THE BURDEN of next week’s budget must be shared by those who benefited most during the boom years, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (SVP) has said.
The organisation, which is struggling to cope with a 30 per cent surge in demand for services in recent months, says current social welfare payment rates, including pensions, must not be reduced.
It says these rates are still inadequate to provide a reasonable standard of living, as evidenced by the increasing expenditure by the organisation on basic living necessities such as food, fuel, education and others. The SVP says poorer households do not have a capacity to cut back spending on basic necessities and any welfare cuts would tip those on the breadline even deeper into poverty.
The issue of eligibility criteria for various benefits is also of serious concern, it says, particularly the prospect of changes to the eligibility criteria for the jobseeker’s benefit.
It says any changes that move people on to the means-tested jobseeker’s allowance quicker than is already the case will bring about an even sharper drop in household income than is presently the case.
Mairead Bushnell, the society’s national president, said it hoped the Government’s decisions would “mirror the attitude of the hundreds of ordinary citizens who are telephoning and calling in to our offices to offer their support for our work.”
The National Women’s Council, meanwhile, has called on the Government to protect child benefit payments in light of a survey which, it says, shows the crucial importance of the benefit to parents.
A spokeswoman said the group’s survey was conducted among a random sample of it members to find out how families view child benefit and other welfare payments.
A total of 66 per cent of respondents said it was “a critical part of family income” at present, while 28 per cent described it as “an important part of family income”.
When posed with the possibility of child benefit being cut in next week’s budget, 45 per cent said it would be “an absolute financial disaster” for their families if this were to happen.
A total of 24 per cent described child benefit as their “survival cushion” at the moment, with 12 per cent saying that they could not pay for childcare.
The Combat Poverty Agency said the Government should prioritise income tax increases over cuts in welfare expenditure.
However, Jim Walsh of the agency criticised an increased reliance on indirect taxes to generate revenue.
