The Conference of Religious in Ireland has said the Minister for Finance has honoured his commitment to benchmark the lowest welfare payments but has failed to maintain the anti-poverty momentum of his earlier budgets.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's News At One, Fr Sean Healy, the Director of CORI's Justice Commission, said the working poor, who head a third of all households at risk of poverty, have not benefited from Brian Cowen's Budget.
He says a single person or a couple on €15,000 a year will gain nothing.
However, Fr Seán Healy has also said that social welfare recipients have done about twice as well from the Budget as the wealthy.
He says the increase of €12 a week in the lowest social welfare rate for a single person maintains this payment at 30% of gross average industrial earnings.
And he has warmly welcomed the promise of 20,000 more social, affordable and higher standard homes.
However, he also laments what he calls insufficient action on child poverty and adult illiteracy.
And he describes as 'a disgrace' Mr Cowen's failure to deliver on Social Partnership commitments to establish 300 primary care teams by the end of next year.
