Crosscare was delighted to participate in the Department of Social Protection’s (DSP) Pre-Budget Forum on Thursday, July 11th, at the Hibernian Conference Centre in Dublin Castle. This annual event offers NGOs, community, and business groups the opportunity to meet with the Department to discuss the various areas they would like to see addressed in the upcoming Budget 2025 to help their respective client groups.
This year’s Forum began with an address by RTE broadcaster Mary Kennedy, who hosted the event. This was followed by words from Minister of Social Protection Heather Humphries and Secretary General of the Department John McKeon. Also in attendance was Minister for State Joe O’Brien, who remarked on the importance of the annual Forum:
“The Forum is always a hugely important event – providing an opportunity for organisations to set out their priorities for the upcoming budget and therefore help Minister Humphreys and I to enter Budget negotiations and make the strongest case possible for additional resources to be included in the Budget’s Social Welfare package.”
Attending the workshop on supporting families and children, we had the opportunity to highlight critical issues raised in our Pre-Budget Submission to DSP as identified through our work supporting those most in need.
In our submission, we called for DSP to:
- Increase social welfare payments in line with inflation
- Expand the eligibility criteria for Living Alone Allowance and Household Benefits Package to lone parents in receipt of One-Parent Family Payment
- Expand the criteria for Rent supplement to include those working upwards of 30 hours a week
Crosscare’s Food Services provides short-term emergency food for families and individuals experiencing food poverty. It moves away from a food bank model to address the underlying causes of food poverty. With this approach, the food services team aims to provide long-term, sustainable outcomes for those experiencing food poverty.
So far in 2024, our Food Services have assisted nearly 500 families and individuals. Through this work, we have identified that the vast majority of those accessing our services receive social welfare payments. These statistics suggest that “core” weekly social welfare payments are not meeting the needs of families and individuals, forcing many to access food services to support themselves. Crosscare has asked that DSP assess and increase the rates of these payments, providing families with greater financial independence and reducing their reliance on food services.
Our Food Services also identified a higher prevalence of food poverty in single-parent households compared with two-parent households through their work. This is in line with the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures, which revealed that 43.5% of single-parent families with children under 18 live in deprivation. This is in comparison with 17.7% of two-parent households and demonstrates that more support is required for single parents to alleviate the pressures associated with a single-income household. We have called on DSP to increase the One-Parent Family Payment and extend other targeted measures such as the Household Benefits Package and Living Alone Increase to single parents.
Crosscare’s Information and Advocacy Service assists those accessing their rights and entitlements, particularly in housing, homelessness, and social welfare supports. This service comprises four projects (Crosscare Migrant Project, Crosscare Irish Diaspora Support Project, Crosscare Refugee Service, and Crosscare Housing and Welfare Information Service).
Our Information and Advocacy Service has experienced increased presentations from working families and individuals who cannot afford to cover the cost of their rent. Anyone working 30+ hours per week is not eligible for Rent Supplement support. This criteria can further act as a disincentive to those who may be able to take up full-time work. In our submission, we urged DSP to analyse these eligibility criteria in relation to current wages and market rents. This will prevent homelessness and allow those working under 29 hours per week to take up more hours.
We strongly believe that these measures will help alleviate food poverty among families, acute poverty in single-parent households, and the inability of those working to cover rental costs in a time of high inflation and cost of living. To advance our mission of helping those most in need, Crosscare regularly engages in advocacy and policy work on behalf of the marginalised and vulnerable populations we are privileged to serve. Collaborative submissions such as this one align with a key objective identified in our latest strategy for effective service delivery: ‘to unite and engage Crosscare in campaigns that advocate for social change.’
