The Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI) has called on the Government "to pay special attention to the position of poor people in its development of anti-inflation policy".
CORI, which represents 135 religious congregations with 12,000 members in 1,400 communities throughout Ireland, is a social partner and took part in negotiations for the last two national agreements.
The group's Justice Commission has asked in particular that "the rise in take-home incomes (i.e. the combined impact of wage increases and tax cuts) of those with jobs should be mirrored in social welfare increases".
It "strongly urges the Government to ensure that the minimum social welfare payments should reach £100 per week by the end of year two of the national agreement rather than in year three as planned".
If social welfare payments did not keep pace with the rise in take-home incomes of others in society then the gap between the poor and the rest of society would widen, it said. "Such a development can hardly be morally tenable in the midst of such economic growth," it said.