THE State's tax and social welfare policies should support married couples as "the optimum" type of family unit, according to a report from the Oireachtas Committee on the Family.
The report, published yesterday, proposes tax and social welfare changes to benefit married couples and families. It calls for consideration of tax relief for child care payments; a marriage gratuity for newly weds, and measures to benefit the elderly.
The committee commissioned: the financial journalist, Mr Colm Rapple, to carry out research for the report, The Impact of State Tax and Social Welfare Schemes on the Family. Not all of his recommendations have been adopted by the committee, which was established in March 1995 and is due to report to the Oireachtas by March 1997. Yesterday's report will form a chapter of its final report.
"The Joint Committee, for the purpose of this report, decided that, while recognising the different forms of family that exist, it should recognise the permanence that some form of contractual situation would give a family. That contractual arrangement currently recognised is marriage, and this report approaches its recommendations from this perspective," the report says.
While making clear its preference for family units based on marriage, the report says: "There is a need to support other forms of stable family units and it is important that children are not discriminated against on the basis of which type of family unit they are in.
Widows and widowers should have the same income tax exemption limits as married couples, according to the report. But the committee rejected a recommendation from Mr Rapple that lone parents should have the double tax bands which apply to married couples.
The report also proposes a marriage gratuity" for those getting married. According to the committee chairman, Mr Paul
McGrath, this could involve giving a newly married couple tax free status in the first year of marriage, or some other form of tax break.
The committee also discussed the idea of giving tax relief to a couple employing a child carer. I made no recommendation, said that the idea was worth their study.
The committee reccomends the establishment of a family fairs unit in the Department Finance to co ordinate and develop policy and expenditure grammes regarding the family.
"The committee can see no justification for the exclusion of the self employed from the Family In come Supplement scheme and calls on the Department of Social Welfare to review it as a matter of urgency."
The report also sets out to encourage young unemployed people to stay at home. All unemployed young people, it says, should be entitled to at least the minimum unemployment assistance payment, irrespective of family income.
At the moment, according to Mr McGrath, unemployed young people whose parents have a reasonable income do not get the minimum payment. If they move out, however, they get a full social welfare payment as well as rent allowance. "We want to encourage young people to stay at home," he said.
The committee makes a number of recommendations concerning, the treatment of the elderly in the light of recent attacks. The Department of Social Welfare should "look at the cash savings of the elderly in a more sympathetic way in their assessment procedures" and "initiate a major education programme on the entitlements of the elderly in all major areas affecting them."