Thomas P. Broughan
Question:246 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will double the minimum unemployment assistance payment to £50 per week, allowing for relatives, means, board and lodging. [23135/98]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
In assessing a person's means for unemployment assistance purposes, account is taken of any cash income the person may have together with the value of any capital or property. In addition, the value of any benefit or privilege enjoyed by a claimant, such as that of board and lodging in the family home, is assessed.
Under current arrangements, any claimant, irrespective of age, whose sole means are derived from the assessment of board and lodging in the parental home and is entitled to less than £25 per week, has their unemployment assistance payment increased to £25. This means, for instance, that where the combined net parental income does not exceed £19,698 per annum, a claimant is entitled to at least the minimum £25 weekly payment of unemployment assistance. However, this measure only applies to claimants who have an underlying entitlement to an unemployment assistance payment. in cases where the parental means are above the threshold, unemployment assistance is not payable.
Any modification on the lines proposed by the Deputy would need to be examined in the context of a more general examination of current arrangements for assessing benefit and privilege.
It is estimated that the cost of doubling the minimum unemployment assistance payment to £50 a week would be in the region of £0.4 million in a full year. This proposal or any more general improvement in this regard would have to be considered in a budgetary context, in the light of available resources and having regard to the commitments contained in the Government programme An Action Programme for the Millennium, Partnership 2000 and the national anti-poverty strategy.
Bernard Allen
Question:247 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to a decision made by the Southern Health Board to withdraw a rent subsidy to a person in view of the fact he was renting a house from his son and was told that he would have to surrender the tenancy and find alternative accommodation at an equivalent rent before he would requalify for the rent subsidy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23006/98]
The purpose of rent supplements is to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible persons living in private rented accommodation who are unable to provide for their, accommodation costs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from another source.
Entitlement to a rent supplement is determined by the health boards in accordance with the appropriate legislative provisions. The health board must be satisfied that the claimant is a bona fide tenant, in need of accommodation and is unable to provide for it from his own resources.
The person concerned is the proprietor of a property at another address and has statutory rights of residence at that address. For that reason, he is not eligible for rent supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme and would not be eligible if he were to rent another property. The payment of rent supplement has ceased.
John Browne
Question:248 Mr. Browne (Carlow/Kilkenny) asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of people who qualify for contributory old age pension and have not applied; the number who have applied late; and the plans, if any, he has to ensure that justice is done to those who have contributed over the years towards their pension but have not claimed for this. [23032/98]
It is not possible to establish in present circumstances if there are people with an entitlement to pension who have not applied. It is advisable for people to have their entitlement determined by my Department in any case where they have been gainfully occupied and where they are uncertain as to their position. Information leaflets and application forms for this purpose are widely available.
Statistics as to the number of people who apply late for pension are not maintained on a systematic basis. Under existing legislation where a claim is not made in time, payment can only be backdated for a specified period, the duration of which varies with the type of claim.
The legislation in this matter has recently been significantly improved in the case of retirement, old age and widow or widower's contributory pensions. Previously the general limit on back-dating of payments in these cases was six months. The limit was extended to 12 months in the 1997 Social Welfare Act. This means that full arrears is payable from then for up to 12 months prior to the date of claim.
Furthermore, under regulations I made in February last, a proportion of arrears due in respect of the period beyond 12 months may also be paid. The regulations provide for further arrears payments, in cases where claims are delayed due toforce majeure, proven incapacity on the part of the applicant or to departmental error, and also to alleviate current financial hardship. These improvements benefited a total of 180 late applicants for old age contributory pension whose claims were made in the period between January 1997 and February 1998. Late applicants are continuing to benefit from these provisions on an ongoing basis.
In the context of a major upgrading of the pensions computer systems which is planned, it is proposed that provision will be included to identify and advise people with a potential qualification for contributory old age pension of their possible entitlement in advance of pension age. This facility will not, however, be available before the year 2000. In the meantime every effort is being made, as part of my Department's Customer Action Plan, to ensure that people are made aware of the Department's schemes and that relevant information is available in an effective and accessible form.
Tony Gregory
Question:249 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if payment of a lone parent's allowance will be expedited for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7. [23112/98]
The person concerned is receiving unemployment benefit at the rate of £83.70 per week. She applied for one parent family payment in April last and the Department regrets the delay in processing the claim. Arrangements have been made to have the necessary enquiries completed urgently and a decision on the claim will be made and the person concerned will be notified as soon as possible.
Richard Bruton
Question:250 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will review the provision whereby parents eligible for the free scheme lose this entitlement when a child who is in full time education ceases to qualify for the child dependant allowance on age grounds in view of the fact that these families bear a double hardship of losing the allowance and losing these schemes without any change in their financial circumstances, as in a case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9. [23248/98]
The free schemes such as free electricity allowance, free TV licence and free telephone rental allowance are available to people living in the State, aged 66 or over, who are in receipt of a welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The free schemes are also available to people with disabilities under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain welfare type pensions. In addition, widows or widowers aged from 60 to 65 whose late spouses had been in receipt of the free schemes retain that entitlement.
In order to qualify for the free schemes, the person must be living alone or only with certain excepted categories who satisfy this condition. This condition is not, however, applied in the case of persons aged over 75 years who are in receipt of a qualifying payment. Dependent children) under the age of 18, or under the age of 22 if in full-time education, are excepted under this condition.
The free schemes were originally designed to benefit mainly older people who were living alone and required additional assistance. However, over the years, additional categories of people have been included. It is proposed to undertake a fundamental review of the free schemes, commencing in early 1999, to assess whether the objectives of these schemes are being achieved in the most efficient and effective manner and the Deputy's proposal will be examined as part of that review.