Income Distribution

Automatic Enrolment is doubling down on a failing system

Cash Money

As the DEASP announces some key design features of its proposed Automatic Enrolment pension scheme, our analysis suggests that AE represents poor value for money, with minimal benefit to the State unless the long-term plan is to run down the value of the State pension and force people to rely on their private savings.

Income Gains and Effective Tax Rates after Budget 2020

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What income changes arose from the tax and benefit measures taken in Budget 2020? What are the effective tax rates now for different levels of income, and how do they compare with effective rates over time? Click here to see.

How will Budget 2020 affect poverty rates?

money in hand

Today is International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. What did last week's Budget do to help eradicate poverty?

Brexit will hit low income households hardest

brexit

Brexit has the potential to even further reduce the living standards of Ireland's most vulenerable. A sudden increase in food prices will hit lower income households hardest. Here's why.

Over 100,000 in paid jobs living in poverty

working poor

Low pay is a big problem for Irish society. As we have continuously pointed out,  that that more than 100,000 people in Ireland who have a paid job are living in poverty. These are the “working poor”. The best way to ensure that people working full-time can earn enough to afford a decent standard of living is to move the Minimum Wage closer to the Living Wage.

Basic Income Week 2019

basic income

International Basic Income Week 2019 runs from the 16th of September to the 22nd. Social Justice Ireland has long been one of Ireland's leading proponents of Basic Income. This article contains links to a number of papers and videos on the subject of Basic Income, many of which were presented at our 2016 Social Policy Conference which was centred around the topic.

What do pension tax reliefs actually achieve?

pension pot

Pension-related tax reliefs are an expensive means of subsidising retirement savings for the better off, with little financial benefit to the State. The current system has a very high fiscal cost, yet is currently failing to meet its targets in relation to coverage and income adequacy. In this article, we show that the arguments in favour of continuing this perverse incentive system do not stack up. There is no fiscal benefit to the exchequer in either the short or the long term.

Welfare rates should increase by €9 per week in Budget 2020

social welfare

Adequate social welfare payments are required to prevent and address poverty. Without the social welfare system 43.8 per cent of the Irish population would have been living in poverty in 2017. In order to keep pace with earnings growth, social welfare rates should increase by €9 per week in Budget 2020.

Budget 2020 should invest in children and families

Investment in children

Investment in Children and Families is an essential investment in our social and human capital now and into the future. Our Budget 2020 submission contains a number of costed proposals in this area.

Pension Reform in Ireland

pension piggy bank

The Irish Pension system is in need of significant reform. Unfortunately policymakers have limited the scope of this reform to introducing Automatic Enrolment and very little else. In any format and by any measure, Auto Enrolment will greatly increase the (already significant) cost to the Exchequer of a private system that is failing to achieve its goals.A forthcoming conference, organised by the Pension Policy Research Group, will look at aspects of Auto Enrolment and the implications for the Irish pension system.