023. This supports both pensioners and those of working age and includes a proportionate increase for qualified adults. This is the largest social welfare package in the history of the State.

The rate increase is accompanied by a wide range of additional measures and lump sum payments this year to social welfare customers. Taken together, for many household types, the combination effectively matches or exceeds inflation.

For example, a pensioner living alone will receive more than €1,600 in additional payments and energy credits in the next 12 months compared with the 12 months that have just passed. That is equivalent to an increase of approximately €31 per week. To take another example, a person with a disability living alone will benefit by approximately €1,850, an increase of approximately 14%, which is worth €36 per week. In general, most welfare recipients, taking into account the one-off measures, energy credits and underlying rate increase, will be better off by approximately 10% in the next 12 months compared with the 12 months just passed. Year on year, they are better off by 10%.

Combining one-off measures with underlying rate increases is a prudent targeted approach. In its post-budget analysis, the ESRI stated that welfare increases in 2022 and 2023, together with one-off measures, are large enough to leave the lowest-income households better off, on average, than they would have been had welfare payments risen in line with inflation this year and next. I am satisfied that the total social welfare budget package for 2023 has been designed to protect the most vulnerable in society. As we have done to date, the Government will continue to monitor the situation closely and will respond again when necessary.

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