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IT IS INTERESTING TO NOTE THAT THIS BUDGET WAS DELIVERED ON INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR OLDER PEOPLE

There is a history of successive Governments ‘promising’ to deliver an Ireland that values older people

……..Ireland will be a society for all ages…………It will be a society in which the equality, independence, participation, care, self-fulfilment and dignity of older people are pursued at all times. (National Positive Ageing Strategy 2013.)

This strategy commits to:

Objective 3.1 Provide income and other supports to enable people as they age to enjoy an acceptable standard of living.

This strategy was never implemented in full and is rarely referenced now.

Later still this current Government under the Road Map for Social Inclusion agreed to:

…….To protect the incomes of older people through the delivery of the commitment to benchmark State pension payments A major concern of older people, reflected in the consultation process for this Roadmap, is the security and value of State pension payments.

The Government in its Road Map acknowledged:

Recipients of social welfare payments, particularly those dependent upon longer-term payments (such as the State pension), cannot plan or budget with confidence over the medium to long-term

The Road Map also acknowledged

“In setting the rate of State pension, Ireland is currently atypical compared to other EU countries in its approach to applying discretionary increases through political decisions in the annual budgetary process………The Government believes a regime of automatic indexation would introduce greater long term certainty for our retirees.

The timeline set out for this was as follows:

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is continuing, with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, to explore this smoothed earnings option and has been tasked with bringing forward a proposal for consideration by Government with an approach being finalised in Q1 2020.

Apply the benchmark in adjusting Pension changes for Budget 2021. DEASP; DPER 24 Q4 2020

Timeline Subject to Government decision, develop and prepare any necessary changes to legislation to give effect to a benchmarking approach. 23 DEASP Q1 2020

We here in the ISCP are not at all surprised by the frustration, upset and downright hopelessness so many pensioners feel at yesterday’s Budget. The reality of the impact of €12 in supporting those dependent on the state pension to survive, let alone live adequately on this is a joke. Our colleague Nat O Connor  from Age Action relieved to see that the state pension has gone up more than just a fiver. However, a €12 per week increase does not replace all the lost spending power since 2020. The core rate of the pension would need to be increased by a further €19, on top of the €12, to have the same spending power it had in 2020. 

This was before we looked at the increase in petrol and diesel; a rise of around 2.1 cent per litre of petrol and 2.5 cent to a litre of diesel. It is worth noting that 50-60% of the amount we pay at the pumps is tax. For many older people living in rural Ireland, managing without a car is an impossibility.

Speaking after the Budget, ISCP National Coordinator Pat Mellon  said: We are concerned at the lack of concern the Government has for the impact of the €12 increase. They, more than anyone, are aware of the need to link the pension to 34% of average wage if older people are to stay out of poverty. It also allows older people plan for their heavier outgoings like car tax and insurance, house repairs and maintenance.

We know from our members that trying to save on the current state pension is impossible. Pat a member from Artane explained how she tried to save for the Christmas but has found it impossible. I want to give my grandkids a small present for Christmas and their birthdays but I find myself not being able to anymore. I can do one or the other.

The unwillingness to implement linking the state pension like most other Eurozone countries was a missed opportunity. This country is awash with money and it was well within the remit of the Government to do this even over a phased basis, but they choose not to do so. Shame on them.

PLEASE LET YOUR POLITICIANS KNOW HOW YOU FEEL WHEN THEY COMEW TO ASK FOR YOUR VOTE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION

The representatives on the Collective Network of the ISCP have been working hard on your behalf. We believe there is a need to create greater awareness of the need to have The Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill 2021 progressed. We have written to all TD’s asking them to support the next stage of the proposed Bill.

We are asking you, our members to:

• Chat to your family and friends about this issue and how it affects you now and how it will affect them in the future
• Talk to your retired colleagues and co-workers
• Talk to your TD and any candidate that has declared in advance of the general election.
  • Highlight the risk and in some cases the pension poverty some retirees are experiencing.

While we are unclear as to the actual date of the general election, we are sure that there will be many demands on the Government parties on a range of issues. We need to move promptly to ensure the VOICE OF OLDER PEOPLE IS HEARD.

We need you to talk to your TD, ask if have they received the letter from the ISCP and if their party can work with us to ensure a voice for retired workers in relation to their occupational pension. They need to hear the voice of their constituents on how important this proposed BILL is. It will ensure older people stay out of poverty and have their income protected as was promised to them when they signed up for their occupational pension for their retirement.