In theory, the social welfare system in Northern Ireland should be meaner and leaner than in the South. After all, the Thatcher era - which cynics may suggest is still continuing - saw an assault on the welfare state by a series of governments over a long number of years.

Yet a glance at the two systems would suggest that, with exceptions, people in Northern Ireland enjoy better social welfare payments than their counterparts in the Republic. In particular, payments in respect of children appear substantially better in Northern Ireland.

It has to be borne in mind, though, that it is virtually impossible to compare the welfare systems of two countries. For instance, the cost of living will usually differ from country to country. So will the general availability of social services, and that is important too: sometimes a family needs the services of a speech therapist more than another £5 a week. Their chances of getting that speech therapist would certainly be greater in the North than in the South.

So in comparing the figures, bear in mind that money isn't all that counts.

(In this article, Northern Ireland rates have been converted into pounds at the rate, at time of writing, of £1.16 per £1 sterling.)

Unemployed

A key difference, from the perspective of claimants, is that in the Republic people can claim a non-means-tested unemployment benefit for far longer than in Northern Ireland. This can be a considerable help because other income is not taken into account. In the Republic, an unemployed person, who has paid sufficient PRSI contributions, can get Unemployment Benefit for up to 15 months compared to only six months in Northern Ireland. In addition, the personal rates of benefit are higher in the South: £70.50 a week as against £46.23 for those aged 18-24 or £58.41 for those aged 25 or over. Claimants in the South also receive automatic increases for dependants (£41.20 for an adult and £13.20 for a child) but in Northern Ireland increases for dependants is means-tested from the start. However, the non-means-tested Child Benefit (equivalent to our Children's Allowance) is substantially higher in the North. But this is where comparisons become difficult. Entitlement to Housing Benefit, for instance, appears to be more standardised in Northern Ireland than in the Republic, where getting a rent allowance can involve a sometimes gruelling visit to a community welfare officer who - according to groups working with clients - may apply a different maximum figure than his colleague up the road.

In the Republic, however, people can get grants from their community welfare officers towards exceptional and unforeseen expenses whereas in Northern Ireland this is given in the form of a loan.

Sickness/ Disability

Before looking at the welfare payments, one crucial difference between North and South has to be taken into account. This is that the NHS provides a free GP service to everyone in the North. In the Republic the medical card is means-tested. Everyone who incurs high medical expenses is not necessarily covered by a medical card and this can be a serious disadvantage for people in the Republic who have chronic illnesses or disabilities. It is important to bear this in mind to arrive at a true comparison.

In Northern Ireland, Statutory Sick Pay is paid by employers for up to 28 weeks. The amount the recipient gets depends on their earnings in the eight weeks before they became ill but the standard rate is £66.93. If the illness lasts longer, the employee can claim Incapacity Benefit. Severely disabled people get a Severe Disablement Allowance of £45.36 a week, with additional amounts depending on age.

In the Republic, Disability Benefit is payable at £70.50 standard rate, roughly from the start of illness, and without a means test. People who are "substantially handicapped" in the Republic get a Disability Allowance at a personal rate of £70.50 a week. The Republic also has a specific benefit for people disabled at work.

The provision for carers is difficult to compare. In Northern Ireland an Invalid Care Allowance of £44.89 (with extra amounts for dependants) is paid to a person looking after someone who is severely disabled and who is over 65 or was disabled at work. In the Republic the Carer's Allowance of £73.50 seems to be more flexible in its conditions for payment with one crucial difference - that the means test rules out a large number of carers especially for the maximum amount.

Elderly

Northern Ireland has one big advantage over the Republic when it comes to pensions for older women: they can get a Retirement Pension (£75.05 a week) at the age of 60. Their sisters in the Republic, where the Retirement Pension is £83 a week, must soldier on to 65 - and so must the men in both jurisdictions. In the Republic, people who are not retiring from jobs must wait for the Old Age Pension until they are 66, by which time the women in the North have been living it up for six years. Moreover, in Northern Ireland the pension can be increased depending on earnings and on pension contributions.

Mind you, those Northern women may get off the treadmill years earlier, but they missed out on Charlie Haughey. As every pensioner in the South knows, Charlie Haughey got them free travel and he probably gets the credit for other free extras such as electricity, fuel (free fuel has been around since the second World War at least) and TV licences. In the North some local authorities provide free or reduced travel on local bus services.

Again, the two systems cannot be judged on pensions or perks alone. General medical, caring and other services for older people may be more readily available in the North and that is worth a great deal more than an awful lot of TV licences.

Payments to meet winter fuel costs are more readily available in the Republic in the sense that the £5 a week allowance (plus £3 in built-up "smokeless" areas) is payable from mid-October to mid-April. In Northern Ireland a higher allowance (£9.86 weekly) is paid, but only when the temperature remains below freezing for seven days in a row.

Families and Children

By and large, there appears to be more support for families and children in the North than in the South. Maternity pay is higher at 90 per cent of previous earnings compared with 70 per cent in the Republic.

Child benefit is substantially higher at £13.28 a week for the eldest child (£19.84 for a lone parent) and £10.79 for the others. In the Republic child benefit is £30 a month for the first and second child and £39 for each of the others.

Welfare payments can usually be divided into two classes. The first is those which are based on social insurance contributions and which are not usually means-tested. The second is those which are based on a means-test. In the Republic we have a wide variety of allowances which the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs has been rationalising for some years. In the North, a single allowance, Income Support, covers many of the categories we have in the South.

It is in the weekly increases given for children that Income Support differs most from the allowances in the Republic. In the North this element of the payment ranges from £20.07 to £35.15 (depending on the age of the child) compared with £13.20 in the Republic.

(Series concluded)