Social Welfare and Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-10
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Noel O'Donovan (FG), Nominated by the Taoiseach

Like other speakers, I want to congratulate the Minister, along with his team and the officials in his Department, on his first budget. I wish to support the budget and in particular the social welfare measures at its heart. At a time of high costs for many households, this budget says something simple but powerful, which is that the State will not turn its back on those who most rely on it. From January, as has been mentioned, there will be a €10 increase in most weekly social welfare payments for pensioners, jobseekers, carers, people with disabilities, most importantly, and low-income families. That is not abstract; that is money in the pockets of people who spend money daily and need it.
Crucially, this is not just about base rates. We are delivering the largest increase in child support payments in the history of the State, up by €16 a week for children over 12 years of age and €8 for children under 12 years of age. That is a direct investment in tackling child poverty and helping parents who are being squeezed by rent, food and back-to-school costs. We are also recognising in a concrete way the enormous contribution of carers. Carer's allowance and carer's benefit will rise by €10 a week. The income disregard for carer's allowance will rise sharply to €1,000 for a single person and €2,000 for a couple. That means more families will qualify for support without being penalised with modest earnings. For older people and those struggling with energy costs, the fuel allowance will increase from €33 to €38 per week. That is an extra €140 over the fuel season, targeted at those most at risk of choosing between eating and heating in the depths of winter. We are not relying solely on once-off payments - yes, there will be a Christmas bonus paid this month to over 1.4 million long-term welfare recipients because the core of this budget is about permanent improvements to income, and not just short-term fixes. Families in low-paid work are also being supported. The working family payment threshold will rise by €60 per week across all family sizes. Families in receipt of this payment will qualify for fuel allowance for the first time, backdated to January. This is about making work pay and ensuring that moving into employment does not mean losing vital supports. Are these measures the end of the road? No, but they move us decisively in the right direction towards social welfare rates that better track living costs and wages.
As has often been mentioned, this is budget one of five. I am sure that in the years ahead, we will see further improvements for those most in need of financial support. I understand the Bill relates to auto-enrolment. As I have said in the House before, I view auto-enrolment through a number of lenses: as an employee, as an employer in a family business but also now as a legislator with a focus on the duty we have to provide for people in the years ahead. It is a really positive piece of legislation. I commend the previous Minister, the current Minister and his officials for progressing it. It is something we must proceed with in the years ahead. I know there have been some concerns, including from the accountants association of Ireland, about the auto-enrolment set-up in terms of GDPR. As we move forward with this process, it is important that we listen and iron out any glitches or recommendations that are there from industry. Businesses are dealing with a lot at the moment in terms of increased costs so we need to make this transition and this process as smooth as possible for them. I commend the Minister's work on the budget and on the introduction of auto-enrolment.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:26+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-10