Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Ireland’s soaring social welfare bill

Social Welfare The 2009 Exchequer Statement for the Irish Government was issued this afternoon indicating the following:

  2008
€000
2009
€000
Change
%
Government Revenue 41,624,097 33,879,322 -18.6%
Welfare Spending 17,815,282 21,260,000 +19.3%
Government Deficit 12,713,821 24,640,971 +93.8%
National Debt 50,400,000 75,152,000 +49.1%

 

Tax revenue for 2009 was €1.357 billion less than forecast last April.  There was some silver lining – corporation tax was €160 million higher than anticipated and this is attributable to foreign direct investors.

Welfare Trends 1989 – 2008

The 20 years between 1989 and 2008 have seen Ireland’s welfare bill grow from €3.38 billion to €17.81 billion.  Expressed as a percentage of gross government expenditure, welfare has grown from 27.3% in 1989 to 33.4% in 2008.

During the decade from 1989 to 1998 the Index of Welfare Expenditure increased by 78.9 percentile points – compared to an increase in the Consumer Price Index of 23.6%

The comparable figures for the decade from 1999 to 2008 saw the Index of Welfare Expenditure increase by 183.5 percentile points in a period when the Consumer Price Index increased by 42.4 percentile points.

 

Welfare Trends 1999 – 2008

The Irish population increased from 3.7 million in 1999 to 4.4 million in 2008, an increase of 19.4%.  This compares to an increase in total welfare spending from €6.28 billion to €17.81 billion.

The pattern of welfare spending has evolved:

 

  1998 2008
Older People 23.6% 24.1%
Widows, Widowers and 1-parent families 18.0% 14.0%
Child Related Payments 9.7% 15.7%
Illness, disability and caring 14.1% 18.5%
Employment support 3.3% 2.3%
Miscellaneous 8.7% 22.1%
Administration 4.9% 3.3%

 

Maternity Benefit changes

Increases in the maximum duration and maximum payment of Maternity Benefit have resulted in significant increases in this category of expenditure.  In March 2006 the maximum duration of Maternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Health and Safety Benefit  claims was increased from 18 to 22 weeks, with a subsequent extension of Maternity Benefit in March 2007 to 26 weeks.

The cost impact of changes in these three categories of benefit is reflected in an increase from €48.79 million in 1998 to €318.09 million in 2008 (+551%).  The number of beneficiaries during this decade has increased from 5,483 to 23,558.

1-Parent Families

The number of beneficiaries of this benefit has shown a significant increase – from 170,927 who received €307 million in 1998 to 233,620 who received €1,067 million in 2008.

Free Schemes

The cost of ‘free schemes’ have also increased significantly

  1998
€000
2008
€’000
FREE ~ fuel, electricity, bottled gas, natural gas, television licence, telephone rental 153,358 584,674

 

 

Funding Welfare

  1998 2008
Exchequer 56% 52.9%
Social Insurance Fund 44% 47.1%
     
Components of Social Insurance Fund    
Employer PRSI contributions 71% 73%
Employee PRSI contributions 23% 20.1%
Self-employed   6% 5.0%
Investment income   2.0%
     
Population of Ireland 3,703,100 4,420,000
Number of welfare recipients    854,000 1,208,800
Number of beneficiaries 1,414,119 1,799,875
Percentage of population receiving welfare 38.1% 40.7%

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