PRESS RELEASE: Budget 2022 Fails to adequately Tackle Poverty

15 October 2021

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Budget 2022 does not adequately address the increased cost of living facing unmarried parents, Treoir, the National Federation for Unmarried Parents and their Children, has stated.

“While we welcome the increased investment in childcare, overall, the budget was not strategic enough in tackling poverty for lone parents and children,” stated Damien Peelo, CEO of Treoir. “As stated in our pre-budget submission, the government needs to benchmark social welfare payments to the cost of a Minimum Essential Standard of Living.”

“Treoir welcomes the increased investment in childcare and notes the shift in policy in this regard. The expansion of childcare subsidies for older children and increased access for working and unemployed parents is a key step towards a universal childcare model. However, many of these improvements will still be inaccessible to low-income parents who already cannot afford childcare and this needs to be urgently addressed by the government.”

“The budget’s response to the housing crisis is a major concern to many unmarried families who are already struggling to access the housing market. It is overly reliant on the private rental sector with only 5% of expenditure dedicated to new housing. Compared to last year, the amount of social housing to be built has been reduced. Cost rental homes are also limited. This means that many low-income unmarried parents will continue to face insecure accommodation, rising housing costs and unstable futures for their children.”

ENDS

Contact: Damien Peelo / Sinéad Murray Tel: 0857352959 / 0167 00120 Email: damien@treoir.ie / sinead@treoir.ie

Note to Editors: • Damien Peelo is available for media interview. • A copy of our Pre-Budget 2022 submission is here

About Treoir Treoir is a federation of 25 organisations advocating for the rights of unmarried parents and their children. Further information is available at: www.treoir.ie or on Twitter, @TREOIR