Social assistance rates in 2021
This morning/afternoon,
Independent think-tank Social Justice Ireland published its critique of Budget 2021.
In short:
Welcome:
Adoption of a counter-cyclical fiscal stance.
Financing for the Community Health Networks
Acknowledgement by Government that tax and welfare are a single system..
Providing the finance to implement the McMahon Report and end Direct Provision.Regret:
Failure to increase core social welfare rates.
Failure to make tax credits refundable to address the working poor issue.
No progress towards just taxation
Dr Seán Healy, Director, Social Justice Ireland, writes::
“Budget 2021 has left Ireland’s poorest people behind as Government decided not to increase core social welfare rates.
Despite allocating more resources than any previous Budget in the history of the State, the distribution of those resources was such that the gap between the poor and the better off will widen in 2021 and inequality will increase. This is a totally unacceptable outcome.
“In calculating how people’s incomes will change in 2021 it is important to realise that people with jobs are likely to see increases in their take-home pay in the coming year. Public servants will see an increase of 2% while the pay of other sectors is also expected to increase. In contrast to that, people on core social welfare payments depend on the Budget alone to increase their incomes”
Budget 2021 Analysis and Critique (Social Justice Ireland)
failure to give scottser a badly needed pay rise will be this government’s downfall.
Hugley surprised to see Fr Sean Healy calling for more taxes and more handouts. Whatever next?
The needy are foreign based.
When the FGFFGP stealth taxes kick in the most neediest in society will suffer greatly. E.g. the joke Greenwash carbon taxes target the poorest and most vulnerable in society. As a cynical sop there was a miniscule increase in the fuel allowance that is instantly negated by the budgets increased carbon taxes. Pensioner’s have been cocooning, subsequently using more energy for heating and I pity them if they have to endure a cold winter. Still as they are only seen as non performing economic units FFFGGP will be pleased with a cull !
Yes, the fuel allowance increase is negated by the carbon tax.
But wasn’t the Fuel Allowance Season extended this year from 28 weeks to 32, a 14% increase.
Is that to remain for 2021? Anyone?
It’s the rich wot gets the pleasure, it’s the poor wot gets the blame
On the face of it – are the people who were on the welfare pre-COVID looking at higher cost of living? Is it more expensive for them to live now than it was then, necessitating a higher income?
Left behind who? The Civil Servants? We’re ALL left behind them. No-one else got a boost in the budget either.
Civil and public servants got hit biggly in 2008/2009 with longer hours, lost perks, pension levy, and pay-cuts (which were all appropriate responses). The pay-cuts have been slowly restored over the years – with the highest paid having to wait longest for full restoration (again, which is right).
They will be hit again in the 2022 recession.
So what. They are creaming with regard to pay, perks pension,secure employment a 2% raise this year on top of their increments. this doesnt compare well to private sector paye and it defintely doesnt make sense considering that the public finances are now running an unfathomable deficit.
If you join the Civil Service today you’ll be on a starting salary that is less than someone starting 10 years ago.
This I know ito be so, as I was recently looking at jobs in that area, for Clerical and Executive Officers… Don’t know about the higher positions, but I believe it is similar…
Not quite. ten years ago is 2010 and there were pay cuts them If you go back 12 years to 2008 you would see some higher, others lower (starting and ending points of scale): 2020 salaries in italics:
Note: the current salaries have a pension levy that didn’t apply to the 2008 ones.
SECRETARY GENERAL
€221,929 €211,742
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
€131,748 – €150,712 €142,421 – €162,920
PRINCIPAL
€86,168 – €106,582 €89,072 – €109,547
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
€66,179 – €82,520 €69,012 – €85,415
HIGHER EXECUTIVE OFFICER STANDARD SCALE
€43,816-€55,415 €49,845 – €62,776
EXECUTIVE OFFICER STANDARD SCALE
€29,024 – €45,616 €30,884 – €51,851
CLERICAL OFFICER STANDARD SCALE
€22,015 – €35,515 €24,586 – €40,592
Revision of salaries with effect from 1st October 2020
https://www.forsa.ie/about-forsa/divisions/civil-service/civil-service-pay-scales/
I stand corrected :)
You have to go back to 1995! Yikes! A Clerical Officer starting salary was more back then (€25,324 in ’95) then it is today…
“In calculating how people’s incomes will change in 2021 it is important to realise that people with jobs are likely to see increases in their take-home pay in the coming year”
Wouldn’t be so sure of that, if anything many will have had a drop in wages and given how hard the year had been on businesses I can’t imagine many will be offering increases in the near future.
+1 thought that was a very presumptive statement bordering on silly even. Probably thinking of, and lumping all above minimum wage, in with the very well-to-do by the sound of it.