Michael Ferris
Question:42 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if full-rate PRSI contributions will be granted to carers who have left full-time work. [6415/99]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Under the current statutory provisions governing the award of credited social insurance contributions credits, recipients of the carer's allowance may be awarded credits if they switched to that payment from another credit-bearing payment, e.g., unemployment assistance. In addition, administrative arrangements are in place for the award of credits to people who move directly from insurable employment to the carer's allowance.
As part of a wider package of measures for carers contained in the 1999 budget package, I announced that I would be introducing regulations to formalise these administrative arrangements so as to provide for the award of credits to claimants of the carer's allowance who have left insurable employment to engage in caring duties.
I further announced that the two year rule, which decrees that where a person has no paid or credited contributions for a period of two years, he or she cannot be awarded further credits until a minimum of 26 contributions have been paid, will be waived in cases where claimants of the carer's allowance were in receipt of homemakers disregards immediately prior to claiming the allowance.
The effect of this measure will be to protect the position of people who may, for instance, have left insurable employment in order to rear children and thus qualified for homemakers disregards, and who subsequently become carers after a two-year period has expired.
Regulations will be introduced to provide for this measure, which will come into effect in April 1999.
Liz McManus
Question:45 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to bring the date for increases in the family income supplement into line with the new tax year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6459/99]
The increases in the thresholds which determine entitlement to family income supplement, FIS, have always been introduced in tandem with the general increases in social welfare rates, and in particular with the increases in the rate of unemployment assistance.
As the Deputy will be aware, the purpose of FIS is to provide an incentive to low-paid employees with families to take up or remain in full-time employment. The increases in the FIS thresholds are therefore intended to ensure that, at a minimum, the incentive to take up or remain in low-paid employment is maintained, and where resources permit, enhanced. In that context, it is reasonable that these increases should be introduced in tandem with the increases in the rates of unemployment assistance.
The question of bringing forward the increases in the FIS thresholds to bring them into line with the tax year would have cost implications and would have to be considered in a budgetary context. On a general level, however, I am of the view that the existing arrangements are reasonable and appropriate.
I should mention, finally, that the 1999 budget provides for an increase of £8 in the income thresholds at each point, which will ensure that virtually all those receiving FIS payments will gain by some £5 per week.