£4 Budget Dole increase wiped out by inflation

18 Jul 2000

Tony Monks, General Secretary of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) has reacted angrily to Minister McCreevy's assertion today (18/7/00), that social welfare recipients have not been affected by the massive hike in inflation.



" The paltry increase of £4 in basic social welfare payments in McCreevy's December budget has now been completely wiped out by the inflation rate. For the Minister to say that social welfare recipients have not been hit by inflation is just another example of the Minister getting his sums wrong. Put simply, for dole payments to keep pace with current inflation, last years increase would have had to be £4.26. As it stands, the dole increase falls below inflation, and people will be forced further into the red. Dole recipients only have Budget increases to rely on, unlike most people who can bank on tax reductions and pay increases. After a grossly unfair Budget last December, which served to fuel the current inflation rate, the Minister has added insult to injury with his comments today.' said Mr. Monks.

The INOU has highlighted that the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness committed Government to maintaining the real value of social welfare payments, and also to enhancing social welfare payments ' to ensure that all share in the benefits of economic boom.'

" In the PPF, Government committed not only that the real value of the dole would be protected, but also that a priority for budgetary surplus spending would be to decrease the gap between those on social welfare payments and the rest of society. We have made it clear to Government that this must be addressed in Budget 2001.

In order to give social welfare recipients an immediate benefit from Budgetary changes, the Government should front load the £100 target for basic dole payments, and bring forward the payment date from April to January."

The INOU, as part of the Community and Voluntary Pillar have met with officials in the Department of An Taoiseach to express their concern at the effects of inflation on social welfare recipients, and on the commitments given in the PPF. The C