Vol. 516 No. 6
337 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the proposals, if any, he has to address problems being encountered by out of work actors (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9007/00]
339 Mr. Currie asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if there is a provision in unemployment benefit regulations to cater for the special circumstances of actors (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9019/00]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 337 and 339 together.
Social welfare legislation provides that a person must satisfy the conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking work in order to be entitled to unemployment benefit or unemployment assistance. A person who fails to satisfy these conditions on an ongoing basis is not entitled to an unemployment payment. In applying the legislation, deciding officers do not treat actors any differently to any other unemployment benefit or assistance claimant.
The legislation does not impose any restriction or limitation on the right of a person to the opportunity to engage in the employment of his or her choice. Where a person is seeking work in his or her usual employment and there is a reasonable prospect of securing work of that nature, he or she would normally satisfy the conditions for receipt of payment. However, if it is obvious that there is no employment available within a specialised field within a reasonable period of time, the unemployed person would be expected to broaden his or her search so as to include other types of employment. After a period of unemployment, a person must be prepared to accept any employment for which he or she is qualified.
Where a person is dissatisfied with a decision made by a deciding officer he or she may appeal this decision to the independent social welfare appeals office.
338 Mr. U. Burke asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reason his Department is encouraging people to sign off the live register at the age of 55 years upwards to move onto the pre-retirement allowance; the number of people in receipt of this allowance; the additional cost or reduction to the Department of this change; if people are subject to the same checks as others on the live register; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9008/00]
The pre-retirement allowance – PRETA – is a means-tested payment which allows a person aged 55 or over to opt to retire from the labour force and receive a weekly allowance. In order to qualify for the payment, the person concerned must be in receipt of a long-term unemployment payment, or be no longer entitled to one-parent family payment or carer's allowance.
Claimants of PRETA must be retired from the labour force and are not, therefore, subject to the same requirements as claimants of unemployment payments.
PRETA was initially introduced in 1990 for long-term unemployed persons aged 60 or over. The qualifying age limit was subsequently reduced to 58 years in 1991 and to 55 years of age in 1992.
It is important to recognise that the scheme is entirely optional and there is no obligation therefore on anyone to avail of PRETA. The current strong performance of the Irish economy is reflected in a steady reduction in the numbers seeking to avail of the scheme in recent years and I expect that this trend will continue in the future.
It is estimated that expenditure on PRETA will amount to £61.1 million in 2000. As the payment rates, means test etc. that apply to PRETA are the same as those applying to long-term unemployment assistance, it is likely that the same level of expenditure would arise if PRETA did not exist and claimants were on the live register instead. Some 13,151 claimants were in receipt of PRETA at end-December, 1999 of which over 60% were aged 60 years or more.
