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	Modest year-on-year increases in dole payments and the State pension are on the cards after Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar announced plans to link welfare rates to inflation.</p>
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	The move, which took some of Mr Varadkar&#39;s Cabinet colleagues by surprise, is set to cost in the region of &euro;250m per year.</p>
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	Under Mr Varadkar&#39;s plan, a legal mechanism would be put in place whereby welfare rates increase in line with inflation or average earnings.</p>
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	In practical terms, it would result in an increase of around &euro;3 per week for the average person on the dole.</p>
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	But Mr Varadkar told the MacGill Summer School that he was not inclined to increase child benefit by &euro;5 - and instead would prefer that &euro;60m be used to lift the burden of back-to-school costs.</p>
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	The Dublin West TD also wants the index-linked mechanism to apply to other payments such as the carer&#39;s benefit and disability allowance.</p>
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	&quot;It is obviously not something that is going to be in the Budget in a few weeks&#39; time, but it is something that I would like to legislate for next year and I&#39;ll be seeking cross-party support,&quot; Mr Varadkar told reporters.</p>
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	&quot;Like all these things, it can go up or down, though it rarely happens, every once in a generation where you have deflation and average incomes go down.</p>
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	&quot;But I think it&#39;s reasonable to conclude that [the] economy is recovering and over the next few years we will have a return to pay increases and inflation and I don&#39;t want pensioners, carers or people with disabilities to fall behind.&quot;</p>
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	Mr Varadkar said it was not an issue that the measure was not contained in the Programme for Government.</p>
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	And he dismissed suggestions that the move was to do with his leadership ambitions. &quot;Just because something isn&#39;t in the Programme for Government doesn&#39;t mean we can&#39;t do it. It is not that it is rejected in the talks. No doubt anything I do or say is linked to leadership. If we make this change, it will be there for decades, I hope. It will be a big change for the better.&quot;</p>
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	Fine Gael sources yesterday said they were surprised by the move, given the measure was not discussed in the Programme for Government negotiations. But Mr Varadkar was handed a boost last night after both Fianna F&aacute;il and Sinn F&eacute;in welcomed the proposals. &quot;Fianna F&aacute;il has long called for new mechanisms to be put in place to safeguard people&#39;s living standards into the future. The Government now appears to be examining such proposals,&quot; said Fianna F&aacute;il&#39;s social protection spokesman Willie O&#39;Dea.</p>
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	&quot;However, we should not forget that many people are still suffering the effects of the previous five regressive budgets.</p>
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	&quot;These people have felt no benefit from the economic recovery. The upcoming Budget offers an opportunity to address this.&quot;</p>
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	Sinn F&eacute;in&#39;s social protection spokesman John Brady added: &quot;Every person in receipt of social welfare should receive a payment that provides them with a basic standard of living. The minister&#39;s proposals are just one step in the right direction.&quot;</p>
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	Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar has said he believes a Border poll would be &quot;divisive&quot; and &quot;unsuccessful&quot;.</p>
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	Mr Varadkar said such a referendum could &quot;undermine relations&quot; with unionist parties in particular. But he says he does believe he will see a united Ireland in his lifetime.</p>
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	&quot;I would like to see a united Ireland and I do believe there will be a united Ireland in my lifetime, although I don&#39;t know at what point in my lifetime,&quot; Mr Varadkar said.</p>
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	&quot;However, I don&#39;t feel a Border poll would be a good idea at this time. I think it would be unsuccessful and divisive and could undermine relations between the two communities there. We need to achieve a unity of purpose before that time.&quot;</p>
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	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 22nd July 2016)</p>
<p>
	<a href="http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/yearonyear-dole-hikes-as-varadkar-wants-payments-linked-to-inflation-34903250.html">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/yearonyear-dole-hikes-as-varadkar-wants-payments-linked-to-inflation-34903250.html</a></p>
