An increase of £14 a week in social welfare payments and the removal of minimum wage earners from the tax net has been called for by the social and community pillar of the national agreement.
In their pre-Budget submission, the eight organisations comprising the pillar say the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness was supposed to narrow the gap between rich and poor. "Since we accepted the PPF the ground has considerably shifted," said Ms Orla O'Connor of the National Women's Council, speaking on behalf of the group. "The people worst hit by inflation have been those receiving social welfare payments, parents paying increased childcare costs, those on low incomes and those with accommodation problems."
The group says that an increase of £10 a week in welfare payments would be needed just to keep pace with inflation. It points out that taking employees on the minimum wage out of the tax net by expanding allowances would mean an increase of £13.97p a week for all taxpayers.
All welfare payment dates should be brought forward to January 1st to compensate for inflation. The grouping also says asylum-seekers should receive the same means-tested supplementary welfare payments as other claimants.
The eight organisations in the pillar are the National Youth Council of Ireland, the Council of Religious in Ireland, St Vincent de Paul, the National Women's Council, the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, Protestant Aid, Community Platform and the ICTU Centres for the Unemployed.