While IRL welcomes some of the announcements today in relation to social protection; such as the €12 increase in core social welfare rates, including the contributory and non-contributory pension and increases in Qualified Child Allowance, we know this will not be enough for low-income rural households to meet the continued cost of living challenges. In its Pre-Budget Submission IRL called for an increase of a minimum €20 per week in core social welfare payments in Budget 2025 to restore the real purchasing power of payments and begin to lift people out of poverty.
We are also concerned about the amount of funding available to the Department of Rural and Community Development. The allocation of €472m to this department is just a €6m increase on last years budget and pales in comparison to the amount of money that was available in the overall Budget. We believe that this allocation will have limited impact on the development of rural communities or for the community and voluntary sector and the services they provide.
Full statement is available to read here
A more detailed analysis of Budget 2025 will be available on our website in the coming days.
