John Browne
Question:216 Mr. Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs his views on whether the current situation of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow is a deterrent against work. [19571/97]
Written Answers. - Incentives to Work.
Social Welfare legislation provides that income received by an applicant from insurable earnings must be assessed as means for unemployment assistance purposes. Consequently, where a person is insurably employed on one, two or three days per week and claims unemployment assistance for the remaining days, his or her earnings are assessable as means.
Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme a weekly supplement may be paid in respect of rent or mortgage interest to people who are unable to meet their housing needs from their own resources. Entitlement to a supplement is determined by the health boards and supplements are normally calculated to ensure that the person, after payment of rent or mortgage interest, has an income equal to the rate of SWA appropriate to the family circumstances, less £6. This £6 represents the minimum contribution which clients are required to pay from their own resources. In the calculation of the amount of rent supplement payable, the legislation enables the health board to set rent limits.
The national programme Partnership 2000 recognised that the rent and mortgage supplements payable under the SWA scheme, can have a significant impact on the incentive for unemployed people to avail of work and training opportunities. The programme contains a specific commitment to examine how this can be alleviated. As a first step towards this, my Department has engaged consultants to review the effects of secondary benefits on the incentive to take up and remain in employment and training and I expect that their report, which is intended to be available by year-end, will provide useful guidance to policy development in this area.