Calls for Government not to forget the working poor

Ireland’s largest housing charity has called on the Government not to forget the “working poor” or low-income families in this Wednesday’s Budget. Respond! Housing Association maintains that 40% of all households at risk of poverty are headed by a person in employment. Respond! is calling on the Government not to inflict further hardship on these families in this week’s Budget as the end result will simply mean more people dependent on social welfare.

According to Respond! spokesperson Aoife Walsh , the Government can help to protect the “working poor” by maintaining the minimum wage at the current level and ensuring those earning only €8.65 per hour are kept out of the tax net.
“If the minimum wage is reduced in the upcoming budget, it will have a substantial negative impact on the economy. People won’t see any benefit in being part of the workforce and will simply leave to join the dole. This group has already been affected by the 2% income levy that was introduced in the April Supplementary Budget that means in reality the take-home minimum wage has fallen to €8.48 per hour. It is also crucial that the income threshold levy remains at €15,000 and that those earning the minimum wage are kept out of the tax net.”

Respond! is also calling for child benefit to be maintained at its current level in order to assist the 190,000 children at risk of poverty. The housing charity argues that reducing or taxing child benefit will merely put more families and children at risk, especially as the Early Childcare Supplement (ECS) will be abolished at the end of December. While the Early Childhood and Education Scheme (ECES) offers free childcare places to all children between certain ages, there are restrictions attached to the scheme meaning it does not provide as much support as the ECS previously did.

“Respond! is calling on the Government not to implement the recommendation of the McCarthy report to reduce child benefit by €30 for the first 2 children and €67 for subsequent children” added Walsh. “Children remain the most at risk group in our society and it is shameful to think that 18% of all children in Ireland are at risk of poverty. Reducing child benefit now will simply mean increased societal, health and welfare costs in the future. We still have one of the highest child poverty rates in Europe and it is unconscionable that Government should impose further suffering on our most vulnerable citizens” concluded Walsh.

The housing charity today launched their pre-budget submission which also calls for the Christmas bonus payment to be re-instated and for the basic social welfare rate to be left untouched. Respond! contends that from June 2008 to June 2009, the cost of childcare, education and healthcare have all increased by more than 3%, having a disproportionate effect on the most vulnerable in society.