Vol. 471 No. 4
243 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason couples who are drawing unemployment assistance are allowed, in the event of a spouse taking employment, to earn £60 before the means test affects the total income whereas couples in receipt of a supplementary welfare allowance lose pound for pound of income if a spouse should take up employment; his views on whether this system should be equalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21003/96]
Where the spouse of a claimant for unemployment assistance is in employment, the first £45 of such weekly earnings plus travel expenses are disregarded in the assessment of means where the spouse works for more than three days per week. Where the spouse works for three days or less per week, the first £30 of weekly earnings plus travel expenses are disregarded.
Under existing provisions, every person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet his or her needs and those of his or her dependants is entitled to supplementary welfare allowance (SWA). SWA is a short-term payment which is designed to provide immediate assistance for those in need. While the earnings of a spouse are currently assessed in full for SWA purposes, a person who claims SWA pending a determination of his or her claim for unemployment assistance would nonetheless benefit from the earnings disregards when the claim for unemployment assistance is determined. The rationalisation of the different provisions for the assessment of means applied in the various social assistance is currently being examined in my Department having regard to the recently published inter-Departmental report on the development of an integrated social services system.
