by Alan Jacques
LIMERICK TD WILLIE O’Dea has proposed increasing the Respite Care Grant to €1,700, increasing lone parents’ supports by €30 million and reforming the Family Income Supplement (FIS) as part of wider reforms to “enhance our social fabric”.
The Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Social Protection and Social Equality this week outlined the party’s priorities over a five-year term including significant reform to social welfare and pensions as well as increased supports for older people and families.
According to Deputy O’Dea, Fianna Fáil’s Social Protection Priorities includes elements that can be quickly adopted in year one, as well as wider reforms over a full five-year term.
“After five years of harsh and regressive budget measures from Fine Gael and Labour we recognise the need to build stronger communities, and by reforming the social welfare system and increasing certain supports we will be in a position to enhance our social fabric,” he explained.
“This will involve some spending increases but it will also involve using the Social Protection budget in a smarter, fairer way. Our first year priorities, which would involve an additional €132m in spending, would include increasing the Respite Care Grant to €1,700, increasing lone parents’ supports by €30 million, reforming the Family Income Supplement (FIS) and replacing the Three Day Rule for job seekers.”
The Limerick TD also remarked that Fianna Fáil’s priorities for Social Protection recognise the need for a threshold of compassion and decency in the economy. Something, he claims, this government seems to have completely abandoned.
“Under Fine Gael and Labour, carers, young unemployed people, older citizens and people with disabilities have all been targeted for regressive cuts. Our longer term goals are to reinstate the Fuel Allowance season to 32 weeks in recognition of the difficulty many older people have in heating their homes.”
He continued: “We would extend the Family Income Supplement to the self-employed, expand the Living Alone Allowance to €20 a week, and improve the Telephone Allowance.
Fianna Fáil will establish a new Commission to examine putting in place a basic income level, abolish compulsory retirement at 65, make the home care package support a statutory entitlement and relax pension rules making it more flexible so that policy holders can access part of their funds earlier. These are common sense reforms and socially progressive measures that will restore compassion to our social protection system and begin to undo the impact of this Government’s harsh measures.”
