THOUSANDS of elderly people across Ireland would benefit from a €1,232 social welfare boost and an €18 pension increase in alternative budget plans.
ALONE are calling for a range of measures ahead of tomorrow’s budget to ease cost of living pressures on elderly people, including significant social welfare increases, the renaming of a key payment and a streamlined age of eligibility.
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The organisation aimed at helping older people age at home have called for the measures in their pre-budget submission.
One key request by the organisation is an €18 increase to pension payments as part of Budget 2025.
It is understood from today’s budget preparations that an increase of €12 is set to be announced by Minister for Finance Jack Chambers and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe tomorrow.
The announcement will come as part of a cost of living package that is expected to near €2m.
However, ALONE’s Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer, Gráinne Loughran said the €12 figure “may not make enough of a difference”.
She told The Irish Sun: “What we’re seeing really is older people continuing to struggle with the cost of living. People who are struggling to pay their energy bills, to keep the heating on.
“And were it not for the once-off cost of living payments last year, there would have been a significant increase in poverty among older people. Deprivation rates among older people living alone have gone from three per cent in 2015 to 20 per cent in 2023.
“So we’re really seeing that cost of living impact coming down on older people across the country. We had called for Government to live up to commitments they made to benchmark the pension. But this unfortunately is not like it’s going ahead.”
She continued: “If the pension was benchmarked as Government originally committed to, it would actually need an increase in the pension of about €36. So we had suggested that this be implemented over a period of two years, beginning with an €18 increase this year.
“It’s really heating and eating are the two biggest costs and worries in terms of costs that older people are having. And €12 may not make enough of a difference.”
While the group welcome once off payments such as the energy tax credit, they are calling for core rates to be raised to prevent older people struggling further down the line.
Gráinne explained: “The once-off payments were brought in to manage really the cost of living crisis, the energy crisis that people have been experiencing in recent years.
“And while they have made a significant difference, we think it is very important that government increases the core rates of payments. It’s really important because those core rates are what give people certainty and what give people security.
“Once-off payments, they do support at the time, but they don’t provide any of that long-term security. We know that energy credits have been in the budget mix now. This will be the third budget with once-off payments.”
FUEL ALLOWANCE
It is understood that an energy credit of €250 is expected to be announced as part of tomorrow’s measures.
One of the core rates ALONE are calling for an increase to is the Fuel Allowance.
The payment which is paid over 28 weeks from September to April has a current rate €33 and is paid to those who satisfy a means test, live alone and are receiving a qualifying payment unless they are over 70.
However in plans suggested by the group the rate would rise to €44 a week bringing the overall sum over the 28 weeks to €1,232 rather than €924.
‘CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE’
Speaking on the importance of this payment Gráinne said it “can be the difference between someone turning their heating on in a cold evening or not.It can be the difference between turning on the radiator in one room or two rooms.
“That money is something that we’ve given to older people who really have significant difficulties with their energy bills in a lot of cases but older people really depend on their heating to stay warm and well.
“We really need an increase of the core fuel allowance rate to make a significant difference to older people and to all cohorts who receive fuel allowance.”
The group also welcome the expected changes to the age of eligibility for the payment from 70 down to 66, a move that Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys has pushed for.
MONEY CHANGES COMING IN OCTOBER
THERE are a number of money changes coming into effect this month, set to ease the cost-of-living pressures on thousands of people, including a €33 weekly payment.
€33 FUEL ALLOWANCE
The current Fuel Allowance rate is €33 per week for 28 weeks.
It began on September 23, 2024, and will last until April 4, 2025.
This brings a total of €924 to those eligible – which is currently just people over the age of 70, and those on long-term welfare payments.
LUMP SUMS
There will be two sets of lump sum payments before the end of the year.
There are also plans for a second set of bonus payments in the direct aftermath of the budget.
One of these is set to be a double Child Benefit payment worth €280.
ENERGY CREDIT
It’s being reported that people can expect either one payment worth €150 or a lump sum of €450.
Unlike previous years, this will be paid before the end of the year in accordance with new EU laws.
PRSI TAX HIKES
In October, all workers will be hit with the first of five consecutive years of PRSI hikes.
The rate will be gradually hiked by 0.70 percentage points over the next five years.
The first of which will come in this October, when it will increase by 0.10 percentage points.
At present, most PAYE workers pay 4 per cent PRSI, so as a result they will now be paying 4.10 per cent from this October.
If someone earns the average full-time wage of around €45,000 a year, the hike will now cost an extra €45 in extra PRSI over the full year.
ALONE are also calling for a €10 increase to the Living Alone Allowance which is currently €22 per week which they say “really doesn’t make enough of a difference.”
On top of this they are calling for a benchmarking commitment on the payment to prevent “poverty” and isolation in the older generation.
The Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer told The Irish Sun: “The living alone allowance at the moment, it isn’t benchmarked against anything. It isn’t calculated on a particular rationale.
“So by actually looking at the differences in costs between older people living alone and older couples, we could develop a benchmark for the living alone allowance that could actually make that difference and support older people on their own who are really quite at risk of not just poverty, but things like isolation.”
STREAMLINED AGE OF ELIGIBILITY
On top of these increases ALONE have suggested a streamlined age of eligibility as part of a move to make understanding their entitlements easier for elderly people.
It comes as part of their calls to “simplify the application process for entitlements that make accessing payments easier.”
The suggestion would see the age of eligibility the same across a range of payments that are aimed mostly at older people.
Gráinne explained: “If things like the means eligibility criteria were streamlined across the entitlements, so it’s the same for different things, things like that would make a really big difference.
“In terms of the administrative burden that older people experience when they’re applying for and trying to access these things. Just in terms of knowing what’s available, that makes a really big difference.”
BUDGET 2025 HINTS – WHAT WE CAN EXPECT
By ADAM HIGGINS, Political Correspondent
Taoiseach Simon Harris back in May said Ireland is not yet out of the woods when it comes to the cost-of-living crisis as he signalled there will be more one-off Budget bonuses.
He said: “In the coming Budget, we must ensure we provide the extra funding required to keep pace with the expanding population and a cost-of-living and welfare package that protects the most vulnerable.
“Income tax bands and credits must again be properly indexed so that people do not drift into the higher rate band of income tax.”
In recent years, the Government has handed out extra social welfare payments for people availing of supports.
And Harris said the Government knows that “a strong economy has to translate into tangible benefits for our people.”
He added: “Right now, I know people are still hurting.
“Cost of living increases have left them feeling their personal finances are insecure and might not withstand any further shocks. We need to give them a sense of security that the Government get this.”
Former Finance Minister Michael McGrath previously told how workers will cash in on major tax breaks as part of the Coalition’s last Budget.
Speaking at the Fianna Fail Ard Dheis in Dublin back in April, the Cork TD boasted about how this Government has reduced income taxes and cut the USC rate for the first time in five years.
He said his next Budget will target carers, pensioners, families and people with disabilities — a signal he plans to increase social welfare payments.
He also revealed Budget 2025 will include a major income tax package that will see workers keep more of their hard-earned cash.
He said: “In this autumn’s Budget, we will again have a substantial income tax package. This is vital for individuals and families, but it is also important for our economy that Ireland has a competitive personal tax system.”
The organisation are also calling for the Telephone Support Allowance to be renamed to the ‘Telephone and Internet Support Allowance’.
They say this would allow “support” for elderly people when paying their internet bills.
The current rate of the Telephone Support Allowance is €2.50 per week which ALONE would like to an increase of at least €7.50 per week.
Grainne explained: “We’ve had situations in ALONE in the past, where we’ve seen older people have access to internet for a while, but not being able to actually renew their contract because they can’t afford it.
“The internet now is a lifeline for so many people. It opens up a whole world of access. So supporting people, older people in particular, to access the internet and to pay for that cost really can make a big difference in their lives.”
Budget 2025 is set to kick off from 1pm tomorrow afternoon.
