In March 2017, weekly social welfare payments will increase by €5 per week with proportional increases for qualified adults and those on reduced rates of payment. The increase applies to all weekly payments including: State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-Contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Pension, Maternity Benefit, Paternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit, Illness Benefit, Blind Pension, Carer’s Benefit, Carer’s Allowance, Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, One-Parent Family Payment, Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Transitional payment, Back to Education Allowance and Farm Assist. This also applies to employment programmes such as Community Employment (CE), Tús and the Rural Social Scheme. In 2017, there will also be a special increase of €15 in the weekly rate of Guardian’s Payment (Contributory) and Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory) from €161 to €176. Back to Education Allowance If you are unemployed, parenting alone or have a disability and you are getting certain payments from the Department of Social Protection, you may take part in a second or third-level education course and get a Back to Education Allowance (BTEA). The maximum rate of BTEA will increase by €5 per week in 2017. From September 2017, the maximum rate of BTEA will increase to €193 per week for jobseekers aged under 26. Also in September 2017, a new €500 annual Cost of Education Allowance will be made available to BTEA participants with children. Rent Supplement If you receive Rent Supplement at the moment, you must pay at least €30 per week toward your rent. From January 2017, the personal rent contribution will be reduced from €30 to €10 per week for people aged 18-24 who are receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) of €100 per week and from €30 to €20 for those who are receiving JA of €144. For those getting BTEA, a Further Education and Training (FET) training allowance or on Youthreach, where the age-related rate of €160 applies, the personal rent contribution will be reduced from €30 to €20 per week.
Farmers Farm Assist is a means-tested payment for low-income farmers. In 2017, farm income and other income from off-farm self-employment will be assessed at 70% (down from 100%) for Farm Assist, with an additional annual disregard of €254 for each of the first two children and €381 for the third and other children. Farmers will also be able to benefit from the extended social insurance cover for people including eligibility for Invalidity Pension and Optical and Dental Benefits. Rural Social Scheme People participating in the Rural Social Scheme provide services that benefit rural communities. The scheme is aimed at low-income farmers and fishermen/women. There will be 500 additional places on the Rural Social Scheme in 2017 increasing the overall number to 3,100. Treatment Benefit Scheme Dental Benefit will be expanded to include an annual free scale and polish and Optical Benefit will include the option of either free glasses or a contribution of €42 towards the cost of glasses. These measures come into effect in October 2017. Christmas A Christmas Bonus will be paid in December 2016 to people getting a long-term social welfare payment. The bonus will be 85% of the person’s normal weekly payment, with a minimum payment of €20. People getting the following payments will receive the Christmas Bonus: State Pensions and Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Pensions Invalidity Pension, Blind Pension, Disability Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Domiciliary Care Allowance, and Guardian’s Payments Long-term Jobseeker’s Allowance including Jobseeker’s Transitional payment, One-Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife’s Benefit and Allowance, and Farm Assist Back to Work Allowance, Community Employment, Rural Social Scheme, Tús, Gateway, and Job Initiative
A of measures were put forward to assist these sectors to remain competitive and to trade in diversified markets, including reduced Capital Gains Tax (see above), an increase to the Earned Income Tax Credit for self-employed people (see above) and the retention of the 9% VAT rate in the tourism and hospitality sector. There will be funding for 50 new posts in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and its agencies to respond to Brexit. Childcare Single Affordable Childcare Scheme From September 2017, a new Single Affordable Childcare Scheme will provide a targeted subsidy, based on parental income, for children aged between six months and 15 years and a universal subsidy, for all families, for children aged between six months and three years. Targeted subsidy Under the targeted subsidy, the highest level of subsidy will be provided to those on incomes up to €22,700 net per annum – this will be approximately €8,000 a year, based on the maximum of 40 hours childcare a week. The rate of subsidy will taper downwards as net income rises, with no targeted subsidy payable when net income reaches €47,500. The income thresholds increase if there is more than one child in the family. Universal subsidy Under the universal subsidy, up to €80 per month will be provided towards childcare costs. This equates to over €900 per annum for parents working full-time and will be paid pro-rata. Both of these subsidies will be paid in respect of children attending a childcare provider – including centre-based providers and child minders. Pre-school education An additional €86 million has been provided for the full year costs of the extended Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme (ECCE) and the rollout of the Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) to enable children with disabilities to access the scheme. Education