A low-cost yet dignified, standard of living is out of reach for thousands of people who are dependent on social welfare, a pioneering new study has found.
The family budget research, the first of its kind undertaken in Ireland, was carried out by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice. It costed up to 700 goods and services to ascertain the real costs of running a home in the 'most-at-risk' households. It then looked at three family types - a lone parent with two children, a couple with two children and an elderly couple.
The study found that the first two family types dependent on welfare payments met a shortfall of between €6.29 and €23.62 per week for the most basic needs. Ms Naomi Feely, an assistant researcher, stressed the budgets covered only the basic needs and did not include spending on alcohol, tobacco, pets, savings, insurance or unexpected illness.
A lone parent with two children who is dependent on the one-parent family payment (currently €235.67 a week) is found to need a minimum of €259.29 per week to survive. The budget includes a weekly expenditure of €75.43 on food, €28.75 on clothing and €10.86 on public transport.
Two parents with two children dependent on unemployment benefit (currently €320.07) were found to need a minimum of €326.36 per week. Their budget includes a weekly expenditure on food of €107.97, on clothing of €35.18 and on rent of €45.43.
For both these family types the greatest barrier to enhancing their own capacity to improve their incomes was unaffordable childcare.
A pensioner couple, aged 66 to 69, and in good health, were found to need €210.97 per week. Those dependent on a non-contributory pension receive €276.05. Their food costs are calculated at €76.72 per week, with housing costs at €11.30.
No mortgage, rental, funeral scheme or care costs are included in these figures.
Sr Bernadette McMahon of the partnership said the results were disturbing, "especially for a country that regards itself as a successful and modern economy".
She noted that even these stringent budgets, which exceed the resources to which welfare-dependent families are entitled "do not allow for contingencies".
This forced family after family dependent on welfare into a spiral of borrowing to make ends meet, and inescapable debt.
"Ireland is not a Third World country. We must aspire to more than just survival for all households."
Welcoming the study, Mr Brian Nolan, of the Economic and Social Research Institute, said it would make an enormous contribution to the debate about the real basic needs for families subsisting on welfare.
"Where the debate goes is about political and societal choices," he argued.
Echoing this view, Fr Seán Healy, of the CORI Justice Commission, said he hoped it would register with those who do not accept that poverty exists.
"That belief has to be engaged with head-on. This is a powerful study," he said. He hoped it would contribute to the debate about the reality of poverty in Ireland and the choices made by the Government which contributed to it.
Included in the report's nine recommendations are:
that social welfare and national minimum wage rates should be benchmarked against minimum but acceptable rates
welfare payments to the two first family types studied should be increased to the rates found to be the minimum necessary
childcare should be made affordable and accessible
long-term insurance schemes should be provided for the elderly.
