Social welfare payments ‘€38 below poverty line’

SOCIAL welfare payments need to increase by €38 weekly to pull recipients over the poverty line, a Catholic organisation has warned.

The Conference of Religious of Ireland (CORI) says by the Government’s own calculations, the poverty threshold stands at €203.55 weekly for a single person yet most weekly assistance payments to single people are €165.80.

In its annual socio-economic review published yesterday, CORI’s Justice Commission says poverty remains a major problem in Irish society despite the decade of economic boom.