Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 24 Nov 1998

Vol. 497 No. 2

Written Answers - Social Welfare Benefits.

Liz McManus

Question:

39 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs his response to the recently published report of the interdepartmental committee on the carer's allowance; if he will implement the recommendations in the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24609/98]

Pádraic McCormack

Question:

54 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to implement the recommendations in the recently published report of the working group on the review of the carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19987/98]

Willie Penrose

Question:

296 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he has met with the Carers' Association in the context of the forthcoming budget; the proposals, if any, he has to deal with the means testing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24680/98]

Róisín Shortall

Question:

298 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he has satisfied himself with the current rate of payment to carers; and the plans, if any, he has to substantially increase this payment in the forthcoming budget. [18892/98]

Ivor Callely

Question:

304 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the potential of the carer's allowance scheme, particularly if the scheme is broadened between his Department and the Department of Health and Children; the consideration, if any, he has given this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24723/98]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 39, 54, 296, 298 and 304 together.

The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment to carers on low incomes who live with and look after certain people who need full-time care and attention. There are over 11,000 carers in receipt of the carer's allowance at an estimated annual cost of £45 million.

I have met the Carers' Association on a number of occasions and I am aware of its views, concerns and priorities in relation to carers. It has also met the working group on the review of the carer's allowance. In addition, it attended and made a submission at the pre-budget forum which was organised by my Department to give voluntary organisations the opportunity to have a meaningful input into the budgetary process.

In its An Action Programme for the Millennium, the Government is committed to progressively relaxing the qualifying criteria for the carer's allowance to ensure that more carers can get the benefit and increasing the value of the allowance in real terms.

In line with these commitments, an overall review of the carer's allowance was completed by an interdepartmental committee, chaired by my Department, and was launched by me last month.

The review puts forward a number of specific proposals in relation to the carer's allowance for consideration. The review considers that these proposals, at a total full-year cost of almost £16 million would, if implemented, remove certain inconsistencies in the carer's allowance and considerably improve the overall situation for an estimated 11,000 to 12,000 carers.

The review examined the means test and considered that it should be maintained as a way of targeting scarce public resources towards those who are most in need. The means test applied to the carer's allowance is one of the most generous means-tested payments, in terms of the assessment of household income.

The Government has agreed that the specific proposals in relation to the carer's allowance will be examined further in the context of the 1999 budget as will the issue of the rate of payment.

The review considered that a needs assessment, encompassing both the needs of the care recipient and the carer should be introduced. This would separate care needs from income support and could be used by all State organisations which provide reliefs of grants to those in need of care. The Government has agreed that a working group, to be chaired by Dr. Tom Moffatt, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children and also comprising membership from the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, the health boards and other relevant Departments be set up to advance this proposal as quickly as possible. This is currently being progressed by the Department of Health and Children.

Eamon Gilmore

Question:

40 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to increase the amount or the scope of the Christmas bonus payable to certain social welfare recipients in view of the additional resources available to the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24607/98]

Derek McDowell

Question:

49 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the category of social welfare recipients who will benefit from the Christmas bonus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24644/98]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 49 together.

An amount of £40 million is provided in my Department's 1998 Estimates to provide for payment of a Christmas bonus to recipients of long-term social welfare payments.

The bonus payment will amount to 70 per cent of the person's normal weekly payment subject to a minimum payment of £20, similar to the bonus paid in 1997 and in earlier years and payment will be made in the first week of December.

This payment will be made to 715,000 long-term social welfare recipients in receipt of disablement pension, death benefit by way of pension, old age contributory and non-contributory pension, retirement pension, invalidity pension, widow's and widower's non-contributory pension, widow's and widowers's contributory pension, orphan's contributory and non-contributory pension, pre-retirement allowance, blind pension, carer's allowance, one parent family payment, payments to people formerly in receipt of deserted wife's benefit and allowance and prisoner's wife's allowance, unemployment assistance at the long-term rate, and disability allowance.

The Christmas bonus is payable to recipients of long-term social welfare schemes. People in receipt of short-term social welfare payments, such as disability benefit, unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance at the short-term rate are not eligible and I have no plans at the present time to enable recipients of short-term schemes to qualify. Any extension of the Christmas bonus along those lines would have substantial cost implications for the payment of this bonus this year and in future years.