The social welfare increases announced in yesterday's Budget were greeted with "dismay" by the Society of St Vincent de Paul, which described them as "miserly".
The Minister for Finance announced a general increase of £4 a week for welfare recipients, with £3.80 for adult dependants. The increases will be paid from next May, a month earlier than this year's increases.
The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed last night described the increases as "derisory".
The Society of St Vincent de Paul was equally critical. "Budgets are about income distribution and the net result of this Budget is that the Minister has chosen to distribute £4 per week to social welfare recipients and £20 per week to the average industrial worker," it complained.
The SVP said it was disappointed "with the almost miserly approach which sees only £100 million going to benefit children, with almost 10 times that amount going in tax cuts."
The increase in child benefit is £8 per month for each of the first two children and £10 for each subsequent child. It will be paid from next September.
The money spent on reducing the top rate of income tax by 2 per cent could have been used instead to tackle poverty, the SVP said.
The biggest weekly increases go to pensioners, who will get an extra £7 a week from May with, in most cases, an increase of £4.70 in the payment for an adult dependant.
The means test for the non-contributory old age pension and for other pensions is being eased so that that a pensioner can have up to £10,000 in capital (£20,000 for a couple) without suffering any reduction in the pension.
Measures are also being introduced to help people whose pensions were reduced or who did not get a pension because their pre-1953 social insurance contributions were not counted for pension purposes.
The changes for carers were greeted with bitter disappointment by the Carers' Association.
They include the £4 a week general increase and £7 for carers over 66. Entitlement to the free electricity allowance and free TV licence will be extended to carers on the allowance. A new carer's benefit based on social insurance contributions will be introduced. This will allow employees to take up to a year off work to care for an incapacitated person. They will receive a payment of £88.50 a week during this time and their entitlement to their jobs will be preserved.
"Today's Budget represents one of the greatest disappointments ever for the thousands of family carers around the country who had expected justice and fair play," said Mr Eddie CollinsHughes, on behalf of the Carers' Association.
In particular, Mr CollinsHughes condemned the absence of any easing of the means test for the allowance.
Last night the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, announced an extra £1.55 million for voluntary organisations providing marriage, child and bereavement counselling services. Other voluntary and community services will get extra funding.
The National Social Service Board will get an extra £750,000 and emigrant advice services will get £100,000.