Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Pádraic McCormack
Question:
45
Mr. McCormack
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
if, as a result of the 1994 budget, recipients of the disabled person's maintenance allowance whose spouse is currently in receipt of a carer's allowance will qualify for free telephone rental allowance as and from July 1994; if so, if such persons have to apply to his Department or if it will be granted to them automatically; if recipients of disabled persons maintenance allowance are classified by his Department as pensioners; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The free telephone rental allowance administered by my Department is available only to people who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments and who are either living alone or only with children or persons who, because they are so permanently incapacitated, could not get help in an emergency. Recipients of a disabled person's maintenance allowance from a health board have been entitled to a free telephone rental allowance since 1981, subject to satisfying the other conditions relevant to the scheme.
The improvement in the free telephone rental allowance, which I announced in last month's budget, means that a recipient of a qualifying payment, including a disabled person's maintenance allowance, who is being cared for by a recipient of a carer's allowance may qualify for the free telephone rental allowance (or have the allowance restored to him/her) from July next, subject to satisfying the other conditions. All applicants for the free telephone rental allowance must complete a claim form which is available from any post office. In the case of disabled person's maintenance allowance recipients, there is space on the claim form for health boards to certify details of their payment.
Bernard Allen
Question:
46
Mr. Allen
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
the proposals, if any, he has to extend the free schemes, now being granted to widows aged 60 and over if their husbands previously had the benefit of free schemes, to all widows 60 and over; and if he will introduce this in the Social Welfare Bill.
Schemes such as free electricity allowance, free natural gas allowance, free television licence and free telephone rental are available only to people who are in receipt of certain social welfare type payments and who satisfy the living alone conditions relevant to those schemes. The cost of the schemes is currently of the order of £50 million a year.
As I announced in last month's budget, a number of improvements in the free schemes will be introduced from next July. These include the retention of the free schemes by widows aged 60 and over as the survivors of recipients, provided they continue to satisfy the other conditions of the schemes. The question of extending these schemes to additional groups, including widows who are not covered by the latest improvement, would have to be considered in the light of available resources.
Bernard Allen
Question:
47
Mr. Allen
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
when the second phase of the equality benefits social welfare scheme will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork.
Arrears due under the equal treatment legislative provisions for the period December 1984 to November 1986 were mainly paid in two phases. Phase 1 provided for the payment of arrears in respect of the personal rates of benefit and duration of unemployment. Phase 2 provided for the payment of household supplement for dependants.
The person concerned was in receipt of unemployment benefit and disability benefit during the relevant period. She was paid her Phase 1 entitlement in September 1992.
She was not entitled to payment of household supplement for dependants under Phase 2 of the provisions because her husband was also in receipt of a social welfare payment during the relevant period. Her husband received full dependency increases on his claim for his wife and children. In accordance with the legislative provisions in such cases the household supplement is deemed to have been fully paid to both spouses.
She was notified of the position regarding Phase 2 entitlement on 17 June 1993. She did not appeal against the decision.
Bernard Allen
Question:
48
Mr. Allen
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
the reason no retrospective payments under the equality treatment regulations were paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork.
The legislative provisions governing the payment of equal treatment arrears apply to married women who were receiving certain social welfare entitlements during the period December 1984 to November 1986.
While the person concerned was in receipt of a social welfare payment she was not married during the relevant period and consequently the equal treatment provisions do not apply to her. She has not applied for any payment under the relevant provisions.
Peter Barry
Question:
49
Mr. Barry
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
if he will confirm that the number of people living in poverty in the country is now over 1.2 million and that the figure has risen substantially since 1987; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The extent of poverty in Ireland was the subject of a research study carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute in 1987 which was partially funded by my Department. The ESRI study made use of a number of different approaches to this question. In particular, it estimated the number of people living in households with incomes below certain arbitrarily chosen percentages — 40 per cent, 50 per cent and 60 per cent — of average incomes adjusted for household size. It must be stressed, however, that nowhere in that, nor in any other study, is there a definitive conclusion as to what constitutes a "poverty line" or how many people live in poverty.
As this survey is now seven years old, in this year's budget I provided £150,000 towards the funding of a new ESRI study on poverty in Ireland.
The period since 1987 has seen substantial increases in the real level of all weekly social welfare payments. In this year's budget, I provided for a 3 per cent increase in rates of payment across the board with effect from July. This increase applies to personal rates, adult dependant and child dependant allowances. Over 822,000 people and their 627,000 dependants will benefit, including pensioners, widows, lone parents and people who are out of work because of illness or unemployment.
In addition to the general 3 per cent increase, a further 3 per cent increase (or £1.60 a week) will be given to all short term weekly payments in order to bring them up to the Commission on Social Welfare's priority rates. The short term payments in question are disability benefit, unemployment benefit, injury benefit, short term unemployment assistance, supplementary welfare allowance and unemployability supplement. One hundred and eighty-five thousand people will benefit. This means that all social welfare rates will have reached the priority rates recommended by the Commission on Social Welfare.
I am also introducing further significant improvements for child benefit in line with the overall approach of developing child benefit as the main element of child income support. This year, the higher rate of £23 will be increased to £25 and, in addition, is being applied to the third and subsequent children. The new payments structure from next September will be £20 for each of the first two children and £25 for each thereafter.
While the primary function of social welfare continues to be the provision of an income for those who, through illness, unemployment or old age, are unable to support themselves or their families, an adequate and efficient income maintenance system cannot, of itself, be regarded as a complete response to the needs of those most at risk of poverty. The 1987 study shows that the greatest single factor which places families at risk of poverty is unemployment. Over the years, I have introduced a range of measures aimed at helping the long term unemployed to reintegrate into the workforce. These initiatives include:
—a back to work allowance aimed at additional employment in indigenous industries and the voluntary-community sectors,
—second-chance education opportunities for those who wish to undertake second and third level courses,
—special incentives for unemployed people in disadvantaged areas who wish to participate in paid employment, self-employment and the Community Employment Development Programme,
—allowing unemployed people to work with voluntary groups,
—introduction of successive PRSI exemption schemes for employers who take on new employees from the live register.
The Government's allocation for supporting voluntary organisations who work to tackle poverty and social exclusion was also substantially increased in the budget, from £4.73 million in 1993 to £7.23 million in 1994.
The extent of the Government's commitment to tackling the problem of unemployment is recognised through the central position given to it in the budget, the National Development Plan and the new Programme for Competitiveness and Work.
Noel Ahern
Question:
50
Mr. N. Ahern
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
the number of widows who have entitlements to the fuel allowance under the old urban scheme in the Dublin area; and if the eligibility requirements are income related or related to the length of time as a widow.
Prior to October 1988, there were two fuel schemes in operation with two separate eligibility criteria. The urban fuel scheme was administered by the local authorities and people in receipt of a contributory or a non-contributory widow's pension had an automatic entitlement to a fuel allowance regardless of their income from the date of application. Under the national fuel scheme, which was administered by the health boards, an applicant had to be in receipt of a long term social welfare or health board payment and had to satisfy a means test before a fuel allowance could be paid.
The urban and national fuel schemes were amalgamated in October, 1988 and I introduced a single fuel scheme.
A widow who had been in receipt of a fuel allowance under the urban fuel scheme but failed to meet the qualifying conditions under the new Department of Social Welfare fuel scheme retained her entitlement to the fuel allowance under a "saver" clause, for as long as her circumstances remained as they were prior to the amalgamation of the two schemes.
In the Dublin area, there are approximately 12,900 widows in receipt of the fuel allowance who previously qualified for the allowance under the old urban fuel scheme.
