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

I propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 84 and 101 together.

As part of budget 2024, I secured a €2.3 billion social protection package. This is, for the second year in a row, the largest in the history of the State. This package provides a mixture of exceptional cost-of-living payments delivered over the coming weeks, along with an across-the-board €12 weekly rate increase in primary payments and an increase of €4 per week for a qualified child, both of which take effect from early January. This approach will ease the pressure that many households will face over the coming winter months, acting quickly to provide lump sum supports and providing an ongoing support through the provision of the weekly rate increase from January.

Post-budget analysis from the ESRI shows that this package will insulate most households from rising prices next year. As part of this package, a wide range of lump-sum payments will be paid in the coming weeks and months. In the week beginning 20 November to support low-income working families a cost-of-living payment of €400 will be paid to 46,000 recipients of the working family payment recipients.

A lump sum of €400 will be paid to 214,000 people receiving disability allowance, the blind pension and the invalidity pension in recognition of the additional cost-of-living pressures they face, and there will be a lump sum of €300 for more than 400,000 people who receive the fuel allowance. This is particularly important as we come into colder weather for pensioners and people with disabilities who may need extra heating.

In the week beginning 27 November, three further payments will be made. A €400 lump sum will be paid to 130,000 carers. As people living on their own face similar energy costs as couples, a payment of €200 will be paid to 237,000 people who receive the living alone allowance. There will also be a targeted lump sum of €100 for each child for those receiving an increase for a qualified child. On 5 December, families with children will receive a double payment of child benefit, benefiting approximately 1.2 million children. There will be two double payment weeks. In the week beginning 4 December, a 100% Christmas bonus will be paid to 1.3 million people on long-term schemes. A double payment will also be paid in the week commencing 29 January on the same basis as the Christmas bonus. As the rate increases will have taken effect, this will be paid at the higher rates. I am satisfied that this budget protects the most vulnerable in our society, particularly children in low-income families. Of course, there are always additional measures I would have liked to include but framing any budget requires difficult decisions given there is a limit of what can be done in a single year.

I was also pleased to announce key reforms such as the introduction of a pay-related jobseeker’s benefit from next year, subject to final Government approval, as well as an extension of parent’s benefit to nine weeks, improvements to the wage subsidy scheme, extending free travel to those who are medically unfit to drive and further extending the hot school meals programme, among other measures.

I attended a school yesterday in north Monaghan and talked to the children in fifth and sixth class. They are getting the hot school meals programme because it is a DEIS school. The teachers and young children could not speak highly enough about that programme. It is a wonderful addition for any child who is going to school because they get a good healthy meal in the middle of the day. They choose what they want to eat the week before. I heard one of the providers on the radio this morning and he said there are 15 options. I would not mind that menu myself. The children pick whatever it is they want and it is delivered to them in the school and they get that hot meal. Their educational attainment, because of the hot school meals programme, is much better and they do better at school. It is a great leveller because everybody gets the same. We all know there would be many a time when making lunches for children that they would come home and tell you they could not eat that but if they had what somebody else was eating they would eat it. One thing is for sure - when they got that, they would not eat that either. I have been to other schools in the city here where they get their lunch and it is one of the best measures. It is one of these under-the-radar measures sometimes but it really makes a difference.

Those are some of the things I have done in this budget. It is not always the big things. They make the headlines but sometimes the smaller things can make a real difference in people’s lives. I thank the Deputies for raising the issue.

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