asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the hardship created by the existing regulation on unemployment assistance which does not allow for the mortgage or rents paid from a spouse's earnings and where the social welfare officer makes the assessment based on the spouse's gross earnings; the plans he has to change this unfair and unjust regulation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Unemployment Assistance Regulation.
1.
The manner of assessment of means for unemployment assistance purposes is set out in social welfare legislation.
Prior to November 1986, any income that the wife of an unemployment assistance applicant had from employment was assessed in accordance with section 146 (1) (b) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1981, which provided that all income an applicant might reasonably expect to receive during the succeeding year as head of household was to be taken into account as means. In applying this provision, my Department's deciding officers and appeals officers took the view that the husband, as head of the household, could not normally expect to receive that portion of his wife's earnings which was used to make rent or mortgage payments. Accordingly, the amount of weekly rent or mortgage payment was deducted from the wife's earnings before assessing her income as means.
The Social Welfare (No. 2) Act, 1985, provided for equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security. On the introduction of this legislation, the reference to "head of household" in section 146 of the 1981 Act had to be deleted because the concept was incompatible with the principle of equal treatment.
The position now is that any income from employment which the spouse of an unemployment assistance applicant may have is assessed in accordance with section 146 (1) (e) of the 1981 Act, as inserted by section 13 (1) of the 1985 Act. This section provides that the estimated value to the household deriving from all income earned by an applicant's spouse in respect of current personal employment under a contract of employment is assessable as means. As any portion of the spouse's earnings which may be used to make rent and mortgage payments is of value to the household, it cannot be disregarded in assessing the spouse's income as means.
I should point out that the current provision applies to spouses, whether men or women, and not just wives as was the situation previously. I was very much aware, however, when this provision was being introduced in November 1986, that the discontinuation of the allowance in respect of mortgage and rent would mean an increase in the means of many married male applicants whose claims were current at the time. It was to avoid hardship to these applicants, some of whom would have been enjoying the allowance for a long time, that the Minister made regulations which provided that where an allowance in respect of rent or mortgage had been made by virtue of the "head of the household" provision, such allowance could continue until the end of the current claim. Many applicants are continuing to benefit from this measure.
I would like to mention also that anyone having difficulty in meeting rent or mortgage payments can claim a supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. Application for this supplement can be made to the community welfare officer at the local health centre.
In conclusion, the Deputy is not correct in alleging that the assessment of a spouse's income from employment is based on gross earnings. The manner of assessment in such cases is first to deduct any PAYE and PRSI payments; an amount in respect of the spouse's travel expenses to and from work is then deducted; finally, an allowance — currently £45 a week — in respect of employment related expenses is deducted. It is only after all of these deductions have been made that the balance is assessed as means. The reason for these deductions is that they are of no value to the household.