Ireland and the Minimum Income Guarantee - Combat Poverty Agency

Detailed Descriptions of the Existing Schemes
Table 7: Weekly Guaranteed Amount, Widow's Non-Contributory Pension and
Lone Parent's Allowance, Before Child Benefit, from mid-June 1995.
IR £ per week
Single person"
Without
child
62.50
1 child
77.70
With child
2 children
92.90
3 children
108.10
For Widow's Pension there is a supplement of £4.80 per week for
recipients aged 80 or over, and a living alone supplement of £4.90 per
week.
The amount paid for each dependent child under these two schemes
does not vary according to the child's age or the number of children.
(The amount paid under Child Benefit does not alter with age, but is
higher for third and higher children in a family). Marital status is a
factor in eligibility for the schemes but there are no supplements
within the schemes related to marital status.
The qualifying conditions for Widow's Non-Contributory Pension and
Deserted Wife's Allowance include being aged over 40. There are
supplements for those aged 66 or over if living alone, and for those
aged 80 or over.
IZlM reaSOns j set out at Ais point in the description of OAP, it is not
possible to produce figures including housing benefits. Table 8 shows
AlLS!n rantee , am ° UntS Under Widow ' s Pe n«on and Lone Parent's
Allowance including Child Benefit from September 1995:
Table 8: Weekly Guaranteed Amount, Widow's Non-Contributory Pension and
Lone Parent s Allowance, Including Child Benefit, from September 1995.
With child
2 children
105.36
3 childrenj
127.94
The implicit equivalence scale in these schemes for those with child
dependants between a single adult and a parent living with children
but no other adult is:
single adult 1
adult with 1 child 1.34
adult with 2 children 1.69
adult with 3 children 2.05
There are no discretionary supplements under these schemes, though
recipients of the schemes may apply for supplements under the SWA
scheme (described in detail below). Once entitlement has been established
the payment is made indefinitely as long as the recipient
continues to meet the conditions.
The Supporting Measures
All individuals meeting a means test are entitled to health care, including
primary care, free of charge. Those satisfying the means test for
these schemes would automatically also satisfy that means test. Those
in receipt living in public housing will also have their rent set taking
their income into account; if in private rented or owner-occupied
housing they may be entitled to assistance with housing costs under
SWA; if affected by de-control of private rents they may be entitled to
assistance under Rent Allowance scheme.
The relatively generous treatment, relative to other schemes, of earnings
of lone parents is designed to promote their integration in the
labour market. Recipients of these schemes may be able to obtain
training under some of the general skills training programmes though
not those aimed at the unemployed.
The Cost
The estimated average weekly amount paid to recipients of Lone
Parent's Allowance in 1994 was £80.60. For recipients of Deserted
Wife's Allowance the estimated average was £58.37, for recipients of
Widow's and Orphan's Pensions the figure was £56.40, and for
Prisoner's Wife's Allowance £55.00 per week.
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