Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way she plans to ensure social protection payments meet a minimum essential standard of living, in review of the recently published results of the survey on income and living conditions 2021 and findings of persistent levels of poverty and deprivation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24491/22]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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I have asked the Minister about the minimal essential standard of living, MESL, and about linking social welfare payments to it. I want to ask the Minister about that again, given the latest data from the survey on income and living conditions, SILC, which was recently published by the CSO.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this. I welcome the recent publication of the 2021 survey on income and living conditions, which shows improvements across all key national poverty indicators. The data once again show that our social protection system performs strongly in protecting our most vulnerable citizens. Social transfers have reduced the at-risk-of-poverty rate from 38.6% to 11.6%. This represents a 70% reduction on the at-risk-of-poverty rate in 2021.

Ireland is consistently one of the best performing EU countries in reducing poverty through social transfers. Notwithstanding this progress, we should all acknowledge that there is always more that can be done. However, what we do must be informed by evidence. Towards this end, my Department funds a large body of research, including the work of the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, to develop and calculate the MESL. I find this work very useful in informing policy. One of the benefits of the work of the Vincentians is that it provides the different levels of income needed for a wide range of household types, including the different costs that arise for households in rural and urban locations.

In recent years, my Department has used the study as a key input into the consideration of budget options. For example, MESL research has consistently identified families with children and older people living alone as being less likely to meet the MESL. In light of this, over successive budgets, qualified child payments have been significantly increased and a new higher rate for children aged 12 and over was introduced in 2019. The living alone allowance has also been increased by a total of €13 per week over the last three years in response to MESL and other research that highlights the higher risk of poverty and social isolation for those who are living alone. I assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to be guided by research, including MESL research, to target resources at those who are identified as being most in need.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister pointed to a number of improvements outlined by the SILC data. The SILC data have once again shown consistent poverty among lone-parent families, which are four times more likely to be in poverty than households that are headed by two adults. In some cases, there were across-the-board increases. For people aged over 65, there were increases in those at risk of poverty, increases in deprivation and increases in consistent poverty. In relation to those who are unable to work due to long-standing health problems, there were increases across the board. Their at-risk rating for poverty is up, for deprivation is up and there is a consistent poverty rating at almost 20%. While there are some improvements, and many of those are at the higher levels, this is not the case for older people and for people with long-standing health problems. I presume that those with long-standing health problems include persons with a disability. It is a pity that they are not broken down separately. Poverty is increasing for a number of vulnerable households. That has to be acknowledged. The Minister said she was informed by evidence. The MESL research is telling her that social welfare rates are below the poverty line. We need to look at those rates.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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We try to target the resources where they have the most impact. However, if we increased the rates to meet the MESL, it would cost €2.4 billion more in one year for working-age payments. That would be lot of money. It would be a considerable increase.

We have taken measures to address the cost of living. For example, €100 is being paid out this week for the fuel allowance on top of the €125 lump sum in March, and that allowance was increased by €5 per week in the budget. When one adds all those together, it is up by 55% to 60% this year compared with last year. We also have the €200 universal energy credit. Mr. Seamus Coffey, a respected economist, commented on the SILC report. He said that incomes are up and income inequality is down. The at-risk-of-poverty rate, levels of deprivation and consistent poverty are also down. That is positive.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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The figures speak for themselves. In 2020, the consistent poverty rate for those aged over 65 was 1%. It is now 2.5%. Deprivation and at risk of poverty have increased. For those unable to work - I presume many of them are people with disabilities - deprivation is up to 39.6% and consistent poverty is at 19.2%. All those rates are up. There are no improvements or reductions. That is not happening. Lone parent households are suffering most when it comes to the composition of households. There is a massive difference in consistent poverty rates between two-parent and lone-parent households. What Mr. Coffey said is all well and good, but the figures speak for themselves.

We know many people living with a disability are living in poverty and experiencing deprivation. The cost of disability payment is what is most important now for that cohort of people. I hope matters are progressing in respect of that payment because that will be very important in lifting people out of poverty.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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We have to acknowledge there are a number of different measures in the survey. Two of them have increased but everything else has reduced, whether it is consistent poverty, at risk of poverty, deprivation rates or social transfers. As I mentioned, Covid-19 income supports reduced the risk of poverty from 19.9% to 11.6%. Consistent poverty for children reduced from 7.2% to 5.2%, while consistent poverty for lone parents reduced from 19.3% to 13.1%.

However, the Deputy is correct. There is poverty among older people, which is up. As the Deputy said, the rate of consistent poverty has increased for older people. While it is significantly lower than other age groups, as a society we have worked to ensure that older people are protected against poverty. Many older people have incomes clustered above the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is defined as 60% of median income. As a result of incomes increasing across society as a whole, the at-risk-of-poverty threshold also increased.

On people with disabilities, as the Deputy knows the Government commissioned research on the cost of disability. The research has implications for many areas of public policy, including the delivery of care services, health, housing, education, transport and income supports. We have to look at that and we have to act on that report.