Savage 16 replaces dirty dozen, says Labour

SOCIAL Welfare Minister Mary Coughlan introduced 16 benefit cuts yesterday.

Ms Coughlan’s department said the changes did not constitute cuts, but were a “re-focusing of funds towards those in need”.

However, Labour Party social welfare spokesman Willie Penrose described the cuts as “a savage 16 which had replaced the infamous dirty dozen”. He said the cuts were the worst feature of the Estimates as they targeted those most in need.

Ms Coughlan was upbeat, however, saying that social welfare spending would rise in 2004 to a total of 10.65 billion. The transitional half-rate payment for lone parents is being scrapped where a recipient earns more than 293 per week.

The diet supplement has been scrapped and the crèche supplement is to be discontinued.

The current weekly earnings threshold for those eligible for payment of reduced rates of disability and unemployment benefit is being increased significantly, from 88.88 to 150. The qualifying period for the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) will be increased from six months to 15 months. The minimum contribution all recipients of rent and mortgage allowances are required to make towards their accommodation will be increased by 1 per week to 13 per week. If one person in a couple is in full-time employment, they are excluded from claiming rent or mortgage allowance.

Health boards are also being given the power to refuse rent allowance in cases where the applicant has not already been renting for a period of six months. Exceptions can be made for the homeless or for other compelling reasons. Rent allowance will also be refused if people turn down offers of local authority accommodation or leave local authority accommodation without reasonable cause.

The entitlement to half-rate child dependant allowance (CDA) in respect of unemployment benefit and disability benefit claims is also being discontinued, where the claimant’s spouse/partner has gross weekly income in excess of 300. New claimants will no longer be eligible either for half-rate payment of disability benefits and unemployment benefits where the recipient is already in receipt of a widow’s/widower’s pensions or one parent family payments.

The maximum duration of unemployment benefit will be reduced from 390 days to 312 days if a person has fewer than 260 PRSI contributions paid since first entering employment.