Éamon Ó Cuív presses for means-test reform, asks for report
Éamon Ó Cuív pressed the Taoiseach and the Minister of Social Protection on reforming means testing for social welfare payments, asking when the long-promised review report will be published. He asked whether the review's recommendations will be considered in this year's budget or whether another year will be lost on essential reform.
Request for report timeline
Ó Cuív asked the Taoiseach when the review of means testing would be published and whether its recommendations would feed into this year's budget. The Taoiseach replied he would have the report "very, very shortly", said he expected to have it in the next week or two and confirmed he would share it with Ó Cuív.
Scope of the review and past changes
Ó Cuív noted that many means-testing provisions date back a long time and that many disregards have not changed, though some have. He welcomed the setting up of a review by the Minister of Social Protection and highlighted previous improvements, including increased supports for carers and higher capital thresholds for some schemes.
Urgency and inclusion of suggestions
Ó Cuív pressed for urgent reform, asking whether reforms would be delayed another year. The Taoiseach said he had raised the matter at a management board meeting that morning, acknowledged Ó Cuív's repeated representations and confirmed he had asked for the deputy's suggestions to be included in the review.
Next steps and potential budget consideration
The Taoiseach committed to sharing the review report with Ó Cuív once it is finalised and indicated an expectation to have it within a week or two. The deputy's request that recommendations be considered in the context of this year's budget remains a central point of the exchange.
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The Minister of Social Protection will know I have been making a case for the reform of the means testing of social welfare payments and how it operates. A lot of the provisions there date back a long time and a lot of the disregards have not changed over time, some have. And I did welcome very much the setting up by the Minister of a review of means testing. And this was promised I think initially by the end of last year. What I was wondering is, could you or the Prime Minister outline to me when it is now intended to publish this report and whether its recommendations will be considered in the context of this year's budget or are we going to lose another year in bringing about absolutely vital and necessary reform? Thank you for raising this because you have raised it with me on a number of occasions. I have just come from a management board meeting earlier this morning and it was the very same thing that I have raised as you have asked me. So the answer is, I will have the report, I will have it very, very shortly and I will be happy to share it with you. You have brought forward a number of suggestions to me and I have asked that they be included because I know it's something that you and I are very much like-minded on and we want to move this on because some of our means, we have improved on some of them, we have improved on the cares and we have increased the amount of capital you had for a number of different schemes. But there are a few that we really need to look at and I will be happy to share it with you and I expect to have it in the next week or two. So thank you.
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