Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 2 Jul 1996

Vol. 467 No. 7

Written Answers. - Means Test Standardisation.

Joe Walsh

Question:

309 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to standardise the means test across the various social assistance schemes in order to improve the equality of the social welfare system as recommended by the Comptroller and Auditor General. [14252/96]

Minister for Social Welfare (Proinsias De Rossa)

The issue raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General in this report regarding the administration of means tests is a matter of concern, both from the point of view of the inconvenience to claimants and of efficiency. This has been an issue for successive Ministers for Social Welfare but only a limited amount of progress has been made in simplifying the present arrangements.

Means testing criteria are broadly similar for all social assistance schemes. Nevertheless, there are variations in the manner in which some of the components are assessed. These relate mainly to the treatment of capital and income from employment where different levels of disregards and rates of assessment are applied across the various schemes.

The integrated social service system committee was set up to devise a more integrated approach to the administration, delivery, management and control of statutory services generally. The committee examined the issues associated with means assessments, including the number of means tests a person has to undergo to get various entitlements, the reasons why different assessments are applied across different schemes and the possibility of different agencies sharing data for means purposes. The committee has completed its work and its report has been approved by the Government. This report will be published shortly.

I intend, over time, to standardise the method of assessing capital across the various social assistance schemes so as to improve the equality of the system. I have commenced this process in the Social Welfare Act, 1996, which provides for a new method of assessing capital in the case of the new disability allowance and the new one-parent family payment. The Act provides that the first £2,000 of capital will be disregarded, the next £20,000 will be assessed at 7.5 per cent and capital in excess of £22,000 will be assessed at 15 per cent.