Income Distribution

Budget 2022 is not a time for fiscal retrenchment

Budget

Our pre-budget submission ‘Budget Choices 2022’ outlines why expenditure will have to rise if the housing strategy, the climate change strategy and the revised national development plan are to…

Core social welfare rates must increase in Budget 2022

adequate social payment 0

The prospect of people on social welfare being left behind for a third successive budget is very concerning.  A lesson from past experiences of economic recovery and growth is that the weakest…

Social Welfare Rates: Budget 2022

2021 09 02 sw rates budget 2022

This briefing examines the importance of maintinaing adequate levels of social welfare, the case for increasing social welfare rates by €10 in Budget 2022 and the case for benchmarking social welfare…

Basic Income Guaranteed?

basic income cure all

The Programme for Government committed to the introduction of a universal basic income pilot within the lifetime of the Government. The Report of the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce relied on this commitment when it put forward its proposals for a 3-year universal basic income pilot for workers in the Arts sector. Universal Basic Income is widely defined as an unconditional payment, something lacking in the commitments under the Pathways to Work Strategy 2021-2025 to deliver a basic income guarantee modelled on the Working Family Payment. 

Ageing in Place - Delivering a Fair Recovery for Older People

ageing demographic

Ireland has an increasingly ageing population and it is imperative, both from the perspective of the individual and the supporting structures, that ageing in place becomes the default approach.

Ireland and the Europe 2020 Strategy

europe 2020

‘Ireland and the Europe 2020 Strategy - A review of the social inclusion aspects of Ireland’s National Reform Programme’ covers three of the five headline targets established in the Europe 2020 Strategy and addressed in the Irish National Reform Programme, namely, employment, education and ‘poverty and social exclusion’.  It is the latest in a series that since 2011 has tracked Ireland’s performance on achieving its own targets in the Europe 2020 Strategy.

Ireland and the Europe 2020 Strategy- A Review

SPC 2021

Social Justice Ireland’s report ‘Ireland and the Europe 2020 Strategy - A review of the social inclusion aspects of Ireland’s National Reform Programme’ has found that overall, current trends in Irish public policy are running counter to the promotion of ‘inclusive growth,’ which is one of the three key priorities which underlie the Europe 2020 Strategy. 
 

Benchmarking Social Welfare Rates

benchmark social welf

The Covid-19 crisis has highlighted a number of aspects of the welfare state and the importance of properly provided and funded public services in countries across the world. Among the many lessons in this country, the crisis has highlighted the importance of the social safety net that is our social welfare system.

Minimum social welfare rates should increase by €10 in Budget 2022

adequate social payment

Social Justice Ireland is proposing a €10 increase in core social welfare payments in Budget 2022. This would set Government on the correct path to benchmark social welfare rates to 27.5 per cent average weekly earnings over a two-year period, which was the standard set in 2007.  Budget 2021 was the second budget in a row which failed to deliver an increase to the minimum social welfare payment.  A repetition of this failure in Budget 2022 would leave those who are most vulnerable in a very difficult position and see them fall further behind.

Budget 2022 must embrace need for new priorities

budget realism

Despite significant progress over the past few months, Ireland remains in a period of enormous uncertainty. Optimistic assumptions point towards a rebound in economic activity and employment from late 2021 or early 2022. Conversely, pessimistic assumptions fear ongoing public health related disruptions and a slow emergence from the Covid-19 crisis. Most likely, the reality lies somewhere in between - but there are limited clues as to where.