Latest news with #TripleLock
RTÉ News
14-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Dublin rally urges Govt to protect Ireland's neutrality
Demonstrators have marched through Dublin calling on the Government to protect Ireland's neutrality. Around a thousand people walked from the Garden of Remembrance to Leinster House chanting "Save our neutrality, keep our Triple Lock". Around a thousand people marched through Dublin city this afternoon calling on the government to protect Ireland's neutrality. The protest was led by Opposition and Independent TDs, peace and anti-war groups and Palestine solidarity groups. It arises from Government plans for new legislation that would change how Ireland decides to deploy members of the Defence Forces abroad to serve on international peacekeeping missions. The General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 would remove what is known as the Triple Lock. Under the current system, Ireland cannot send peacekeepers overseas without the go ahead from the United Nations, the Government and the Dáil. The Government's plan is to take away the requirement for the UN's go ahead. "We've a proud [peacekeeping] tradition ... why should we ask Vladimir Putin, a brutal aggressor for his permission as to where Irish men and women can go to peacekeeping. That is an out-of-date concept," Tánaiste Simon Harris said previously. The plan would also increase the number of troops that can be deployed without a Dáil vote from 12 to 50. The draft legislation will be examined over a period of eight weeks, after which a bill will be sent for Government approval. This proposal has faced strong criticism from opposition politicians, who say the move undermines Ireland's neutrality.
Wales Online
13-06-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
You won't get DWP £300 winter fuel payment if this rule applies to you
You won't get DWP £300 winter fuel payment if this rule applies to you The winter fuel payment will be made automatically this winter. Here's everything you need to know about the changes and who will qualify for the payment and who won't and how that works More people will get the winter fuel payment than previously thought (Image: Matthew Horwood ) In a significant policy reversal, millions of individuals will receive a winter fuel payment this year. It was confirmed on Monday, June 9, that pensioners earning £35,000 or less would receive a payment of up to £300 later this year. The announcement partially rolled back a contentious policy implemented last year that introduced means-testing for the winter fuel payment. This change drastically reduced the number of pensioners receiving the aid from 11.4 million to approximately 1.5 million. The payment, typically dispatched in November or December to assist with fuel expenses during the colder months, had previously been automatic. The changes announced this week have been attributed to the Labour Party's reduced public support following its general election triumph. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here Earlier this year, the government partially reversed its stance, confirming that more people would be eligible for the payment, but did not provide additional details until now. Under the revised rules, around nine million individuals will qualify for the payment at a cost of £1.25bn. This expenditure is anticipated to be offset by reclaiming the payment from higher-income pensioners through HMRC, reports Wales Online. Article continues below Who does and doesn't benefit under the new rules? The changes will enable all pensioners in England and Wales with an annual income of £35,000 or less to receive a winter fuel payment. But if you earn more than this - you will still receive the payment but it will be clawed back by the Government by another method. You can find out more about what the rules mean for couples here. This change extends eligibility to the vast majority of pensioners, with around nine million or over three-quarters set to benefit, according to ministers' statements on Monday, June 9. What do you need to do? There's no need for any action on your part; if you're eligible, the payment will be automatically made to you this winter. For those with incomes above the threshold, you will still get the payment but it will be automatically reclaimed by HMRC without any required intervention. The automatic payment this winter will be £200 per household, or £300 for households with someone aged over 80. Additionally, over 12 million pensioners throughout the UK will gain from the Triple Lock, which promises a State Pension increase of up to £1,900 during this parliament. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said earlier this week: "Targeting Winter Fuel Payments was a tough decision, but the right decision because of the inheritance we had been left by the previous government. It is also right that we continue to means-test this payment so that it is targeted and fair, rather than restoring eligibility to everyone including the wealthiest. Article continues below "But we have now acted to expand the eligibility of the Winter Fuel Payment so no pensioner on a lower income will miss out. This will mean over three quarters of pensioners receiving the payment in England and Wales later this winter." Those pensioners who prefer to opt out and decline the payment entirely will be accommodated, with further details forthcoming.
RTÉ News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Reformed Triple Lock would not impact neutrality
Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris has said he does not believe a reformed Triple Lock would impact Ireland's policy of military neutrality. The General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 would remove the need for UN Security Council approval when deploying more than 12 members of the Defence Forces overseas when they are serving as part of an international force. Draft legislation is currently in a scrutiny process which is expected to last eight weeks, after which a Bill will be drafted to go to Government for approval before going through the various stages of the Oireachtas. The proposal has faced criticism from some Opposition TDs, who believe it could impact Ireland's long-standing policy of military neutrality. However, Mr Harris said it should be up to the people of Ireland to decide where Irish peacekeepers are deployed, and that many neutral countries have no triple lock policy. "I strongly believe that such consideration on international engagement should be within our sovereign control," he told the Dáil this morning. "The people of Ireland decide where our peacekeepers go, their democratically elected officials decide, not people who've never received one vote in any constituency in this country. "That's how our democracy works, how many neutral countries work. The Triple Lock is not the norm in other neutral countries." He added: "There are militarily neutral countries, quite a number of them, that have no triple lock. There are many, many, many ways you can be a military neutral country and not have a triple lock. "People in Ireland including me have a love for our military neutrality, we want to be militarily unaligned, the people of Ireland have an overwhelming desire for that." Independent TD Catherine Connolly told the Dáil that Taoiseach Micheál Martin once called the Triple Lock a "fundamental part and the core of our neutrality". "Perhaps you should talk to him about that, when did that change?" she said. Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney said she was struck by the draft legislation's "apparent lack of human rights monitoring mechanisms" which could be included as safeguards for the deployment of troops to peacekeeping missions. Mr Harris responded saying the UN charter would be "at the heart" of the safeguards of the reformed legislation. He said the mandate of any request for troops to participate in a peacekeeping mission would also be in compliance with Irish law and foreign policy as well as carrying the consent of the host nation and a trust in partners. Labour TD Duncan Smith said he did not believe peacekeeping outside the UN was something that Government can "take a punt on". He told the Dáil: "I don't think we should rush into removing the triple lock as part of this legislation at all. There is a process of reform ongoing in the UN, I think we should be leading on that. "I fundamentally believe in the UN and any future of peacekeeping outside the UN is not something we can take a punt on at this point." Mr Harris said the geopolitical situation has evolved "extraordinarily rapidly" in the last number of years. He asked what Ireland would do if the UN did not renew the mandate under which Ireland's "brave men and women serving in Lebanon" operate. What if one of the permanent members, "Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin", or an Elon Musk-driven cost savings measure, led to a veto on the mission, he asked. Mr Harris said he believes should that happen, those peacekeepers should remain in place.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Starmer and Farage have doomed Britain to a spiral of decline
The Government's decision to U-turn on the winter fuel allowance is absurd – and, sadly, a big indicator that Reform UK is not going to be the party which breaks Britain out of its spiral of self-inflicted decline. Rachel Reeves plans to restore the WFA to all pensioners with an income up to £35,000 a year. It will then be clawed back from the wealthiest retirees via the tax system. Overall, around 7.5 million older people who missed the payment last year are set to receive it again – at an apparent cost in the region of £1.25 billion a year. Paul Johnson, the Chair of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, puts it well: 'It wouldn't even be in the top 100 of things that I would do with my £1.25bn if I wanted to act on poverty. Almost none of the people impacted by this will be in poverty.' He's right. The Government's decision to means test the WFA removed the payment from some ten million people; of these, its own analysis suggested that only 50,000 or so were placed into 'relative fuel poverty'. And remember, 'relative poverty' is merely an income inequality metric; it doesn't mean someone is necessarily unable to afford heating. Even on the face of it, therefore, Reeves is hosing money at 7.5 million people for the sake of lifting just 50,000 out of 'relative' poverty. But closer consideration of the numbers reveals even deeper absurdities. Take the income requirement of £35,000. From the off, that is only a couple of grand less than the national average wage of £37,430. Why should pensioners on that income receive a fuel payment when working-age people on similar incomes do not? If anything, those working-age people are more deserving of help – for their cost of living is often substantially increased by costs from which many pensioners are exempt. How many of those 7.5 million beneficiaries, for example, are living mortgage-free? Retirees are also exempt from National Insurance, and that has big implications for their real income. Without NICs, that £35,000 becomes about £2,500 a month post-tax; for a working person to be in a similar position, they would need to earn quite a bit more than the average wage (enough to be in the top 37 per cent of earners, or thereabouts). Pensioner poverty was a real problem in 2010, when the Coalition Government first introduced the Triple Lock. But whilst there are some struggling pensioners today, it is absurd that the State continues giving indiscriminate welfare to what has become, on average, this country's wealthiest age cohort. Our pathological inability to cut entitlement spending, even to people who obviously don't need it, is one of the main reasons our country is in such a sorry state. We are all but conducting a controlled experiment in how much of the state can be all but dismantled – prisons, courts, the military – in order to avoid touching the big revenue expenditure accounts. Arresting British decline will require breaking out of this cycle. But it's a prisoner's dilemma for politicians: try to do the right thing, as Theresa May did on social care, and it creates an all-too-tempting opening for opportunistic opponents to exploit – as Labour did then, and as Reform UK has done now. Now forced to govern in the long shadow of wildly unrealistic voter expectations, Labour is probably quietly regretting its game-playing over the 'dementia tax'. If Nigel Farage ever becomes prime minister, and is forced to admit the extravagant savings he claims he can get from abolishing DEI and net zero are for the birds, he may well regret killing off such an obvious cut as the winter fuel allowance. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Wales Online
09-06-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Martin Lewis lists five things DWP will check after £300 payment rule change
Martin Lewis lists five things DWP will check after £300 payment rule change The finance expert has set out what exactly the DWP will be counting as income for the winter fuel payment Martin Lewis has listed out the five things that constitute as "income" for the Winter Fuel Payment (Image: PA ) Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced that millions of people across England and Wales will be receiving the winter fuel payment this year in a major U-turn. The Labour-led UK government had taken the unpopular decision to stop the universal winter fuel payment, instead making it means tested for pensioners. This decision drew widespread criticism, as it reduced the number of pensioners receiving the benefit from 11.4 million people to nearly 1.5 million. Though the payment remains means tested, Reeves has said her government is 'expanding' the payments, 'to benefit nine million pensioners this winter". This means that those on state pension who have an income of £35,000 or below will be receiving the payment worth up to £300 going into winter this year. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here The chancellor has defended her government's decision to keep the payment means tested (Image: PA ) What constitutes 'income'? Martin Lewis took to X, to explain five things that would constitute an income under the scheme. These would likely be: Article continues below The State Pension Income from Earnings Private Pension Income Investment income (eg dividends) Savings interest Though he hasn't '100%' confirmed this, the financial guru added that non-taxable payments like the Attendance Allowance would likely not be included. Content cannot be displayed without consent Will you need to do anything to receive the benefit? If you're eligible, you'll automatically receive the payment this winter without needing to take any action. If your income exceeds the threshold, HMRC will automatically recover the money. This winter, households will automatically receive a payment of £200, or £300 if there is someone over 80 in the household. Over 12 million pensioners across the UK will also benefit from the Triple Lock, with their State Pension set to increase by up to £1,900 during this parliament. Pensioners earning above the £35,000 threshold - approximately two million people in England and Wales - will have the full amount of the winter fuel payment they received automatically collected via PAYE or through their self-assessment return. There's no need for anyone to register with HMRC or take any further action. Pensioners who wish to opt out and not receive the payment at all will be able to do so, with details to be confirmed. Content cannot be displayed without consent The chancellor has defended the government's decision to means test the payment, saying this would make the payment 'targetted and fair'. Reeves has said: 'Targeting Winter Fuel Payments was a tough decision, but the right decision because of the inheritance we had been left by the previous government. 'It is also right that we continue to means-test this payment so that it is targeted and fair, rather than restoring eligibility to everyone including the wealthiest.' Article continues below Speaking on the u-turn, she said: 'But we have now acted to expand the eligibility of the Winter Fuel Payment so no pensioner on a lower income will miss out. This will mean over three quarters of pensioners receiving the payment in England and Wales later this winter.'
