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

I do not propose to accept the amendment. The €12 increase to the weekly rate of social welfare payments from January 2023 supports recipients across all weekly schemes, including pensioners and those of working age. It also includes a proportionate increase for adult dependants which means that the basic increase for a two-adult household will be between €20 and €22.80 per week. Exceptionally, this year, this significant rate increase has been accompanied by a wide range of additional lump sum payments paid in the current year to social welfare recipients and, taken together, for many household types the combination effectively matches, or exceeds, inflation. Apart from the rate increase, as the Senator will be aware, we paid out €1.2 billion in lump sums between October and Christmas. As is the case each year, all budget options will be considered by Government ahead of budget 2024, based on up-to-date data, estimates and economic forecasts. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt this work at this early stage. Three months is also a short timeframe for such a report. In the social protection budget package, a range of options will be considered to provide targeted support for those who need it most. In this respect, while I am not accepting the amendment, the Senator can be assured that the issue she is raising will be considered by Government, along with a range of other budget options when the time comes. The ESRI post-budget analysis shows that budget 2023, combined with one-off measures to reduce the cost of living, will be effective in protecting most households from rising prices this winter. The institute's analysis further shows that the approach taken by the Government of targeted welfare measures combined with universal energy credits will be more effective in protecting most lower-income households this winter than had welfare rate payments risen in line with inflation this year and next.