Vol. 476 No. 7
332 Mr. Martin asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will have arrangements made to pay full arrears to widows and old age pensioners who claimed their entitlements late due to ignorance of their entitlements; and if he will confirm that he has responded to the final draft of the Ombudsman's report on this issue. [7947/97]
Following a review of the current rules, this year's budget provided for the extension of the period during which arrears are paid in the case of late claims from six months to one year. The revised arrangements, which will apply in the case of retirement pension, old age (contributory) pension, widow's and widower's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance, are contained in section 32 of the Social Welfare Bill, 1997. This Bill is currently passing through the Houses of the Oireachtas. The new arrangements, which will be brought into force as soon as the Bill has been enacted, will apply in relation to claims received on or after 1 January 1997.
The provisions governing the payment of arrears on foot of late claims have given rise to a certain amount of criticism over the years, particularly in so far as claims for old age (contributory) pension and widow's and widower's (contributory) pensions are concerned. A number of complaints have been made to the Ombudsman over the years and the issue has been highlighted in several of the Ombudsman's annual reports. The issue is currently the subject of an investigation under section 4 (2) of the Ombudsman Act, 1980. In this regard the Ombudsman has now completed his investigation and in accordance with section 6 (3) of the Ombudsman Act, he has recently sought the Department's response to the recommendations contained in his report. The Department will be in a position to formulate its response in the near future when the provisions contained in section 32 of the Social Welfare Bill, 1997, have been enacted. These provisions arise from some of the issues raised by the Ombudsman in the various consultations with my Department during the investigation.
Firstly, section 32 incorporates into primary legislation existing regulatory provisions governing the payment of arrears on foot of late claims for the various social welfare payments, i.e. the payment of arrears to people who fail to claim within the prescribed time is generally limited to six months.
Secondly, it provides for the extension, from six to 12 months, of the period in respect of which arrears of old age (contributory) pension, retirement pension, widow's (contributory) pension, widower's (contributory) pension and orphan's (contributory) allowance may be paid.
Thirdly, this section provides for payment of arrears of up to six months in the case of late claims for family income supplement. Under the present arrangements, there are no provisions for payment of arrears of FIS.
