Social Justice
Executive Summary
The Green Party has a long standing commitment to social justice.
This paper sets out a framework for implementing a rights based approach to
delivering a social guarantee for all.
Mainstreaming Social Inclusion
- Integrate social inclusion into wider policy frameworks and political objectives
- Review poverty proofing mechanisms and provide additional resources for reformed poverty impact assessment procedures
- Fully co-operate with obligations under international Social Rights legislation
Systemic Welfare Reform
- Combine the tax and social welfare systems fully
- Individualise adult payments
- Work towards abolishing means-testing for primary payments such as the carers allowance and unemployment assistance and review means-testing as a method of assessment for secondary benefits
- Index link all entitlements
Guaranteeing Income Maintenance
- Make personal tax credits refundable to people over 18 and under 65 who have a track record of an average of 8 hours paid employment per week and are not claiming an income maintenance payment
- Undertake a feasibility study into the gradual phasing in of other credits currently available to tax payers that are not refundable
- Introduce a range of refundable tax credits for carers, parents, volunteers
- Work towards increasing the basic state pension from 30% of average income to 60%
- Introduce a second tier payment targeted at child poverty alleviation
- Develop a new increased payment for carers which is recognised for social insurance purposes
- Replace Rent supplement with a Housing Benefit which would act as a direct payment to house seekers
Access to Entitlements
- Make child benefit a universal entitlement for all not just EU citizens
- Review all social welfare payments with a view to standardising payments
- Introduce a tapered withdrawal system for all payments
Extended Social Insurance Benefits
- Review the social insurance fund with a view to amalgamating the fund with general exchequer funding
- Extend Maternity benefit to 26 weeks
- Introduce six months paid parental benefit and two weeks paid paternity benefit
- Lower contribution levels needed to access optical and dental benefits
- Introduce retrospective credits for all women who have lost out on cover due to the civil service marriage bar
- Introduce specific reforms recognising spouses of self-employed/ farmers for the purpose of social insurance contributions
- Reform the two year rule by enabling a re-entry for women wishing to re-enter the labour market
- Introduce medical cards for all under-18s, rolled out to children of six years and under first.
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