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

As the Minister for Social Protection and during the lifetime of this Government, I am proud to have introduced many improvements to the social protection system. As part of budget 2024, I secured a €2.3 billion social protection package. This was, for the second year in a row, the largest social protection budget in the history of the State. Post-budget analysis from the ESRI showed that the package would insulate most such households from rising prices into 2024. As part of this package, a wide range of lump-sum payments were paid in late 2023 and into 2024. These included supports for low-income working families, people with disabilities, carers, those living alone and those in receipt of the fuel allowance. A double bonus payment was paid both at Christmas and in January.

I was also pleased to announce key reforms such as the introduction of pay-related jobseeker's benefit from later this year, as well as an extension to parent's benefit to nine weeks, improvements to the wage subsidy scheme, extending free travel to those who are medically unfit to drive, further extending hot school meals and extending child benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education, among other measures.

Across my time in government, we have seen very significant rises across the board in the rates of pensions, disability payments, carers' payments and other weekly schemes. There have also been significant increases in seasonal and annual schemes such as the fuel allowance and the carer's support grant. Decisions about budget 2025 will be made in the coming months. In working with my ministerial colleagues, I will of course continue to take account of the independent evidence from the CSO, the ESRI, and bodies such as the Vincentian Minimum Essential Standard of Living Research Centre. As always I will also listen closely to the views of Deputies in this House, the community, the voluntary pillar, advocacy groups and other stakeholders in the run-up to the budget.

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