Written Answers. - Disabilities Report.
Mary Wallace
Question:
8
Miss M. Wallace
asked the
Minister for Social Welfare
the current status of the work within his Department on the implementation of the report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities since its publication five months ago.
[10142/97]
Following the publication of the report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, the Government decided to prepare a plan of action on the rights of people with disabilities. In this regard, the Minister for Equality and Law Reform has established an interdepartment task force comprising representatives of relevant Government Departments to prepare the Government's plan of action in response to the report.
My Department, which is represented on the task force, is currently analysing and evaluating the wide range of recommendations contained in the report which are of relevance. The task force is due to report to the Government by the end of June.
However, the Deputy will be pleased to know that I have already taken significant steps to improve the position of people with disabilities, in advance of the Government's action plan being finalised. This year's budget provides for the introduction of a comprehensive package of measures, costing over £10.5 million in 1997 and over £18.5 million in a full year, to further assist people with disabilities, many of which are in line with the Commission's recommendations. These measures include: special increases in social welfare rates over and above the rate of inflation, which brings the invalidity pension up to the target rate recommended by the Commission on Social Welfare (CSW) and disability allowance, blind person's pension and disability benefit up from 95 per cent to 98 per cent of the CSW rate; a new part-payment of disability allowance for those in part-time residential care; two personal rates to be paid to couples where one is getting disability allowance and the other either invalidity pension or old age pension; the disregard of earnings from rehabilitative employment is being increased to £36.30 a week in the case of disability allowance, blind person's pension and supplementary welfare allowance; an additional payment of 50 per cent is to be paid to recipients of carer's allowance providing care to more than one person; the full-time care and attention condition is being relaxed for carer's allowance purposes where the care recipient is attending a recognised rehabilitative course or day care centre; constant attendance allowance payable under the occupational injuries benefit scheme is being extended to disablement pensioners who are also receiving another social insurance payment; survivor's benefit under the occupational injuries benefit scheme will be paid where disablement of 50 per cent or more has been assessed, regardless of the cause of death; and the free travel companion pass is being extended to all registered blind persons and the conditions for entitlement to the free telephone rental allowance are being relaxed to allow certain other persons to reside with the recipient without affecting their entitlement.
I am also introducing a new social assistance scheme sickness allowance from November for people who are incapable of work and not entitled to disability benefit or not permanently incapacitated. Taken with the take-over of the disability allowance scheme last year by my Department, this means that we now have in place, for the very first time, a comprehensive system of income support for people who are sick and people with disabilities.
In parallel with this measure, the disability benefit and invalidity pension schemes are being renamed sickness benefit and disability pension, in line with the Commission's recommendations.
In addition, 1,000 places are being reserved under the back-to-work allowance scheme for a pilot scheme for people with disabilities, to facilitate their integration into mainstream employment. The scheme, which will be open to people who have been in receipt of disability allowance or blind person's pension for at least 12 months, is currently being finalised and I expect that it will be in operation by the end of this month.
As soon as the Government's plan of action has been agreed, I will be in a position to indicate the further steps which I intend taking to implement those recommendations for which my Department has responsibility.
