Latest news with #DepartmentOfSocialProtection
BreakingNews.ie
31-07-2025
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
A fifth of people deemed at risk of poverty in eight-year period, says study
Almost a fifth of people were deemed at risk of poverty at least once between 2015 and 2023, according to a study. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) published research examining the complexities of income poverty and deprivation and how they intertwine. Advertisement On average, 22 per cent of the population experienced deprivation at least once in two consecutive years from 2016 to 2023: almost half of these were in persistent deprivation, slightly less than a third were exiting deprivation, and about a quarter were entering deprivation. The study noted that there was a post-pandemic spike observed amongst lone-parent families, 30 to 65-year-old single people, adults above 65, and especially amongst single people over 65. It said the stronger effect for the older population could be explained by the fact that the State pension was frozen in cash terms in 2020 and 2021. The ESRI report, published in partnership with the Department of Social Protection, used longitudinal data from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) – the study explores the dynamics of poverty. Advertisement It found that the annual at-risk-of-poverty (AROP) rate declined from 16 per cent in 2016 to 11 per cent in 2023, while the persistent AROP rate declined from 10 per cent in 2015-2016 to 7 per cent in 2022-2023. The latter shows the share of the population who were AROP two years in a row. Material deprivation increased in the recent period from 14 per cent in 2021 to 17 per cent in 2023. Over the period 2016 to 2023, an average of 5 per cent of people were both AROP and deprived. Advertisement Lone parent families, large families, and households with a working-age adult with a disability faced the highest risks of persistent AROP and deprivation, it said. Children in lone-parent families, in particular, are most at risk, with an average of 33 per cent of them being persistently deprived, and 21 per cent being persistently AROP, between 2016 and 2023. The report said that implementing 'targeted' policy measures to support lone parents, large families, and households with a person with disabilities is essential to help those at high risk of poverty. It said timely adjustments to social welfare payments, including pensions, would be 'critical' to protect vulnerable groups from inflation. Advertisement Co-author Anousheh Alamir said the report highlighted 'the complex nature of poverty' and how different groups face different risks over various time periods. 'Over two-year stretches, lone parent families and households with a disabled adult are found to be the most at risk of income poverty and/or material deprivation for one year only. 'And while they are also the most likely to be materially deprived two years in a row (i.e persistently), large families are the most at risk of income poverty during that time. 'Thus, different groups are vulnerable to different forms and durations of poverty, an insight that should be key for effective policy.' Advertisement
Irish Times
20-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
How can I find what my likely State pension will be?
I am 59 this year and I am trying to enquire with Department of Social Protection about transferring and combining my UK national insurance contributions to my Irish PRSI record in order to plan my retirement at 60 years of age in 2026. DSP advise repeatedly that this is done six months prior to applying for the old-age pension but I need to know now, as I plan to retire at 60 and can't risk not qualifying for the maximum OAP. Is it possible to have my UK contributions transferred and combined into my Irish record now? Ms SC READ MORE I'm a big fan of planning ahead but I wish you luck if you think you can strong-arm the Department into changing its structures to accommodate you. However, that does not mean that you cannot get an understanding of what State pension you will ultimately be able to get. The Department of Social Protection is set up to address people's likely State pension in the months running up to the point at which the qualify – currently when they turn 66 years of age. As I understand it, the legislation allows the Department determine when application should be made for the contributory state pension and the Department has determined that it will entertain applications only six months before a person reaches retirement age. As recent legislation allows people defer pension drawdown, that date is not necessarily when we are 65 but, for most people, it is likely to be. Why? There is little point, as they would see it, in telling people definitively what their State pension position will be several years hence when they have no clarity on whether you will or won't work here or elsewhere in that time. You say you are retiring next year but I have come across many people who do that only to find they miss work for one reason or another – not always financial – and go back part-time or on a consultancy basis here or in another country. All of that will affect your entitlement and, as importantly, the calculation of the impact of any UK contributions. However, there is nothing stopping you at any time getting details of your Irish PRSI record up to the end of the most recent tax year. And, given you are going to have to calculate your future entitlement for yourself, this is a necessary first step. If you have a MyGovID, the easiest way of doing this is via . If you don't have a MyGovID or do not wish to sign up for one, you can contact the PRSI records team at Department of Social Protection, McCarter's Road, Ardaravan, Buncrana, Co Donegal, or by phone at (01) 471 5898 or 0818 690690 PRSI and pension It doesn't help that the whole system is currently in a period of transition. There are two ways of calculating your pension entitlement. The newer one is called total contributions and simply tots up your paid and credited contributions, including for up to 20 years of homecaring if appropriate. You need 2080 (40 years of weekly PRSI payments) for a full State pension. If you fall short of that figure, you get a reduced pension calculated strictly on a pro-rata basis. The old system is called yearly averaging. It starts the clock on the date you first pay PRSI (possibly as a student). It tots up all your weekly PRSI payments and divides it by the number of years from your first payment to the end of the tax year before the year in which you will turn 66. You do not get credited contributions for homecaring; instead, under what it calls homemakers, it will take up to 20 years as appropriate out of the equation to cover years out of the workforce caring four young children so that your average is worked out over a shorter number of years. If at the end of the day, you average is greater than 48, you get the full pension. Below that number, you get a reduced pension in a system that runs in bands. Anyone with an average of between 40 and 47 gets a pension that is just over €5 a week less but the figure drops more sharply for those with average contributions per year of between 30 and 39, 20 and 29, 15 and 19 and, finally between 10 and 14. Over recent years, the Department calculated your entitlement under both systems and paid you on the basis of whichever one delivered a better pension. From this year, the yearly average is being phased out. What does that mean? The Department will still calculate your entitlement using both systems and if the more modern total contributions pays better, great. If not, they will pay you a pension based on a blend of your entitlement under both systems. For instance, in 2025, the pension paid would be base don 90 per cent of what you would get under yearly averaging and 10 per cent of your total contributions entitlement. By 2033, it will be 10 per cent yearly average and 90 per cent total averaging and from the following year yearly averaging will not count at all. For you, hitting 66 in 2032, your entitlement will be measures under total contributions and, separately, on the blending of 20 per cent of your yearly average record and 80 per cent total contributions. The UK impact Having spent some years in the UK, there will clearly be gaps in your Irish pensions record. That will obviously impact the yearly average over your working life and most likely reduce the chance of you hitting 2,080 stamps under the total contributions approach. This is where your UK record comes in. To understand how your UK record will affect your ultimate State pension, you need to multiply something called a 'notional rate of pension' (A) by the number of Irish contributions (B) as per your PRSI record updated to when you will finish work next year and then divide that by the total of all contributions – Irish and UK (C). The tricky bit here is the notional pension, which is the pension you would get if all your social insurance contributions in Ireland and Britain were treated as Irish PRSI payments. To get this figure, you add all the contributions from your time here and in the UK and then divide that figure by the number of years between the year you first paid PRSI and the last year before the year in which you turn 66. If you turn 66 in 2032, the last year for notional pension is 2031. Let's say you started work in 1986 when you were 19 or 20. That will be a working life of 46 years. For illustration purposes lets assume you have 1,500 PRSI stamps and 268 UK national insurance stamps built up over five-plus years working in Britain. That gives you 1,768 stamps all told which, divided by 46, which comes to 38.43 – between 30 and 39 on the state pension rate of payment under yearly averaging. With the current maximum state payment being €289.70, the payment for those with an average in the thirties is €260.10 a week. So 260.10 is your notional rate of pension (A). Multiplied by B (your 1,500 Irish contributions), you get 390,150. Dividing this by C (all your 1,768 contributions in Ireland the UK), you come to a figure of €220.67 which would be your pro rata weekly pension. That's modestly higher than the €206.80 you'd get on a total contributions approach of just your Irish PRSI, and fractionally higher than the €217.50 you'd get under the transitional yearly average/total contributions regime. Clearly, that's just an example but it shows you how you can calculate your future pension. One final thing. You could boost your pension by paying voluntary PRSI stamps from when you retire next year even though you are not working as long as you have at least 10 years of paid PRSI in Ireland and apply with 60 months from the end of this year – so before the end of 2030 – using Form VC1 which you can find here . If you work in the PAYE sector, you will have to pay 6.6 per cent of your income in the previous tax year in voluntary PRSI contributions, subject to a minimum of €500. Civil and public servants employed before April 6th, 1995, pay at a rate of 2.6 per cent. People who were self-employed pay a flat rate of €650 a year. Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to , with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
BreakingNews.ie
03-07-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Man (61) who used false Afghan passport to claim €40k in social welfare spared jail
A 61-year-old man who used a false Afghan passport to claim more than €40,000 in social welfare entitlements has been given a suspended sentence. The judge heard that the Pakistani man is actually entitled to the money under his own name. Advertisement Faizal Akbar, with an address at Benburb Street in Dublin, appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where he pleaded guilty to stealing the money on dates between 2010 and 2019. Judge Orla Crowe noted that he had used the false passport to open a bank account, get an 'M10 form' and make an application to the Department of Social Protection. He then received €43,715 in payments from the department. This false Afghan passport also allowed him to leave Ireland several times to travel back to Pakistan to see his wife and children. The court noted that when the Afghan passport had expired, he had self-reported the situation to his bank, stating that he needed a real passport to travel and visit an ailing relative. Advertisement The bank contacted the gardaí. In 2023, Akbar learned that he was eligible for the payment he had wrongly claimed and is now receiving that very same benefit in his own name. Ireland Conor McGregor's plans for new Kildare mansion ref... Read More The judge noted that he had no previous convictions and no trappings of wealth; he, in fact, shares a room with three other adults, despite working here. However, his family is understood to have difficult circumstances in Pakistan. 'It's a very unusual case,' remarked Judge Crowe. 'He shouldn't have done it by obtaining a false passport.' She imposed a sentence of two years on him, but suspended it full on his own recognisance for four years. 'This will hang over him for that period of four years,' she said.
Irish Times
30-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Rising number of neurodivergent children on disability payments prompts welfare dependency fears
Fears are growing that a continued rise in the number of neurodivergent children on disability payments will see more transitioning to welfare dependency in their teens and into poverty in adulthood. The concerns come as the number of people receiving domiciliary care allowance – a monthly, non-means-tested benefit to carers of disabled children – continues to increase. Unpublished data, provided to The Irish Times under Freedom of Information legislation, shows numbers getting the allowance are up as much as 46 cent in some areas in the last five years. The total number of domiciliary care allowance (DCA) recipients at the end of 2024 was 57,364 – 30 per cent higher than in 2020 when the total was 44,279, and 110 per cent higher than in 2014 when 27,268 people received the payment. READ MORE The continued upward trajectory in numbers getting the €360-a-month payment has been described as 'a concern' by Department of Social Protection officials. They say 'much of the increase' is accounted for by increasing diagnoses of neurodivergence in children, particularly autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their worry centres around data indicating 'more than 50 per cent of children in respect of whom DCA is paid transition on to a disability payment on reaching age 16″, says a briefing note for Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary , published in February. 'Dependency on a disability payment is negatively correlated with employment take-up and positively correlated with poverty and social exclusion.' Ireland has one of the highest rates of unemployment among disabled people in Europe, an issue the department is seeking to address as it urges employers to explore supports, such as the Wage Subsidy Scheme, which assists with employing people with disabilities. Increases in DCA are more dramatic in some counties, the unpublished data shows. In Co Meath, for example, numbers are up 46 per cent in the five years to 2024, from 1,818 to 2,649. In Co Cavan the increase is 43.3 per cent (651 to 933); in Co Kilkenny it is 41.6 per cent (773 to 1,095) and in Co Laois the increase is 40.6 per cent (948 to 1,333). In Dublin numbers are up 32.4 per cent since 2020 – from 10,795 to 14,303; in Cork they are up 25 per cent – from 6,130 to 7,706, and, in Limerick the increase is 22.7 per cent, from 2,303 to 2,826 in five years. [ 'The psychiatrist didn't believe in ADHD': People with condition struggle with the health system Opens in new window ] Despite department concerns, advocacy groups such as ADHD Ireland say the increases do not even reflect the true rate of neurodivergence. 'We are coming from a very, very low base,' says Ken Kilbride, chief executive of the charity, and the father of a young person with autism. 'The figures have not yet caught up with the reality. Of the estimated 5 per cent [of the population with ADHD] maybe just 10 per cent have been assessed and treated,' said Mr Kilbride. He said correctly diagnosing and supporting neurodivergent children would save money in the long term, as they would be less likely to be misdiagnosed with anxiety and depression, less likely to be in mental health services, more likely to be in employment and less dependent on welfare in adulthood. He estimated the socioeconomic cost of undiagnosed, untreated adult ADHD was about €1.8 billion a year in Ireland – in lost earnings, and so lower tax pay by individuals, and in health supports. 'So finding these disabilities in children, treating them and supporting their parents is saving hundreds of millions for the HSE and the society.' [ What happens when your therapist or GP asks: 'Have you ever wondered if you might be neurodivergent?' Opens in new window ] A department spokesman said: 'The growth in DCA recipients aligns with broader trends seen in carer's allowance and disability allowance, reflecting an overall rise in the number of individuals requiring care. 'A number of factors may contribute to this increase, including population growth, changing demographics and increasing awareness of the scheme in communities. 'The number and percentage of DCA recipients whose condition falls into the category of mental and behavioural diseases is increasing year on year, with a significant increase in the diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The diagnostic criteria for ASD have been lowered in the last few years. 'The department closely monitors trends and statistics, ensuring its schemes are regularly reviewed for effectiveness and financial sustainability.'
Irish Times
30-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Rising number of neurodiverse children on disability payments prompts welfare dependency fears
Fears are growing that a continued rise in the number of neurodiverse children on disability payments will see more transitioning to welfare dependency in their teens and into poverty in adulthood. The concerns come as the number of people receiving domiciliary care allowance – a monthly, non-means-tested benefit to carers of disabled children – continues to increase. Unpublished data, provided to The Irish Times under Freedom of Information legislation, shows numbers getting the allowance are up as much as 46 cent in some areas in the last five years. The total number of domiciliary care allowance (DCA) recipients at the end of 2024 was 57,364 – 30 per cent higher than in 2020 when the total was 44,279, and 110 per cent higher than in 2014 when 27,268 people received the payment. READ MORE The continued upward trajectory in numbers getting the €360-a-month payment has been described as 'a concern' by Department of Social Protection officials. They say 'much of the increase' is accounted for by increasing diagnoses of neurodiversity issues in children, particularly autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Their worry centres around data indicating 'more than 50 per cent of children in respect of whom DCA is paid transition on to a disability payment on reaching age 16″, says a briefing note for Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary , published in February. 'Dependency on a disability payment is negatively correlated with employment take-up and positively correlated with poverty and social exclusion.' Ireland has one of the highest rates of unemployment among disabled people in Europe, an issue the department is seeking to address as it urges employers to explore supports, such as the Wage Subsidy Scheme, which assists with employing people with disabilities. Increases in DCA are more dramatic in some counties, the unpublished data shows. In Co Meath, for example, numbers are up 46 per cent in the five years to 2024, from 1,818 to 2,649. In Co Cavan the increase is 43.3 per cent (651 to 933); in Co Kilkenny it is 41.6 per cent (773 to 1,095) and in Co Laois the increase is 40.6 per cent (948 to 1,333). In Dublin numbers are up 32.4 per cent since 2020 – from 10,795 to 14,303; in Cork they are up 25 per cent – from 6,130 to 7,706, and, in Limerick the increase is 22.7 per cent, from 2,303 to 2,826 in five years. [ 'The psychiatrist didn't believe in ADHD': People with condition struggle with the health system Opens in new window ] Despite department concerns, advocacy groups such as ADHD Ireland say the increases do not even reflect the true rate of neurodiverse disability. 'We are coming from a very, very low base,' says Ken Kilbride, chief executive of the charity, who is also the father of a young person with autism. 'The figures have not yet caught up with the reality. Of the estimated 5 per cent [of the population with ADHD] maybe just 10 per cent have been assessed and treated,' said Mr Kilbride. He said correctly diagnosing and supporting neurodiverse children would save money in the long term, as they would be less likely to be misdiagnosed with anxiety and depression, less likely to be in mental health services, more likely to be in employment and less dependent on welfare in adulthood. He estimated the socioeconomic cost of undiagnosed, untreated adult ADHD was about €1.8 billion a year in Ireland – in lost earnings, and so lower tax pay by individuals, and in health supports. 'So finding these disabilities in children, treating them and supporting their parents is saving hundreds of millions for the HSE and the society.' [ What happens when your therapist or GP asks: 'Have you ever wondered if you might be neurodivergent?' Opens in new window ] A department spokesman said: 'The growth in DCA recipients aligns with broader trends seen in carer's allowance and disability allowance, reflecting an overall rise in the number of individuals requiring care. 'A number of factors may contribute to this increase, including population growth, changing demographics and increasing awareness of the scheme in communities. 'The number and percentage of DCA recipients whose condition falls into the category of mental and behavioural diseases is increasing year on year, with a significant increase in the diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The diagnostic criteria for ASD have been lowered in the last few years. 'The department closely monitors trends and statistics, ensuring its schemes are regularly reviewed for effectiveness and financial sustainability.'
