One-third of Government spending in 2020 was on social protection

Minister of Justice, Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands, Heather Humphreys. According to new figures from the Department almost one-third of general Government expenditure last year was spent on social protection. Based in large part to the Covid-19 PUP. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Almost one-third of general Government expenditure last year was spent on social protection, according to new figures from the Department.

The statistical information on social welfare services annual report 2020, published on Monday, found that €30.6bn was spent on social protection payments last year, an increase of 46% compared to 2019.

The report described 2020 as an “exceptional year” for the Department of Social Protection, adding the “sudden arrival of Covid-19 had devastating consequences for public health, the economy and the labour market”.

Some €9bn of the money spent was on supports related to the Covid-19 pandemic throughout the year, according to the annual report.

Over 1.2m people received at least one payment from the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP), the temporary Covid-19 wage subsidy system (TWSS) and employment wage subsidy scheme (EWSS), with an average payment of €7,200.

Almost 70,000 recipients received enhanced illness benefit payments, at a cost of €57m.

Social insurance fund schemes, supported through the payment of PRSI, and administration expenditure amounted to €14.bn, an increase of €4.1bn (40.6%) compared with 2019.

However, the income for this fund was €11.4bn in 2020 which is over €900m lower than in 2019 – a drop of 7.3% due to the reduction in the number of workers employed during 2020 and the PRSI arrangements relating to TWSS and EWSS.

Total spending on working-age income supports was €8.3bn in 2020, an increase of over €5bn (156%) from the previous year, with the Covid-19 PUP accounting for almost 60% of this expenditure.

A total of 328,526 people received the PUP payment, with people aged 20-24 accounting for the highest proportion of recipients.

Some 29,829 females and 31,557 males in this age group were on the PUP payment for at least one week.

This can largely be attributed to the high proportion of this age group working in the hospitality, events and retail sectors, all of which were closed for a significant proportion of the year.

Child-related payments amounted to €2.6bn in 2020, with child benefit comprising €2.1bn of this expenditure.

The benefit was paid to 633,000 families in respect of 1.2m children in 2020.

Meanwhile, there was €4.7 bn spent on illness, disability and caring payments in 2020, an increase of €264m (5.9%) compared to 2019.

Carer’s allowance and disability allowance accounted for €2.7bn of this expenditure, recording increases of 7.4% and 6.2% respectively.

The number of recipients on disability allowance increased by 5,825 to 152,580 in 2020, an increase of 4%. Since 2011 the recipient numbers on this scheme have grown by 48.3%.

Carer’s allowance expenditure has increased by 66% since 2011, with 77% of the 88,906 recipients of the allowance being female, while one in five were aged 65 years or over.

Social protection minister Heather Humphreys said the level of support detailed in the report demonstrates the “scale of the undertaking by Government” last year.

“The report also details the scale of the impact of Covid-19 on the economy in Ireland. As Minister for Social Protection, I am committed to helping people return to work, or retrain and upskill if their previous job is no longer there for them.”