Older people in receipt of the State non-contributory pension will be able to earn up to €100 a week without it affecting the level of their pension entitlement.
It is one of a series of measures contained in the Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Bill 2006, published by Minister for Social Affairs Séamus Brennan yesterday.
At the moment, the estimated 80,000 older people in receipt of the non-contributory pension are entitled to earn only €7.60 a week before their pension level is reduced.
However, a new special earnings disregard of €100 is being introduced from September this year.
The move had been sought by a range of groups such as Age Action Ireland, which has been lobbying for such changes for several years.
The pension, which is being renamed as the State pension (non-contributory) may be paid from age 66 to people in Ireland who do not qualify for a contributory pension and who pass a means test.
Other reforms include the introduction of standard and enhanced non-contributory pensions which would lift up to 34,000 pensioners on to higher or full pensions, Mr Brennan said.
The Minister added that from next September, the titles of many welfare schemes would change to "reflect modern society and changed attitudes towards, and expectations in relation to, welfare schemes and entitlements".
These include the unemployment benefit, to be renamed as "jobseeker's benefit", and the disability benefit, to be renamed the "illness benefit" (see panel).
Mr Brennan said a number of additional employment and training developments would be introduced which would be aimed at people on the live register who "may not have had their talent or full employment potential properly assessed".
This includes the phasing out of the scheme known as the pre-retirement allowance, which was introduced in 1990 at a time of high unemployment.
The scheme was introduced for long-term recipients of unemployment assistance aged 55 years and over who were unlikely to work again, Mr Brennan said.
The move also meant these individuals were not recorded on the live register.
The new Bill proposes that the scheme will be phased out without having an impact on any existing recipients.
Mr Brennan said other groups which had not been able to find employment easily during the economic boom, such as those with illnesses or disabilities or those who were lone parents, would be encouraged into education, training and into employment through a range of services and initiatives.
He acknowledged there was fraud within the system, especially in the case of the disability allowance. While the system aimed to be generous and supportive of those in genuine need, Mr Brennan said anyone who defrauded taxpayers should be dealt with "ruthlessly".
Other measures for which the Bill provides are the €1,000 early childcare supplement.
It also provides for a tax exemption on the childminding income of an individual who minds up to three children in their home, subject to a maximum income of €10,000 a year.
In another move, the upper income limit for the one-parent family payment is being increased from €293 to €375 a week. This, Mr Brennan said, would allow many lone parents to access employment and to access the family income support payment.
New face of welfare system
The titles of a number of benefit schemes and pensions are being changed as part of a modernisation of the welfare system from September 2006:
Old age (contributory pension): State pension (contributory)
Old age (non-contributory pension): State pension (non-contributory)
Retirement pension: State pension (transition)
Unemployment benefit: Jobseeker's benefit
Unemployment assistance: Jobseeker's allowance
Unemployment supplement: Incapacity supplement
Disability benefit: Illness benefit
Orphan's (contributory) allowance: Guardian's payments (contributory)
Orphan's (non-contributory) pension: Guardian's payment (non-contributory)
