23,000 in receipt of different state pensions in Donegal last year

23,004 people in Donegal were in receipt of different state pension last year, the Social Welfare Services Annual Report for 2020 has revealed. 

Those included 7,157 receiving the non contributory state pension, 12,262 on the contributory state pension, 3,561 in receipt of the widows, widowers and surviving civil partners contribution pension and 24 receiving the death benefit arising from the from the widows, widowers and surviving civil partners contribution pension scheme.

The annual report sets out data relating to the expenditure, recipients and beneficiaries of the schemes administered by the Department – including the schemes introduced as part of the Government’s emergency response to the Covid-19 Pandemic – across what will be remembered as an exceptional year.

Among the details provided are, breakdowns of scheme by age, gender and county, and ten year trends on expenditure and the numbers of recipients and beneficiaries.

The statistics included in the Report show that:

·         Social Protection expenditure accounted for almost 9% of GDP in 2020, an increase from 6% in 2019;

·         Over 1.2 million people were supported for at least one week by the PUP, TWSS or the EWSS schemes;

·         Almost 70,000 recipients received Enhanced Illness Benefit payments, at a cost of €57 million;

·         Social Insurance Fund schemes and administration expenditure amounted to €14.1 billion, an increase of €4.1billion (40.6%) compared with 2019;

·         Total spending on Working Age Income Supports was €8.3 billion in 2020, an increase of over €5 billion (156%) from the previous year. COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment accounted for almost 60% of this expenditure. Jobseeker’s Allowance and Jobseeker’s Benefit recorded an increase in both expenditure and recipients in 2020;

·         Child related payments amounted to €2.6 billion in 2020, with Child Benefit comprising €2.1 billion of this expenditure. Child Benefit was paid to 633,000 families in respect of 1.2 million children in 2020.

Department of Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys welcomed the report, saying:

“This report reflects the exceptional role that my Department played in providing an income support to so many people during an extremely difficult year.

“Throughout 2020, some €9 billion in Covid-19 related expenditure issued to some 1.2 million people – demonstrating the scale of the undertaking by Government.

“While the hard work involved in processing all of these emergency payments ensured that payments were made promptly, the everyday work of my Department on all other schemes continued as normal.

“This report provides a valuable insight into many of these schemes, including Pensions, Child Income Supports and Illness and Disability payments.

“The report also details the scale of the impact of Covid-19 on the economy in Ireland. As Minister for Social Protection, I am committed to helping people return to work, or retrain and upskill if their previous job is no longer there for them.”