SVP Submission for Budget 2026
With Government ruling out one-off cost of living payments it’s time for a strategic approach to supporting those on social protection payments and the working poor, says SVP.
SVP urges government to increase child support, living alone and disability payments in response to rising poverty rates.
15 July 2025......In its Pre-Budget Submission for Budget 2026 launched today the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) is proposing a strategic, data-driven approach that targets support where it is most needed, ensuring households can meet basic living costs without relying on crisis interventions. It says financial adequacy and stability must be embedded into the social protection system to prevent further hardship.
The Delivering an Equal and Inclusive Budget submission sets out SVPs recommendations for the forthcoming Budget 2026 as the charity expects the amount of calls for help this year to approach 250,000. The charity has set out 19 key asks in its Pre-Budget Submission, including recommendations specifically focused on child poverty, as well as reforms to address in-work poverty, expand access to affordable childcare and housing, increase the living alone allowance, improve educational equity by removing mock exam fees and reducing uniform costs and introduce a weekly cost of disability payment.
To support the Government’s commitment to reducing consistent poverty to 2%, SVP are recommending increasing the core adult social protection rate by €16 per week, bringing it to €260. This proposed increase is not only necessary it says to address rising living costs – including housing, energy, and food – but also represents a strategic investment in reducing poverty and deprivation. Without this increase that accounts for inflationary pressure since 2020, low-income households are falling further behind.
Among its other 19 key asks SVP is calling for an increase in Child Income Supports, by €6 for under 12s and €15 for over 12s, based on evidence from the recently published Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) 2025 report. The MESL report shows that current rates fall significantly short of what is needed to ensure income adequacy for children. It shows that for children aged 12 and over, current payments meet just 64% of their essential needs, while for those in primary school, only receive income to cover 88% of their needs. Older children in particular face increased costs related to education, nutrition, and social inclusion, and these costs are not reflected in the current child supports structure.
It is also calling for an increase to the Living Alone Allowance, as a targeted measure to support single-adult households who face a disproportionately higher cost of living relative to a multi-person household, and the introduction of a weekly cost of disability payment of €55 to cover the additional costs facing people with a disability. This is in response to what SVP members witness firsthand from people living with a disability, such as the additional costs of transport, difficulties accessing employment, or the burden of extra heating needs.
Rose McGowan, SVP National President, said: “For Budget 2026, we are appealing to the government to focus on a holistic approach to make real and tangible differences for the most vulnerable in our society.”
“The latest Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) figures are deeply concerning – consistent poverty has increased from 3.6% to 5%, with an even higher increase for children, jumping from 4.8% to 8.5% in just one year. That’s over 45,000 more children now living in consistent poverty. These are not abstract statistics – they represent children growing up in cold bedrooms, going to school hungry, and missing out on the social and educational experiences that are fundamental to a healthy childhood.”
“We know from our experience on the frontline that the right policy choices do make a difference – we saw it with the introduction of free schoolbooks and hot school meals. Budget 2026 must continue that momentum, with targeted structural reforms to ensure adequate incomes and real pathways out of poverty.”
Louise Bayliss, SVP Head of Social Policy, commented: “The temporary, one-off cost-of-living payments from the government provided critical short-term relief in recent years. However, with these supports now withdrawn, low-income households are left exposed to high living costs and growing financial insecurity. Poverty in a wealthy country like Ireland is a policy failure but our next budget offers a vital opportunity to put financial certainty and dignity at the heart of Government decision-making.
“Rising poverty and homelessness rates should not be happening in a wealthy country with a growing economy, Budget 2026 can and should make a difference to the people we support.”
In addition to calling for an increase in the core adult social protection rate by €16 per week, the child support rates and increases in the Living Alone and disability payments other key recommendations proposed by SVP for the forthcoming budget. include:
- Increase and Index-Link the Income Disregard for One-Parent Family Payment (OPFP) and Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment (JST).
- Make childcare affordable by increasing the subsidy and threshold for the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).
- Ensure every child in emergency accommodation has access to a child support worker.
- Continue the roll out of free hot school meals to all children and ensure ongoing evaluation of the nutritional content.
- Increase the provision of social housing stock and affordable cost rental homes for vulnerable and low-income households.
- Introduce a homeless prevention budget amounting to 20% of all homeless expenditure.
- Provide capital funding to address the long-term accommodation needs for those in direct provision with status to remain.
- Allocate €10 million to establish local, publicly run Early Childhood, Education and Care (ECEC) services.
- Make our state education system truly free by removing costs and charges to families including mock exam and correction fees, electronic devices and school uniforms.
- Benchmark SUSI grants and reckonable income levels against the cost of living.
- Increase Fuel Allowance by €9.50 per week.
- Extend the Fuel Allowance to recipients of the working Family Payment.
- Pilot a community energy advice service.
- Increase funding to the Waiting List Initiative to clear the waiting list and backlog for the Assessment of Need process.
- Allocate sufficient funding to fully implement the National Therapy Service in mainstream education settings.
