Written Answers Nos. 245-259
246. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 709 of 7 November 2023, if precautions are in place to ensure that the deciding officer who rejects an applicant’s social protection payment is not also the appeals officer who conducts the appeal on the rejected application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54373/23]
View answerI understand that the Deputy's Office has since clarified that this question relates to the operational procedures in place regarding the review of Appeals Officer decisions and whether such reviews are conducted by a different Appeals Officer.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions.
The Social Welfare Appeals system is underpinned by legislation which sets down the roles, powers and functions of the Social Welfare Appeals Office and its Appeals Officers. Under the legislation, the decision of an Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may be reviewed under section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 by an Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts.
If there is any new evidence or new facts pertinent to a case that were not brought to the attention of the Appeals Officer during the determination of an appeal, they may be submitted to the Appeals office for further consideration.
I am informed by the Appeals Office that as of July 2023, when reviews under Section 317 of the Act are being assigned every effort is made to ensure that they are assigned to a different Appeals Officer than the Appeals Officer who made the original decision.
It should be noted however that in some cases it may be more appropriate to assign the review to the same Appeals Officer depending on the circumstances of the case particularly if it was complex and involved an oral hearing.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.
247. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the breakdown of the number of families in each county receiving the double child benefit payment; and the number of children in each county in respect of whom a payment was made, in tabular form. [54379/23]
View answerChild Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16 and 17, if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves.
A double payment for those in receipt of Child Benefit payments issued on 5th of December 2023. The provision of this double payment plus the extension of Child Benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education was one of my key priorities as part of Budget 2024.
650,000 families will receive the double Child Benefit payment in respect of over 1.2million children.
Please find attached, the number of families in each county that will receive the double child benefit payment on 5th of December 2023. The specific number of children, by county, who will be the beneficiaries of this payment is displayed below.
County Breakdown of Child Benefit Recipients:
|
County |
Number of Families |
Number of Children |
|
Clare |
14,958 |
28,507 |
|
Cork |
72,321 |
136,186 |
|
Cavan |
10,781 |
21,163 |
|
Carlow |
9,001 |
16,648 |
|
Donegal |
22,466 |
43,966 |
|
Dublin |
172,020 |
309,397 |
|
Galway |
33,746 |
64,820 |
|
Kildare |
35,183 |
64,933 |
|
Kilkenny |
11,697 |
22,574 |
|
Kerry |
19,013 |
35,185 |
|
Longford |
6,031 |
11,806 |
|
Louth |
20,671 |
38,440 |
|
Limerick |
26,457 |
49,882 |
|
Leitrim |
4,375 |
8,636 |
|
Laois |
11,762 |
22,531 |
|
Meath |
30,709 |
57,904 |
|
Monaghan |
8,394 |
17,111 |
|
Mayo |
16,699 |
32,547 |
|
Offaly |
10,530 |
19,985 |
|
Roscommon |
8,145 |
16,121 |
|
Sligo |
8,437 |
16,273 |
|
Tipperary |
21,967 |
42,194 |
|
Waterford |
16,798 |
31,367 |
|
Westmeath |
13,439 |
25,370 |
|
Wicklow |
21,338 |
39,282 |
|
Wexford |
21,881 |
40,639 |
I trust this helps clarify the position for the Deputy.
248. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of social welfare recipients in each receiving the Christmas bonus double payment, by county, in tabular from. [54380/23]
View answerThis week, my Department will issue a 100% Christmas Bonus to people on the same day as they usually receive their weekly primary payment.
Based on current recipient numbers of schemes, this payment will be made to 1,248,997 people. This figure is based on individual recipients. If a person is in receipt of more than one qualifying payment, they are only counted once in this figure. This figure is an estimate and may change as new applications are received and claims are closed.
The breakdown by county of this estimated number of people who will receive this Christmas Bonus is shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Estimated number of recipients of the Christmas Bonus, by county.
|
County |
Recipients |
|
Carlow |
16,981 |
|
Cavan |
19,310 |
|
Clare |
32,223 |
|
Cork |
133,842 |
|
Donegal |
47,567 |
|
Dublin |
294,644 |
|
Galway |
61,651 |
|
Kerry |
43,429 |
|
Kildare |
47,128 |
|
Kilkenny |
24,266 |
|
Laois |
20,259 |
|
Leitrim |
10,190 |
|
Limerick |
53,905 |
|
Longford |
12,397 |
|
Louth |
34,767 |
|
Mayo |
38,634 |
|
Meath |
41,696 |
|
Monaghan |
15,894 |
|
Offaly |
21,048 |
|
Roscommon |
18,463 |
|
Sligo |
18,993 |
|
Tipperary |
46,109 |
|
Waterford |
33,039 |
|
Westmeath |
24,303 |
|
Wexford |
44,244 |
|
Wicklow |
35,509 |
|
Other |
58,506 |
|
Total |
1,248,997 |
249. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) may qualify for appropriate payment such as domiciliary care allowance in respect of their four-year-old daughter who suffers from a number of health issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54406/23]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly allowance payable to a parent / guardian in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and where the level of that disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 consecutive months. This level of care and attention must be required to allow the child deal with the activities of daily living. Eligibility for DCA is not based entirely on the child's disability / diagnosis but rather on the impact of the disability, in terms of the associated level of care required by the child.
The child concerned may qualify for DCA depending on the extent of their additional care needs compared to a child of the same age without their disability / diagnosis.
According to my Department's records, an application for DCA has not been received from the person concerned in respect of the relevant child to date. However, my officials have arranged for an application form (Dom Care 1) to be posted to them this week. The form is also available to download online at gov.ie - Domiciliary Care Allowance Application Form (Dom Care 1) (www.gov.ie) or can be requested at any Intreo Centre, Social Welfare Branch Office, or Citizens Information Centre.
New DCA applications are currently taking approximately 6 weeks to process from date of receipt of application.
A parent / guardian who is providing full-time care to a person including a disabled child under 16 may be entitled to other related payment(s) from my Department, subject to satisfying the relevant qualifying criteria.
My Department's Carer's Allowance (CA) payment is a means tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the state and who is providing full-time care and attention to an adult or a child who needs support because of age, physical or learning disability or illness. In order to be eligible for CA in respect of a child aged under 16, the parent / guardian must be in receipt of DCA in respect of the relevant child.
Carer's Benefit (CARB) is a short-term PRSI based payment which is payable for up to 104 weeks/ 2 years to a carer who leaves employment or reduces their hours of employment in order to care for a person including a disabled or ill child who is in need of full-time care.
The associated Carer's Support Grant is an annual payment which is automatically paid with DCA, CA and CARB.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
250. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which carer's allowance is payable in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54411/23]
View answerCarer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.
An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 13 November 2023.
Additional information in relation to the person’s application was requested by a Deciding Officer (DO) on 17 November 2023.
Once the information is received, the application will be processed without delay and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
251. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the degree to which efforts continue to be made to award State pensions to those men and women whose contribution record was interrupted for family or other reasons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54412/23]
View answerThere are a number of payments and pensions paid by my Department to people over State Pension Age. One of these is the State Pension (Contributory) (SPC), qualification for which is based on a number of criteria, including a minimum of 520 qualifying social insurance contributions having been paid. For those who have paid the required contributions, these will be used in the calculation of their entitlements.
As the actuarial value of the State Pension is currently estimated at approximately €380,000, I believe it is reasonable to require people claiming a contributory pension to have made at least 10 years of paid contributions over the term of their working life, before qualifying for a payment.
Where a person reaches State Pension age and does not satisfy the conditions to qualify for SPC or qualifies for less than the maximum rate, they may instead qualify for one of the following:
• The State Pension (Non-Contributory) which is a means-tested payment (based on their share of household means) with a maximum payment of 95% of the SPC; or
• An increase for a qualified adult (based on their own means), amounting up to 90% of a full rate SPC pension where their spouse has a contributory pension; or
• Where their spouse/civil partner is deceased, a widow's/widower's/civil partner's contributory pension, which they may claim either based on their spouse's or their own social insurance record. The qualifying conditions for this require fewer contributions paid (260) than the SPC and the current maximum personal rate for those aged 66 or over is €265.30, i.e., the same as the maximum rate of the SPC, with allowances (notably the Living Alone Allowance) payable where applicable.
This Government acknowledges the important role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the current State Pension (Contributory) system provides measures including PRSI credits, Homemaking Disregards and HomeCaring Periods to recognise caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment in the calculation of a payment rate.
Despite these measures, some long-term carers of incapacitated dependents may still face barriers in accessing the State Pension (Contributory). They may for example have difficulty establishing the minimum number of 10 years' paid contributions.
In September 2022, I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system in response to the recommendations from the Pensions Commission. This set of measures represents the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system.
One of the key measures to be introduced is enhanced State Pension provision for people who have been caring for incapacitated dependents for 20 years or more. Where a person has not been in a position to satisfy the minimum of 520 paid contributions condition for pension purposes due to the time spent caring, they may be entitled to long-term carer's contributions.
Long-term carer's contributions can be awarded to a person who has cared for an incapacitated person for a period of 20 years or more. These contributions will be treated the same as paid contributions for State Pension (Contributory) entitlement only and can be used to satisfy the minimum 520 contributions condition.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
252. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current position in respect of restoration of a carer's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54417/23]
View answerCarer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.
It is a condition for receipt of CA that the person concerned must be providing full-time care and attention and it is a further condition that the person being cared for must require full-time care and attention.
I confirm that my Department received an application for CA from the person concerned on 27 August 2020.
Once claims are in payment, my Department undertakes periodic reviews to ensure that there is continued entitlement to payment. This includes reviews to ensure that the person being cared for continues to satisfy the care requirement.
A review of this CA claim commenced on 21 June 2023 when a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) called to the home of the person concerned to conduct an interview in relation to their continuing eligibility. The SWI submitted their report stating that the person concerned and the care recipient were out of the State. A letter issued to the person concerned on the same day advising that their CA claim would be suspended from 29 June 2023 as the information available to the Department was that they were out of the State and had failed to inform the Department. An overpayment was raised in respect of this period.
The CA claim was reinstated from 27 July 2023 after the Department was notified by the SWI that the person concerned and care recipient had returned to the State.
The SWI subsequently conducted a further review of the CA claim. The person concerned was asked to provide bank statements for previously undeclared accounts and also to explain various large transactions on statements that were provided for other accounts. On 27 September 2023, a letter issued to the person concerned advising them that their payment would be suspended from 5 October 2023 as they had not provided the requested information.
The person concerned wrote to the Department on 12 October 2023 stating that they wished to appeal the decision to suspend CA and would not be able to provide the requested bank statement as it was a payment platform and not an account. They did not provide explanations for the various large transactions. A reply issued on 13 October 2023 acknowledging receipt of their letter and requesting the outstanding information. A further letter was received on 7 November 2023 explaining the person concerned no longer has access to one account and the other outstanding account belonged to a relative. An explanation for the large transactions was still not provided.
Consequently, a letter issued to the person concerned on 13 November 2023 advising that their CA had been terminated from 5 October 2023 as they had failed to provide the documents that had been requested on 13 October 2023 and as such failed to show that their means do not exceed the statutory limit for receipt of CA. This letter offered the right to seek an appeal and/or review of this decision.
As the outstanding information has not been provided by the person concerned, CA remains terminated as means cannot be determined.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
253. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which her Department has direct contact with other jurisdictions with which a bilateral arrangement for social welfare exists, with particular reference to the need to ensure a smooth and expeditious process in dealing with claims particularly where contributions in two or more jurisdictions arise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54419/23]
View answerIn addition to the general EU regulations governing inter-operability of social welfare entitlements between the 27 member States of the EU, Ireland has also concluded 10 bilateral agreements on social security with countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Quebec, Switzerland, USA, South Korea and Japan. The agreements are limited to certain social welfare benefits and are predominantly pension-related.
The main purpose of these Agreements is to protect the social welfare entitlements of people who have worked and paid social security contributions in Ireland and the countries with which Ireland has such agreements. This is achieved by allowing reckonable social security contributions paid in one or more of these countries to be aggregated with Irish full-rate social insurance contributions for the purposes of qualifying for certain contributory payments in Ireland or in these countries.
Liaison arrangements are in place with the relevant authorities of the countries with which Ireland has Social Security Agreements, for the efficient transmission or request of information, in order to compile the full extent of a claimant’s insurance record.
254. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of carer's allowance whose allowance has been withdrawn for whatever reason in each of the past four years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54420/23]
View answerCarer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that, as a result, they require that level of care.
The numbers of Carer's Allowance claims where payment ceased in the years 2019, 2020, 2021 2022 and to date in 2023 are contained in the table below.
Payments cease where the customer no longer meets the eligibility criteria for the scheme. This may follow a notification from the customer or be the result of a review of eligibility initiated by my Department.
|
No. of Carer's Allowance Claims closed |
|
|
2023 (to 03/12/2023) |
7,923 |
|
2022 |
7,717 |
|
2021 |
6,666 |
|
2020 |
6,000 |
|
2019 |
6,367 |
255. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for pension based on a combination of Irish and overseas contributions that have yielded a lesser pension to the applicant than those based solely on single-country contributions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54421/23]
View answerUnder current eligibility conditions, an individual must have at least 520 full-rate paid contributions in order to qualify for standard State Pension (Contributory).
If a person was employed in another EU Member State, or in a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement, their entitlement to a pro-rata state pension (contributory) based on a combination of their insurance record in another EU Member State, or in a country with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement, and their Irish insurance record is also examined.
Under the regulations, their social insurance record in the EU Member State country, or one with which Ireland has a bilateral social security agreement can be combined with their Irish insurance record to give entitlement to a proportional or pro rata pension.
The person is paid the pension which is financially more beneficial to them. The pension awarded is dependent on a claimant’s work history and insurance record and could be either the standard State pension (contributory) or the pro-rata pension.
The information requested by the Deputy is not available. However, I can confirm that at the end of November 2023, 8% of SPC awarded claims are based on a combination of Irish and foreign insurance.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
256. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons in receipt of the State pension (contributory); the extent to which this number has fluctuated over the past ten years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54422/23]
View answerState Pension (Contributory) is a payment a person may qualify for at 66 years of age if they have enough Irish social insurance contributions.
At the end of November 2023 there were 505,475 persons in receipt of State Pension (Contributory). The number of recipients has risen steadily over the past ten years, as outlined in the below table for each calendar year 2013 to 2022.
|
Year |
Number of persons in receipt of State Pension (Contributory) |
|
2013 |
329,531 |
|
2014 |
346,420 |
|
2015 |
361,725 |
|
2016 |
377,062 |
|
2017 |
394,378 |
|
2018 |
411,660 |
|
2019 |
431,224 |
|
2020 |
449,442 |
|
2021 |
468,761 |
|
2022 |
484,541 |
257. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons in receipt of the State pension (non-contributory); the extent to which this number has fluctuated over the past ten years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54423/23]
View answerState pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a state pension contributory, or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record.
At end-November 2023, there were 100,065 (personal rate) recipients of state pension non-contributory.
The table below shows the end-year numbers of recipients of state pension non-contributory over the past 10 years. The numbers have remained relatively consistent, with an increase in recipients emerging only in the past 2 years. This increase can be primarily attributed to the awarding of state pension non-contributory to displaced persons from Ukraine, aged 66 and over, who have moved to reside in Ireland under the EU Temporary Protection Directive.
|
Date |
Number of recipients of SPNC (personal rate) |
|
31 December 2022 |
97,729 |
|
31 December 2021 |
95,010 |
|
31 December 2020 |
95,465 |
|
31 December 2019 |
94,854 |
|
31 December 2018 |
95,263 |
|
31 December 2017 |
95,140 |
|
31 December 2016 |
95,221 |
|
31 December 2015 |
95,179 |
|
31 December 2014 |
95,570 |
|
31 December 2013 |
95,801 |
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
258. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent, if any, to which time taken to determine appeals can be improved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54424/23]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that significant efforts and resources have been devoted to improvements in the appeal process in recent years. As a result average appeal processing times have generally improved between 2018 and 2022 from 30.0 weeks for an oral hearing in 2018 to 26.0 weeks in 2022, and from 24.8 weeks for a summary decision in 2018 to 15.0 weeks in 2022. The average time for all appeals finalised in 2022 was 14.9 weeks.
The desire to process appeals quickly has to be balanced with the competing demand to ensure that decisions are consistent and of high quality and made in accordance with the legislative provisions and the general principles of fair procedures and natural justice.
In any year about 85% of all claims are awarded by the Department and approximately 1% of all decisions are appealed. The Department endeavours to ensure that these cases are dealt with as quickly as possible. There is active engagement between the Appeals Office and the Department to ensure that the appeals process operates efficiently and that where the Deciding Officer's decision is not revised in favour of the appellant that the appeal file papers are provided as quickly as possible to the Appeals Office for consideration by an Appeals Officer.
Further improvements in appeals processing times are a priority for the Chief Appeals Officer. A significant Appeals Modernisation Project is currently underway the goal of which is to streamline and enhance the end-to-end appeals process for the customer, the Social Welfare Appeals Office and business areas across the Department. As part of this project a new IT system went live on the 6th November 2023. The new system will significantly reduce the time taken to register and acknowledge appeals lodged with the Appeals Office. Additional staff were assigned to the office as part of the project to assist with the preparation for and transition to the new IT system and the establishment of new procedures.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
259. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of exceptional needs payments made to persons or families in other than bereavement circumstances in each of the past five years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54425/23]
View answerUnder the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department can make Additional Needs Payments to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income.
Additional Needs Payments are an overarching term used to refer to Exceptional and Urgent Needs Payments, and certain other Supplements available to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from a person’s own resources, and which are deemed to be necessary.
Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation, and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.
Table 1 shows the Number of Additional Needs Payments, other than the Funeral Category and ongoing supplements, yearly from 2019 to end September 2023.
Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an additional needs payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Table 1 : Number of Additional Needs Payments, other than the Funeral Category and ongoing supplements, yearly from 2019 to end September 2023.
|
Year |
Total |
|
2019 |
89,293 |
|
2020 |
64,811 |
|
2021 |
53,107 |
|
2022 |
93,759 |
|
2023 (to end of Sep) |
65,593 |
