In October 2024, the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development, and the Islands published their report on Means Testing in the Social Welfare System in Ireland. In the forward to the report the Committee noted that “The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive examination of means testing within the Irish Social Welfare system, focusing on four key areas: the State Pension, Farm Assist, Carer’s Allowance and Disability Allowance. These schemes play a crucial role in supporting some of the most vulnerable groups in our society, yet the current means testing framework often presents challenges in ensuring fair access and adequate support. This report aims to highlight these challenges and propose actionable recommendations to the Minister for Social Protection to enhance the equity, efficiency, and transparency of these vital supports.”
The report contains twenty-four recommendations. The first one notes that “Two years ago, the Department of Social Protection instituted a review of means testing, no report has yet been published. The Committee recommends that the Minister immediately publish the report on means testing commissioned by them.”
In the INOU’s submission to this Committee we noted that “The National Economic and Social Council’s report The Future of the Irish Social Welfare System: Participation and Protection discussed the issue of a single portable means test. In 10.4.2 the report notes that “Currently, when a person becomes unemployed, they might apply for Jobseeker’s Benefit/Allowance and Rent Supplement, and have to provide documentation on means (i.e. incomes, savings or assets) for both applications. This duplicates work for both the applicant and the public sector. To help reduce such duplication, during the early 2000s, work was carried out on a ‘central means system’, under which applicants for state benefits could allow one state body to view financial data collected by another, for the purposes of applying for these benefits. Such options currently exist in the application process for Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) and the National Childcare Scheme, and could act as a model for further work in this area, bearing in mind GDPR requirements.” (p117) Such a proposal could alleviate some of the stress on people when they become unemployed, help to streamline social protection supports and services and should be given serious consideration.”
In the Committee’s third recommendation they call for “the simplification and streamlining of the means testing process and that if an individual completes a means test for one payment, their information can be used by the Department if means testing is required for another payment.”
Over the years in our Pre-budget submissions the INOU has called on the Government to not only increase social welfare rates, so that they address income inadequacy, but that they also adjust related supports to ensure that people do not lose this increase through, for example, an increase in their differential rent. The Committee in their second recommendation sought that “the Department ensure that any disregards, means testing and income thresholds for secondary benefits including Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, National Childcare Scheme, are automatically raised in line with any core social welfare payment and/or the National Minimum Wage increase.”
“The Committee recommends that the Department improve communications, including the use of social media and public understanding of means testing.” This is a key issue for the INOU, but it would also be imperative that frontline staff are aware of such campaigns and can address any queries that arise for people seeking further information.
Later on “The Committee recommends that the Department investigate and remove ‘poverty traps’ caused by means testing and other welfare rules.” At an INOU Regional Discussion Forum a participant noted the negative impact of taking up one week’s full time work on an individual who otherwise worked part-time and received a Jobseeker’s payment for the remainder of the week. In effect they had broken their entitlement to the Christmas bonus and the additional supports announced in Budget 2025 for long-term recipients of social welfare payments. Ireland’s social welfare system can be quite rigid and have some very sharp edges for people who rely on it to live.