A new £128 million package for the low-paid will be unveiled today by the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern.
The measures, the bulk of which relate to PRSI and health contribution reductions, will be included in the new Social Welfare Bill to be published by the Minister.
The Government decision to make available an extra £128 million for low-paid families above what was provided in the Budget was first revealed in The Irish Times in December. The package, and the £3,000 tax allowance for one-income households, was agreed so as to defuse the Budget furore and salvage the national pay talks.
Mr Ahern received Cabinet agreement in principle for the additional £128 million the week after the Budget. It is understood that Mr Ahern, along with some other Cabinet members, said they would not support the £3,000 tax allowance for spouses who care for children, the aged or the handicapped unless there was a quid pro quo for the lower paid through the social welfare code.
The PRSI and health contribution concessions included in the new Social Welfare Bill will total £102 million.
Workers paying Classes A and H and earning £226 or less per week will now be exempt from paying PRSI. More than 460,000 employees will gain up to £5.67 per week as a result of this measure.
The earning limit for exempting employees from the 2 per cent health levy is to be increased from £217 a week to £280 a week.
The new Bill will also include improved provision for 38,000 pensioners who currently receive a reduced-rate old age (contributory) or retirement pension.
The new carer's benefit will be improved and child benefit will increase from September, to £42.50 each for the first two children and £56 for the third and subsequent children.