‘Increase ALL weekly social welfare rates by €25' Budget 2026 alert with €50 Child Benefit rise & new €80 monthly cash
The Dail welfare watchdog committee will also hear that the payment rate of jobseekers aged 18 and 24 must be increased to the full adult rate.
1
Proposals to increase weekly social welfare rates by €25 have been made
Credit: Getty
Michelle Murphy, Research and Policy Analyst for the think-tank, said the rate "is currently inadequate to meet even the most basic of needs and must be increased to the full adult rate".
Social Justice Ireland (SJI) is set to present its
Speaking to the Irish Sun about their proposals, Ms Murphy said: "A social welfare payment must provide an adequate safety net to lift people out of poverty and allow for a household to provide for a basic but decent standard of living.
"Even after the provision of social welfare payments, in 2024 there were almost 630,000 people in Ireland living below the poverty line.
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"Income adequacy cannot be addressed by one-off measures as has been the case in recent Budgets.
"Those reliant on social transfers need certainty.
"This is even more critical in light of sharp increases to essentials such as rent, food and heating costs.
"Even with falling rates of inflation, prices will remain high placing real pressures on household budgets.
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"Recent Budgets have focused on temporary measures. What is needed is certainty and permanence for those reliant on social transfers.
"A €25 increase is required to benchmark core social welfare rates to 27.5 per cent of average earnings and to address the impact of continued inflation on low income households, bringing core payments to €269 a week in 2026."
Martin vows to do 'everything we can' to reduce pressure on families ahead of Budget 2026
The committee, chaired by
The call to increase the jobseekers payment for those aged 18 to 24 to the adult rate will cost roughly €54 million.
The group also want to see the introduction of a cost of disability allowance at €20 a week - €80 a month.
Ms Murphy told us: "Social Justice Ireland welcomed the commitment to a cost of disability support payment in the Programme for Government.
CASH CALL
"To address the high rates of poverty and deprivation experienced by this group, the introduction of a cost of disability allowance at €20 a week at a cost of €228m in Budget 2026 should be prioritised and built upon in subsequent Budgets."
There is also a call for an increase in the Domiciliary Care Allowance to €385 per month, along with the pilot of a Universal Basic Services and a Universal Basic Income Scheme for Carers in line with the Programme for Government Commitment to a Carers Guarantee.
Explaining this, Ms Murphy told us: "Carers provide a huge service to the State. According to the latest census data there are over 299,000 unpaid carers in Ireland providing unpaid care each week, an increase of 53 per cent in six years.
FAMILY HELP
"To acknowledge and support the work of carers in Ireland, at the very minimum in Budget 2026 Government must: Increase the Domiciliary Care Allowance to €385 per month at a cost of €17m. Pilot a Universal Basic Services and a Universal Basic Income Scheme for Carers at a cost of €10m in line with the Programme for Government Commitment to a Carers Guarantee."
Social Justice Ireland also want to see more done in the area of child benefit.
They are urging the Government to Increase the payment by €50 - at a cost of €777 million - and increase Child Support Payments for those under 12 by €6 a week and €15 for those aged 12 and over, at a cost of €130 million.
An Increase the fuel allowance by €10 per month and extending it to including Working Family Payment recipients is also a part of their proposal.
Budget 2026 Social Protection Priorities
SOCIAL Justice Ireland's social protection priorities for the next Budget include the following:
Budget 2026 should increase minimum social welfare rates by €25 per week. This is the increase required to benchmark welfare rates to average earnings.
In addition, the rate of jobseekers for those aged between 18 and 24 (not living independently) must be increased to the full adult rate.
Introduce a cost of disability allowance at €20 a week at in Budget 2026 which should be built upon in subsequent Budgets.
Increase the Domiciliary Care Allowance to €385 per month and pilot a Universal Basic Services and a Universal Basic Income Scheme for Carers in line with the Programme for Government Commitment to a Carers Guarantee.
Increase child benefit by €50 and increase Child Support Payments for those under 12 by €6 a week and €15 for those aged 12 and over.
Universalise the State Pension (contributory and non-contributory) and increase the rate by €25 per week and increase the Living Alone Allowance by €10 a week.
Increase the fuel allowance by €10 per month and extend it Working Family Payment recipients.
Also included in the SJI proposals are a number of priorities for rural development and the community and voluntary sector.
The big ticket items include a €100m allocation to Regional Development and Transition in Budget 2026, an additional €25m to Enterprise Ireland to develop and support indigenous enterprises and job creation across the regions, and an additional €25m for Failte Ireland to promote island, local and regional tourism initiatives.
They also want to see the Government invest €5m to establish a Farm Sustainability Passport pilot programme in Budget 2026.
Alongside this they also want to see an investment of €50m to the Rural Transport Programme and the creation of a €48m fund to provide grants for electric vehicles targeted at rural dwellers only.
TRANSPORT UPGRADES
Ms Murphy said: "Investment in the social and economic infrastructure of the regions is vital to deliver on Government's commitment to balanced regional development.
"This requires addressing the existing challenges facing Rural Ireland; an older population, higher rates of part-time employment, lower median incomes, higher poverty rates, and distance from everyday services.
"Capacity building to meet future challenges is also essential and the Unit for Future Planning must prioritise regional development."
Ms Murphy will state to the committee later today that "income adequacy cannot be addressed by one-off measures as has been the case in recent Budgets".
Budget 2026 Rural & Community Priorities
SOCIAL Justice Ireland priorities for the next Budget in the area of rural and community sectors include:
A €100m allocation to Regional Development and Transition in Budget 2026 to support development Regional Economic Development Zones, continued development of local cooperatives, and development of a robust rural proofing framework.
An additional €25m to Enterprise Ireland to develop and support indigenous enterprises and job creation across the regions, and an additional €25m for Failte Ireland to promote island, local and regional tourism initiatives.
Government should invest €5m to establish a Farm Sustainability Passport pilot programme in Budget 2026.
An investment of €50m to the Rural Transport Programme, increasing the range of public transport options.
A €48m fund should be established to provide grants for electric vehicles targeted at rural dwellers only, with grants of between €3,500 up to €10,000 depending on household income, and a €600 EV home charger grant.
Provide adequate, multi-annual resourcing to the Community and Voluntary sector, starting in Budget 2026 with an allocation of €70m to include pay increases for the sector.
An additional allocation of €4m in Budget 2026 to support Public Participation Networks, capacity building and meaningful engagement with policy structures at local level.
Youth workers and youth services provide vital spaces for young people to learn and grow away from school and family. Budget 2026 should allocate an extra €21m to address the funding shortfall experienced by many youth services across the country and foster growth in the sector.
Resource a National Action Plan to tackle loneliness and isolation at a cost of €4m.
She will add: "Those reliant on social transfers need certainty and permanence.
"Adequacy must be embedded into our social protection system if we are to address poverty and meet our national poverty targets as set out in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion."
Tanaiste
At the start of the month,
the
leader held talks with business leaders, trade unions and State agencies in Dublin to discuss the potential
on the Irish economy.
TARIFFS THREAT
On that day, he indicated
that the Government may freeze the
allowance at its current level instead of including it in any
in the upcoming budget.
Asked if the Government will separate the jobseekers allowance from other welfare hikes in the budget, the Tanaiste told the Irish Sun: 'I do always think there is merit in not looking at social welfare payments with uniformity across the board.
'We've been talking a lot about college fees the last couple of days unexpectedly perhaps but roughly speaking the equivalent of €1.20 or €1.25 on every social welfare payment is roughly the equivalent of reducing the college fees by €1,000.
'I'm not convinced that you need to see as significant a rise in the dole as you do in the pension for example at a time when our country is in full employment and there's lots of supports out there for people getting into work and there is other supports out there for people who can't work for very many good reasons.
'LONG WAY TO GO'
'That is my view but we will thrash all that out in the Budget and there's a long way to go.'
Government leaders have also
for the upcoming Budget as they plan to dial back spending due to concerns about the economic impact of the Trump tariffs.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Minister
previously admitted that they are reluctant to make any spending or taxation decisions in Budget 2026 that "create new risks".
This year's lack of cost of living package has led to a row between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael over college fees which were temporarily lowered by €1,000 in the last Budget but
in the next Budget unless action is taken.
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