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TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR told the Dáil during Leader’s Questions today that he can “absolutely assure” that there will be a further increase to the the state pension in Budget 2024.
An Taoiseach said that the exact figure has not been decided yet and will be discussed between now and October, when the budget for the following year is drafted by government.
Last year, the government increased the state pension by €12 per week, bringing the highest rate to €265.30 per week – depending on a citizen’s contribution through taxation.
The issue arose in the Dáil today after Independent TD Joan Collins asked the Taoiseach if the government was going to uphold “the promises made in the Pensions Reform Policy, a roadmap for pensions reform 2018-2023“.
Collins said the commitment would put our State pension at €310 per week, €45 more than it is now.
The policy, published by the Department of Social Protection in 2019, outlined six actions the government would take before the deadline of this year.
The actions included, reforming the state pension, building a new automatic enrollment savings system, improving regulation of the pension sector, supporting the operation of defined benefit schemes, reforming pensions for those in the public service and supporting fuller working lives.
The Taoiseach said he was “not exactly sure” that the government made a commitment to benchmarking the policy, while Deputy Collins claims they did.
Varadkar said that it “might not be the case” that the roadmap is included in the current Programme for Government, which Collins replied “It is 2018 to 2023″.
The current programme for Government from October 2020 does not mention the roadmap. Varadkar said there is a difference between something proposed and an actual government decision.
“It was a Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018 -2023. It is now 2023 and we are going into the next budget, for 2024. The policy states that the State pension should be indexed at 34% of average earnings and be tied to the consumer price index and average earnings,” Collins said.
The Independent TD said that non-government organisations (NGOs), such as AgeAction and Threshold, called to increase welfare payments by €20 before the budget last year to “allow people to stand still” during the cost-of-living crisis.
The increase of €12 per week, rather than €20, was labelled a “political choice to cut the living standards of older people” by AgeAction.
Varadkar said: “[Collins] did not acknowledge that pensioner poverty is lower than poverty among working age people. Pensioners or older people are less likely to experience poverty than adults of working age. It is important to acknowledge that.”
The 2019 roadmap says that there have been previous government that correctly diagnosed the challenges that the Department of Social Protection faced at the beginning of the plan.
The plan, signed by Varadkar, current Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe and previous Minister for Employment Affairs & Social Protection Regina Doherty says it “builds on those reports, identifies the specific actions we will take and sets out a timetable for implementation”.
“When implemented it will eliminate anomalies in the State pension system and ensure its sustainability. It will foster and support a new culture of retirement saving to improve outcomes for all,” it said.
The Taoiseach said the government would “certainly include everything in any benchmarking exercise” as it has previously increased the weekly pension rate, expanded the fuel allowance to more pensioners as well as given credit for energy bills and other one-off payments to every household.
Last week, Tánaiste Micheál Martin said to RTÉ’s Today that there would not be any “mini-budget” between now and October, adding that the government “can’t do a budget every month”.
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What about working individual and family? Where is there increase, you know, the very people of working age who go out and keep the country financed.
@Tipper Irie: Tax cuts have been mentioned.
@Tipper Irie: Be prepared to keep being a tax payer, I’m 70 on a state pension and have to work to top it up
@Colm Kane: always mentioned, but usually smoke, mirrors and clever maths result in a different outcome.
@Tipper Irie: Don’t forget that most pensioners worked and paid taxes all their lives and still do. Of course the current working people and families deserve to be locked after.
The Government trying to scrape back votes before the next GE by the looks of it.
You’d swear there is an election on the horizon
@Brian Madden: I’d say you’re right. Probably that’s why Joan Collins (right 2change) raised the issue in the Dáil today and pressed Varadkar about it….
Ahh Leo….more money for the wealthiest demographic in the country
Try theses (Bertie) manoeuvres all you want but your heading for oblivion
@David Cotter: Those on a state pension are not wealthy.
Proportional increases to the state pension are scandalous. How can it be right to increase the top rate by €12 but pensioners on a lower amount receive as little as €9 or less. If the pension is increased by a euro amount, then all pensioners should receive it.
@Deirdre Fitzpatrick: Yes the Bonkers Pension Systems Victims throw under the bus as usual
Leo the liar strikes again.
Trying to buy votes, too little to late. Bye bye
Open comments on the roscommon case, are ye afraid of something.
Please no more. The increase will not come into effect for 8 months.
So we will have endless bollix talk of will it be 5 or the cost of living multiplied by r squared and age action saying it should be a trillion billion and when we are all worn out it will turn out to be less than the price of a pint in Temple Bar.
Please sir, may I have some more?
MORE?
How is this news? The pension has increased virtually every budget since the foundation of the State.
More wobble talk for Leo. Of course there will be an increase, the cost of living has gone through the roof. But this fella wants you to think it was his idea. Spoofer
Could we just get back the levy they took off our pension!!?
FO Leo!
Vote buying begins, with your money and you’ll be paying for it forever!
Leo is not loyal to the Irish people or the Irish republic.
Won’t vote for you even though!
I love Leo. Please have my babies Leo.
Will it be too late to save them?
Hopefully not..
Election next year and a raft of retirements from the front benches this year
For those who’s comments are being deleted by the shadow banners and thejournal.ie
Stop replying to people directly…start new threads when you reply…this means the shadow banners have more work to delete comments individually instead of an entire thread…make as much work as possible for them so they can’t cover all posts…
Copy your post and when they delete it repost it…if and when they get you banned set up another account…
Make it impossible to cover all comments that many will end up staying up…they will also have to search for your comments to mass false report them….
Also if thejournal.ie is blocking certain reposts just change a few letters one in a few words here and their with the letter x…or anything just once theirs some minor changes it will repost…and always when reposting make these minor changes each repost….I think theirs an algorithm that gets alerted to the post deleted and the eventually bans the user….so slightly modify each repost….
Delete your cookies to reduce targeted mass false deleting and thejournal.ie algorithm associating your account to those deletes….which helps insidious and maliciously delete comments…
The establishment loyalist fascist shadow banners and thejournal.ie are in full steam ahead insidious and malicious deleting of comments that dont tow the line and follow the establishment narrative…
Their you have folks….I’ve just proved that theirs a insidious and malicious subset of users on here mass false reporting other users to in order to suppress others and censor you…because they’ve decided their judge, jurry and executioner of what people can and cannot say….their long time users many of them in this insidious and malicious group…they always comment with glee that people’s comments won’t last and when a comment is deleted the comment with such glee again….
Thejournal.ie needs to permanently ban these people….Thejournal.ie knows who they are and how the harresed many on here deleting their comments and getting people banned…
I personally have had multiple different attacks on me by these people in their campaign of harresment…I’ve had veiled threats made against…I’ve had my IP attacked….I’ve must have had 3/4 of my comments deleted…I’ve been banned nearly 80 times because of them…they’ve insulted me from the very moment I expressed an opinion they despised and then treated me with derision…
These are sick people that thejournal.ie needs to deal with…
This comment section should be a place of free and open discussion once the comments fall with in the guidelines….
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