Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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123. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will guarantee that there will be no further cuts to social welfare payments despite efforts by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to cut payments further; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41712/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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All existing welfare payments have been fully maintained for 2015 – there will be no reductions. In addition, I announced on Budget Day a number of initiatives costing €198 million with four key objectives. These are:

- Assisting long-term unemployed families to return to work by providing continued financial support;

- Helping all families in the State with the cost of raising children;

- Recognising the additional pressures on pensioners and people with disabilities who are living alone, and

- Helping vulnerable welfare households to meet the costs associated with water services.

The Christmas Bonus was abolished by the previous Government in 2009. In addition to the above, I am pleased to say that I am in a position to partially restore the Bonus this year. A bonus of 25% will be paid in early December to all long-term welfare recipients including all pensioners and carers. This will cost over €63 million and is in recognition of the position of vulnerable households.

Future social welfare spending will be considered in the context of next year’s Budget. It should be noted that throughout the crisis, this Government has protected core welfare rates and maintained a massively strong social welfare safety net. That was a political choice which this Government made very deliberately; it is not one that was followed in other bailout countries. This is acknowledged by the ESRI, among others, which has pointed out that, unlike in other countries, income inequality has fallen in Ireland in recent years, largely because of the overall maintenance of the welfare system.

The measures I announced in the Budget 2015 are the first steps in strengthening the safety net for all those who need it.