asked the Minister for Social Welfare if she will state in respect of the proposed new regulations, what the position and income will be of a family with one school going son and where the total income at the moment is as follows: husband's total social welfare payments, £71 and working wife's total gross earnings, £62.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
55.
In the absence of more specific details, it is not possible to state precisely how the social welfare payments of the family in questions will be affected by the equality provisions.
As the wife's weekly income is in excess of £50, however, she will no longer qualify as an adult dependant and as a result, the husband will lose the increase in payment in respect of his wife and half of the increase in payment in respect of the child dependant. In the case of a married man with one qualified child dependant in receipt of the maximum urban rate of long term unemployment assistance, the weekly payment would be £41.05 instead of £71.85.
56.
asked the Minister for Social Welare if she will explain the circumstances under which social welfare payments to a person (details supplied) in Dublin on disability benefit for a long duration has been reduced by £16.60.
From 17 November 1986 men and women claiming benefit, assistance or pension under the Social Welfare Acts will be treated equally. Up to now a married man claiming a social welfare payment automatically got an increase of benefit for his wife and children living with him irrespective of whether they were dependants of his but a married woman could only get an increase of benefit for her husband and children in very restricted circumstances.
Since 17 November 1986 the definition of dependancy has been changed to make it the same for men and women thus removing the discrimination which has heretofore existed against married women. A spouse will be regarded as dependant of the other spouse only where he or she is being wholly or mainly maintained by that person and spouses entitled to social welfare payment in their own right or with earnings in excess of £50 a week will not be regarded as dependants.
The person concerned was in receipt of disability benefit at the personal rate of £41.10 plus an increase of £26.60 in respect of an adult dependant up to 15 November 1986. The claimant's wife is in receipt of an invalidity pension and consequently from 17 November 1986 he is entitled to £41.10 weekly, the maximum personal rate. A temporary payment of £10 a week will issue to the claimant in addition to the personal rate to compensate him for the loss of the adult dependant increase. This payment will continue to issue for the duration of his claim or for 52 weeks whichever is the lesser.
57.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare when a decision will be made on the case of a person (details supplied) in County Cork who was seen by the medical referee last week.
The medical referee who examined the person concerned on 7 November 1986 expressed the opinion that he was capable of work. He has been informed of the result of this examination and has been supplied with a form on which to set out the grounds for appeal if he wishes to have his case referred to an Appeals Officer for determination.
58.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary has not been paid pay related benefit while she was claiming disability benefit for the period of 13 weeks from December 1985 to April 1986; when this will be paid; and the amount which will be paid.
The person concerned claimed disability benefit from 27 December 1985 and all benefit payable has been issued to 5 April 1986 the date before she was fit to resume work. She was not entitled to pay-related benefit as her recorded earnings of £455 in the 1983-84 contribution year which governed her claim were less than the minimum level of £1,800 necessary to give rise to entitlement of pay-related benefit.
59.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason an old age pension was refused to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary as certified evidence of the transfer of property has been notified to her Department; and when this will be restored; and the amount of arrears which will be paid.
The person concerned is at present in receipt of an old age pension at the weekly rate of £29.75 which includes £10 in respect of an adult dependant. This is the rate to which he is entitled having regard to the assessment of his means consisting of the weekly letting value of a holding and capital. The transfer of the holding has not been accepted for old age pension purposes as the transferee is in full time employment. The disposal of a large part of the capital has not been accepted for old age purposes, as satisfactory evidence of its disposal has not been received.
60.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if she will arrange to have the full rate of unemployment assistance paid to a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny, who is married with four dependent children and is in receipt of a reduced amount of assistance at present.
The person concerned was in receipt of unemployment assistance at the weekly rate of £92.35 up to 17 May 1986 when he ceased to sign the unemployed register. This was the appropriate maximum rate payable in his case as a long term unemployed person. To qualify for payment of unemployment assistance at the long term rate a claimant must normally have been unemployed for a continuous period of 390 days. Where there is a break between two unemployment assistance claims the long term rate continues where that break is less than 20 consecutive weeks.
The person concerned again claimed unemployment assistance from 6 October 1986. As more than 20 weeks had elapsed since the termination of his earlier claim he was not entitled to payment at the long term rate. Accordingly, the claim was allowed at the appropriate maximum short term rate, payable in his case, of £89.90 weekly.
61.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare when a decision will be made on the supplementary application for unemployment assistance for a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and when an oral hearing will be given to him.
Following reinvestigation, the unemployment assistance claim of the person concerned was disallowed on the grounds that his means, derived from the profit from his holding, exceeded the statutory limit. He appealed against the disallowance and, on 13 November 1986, an appeals officer also disallowed his claim.
Regulations provide that, if an appeals officer is of the opinion that a case is of such a nature that it can be decided without an oral hearing, he may dispense with the hearing and decide the case summarily. The appeals officer was of the opinion that this case was of such a nature and, therefore, he decided it summarily.
The decision of the appeals officer is final in the absence of new facts or fresh evidence. However, if the person concerned feels that there were facts or evidence which were not available to the appeals officer he should send them to the Department and they will be submitted to the appeals officer to enable him to re-examine the case.