An Bord Snip: Welfare cuts cannot be avoided

An Bord Snip has said that cuts in social welfare spending are inevitable, given the cost of that sector to the State.

In today's explosive report, which also recommends 17,300 job cuts in the public sector, the board says social welfare cannot be spared in the effort to claw back €5bn in government expenditure.

"It is a simple fact that many long-established and sensitive expenditure programmes, including those in the Social Welfare area, are among the most costly to the Exchequer, and it will not be possible to insulate these areas from review in the context of identifying the necessary large-scale savings," the board's report said today.

Current social welfare spending comes to€21bn, or 37% of total government expenditure.

An Bord Snip recommends cuts totalling €1.8bn in social welfare, which translates to cuts of 5% to all social welfare payments. Child benefit should be reduced by €30 per child for the first two children, the board recommends.