Combat Poverty calls for welfare increases

The State advisory agency on poverty asked the Government today for an increase in social welfare rates and child income support.

Social and Family Affairs Minister Seamus Brennan met the Combat Poverty Agency (CPA) as part of an ongoing effort to meet every group involved in social welfare and reform.

He has revealed it will cost up to €2.5bn to meet the Government targets already agreed by 2007.

Helen Johnston, CPA director, said they discussed a new strategic plan.

The proposals focus on employment, regional responses to poverty, distribution of income and access to services.

She said there was a broad range of areas which were causing immense hardship to the less well off. Certain factors could be improved more immediately with additional funding from the budget.

“We feel that access to quality services, around education and healthcare in particular, are areas which need to be addressed,” she said.

Commitments made in the Programme for Government include increasing the standard pension to €200 and ensuring the lowest weekly social welfare rate is €150 by 2007.

Mr Brennan said the mark of a civilised society was to look after its most vulnerable people. He said not everyone had benefited from the Celtic Tiger and many had been left behind.

The CPA has been very encouraged by what the minister had been saying recently, Ms Johnston added.