State pension will rise to €350 a week by 2030, Taoiseach promises

Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan said Fianna Fáil had promised in its pre-election manifesto to increase welfare rates by €12 each year.

The Government will raise the State pension to €350 by the end of the decade, the Taoiseach has said.

Micheál Martin defended the Coalition’s €10 increase in the State pension in Tuesday’s budget, as the opposition accused him of breaking a promise to raise it by €12 each year.

“The Government has increased the pensions by €10. We have a commitment to €350 by the end of the term of this Government and we will fulfil that,” Mr Martin said.

Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan said Fianna Fáil had promised in its pre-election manifesto to increase welfare rates by €12 each year.

“The additional €10 announced yesterday does not even cover the cost of inflation,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

He referred to one pensioner, Noel, who called into an RTÉ radio budget phone-in and criticised the €3 increase in the living alone allowance.

“€3 would not even buy a cup of tea in a café. It would just about cover the cost of a pound of butter in the supermarket,” Mr O’Callaghan said.

“That is the level of support pensioners living alone have got from this Government: the equivalent of a butter voucher.”

Mr Martin said Fianna Fáil had the back of pensioners.

He said individual social welfare supports could not be looked at in isolation, citing the living alone allowance, fuel allowance and pension provides an €18 per week increase.

Pressed by Mr O’Callaghan why the Government had not delivered a €12 increase in pensions, Mr Martin said the Social Democrats' attitude was “spend, spend, spend”.

“He does not care about the economy. He does not care about the resources that we need to allocate to social protection,” Mr Martin said.

“An increase in the social protection budget of €2bn is quite substantial.”

The Taoiseach said the €10 increase in the State pension was above the rate of inflation.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Ivana Bacik described the budget package as “pathetic”.

“In seeking to please everybody, the Government has ended up pleasing nobody,” Ms Bacik said, referring specifically to culture minister Patrick O’Donovan, who was unable to secure a €100 culture card.

In response, the Taoiseach said the budget was “quite substantial”, pointing to the indexation of tax rates.