One of the key tools at our disposal to reduce poverty is social welfare. If Government is serious about reducing poverty and meeting the targets set out in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion then the first step must be to benchmark social welfare rates to 27.5 per cent of average earnings, and to do this over either one or two budgetary cycles.
Social Justice Ireland welcomes the announcement that the Low Pay Commission has been give terms of reference to investigate how Ireland can move towards a living wage. In principle, a Living Wage is intended to establish an hourly wage rate that should provide employees with enough income to achieve an agreed acceptable minimum standard of living.
Social Justice Ireland believes in the very important role that social welfare plays in addressing poverty. Without the social welfare system just over 4 in every 10 people in the Irish population (41.4 per cent) would have been living in poverty in 2019. In 2021, as we plan future budgetary priorities, it is important that adequate levels of social welfare be maintained to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.
Annex 3 accompanies chapter 3 'Income Distribution' in Social Justice Matters: 2021 guide to a fairer Irish Society.
In its annual Socio-Economic Review Social Justice Ireland argues that fundamental changes are required if Ireland is to have a fair recovery post-pandemic. Returning to pre-Covid normal would mean failure. A new Social Contract is needed and it can be developed and delivered.
Earlier this year, the Government announced that income tax revenues for 2020 were only down 1 per cent compared to 2019. Preliminary estimates for Q4 2020, set out in the latest CSO release in their Earnings and Labour Costs series, show unadjusted average earnings up 5.5 per cent on the previous year to €844.98 per week or €25.56 per hour. But these announcements are not cause for celebration, they provide further evidence that Covid-19 has disproportionately affected lower earners.
In this socio-economic review for 2021 Social Justice Ireland presents a detailed analysis of a range of key matters which are central to social justice; a vision of Ireland’s…
Ireland is among the signatories of the recent Joint Declaration by the Ministers of the EPSCO Council ‘Overcoming poverty and social exclusion – mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on families – working together to develop prospects for strong children’. If Government is truly committed to the stated objectives of the joint declaration then significant resources and serious political and policy commitment to addressing child and family poverty are required.
A recent Oxfam report, published for the opening day of the World Economic Forum, reveals that the world’s 10 richest men saw their wealth increase by half a trillion dollars during the pandemic, while the 1,000 richest people on the planet recouped their Covid-19 losses within just nine months.
A poverty premium is the extra cost that low income households face when paying for the same goods, services and amenities as wealthier households. A Report commissioned by the U.K. charities Fair by Design and Turn2us, undertaken by the University of Bristol, and published in November 2020 found that low income households paid an extra £478 a year in poverty premiums in 2019.
