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OPEN slams cuts by stealth….. The devil’s in the detail that the Minister didn’t announce!
“While many of the biggest threats for people struggling on low incomes did not appear to come to pass in today’s budget, it contained some very harsh measures, particularly for families struggling on low pay”, stated Camille Loftus, Head of Policy & Research at OPEN, “The stealth cut of abolishing the Christmas bonus means that Santa may not visit many children this year – or alternatively, parents will end up in debt to predatory money lenders charging extortionate rates of interest”.
“Turning to the callous Rent Supplement changes”, Ms. Loftus continued, “Almost 20% lone parents on social welfare rely on this support to pay their rent. The detailed information the Department of Social & Family Affairs issued some three hours after the Budget speech indicates that lone parents and others who receive this crucial housing support will have to negotiate on an individual basis. This will pit vulnerable tenants against one of the country’s most powerful sectors- private landlords. The Department appears to be asking families to sink or swim in relation to this vital housing support. In fact in its press release the Department actually states that ‘it is hoped that landlords will decrease the rent’ but if they don’t, the Minister doesn’t appear to care”.
“Getting rid of the Early Childcare Supplement means a 7% decrease in the basic social welfare package for a lone parent with one child for more than 4 years. While OPEN welcomes the approach of channeling this expenditure into the provision of a free year in early childhood care and education – an approach that has long been advocated by child advocates, and indeed the NESF, we believe that a compensatory increase in targeted child support e.g. in Child Dependent Allowances and Family Income Supplement should have been implemented to protect the poorest families”, commented Loftus.
“Vulnerable unemployed people have little to gain from this Budget too – the measures announced clearly favour the more recently unemployed, and those with the strongest prospects of securing further employment. In contrast, measures to support those who have been unemployed for some time, or who previously worked in low paid jobs, are minimal, and inadequate”, stated Loftus and it is worrying that the Back to Work Allowance – one of the most successful labour market supports developed – has been axed for new entrants. In effect the most vulnerable are being asked to pay for measures targeted at those in a better position to get back to work”.
“And for those workers struggling in low paid jobs, where their hours are being reduced, and their wages cut – they now have to pay a higher income levy as well as double the rate of Health Levy. This will be a really severe hit on workers struggling to hold on in such difficult times”, concluded Camille Loftus.
Cutting social welfare payments would be a cynical move
OPEN has criticised IBEC’s cynical call to reduce social welfare payments in the Supplementary Budget.
In January, government and the social partners (including IBEC) committed to ensuring that “all sectors of society contribute in accordance with their ability to do so” and ensuring that “the most vulnerable, low paid, unemployed, and social welfare recipients are insulated against the worst effects of recession”.
Not only does the call to reduce social welfare payments ignore this commitment, the analysis on which it is based does not hold water.
While the overall level of prices in the economy has fallen, most lone parents will not be able to benefit from the big price falls that are driving this, for example:
- Lone parents without mortgages won’t benefit from the 26% fall in mortgage costs, but many will have to pay the 10% increase in their local authority rent
- Incomes will have to stretch to pay the 17% increase in electricity, and the 20% increase in natural gas, without being able to benefit from the 30% fall in home heating oil
- Childcare costs – a huge chunk of a lone parent’s weekly income – have increased by 6%
A cut in social welfare would mean a real fall in the purchasing power of payments because the price falls that are driving the overall inflation rate are in costs that most social welfare recipients won’t benefit from.
OPEN also noted that while one parent families continue to have the highest poverty rate of any group in Ireland, this fell significantly in 2007. Social weflare increases meant that one parent families could afford the basic necessities, and that is what kept them out of poverty. Given that the goods and services that low income groups spend most of their weekly budget on are not falling, cutting welfare rates would undoubtedly plunge those families back into dire poverty.
For further information on poverty, social welfare and prices, see the Community Platform Briefing on the Supplementary Budget. OPEN participates in social partnership as a Community Platform member.
Lone Parents - Facts and Figures
Using data available from a variety of Government agencies and Departments here are some current statistics on lone parents. Latest statistics from Census 2006 are available on a county basis here.
One parent families made up 38% (16,795) of those on the housing waiting list in 2005. See more on housing statistics.
Budget 2008: Protecting the most vulnerable?
Despite Minister Cowen's assertion in his Budget 2008 speech that "our first priority as a Government is to ensure that the poor and the vulnerable within our society are protected" OPEN's assessment is that the Budget failed to make meaningful progress on tackling the disproportionately high level of poverty experienced by one parent families.
Download OPEN' Pre-Budget Submission
Download OPEN's Press Release on Budget 2008
Download OPEN's response to Budget 2008
Policy Programme
Under OPEN's current Strategic Plan we have established a number of Policy Programmes:
Housing and Accommodation
Income Adequacy
Childcare
Health
Government Discussion Paper: Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents
This page provides information and resources on the Government Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents put forward by Minister Brennan in 2006.
Submissions
OPEN makes relevant and timely submissions to a variety of consultations process. All submissions are lone-parent proofed by members of our Board of Management.
This page was updated on 28th August, 2009