FOR most welfare recipients, the Budget is an as-you-were affair with payments up by 3 per cent - but for some it will mean a good deal more than that.
Most notable among the changes are those which support long-term unemployed people who succeed in getting jobs but there are also some important changes for old people, especially those who haven't got a social welfare pension but whose income is low.
The standard rise of 3 per cent from mid-June should keep welfare recipients just ahead of the rise in the cost of living which is running at 2.25 per cent.
Three per cent isn't a lot - £2 a week in most cases - but budgets rarely give much more than a cost-of-living rise to people on welfare and the Minister, Mr De Rossa, claimed yesterday that two Fianna Fail budgets in the past decade gave less.
Some of the main change announced yesterday came in the area of assistance for long-term unemployed people returning to work.
The weekly child dependant allowances will continue to be paid for the first 13 weeks of employment, which should allow' enough time to apply for a Family Income Supplement. This supplement is paid to people with children who are in low-paying jobs and indeed most of those on the supplement will get an extra £6 a week from June.
The number of people on the Back to Work scheme will be increased by 50 per cent to 15,000. The scheme enables unemployed people or lone parents to continue to receive a portion of their weekly welfare payment for up to two years after taking up work or becoming self-employed.
Many pensioners, particularly people retired from the public service on low pensions, will welcome the extension of eligibility for free electricity and other schemes.
Up to now, retired public servants and some people retired from self-employment were denied free electricity, free TV licence and free telephone rental simply because they did not have a social welfare pension.
These people will be able to quality for these benefits from July if they meet thee other conditions for them and if their income is no more than £30 higher than the old age contributory pension. In all, about 9,000 people will benefit, the Minister says.
The rise of £2 a child in the monthly Child Benefit from September means that this payment has risen by 50 per cent in the past two budgets - parents, of course, will judge it by the £2 and not by the 50 per cent.
People on the Carer's Allowance are to get an extra £5 a week, a bigger increase than other welfare recipients.
The allowance has been fiercely criticised since it was introduced by Dr Michael Woods, especially because of the means test attaching to it. Nevertheless, improvements are made in it each year and as time goes on it is growing in importance for carers.
Some other welfare rules have also been eased for carers. For instance it will be easier for them to get dental and optical treatment on the basis of their past PRSI contributions.
The tax allowance to help old people living alone in rural areas to buy security alarms will be of no use to those who haven't got a taxable income. Mr De Rossa said he would be looking at ways of helping such people with the cost of buying alarms.
A further £50 million has been earmarked to complete paying out arrears due to women because of the failure by Governments in thee late 1970s and 1980s to implement equal treatment of women by the welfare system.
One change has been announced a year in advance. This is the introduction of the one-parent family allowance which will replace the lone parents' allowance and deserted wives' benefit - though people already receiving deserted wives' benefit will continue to receive it. The allowance will be payable to lone parents who pass a means test regardless of how they came to be alone - whether by desertion, divorce, separation or single parenthood.
Total provision for voluntary and community services from the Department of Social Welfare this year is to amount to £9.15 million.
The social welfare changes in the Budget show a willingness to change the system to respond to social realities but the poor will; still be poor and most will notice little change when they get their 3 per cent increase.