SVP calls for rise in fuel allowance and social welfare payments to ease poverty risk

(Left to right) Nessan Vaughan, Vice-Chair SVP Social Justice Committee, Dr Tricia Keilthy, SVP Head of Social Justice and Policy, Issy Petrie, SVP Research and Policy Officer and Rose McGowan, SVP National President at the launch of the The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) Pre-Budget Submission “The Cost of Surviving”. In the upcoming Budget, SVP is urging the Government to commit to benchmarking social welfare rates against the cost of a minimum standard of living. Photo: Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography

If the right decisions aren’t made in the upcoming Budget, there is a “real risk” that we will see a “deepening of poverty and households being pushed into poverty for the first time”, a leading charity has warned.

At its pre-Budget submission announcement in Dublin, the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) urged a range of measures to support and protect the hardest-hit households in the cost-of-living crisis, including a €20 rise in core social welfare payments, an increase to the Fuel Allowance payment by €15 per week, while also increasing the thresholds for the working family payment.

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The head of social justice at SVP, Dr Tricia Keilthy, said: “We know from research by ESRI, by the Central Bank, that the impact of the cost-of-living crisis is greater for those on low incomes.

“So really, it's so important that those resources are targeted to prevent further hardship in the longer term.” 

The Government is set to change tax bands to ease pressure on some earners in the upcoming budget. 

While Ms Keilthy said that “obviously people on middle incomes are struggling”, she added: “But we know from analysis that cutting some of those income bands actually benefits the top 20% of earners in the country more. And that’s revenue that could be used to invest in services that benefit everyone.

We understand people are struggling across the board, but those on lowest incomes are struggling more.

In the upcoming Budget, SVP is urging the Government to commit to benchmarking social welfare rates against the cost of a minimum standard of living.

It said that, currently, there is a weekly gap of €49 between the core social welfare rates and the cost of a minimum standard of living. Given the rising cost of living, a rise of €17 in the core social welfare rates is needed just to keep households at a “stand still”.

The charity also called for the introduction of a living wage that reflects the real costs faced by those in low-paid jobs “without delay”, as well as the expansion of the SUSI student grant to people who study part-time to improve access to education.

Case study

It cited a number of case studies of people who had accessed its services in the last year, including a lone parent of two children who is studying part-time.

SVP said: “Things have always been a struggle but she says ‘with the cost of heating and electricity going up, I’m leaving myself short on food shopping.’ 

“She used to be able to get the weekly shopping for her family for €50 by trying to get the best deals but the same basket of food is now around €75. She is buying less now and ‘regularly goes to bed hungry but thankfully I have been able to keep the kids fed, but I can only cope for so long’.”