Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

A large number of social welfare recipients will find their incomes entirely unaffected by the budget because their payments have been preserved for the second year running. Weekly payments have not been cut across the board. The previous Government cut all main payments by a cumulative ¤16.50 per week. If a household included somebody on carer's benefit and someone else on disability benefits, the cumulative cut was ¤33 per week. It is essential that people can continue to rely on their basic weekly payments in order to have a sense of security about their incomes. Weekly payments will be maintained for pensioners and all those under the age of 66, such as people on disability allowance and jobseeker's allowance, with the result that expenditure on social protection will once again be more than ¤20 billion in 2013. This demonstrates the high priority the Government continues to give to social protection during these difficult times. Social protection expenditure will account for approximately 37% of all Government expenditure.

I understand the concerns of those affected by the measures contained in the Bill, particularly in respect of cuts to child benefit and respite care grants. I will deal with each of these payments in turn.

Child benefit is a universal payment to mothers at all income levels. I am determined that any future reform of child benefit will preserve the principle of universality. It is worth bearing this in mind given that from next January the United Kingdom intends to reduce or discontinue child benefit payments to households in which at least one person earns more than ¤62,000. This change will cost families with three children and at least one parent earning more than ¤74,000 approximately ¤3,000 per annum, which is the equivalent of a pay cut of ¤5,000. I intend to publish the report on family and child income supports by the advisory group on tax and social welfare reform in the new year. I will then bring it to the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection for a full and informed public debate on the options available for the future structure of child benefit, with specific regard to taxing, means testing and other structural reforms such as supplementary child benefit payments. I would be happy to discuss the report in this House if I am invited to do so.