The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has welcomed the fact that the Government has compensated some of the poorest families for the cut in Child Benefit and retained the Family Support Agency. These were two of the key requests in the SVP Pre Budget Submission. However, it is regrettable that many low income families will suffer from the cut in child benefit.
The Society says that the reduction in the adult social welfare rate is very bad news. This cut will amount to €13.90 per week for a couple, which is compounded by the loss of the Christmas Bonus, increases in rent payable for social housing and private rented sector where rent supplement is given. In addition all families with children under 5 have lost €664 over the past year due to the cut in the Early Childcare Supplement.
Compared with this time last year, a single parent family with 2 children under 5 has sustained a cut of 10.4% in their income, or €1820 over the year, and a couple with 2 children under 5 have sustained a cut of € 2241 or 9.2% in their income. These cuts mean more hardship for families on social welfare, and will likely push people into debt.
The Society is also concerned that those in work, on low pay are being particularly hard hit by this budget, for example those not eligible for Family Income Supplement.
We welcome the retrofitting of social housing and note the commitment to compensate the poorest households for the introduction of the carbon tax. However, it is very unclear how the Government intends to operate their proposed ‘vouched’ system. In addition, there is no indication how fuel-poor households outside of the fuel allowance system will be identified or compensated.
The SVP is also critical of the introduction of prescription charges for those on medical cards and the increase in the monthly drugs payment scheme threshold. The introduction of these prescription charges will be particularly difficult for families requiring multiple prescriptions.
“In the days before the budget, our Dublin office alone was receiving almost 500 calls a day seeking assistance. We believe that this was partly due to the fact that there is no Christmas Bonus being paid this year. We also have no doubt that, overall, this Budget will increase the calls for help that we, and other charities, will receive in the coming year” said Mairead Bushnell, SVP National President.