The measures announced in yesterday’s budget will provide some relief to the hundreds of families who rely on Crosscare services for support. However, it’s important to note that these measures, while beneficial, are not enough to address the long-term issue of family poverty.
Crosscare works in homeless and youth services, homeless prevention and with those experiencing food poverty and marginalisation.
We welcome the €12 rise in social welfare payments across the board, which, while modest, are critical for those we work with who continue to struggle due to the high cost of living in Ireland in 2024.
Increasing social welfare payments was one of the issues we called for in our pre-budget submission to the Department of Social Welfare.
Our submission centred on the alleviation of family poverty, including a particular focus on poverty experienced by single-parent households. We know from our frontline service work that children growing up in single-parent households are more susceptible to experiencing poverty. 41% of people coming to us for food support are from single-parent households, demonstrating an acute need for measures that can tackle poverty within these families. We called on the government to expand the eligibility criteria for its Living Alone Allowance and Household Benefits Package to lone parents who receive the One-Parent Family Payment. It is disappointing that measures such as the Living Alone Allowance and Household Benefits Package were not extended to single-parent households in Budget 2025.
Crosscare appreciates the extension of programs like Hot School Meals to all primary schools and the €300 cost-of-living lump sum for those receiving Fuel Allowance (including those on One-Parent Family Payment). These measures, along with the €12 increase in weekly payments and payments for a qualified child, will help alleviate some of the financial hardship experienced by our service users. However, it’s important to note that these measures fall short of the projected increases needed to match current inflation rates.
The €250 increase in the Renters Tax Credit is welcome; but we still need an expansion of the Rent Supplement to include those working upwards of 30 hours per week. This would benefit the many low-income families who come to our services with difficulty paying their rent.
Such targeted measures are critical to prevent even more homelessness among families whose incomes cannot sustain rising rental and living costs. ENDS
