Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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51. To ask the Minister for Social Protection to evaluate the social protection payments that had to be reduced during the period of recession due to a lack of resources and to identify the most sensitive where some restoration can take place while keeping the need for prudent management in mind; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11838/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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After a series of challenging years, improvements for people in receipt of social welfare payments began in Budget 2015 and continued in Budget 2016. This included increases in the weekly rates of payment for pensioners and in the living alone allowance. There were also increases in child benefit, fuel allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. In addition, new initiatives aimed at helping families were introduced, such as the back to work family dividend, and a paternity benefit scheme which will commence payment later this year. Looking ahead, the new Programme for a Partnership Government contains a number of significant commitments to enhance the welfare system in the years ahead. This includes increasing rent supplement limits by up to 15%, above-inflation increases for pensioners and in the living alone allowance. The Programme also supports rate increases for people with disabilities and carers. The Government also has plans to extend social insurance benefits for the self-employed and to improve the treatment benefit scheme.

I want to make progress on these commitments in the forthcoming Budget and will seek to do this within the additional resources which will be available. I also look forward to engagement and input from my colleagues in the Oireachtas in the matter.

In addition, I will be holding a Pre-Budget forum on July 22 next to which I have invited forty welfare representative organisations. I will listen carefully to the views of the organisations attending.