The Government is to move towards greater individualisation of the social welfare system in the forthcoming Budget.
The measure will mark the first significant step in making separate payments to thousands of women whose partners are drawing welfare from the State.
The Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, will signal the Government's intentions for greater social welfare individualisation in a keynote speech to the National Women's Council today. Addressing a seminar on the hidden poverty of women, Mr Ahern will state that a key issue in the future direction of tax and welfare policy for women will be the question of individualisation.
He will warn, however, that they had to proceed in a balanced way, taking on board the concerns which people had. "Part of this balanced approach has to be greater individualisation in the social welfare code to which we are committed under the PPF. One of the key objectives identified in the PPF is to progress individualisation of social welfare in the context of the continuation of joint assessment of means."
Mr Ahern will tell the conference that one aspect he will be moving on in the December Budget will be greater individualisation of the pension system so that women who opted out of work for family reasons can qualify for pensions in their own right.
There will also be greater individualisation of means-tested disability payments in the Budget.
"I want to move towards greater individualisation of our system of means-tested payments. At present some payments are made on an individual basis subject to joint means testing. But others, such as some disability payments, are subject to a limit on the amount payable to a couple." The Minister will tell the conference that there has to be some caution in how the Government proceeded, with a UK study finding little support from women on social welfare for the individualised payment of benefits.
"This reflected fears that such a move could be divisive and that men might treat their share as personal spending money, leaving women to meet the family's needs with less money," he said.
Mr Ahern will tell the conference that it is clear that women are at a significant risk of poverty and that some predominantly female groups, such as lone parents, are at a very high poverty risk.
He will say that while people have an image of the typical person on social welfare as being an unemployed man or male old age pensioners, almost two-thirds of pensioners and their spouses are women.