Child benefit rise fails to impress

WELFARE: Long-promised Child Benefit increases lost out to targeted rises in payments to pensioners, carers, widows and widowers in a welfare Budget totalling €530 million.

The Budget allocation to social welfare spending was about half of last year's package, with some measures meeting critical reaction from anti-poverty groups last night.

A €10 rise in the weekly old-age pension will bring the payment to €157.30 by January, in a step towards the Government's pension target of €200 per week within the lifetime of the current administration. This increase applies to full-rate pensions, with proportionate increases for contributory pensioners on reduced rates.

Widows and widowers aged 66 and over on contributory pensions and women getting deserted wife's benefit in the same age bracket will each receive an increase of €11 per week. Widows and widowers under the age of 66, and people getting invalidity pensions under the age of 65, will have their weekly payments increased by €7. People in receipt of Carer's Allowance aged 66 and over will also receive a €10 increase, bringing the weekly sum to €147.80. Those aged under 66 will receive a €7 weekly rise to €129.60. There is a €6 per week increase in Unemployment Benefit/Assistance, Disability Benefit/Allowance, Pre-retirement allowance, Farm Assist, Supplementary Welfare allowance and One-Parent Family Payment. This rise, which is just ahead of inflation, will bring the basic weekly social welfare payment for a single adult to €124.80.

Child Benefit will be increased by €8 a month for the first and second child and by €10 for the third and subsequent child. This increase brings Child Benefit to €125.60 for each of the first two children a month and €157.30 for the third and subsequent children.

This measure, which will cost €105 million in a full year, is far short of the promised monthly rise of between €31 and €38 under a three-year Government pledge which would have cost €414 million to honour. The Government now says it will meet this commitment over a further three years.

Anti-poverty and child rights groups strongly criticised this much reduced Budget increase, with Barnardos saying the €2 weekly increase for first and second children "won't buy a loaf of bread and a pint of milk a week".

Mr Raymond Dooley, chief executive of the Children's Alliance, said Child Benefit was the main financial support for families with children and key to the Government's plan to end child poverty. "Both objectives have been thrown into disarray by the Government's decision to break its promise on Child Benefit," he added.

There was also criticism of the €6 weekly increase in the lowest social welfare payments, which fell substantially short of the €11 to €14 sought by anti-poverty groups including the Society of St Vincent de Paul and The Combat Poverty Agency.