Up to 20,000 working families on low incomes may be entitled to welfare top-up support worth an average of more than €100 a week but are not claiming it.
Minister for Social Affairs Séamus Brennan yesterday launched a national awareness campaign to increase take-up of the Family Income Supplement (FIS), aimed at smoothing the transition from welfare to work.
The weekly payment, which varies between €20 and €400 depending on family size and income, is being paid to 17,000 families at present. However, independent experts estimate this figure accounts for just 40 per cent of those eligible for the income support.
Mr Brennan said many families were under the impression they were not entitled to the payment once a parent began working, but he emphasised that this was not the case. "This income supplement is designed to provide vital cash supports for employees on low earnings with families, while at the same time preserving the incentive to remain in employment.
"Research has shown that poverty is more likely to be concentrated in larger families and families of lone parents," he said.
Statistics show a two-parent family with two children - with one child under six - on the minimum wage of €16,000 a year can boost their annual income by more than €5,000.
This increases to more than €10,000 for a family of four on the same income, where two children are under the age of six. The payment of the supplement, along with the new childcare subsidy - worth €1,000 in a full year for a child under six - could significantly boost the income of working families on low to moderate incomes, the Minister said.
Expanded thresholds had further widened access to the supplement and urged families to contact the department or read up on entitlement rules to the scheme, he added.
As well as an advertising campaign on TV and radio, the department has set up a special telephone line (1890 66 22 44) for inquiries, while social welfare offices and citizens' information phone lines are also providing information. A booklet on entitlement rules is available from the department (1890 20 23 25) or on its website (www.welfare.ie).
Mr Brennan said research showed that paid employment was the best route out of poverty and that the income support could provide vital assistance to those experiencing financial difficulties or who found themselves in "poverty traps".
"I'm confident the improvements in income thresholds [for access to the scheme] will contribute towards targeting resources at households in poverty and in helping them deal with real income difficulties."
