ONE in every ten people in Northern Ireland are claiming Disability Living Allowance (DLA) — double the UK average.
The figure, revealed by the Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, last night, demonstrates how untenable the current benefits system is, he said.
There have long been suspicions that a significant number of people in the province are claiming benefits illegally but others have argued that the Troubles left more people in need of welfare monies such as DLA.
However, Mr Paterson said that the Troubles could not alone explain the huge number of DLA claimants in the province as the number of people claiming DLA has increased by 25 per cent since 2002.
Mr Paterson also said that in Northern Ireland 200,000 people “are stuck on out of work benefits unable or unwilling to take advantage of the job opportunities that are being created”.
Mr Paterson made his comments in a speech at Queen’s University in the context of re-balancing the Northern Ireland economy away from its over-dependence on the public sector, emphasising that he sees re-balancing the economy and welfare reform as two sides of the same coin.
In a stout defence of the changes proposed to the benefits system by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, Mr Paterson said that under the current welfare regime many claimants were discouraged from working as they would lose benefits but under reforms they would be financially encouraged to work.
“Some claimants face losing as much as 96p in every pound they earn through tax and benefit withdrawals.
“Would any of us here be willing to accept 96 per cent tax rates? Yet this is what we are asking of some of the poorest members of society.
“To me, this points to a system that is failing and which in far too many cases discourages work and simply parks people on benefits.
“There is nothing remotely fair, moral or progressive about any of this.”
Mr Paterson, who is Mr Duncan Smith’s key cabinet ally, said that the current welfare system was “broken” and added: “The economic and social costs of this are enormous”.
He said that in Northern Ireland this year the government will spend almost £1.5 billion on out of work benefits.
“And the money has to come from somewhere.
“So every working family in the UK is currently paying £3,000 a year simply to support the benefits system.”
However, despite his defence of the changes, Mr Paterson also suggested that there could be “flexibility” for Stormont without breaking the principle of parity with the UK benefits system.
Mr Paterson also insisted that the creation of a ‘working group’ on whether to devolve power over corporation tax to Stormont was “not as a delaying tactic or because I’ve suddenly gone cold on the idea. But simply because we have to get it right.”
The Secretary of State also said that “liberal capitalism is the only truly moral means of achieving those objectives. It is the only system consistent with civil and political liberty, and public good.”
A spokesman for Stormont’s Department of Social Development said that its minister, Nelson McCausland accepts the benefits system needs to be changed and wants to reduce “benefit dependency”.
Asked why Northern Ireland has such high DLA figures, he said: “The minister recognises that Northern Ireland has specific issues, including the legacy of the troubles and high rates of social deprivation.
“The profile of the Northern Ireland DLA caseload is also different as claimants tend to be younger and there is a higher incidence of mental illness.”