asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason for the refusal to pay a person (details supplied) in County Limerick his correct disability benefits of £77.70 instead of the present rate of £51.10 as his wife is earning only £38.25 per week; when this money will be paid; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
135.
The person concerned is claiming disability benefit since 15 November 1986. Payment at the weekly rate of £51.10, the maximum rate appropriate to a married man whose wife is not wholly or mainly dependent on him, has been issued to 12 December 1986, the date of the latest medical certificate received.
He is also in receipt of pay-related benefit at the weekly rate of £27.43 from 6 December, 1986, the nineteenth day of incapacity. All benefit payable in respect of his claim to date has been issued to him. Further inquiries regarding the claimant's wife's income are now being made and the claim will be reviewed when these are completed.
137.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7 is only entitled to £16.50 per week supplementary welfare for herself and her child's upkeep.
The person concerned resides with her widowed mother who is in receipt of a prescribed relative allowance in respect of her. The Eastern Health Board, which is the responsible authority in this case, has determined that the amount of supplementary welfare allowance in payment to the person concerned is correct having regard to the circumstances of the household.
138.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if a person (details supplied) in County Wexford will be considered for an invalidity pension; if so, if an application form will be forwarded to him; and if it will be favourably considered.
A form on which to claim invalidity pension has been forwarded to the person concerned and on its return, duly completed, the claim will be dealt with without delay.
139.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if she will clarify, whether a condition relating to the prescribed relative's allowance scheme namely that the prescribed relative must not be a married person who is wholly or mainly maintained by his/her spouse is in conformity with the Equal Treatment directive; or if she would consider amending this aspect of the regulations for eligibility to ensure elderly people could be cared for in a family home situation rather than in institutional care; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
The prescribed relative allowance is an increase of the pension payable to an incapacitated pensioner who is receiving full-time care and attention from a prescribed relative. One of the conditions for receipt of the allowance is that the relative must not be a married person who is wholly or mainly maintained by his/her spouse. This condition applies equally to both married men and married women and is therefore not in connict with the EC Directive on equal treatment as between men and women in matters of social security.
The recommendations of the Commission on Social Welfare are at present being examined and all social welfare schemes will be reviewed in that context.
140.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason supplementary welfare allowance is being refused to those people who are on unemployment assistance and are attending AnCO courses.
142.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if given that AnCO is not an educational establishment for the purposes of section 201 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 1985, she will explain the reason those people who have family commitments are being refused supplementary welfare allowances.
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 140 and 142 together.
Section 201 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981 provides that persons receiving full-time education are not entitled to supplementary welfare allowance. Persons attending AnCO courses are not regarded as receiving full-time education and are not debarred from receiving supplementary welfare allowances on that account.
The Department has been unable to identify cases where supplementary welfare allowance has been refused on the ground that the applicant was attending an AnCO course. If the Deputy has details of any particular case where this is alleged to have occurred the matter will be taken up with the appropriate health board and the circumstances of the case examined.
141.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason a delay has occurred in the issuing of an invalidity pension cheque to a person (details supplied) in Dublin 22 in view of the fact that it was approved on 30 October 1986; and if she will arrange for a cheque to be issued immediately in order to alleviate further hardship to this family.
The person concerned was awarded an invalidity pension from 23 January 1986. A pension book payable from 20 November 1986 was issued to the designated post office of payment on 7 November 1986. A payable order for £543.40 to cover arrears of invalidity pension due for the period from 23 January 1986 to 19 November 1986 was issued to the person concerned on 10 December 1986.
The pension could not be awarded earlier or arrears paid sooner as the claim had to be duly investigated and processed.
143.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the projected cost of paying small farmers' unemployment assistance in a full year.
144.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of small farmers in receipt of unemployment assistance at present; and the number who applied and were rejected this year.
It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 143 and 144 together.
There were 15,350 smallholders in receipt of unemployment assistance on 28 November 1986. The cost of unemployment assistance for smallholders is estimated at £37 million in 1986.
The number of smallholders who applied for unemployment assistance in 1986 and whose applications were refused is not available as statistics of this kind are not maintained.
145.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason disability benefit has been refused to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary who suffers from serious back trouble and was turned down by two medical referees and was then refused on appeal as she is still attending an orthopaedic surgeon and has a very serious problem; and if disability benefit will be restored.
An appeals officer decided that the person concerned was not incapable of work during the period from 17 March 1986 to 25 September 1986, the date of the latest medical certificate before him at the time, and is not entitled to be paid disability benefit in respect of that period.
An appeals officer's decision is final and can only be altered in the light of new facts or fresh evidence.
The person continued to submit medical certificates after the period covered by the appeals officer's decision and her claim from 26 September 1986 was also disallowed. She appealed against this further disallowance and arrangements have been made to have her examined by a different medical referee on 31 December 1986. Her case will then be reviewed on receipt of the medical referee's report.
146.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if unemployment assistance will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary who was penalised for six weeks payments because she had to leave her home address in Cork; if she will take into consideration that she left her home in Cork because of serious family problems and had to do so through no fault of her own; and when these payments will be made.
The person concerned claimed unemployment benefit from 26 August 1986 and, following inquiries, her claim was disallowed for six weeks from the last date of employment, 9 August 1986, on the grounds that she left her employment voluntarily without just cause. Payment was authorised from 20 September 1986.
She appealed against the disallowance and arrangements have been made to have an oral hearing of her case by an appeals officer at the earliest available opportunity.
Her entitlement to unemployment benefit for the period 26 August 1986 to 19 September 1986 will be reviewed in the light of the decision of the appeals officer.
The claim of the person concerned was allowed from 20 September 1986, at the appropriate weekly rate of £41.10 and she is also entitled to pay-related benefit of £6.97 weekly.
Combined weekly payments of £48.07 will continue to be made to her as they become due.
147.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason unemployment assistance of £26.10 per week which used to be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary has been discontinued; if she is aware that the investigating officer decided in error that this man was working as this is not so; and when these payments will be restored as this man is only getting supplementary welfare allowances and the family are almost destitute.
Following investigation, the unemployment assistance claim of the person concerned was disallowed on the grounds that, by failing to furnish details of his means, he failed to show that his means did not exceed the statutory limit. In this regard the social welfare officer was satisfied that the person concerned was engaged in self-employment as a cabinet-maker and he failed to provide details of his income from this source.
He appealed against the disallowance on 7 December 1986 and his papers were returned to the social welfare officer to afford him a further opportunity to co-operate in the investigation of his means.
This investigation will be completed as soon as possible and his case will then be submitted to an appeals officer for determination at the earliest available opportunity.
The entitlement of the person concerned to unemployment assistance will be reviewed in the light of the outcome of the appeal.