Varadkar promises increase in State pension

Decision will be made at budget time, said the Taoiseach

Leo Varadkar "absolutely assured" Dublin South Central Independents 4 Change TD Joan Collins that the payment will go up in October

The State pension will rise in this year's budget, the Taoiseach has told the Dáil.

Speaking during Leaders' Questions on Tuesday, Leo Varadkar "absolutely assured" Dublin South Central Independents 4 Change TD Joan Collins that the payment will go up in October, but did not say by how much.

The State pension was raised by €12 in last year's budget.

Ms Collins had raised a cross-stakeholder report released last week which said that the pension should be indexed at 34% of average earnings and tied to the consumer price index on average earnings. That commitment would put the State pension at €310 per week, which is €45 more than it is now.

"Before the last budget, there was a call from groups such as Age Action, the Disability Federation of Ireland, Threshold, Irish Rural Link, Barnardos, and the Society of St Vincent de Paul to increase welfare payments by a minimum of €20 a week," she said.

"This was explicitly called for, not as an increase, but to allow people to stand still during the cost-of-living crisis. 

"Instead, the Government gave a below-inflation €12 a week increase. Age Action called this 'a political choice to cut the living standards of older people'. It was, and not just for older people but anyone who relies on a fixed income from the State. It was a political choice made by the Government to make the people who are least able to deal with the cost-of-living crisis poorer."

Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald said that the Government had not done enough to ensure that drops in the wholesale price of energy are passed on to the consumer

In response, Mr Varadkar said: "I can absolutely assure the deputy of one thing: there will be a further increase in the weekly pension. That will be in the budget. The exact amount has not been decided yet. That will have to be discussed between now and October and will have to be seen in the round with other things the Government wants to do. 

"There will certainly be another pension increase. A decision on that will be made at budget time, as it always is."

Energy prices

Earlier in the debate, Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald said that the Government had not done enough to ensure that drops in the wholesale price of energy are passed on to the consumer.

"The Taoiseach has given a list of things that the Government has done but the one thing it has not done is to intervene to ensure the big drop in wholesale costs gets passed on speedily to the consumer," she said.