Michael Creed
Question:47 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will extend the scheme of family income supplement to the self-employed and the farming community. [18721/98]
Written Answers. - Family Income Supplement.
John Browne
Question:49 Mr. Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to reconsider the exclusion of the self-employed and farmers from availing of family income supplement; the additional cost involved in including these families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18688/98]
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Question:116 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to extend the family income supplement to farmers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18805/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 47, 49 and 116 together.
Family income supplement, FIS, has, since its introduction in 1984, been confined to employees on low incomes with families and is designed to provide them with an incentive to take up or remain in full-time employment.
At present, self-employed people whose income falls below the rate of unemployment assistance, UA, appropriate to their family circumstances are entitled to claim UA. The rate of UA payable depends on the person's means. In assessing means, account is taken of the net income which the applicant may reasonably expect to receive in the next year. About 7,000 people, many with families, benefit under this scheme at a cost of £33 million per year.
The most recent estimate of the costs involved in extending FIS to the self-employed, including smallholders, was prepared some four years ago in 1994. It was estimated then that implementing such a proposal could give rise to additional expenditure of £30 million in a full year.
These estimates were subject to some data limitations and do not take account of changes to the FIS scheme itself in the interim — most notably, the introduction of net income assessment from this month — or of changes in the profile of likely recipients. My Department is currently engaged in preparing revised estimates of the costs involved.
The preliminary indications from this work suggest that the updated cost of extending FIS to the self-employed could be significantly more than the 1994 estimate, and perhaps even as high as £80 million. It is evident, in any event, that there would be very substantial costs involved in introducing this measure and it would be a matter for consideration therefore in a budgetary context and in the light of other priorities.