Vol. 521 No. 2
135 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the extra pay ments and benefits that are to be paid to people aged over 75 years during 2000 arising out of budget 2000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16842/00]
One of the key priorities of this Government is to secure the future of our older people. Our record of unprecedented investment in social welfare measures, more than £428 million this year alone, is aimed mainly at improving the position of pensioners, people with disabilities and people on low income and attests to the firm commitment of the Government to ensuring the welfare of all our older people remains at the top of our agenda.
The range of improvements which the Government has introduced for older people in this year's budget, including the £7 increase on the maximum weekly personal rate of pension, all contribute to the target set out in our action programme review to increase all social welfare old age pensions to £100 per week by 2002.
The increases in the weekly payment have taken effect four weeks earlier than last year. Next year, I intend to bring forward this implementation date to coincide with the start of the tax year in early April 2001.
From October 2000, there will be substantial improvements in the way capital is assessed which will benefit a significant number of old age pensioners. I have also improved the position of people who were on reduced rates of the old age contributory and retirement pensions and have extended coverage for the old age contributory pension under a special arrangement which gives further recognition to contributions paid prior to 1953.
In relation to extra improvements for people aged 75 and over, I have made provision in budget 2000 for the extension of the free schemes to all people aged over 75 regardless of income and household composition. This measure will be implemented in October this year.
Furthermore, the Government has allocated £5 million for this year to my Department's scheme of community support for older people. The purpose of this scheme is to provide funding for initiatives to improve the security and social support of vulnerable older people. This funding is provided by way of grant aid to voluntary groups and organisations which have undertaken to identify those elderly people in need of assistance under the scheme. I am committed to ensuring that this scheme continues to address the security needs of the most vulnerable older people in our society and, while the closing date for receipt of applications was 26 May last, the regional offices of my Department will continue to operate a flexible approach in accepting late applications.
136 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reason social insurance contributions made by a person (details supplied) in Dublin 14 prior to 1953 were not taken into account in assessing his current entitlement to contributory old age pension; if the arrears of contributory pension which accumulated in the period from his attaining the age of 66 and his making application for a pension on 11 September 1997 will be paid to him; the reason this has not occurred to date. [16856/00]
To qualify for old age contributory pension a person must have entered insurance at least ten years before pension age, have at least 156 contributions paid and have a yearly average of at least ten social insurance contributions paid or credited from 1953, or from the date of entry into insurable employment, if later, up to the end of the tax year before he or she reaches age 66. Social insurance contributions paid before 1953 under the national health insurance Acts can be taken into account for old age contributory pension purposes in satisfying the first two conditions set out above, but cannot be used in calculating the yearly average.
The person concerned applied for contributory pension in September 1997. According to the information available, he worked as an employee between 1942 and 1952. Since then he has been self-employed. He first commenced paying insurable contributions which are reckonable for pension in April 1988 when pay-related social Insurance was extended to self-employed people. His application for pension had to be disallowed as he has a yearly average of less than ten contributions.
With Government approval I introduced a special half-rate contributory pension with effect from April 1999 for certain self-employed people who have a total of at least five years reckonable contributions paid since April 1988. The person concerned was awarded this pension, including a half-rate qualified adult allowance and a fuel allowance with effect from the introduction of the pension on 9 April 1999. He is getting this pension at the rate of £86.10 per week. As this pension was paid to him from the date it was introduced, no arrears of pension are outstanding.
In this year's Social Welfare Bill which has since been enacted I made provision for a further a special half-rate contributory pension for certain people who entered into insurable employment before 1953. This pension is also payable at half rate from 5 May 2000 and cannot be paid in addition to another entitlement. While he satisfies the conditions for receipt of this pension, there would be no financial advantage to him in transferring to this pension.
137 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans he has to amend existing legislation so as to provide that persons entitled to old age contributory pension who apply for receipt of their pension subsequent to attaining 66 years of age, receive any arrears accumulated between the date they attain the age of 66 years and the date of making such application; and his views on the fact that to deprive any person of such entitlement is unjust and inequitable. [16857/00]
People claiming social welfare payments are required to make their claim within a specified period of time. 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 legislative provisions relating to late claims for social welfare benefits are set out in section 205 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 1993, as amended, and in regulations made under that section. These provisions set out the times within which a person must claim, the disqualifications which apply where a claim is made late, and the circumstances in which the time limits may be extended.
Under section 205, full arrears are payable on foot of late claims for the old age contributory pension, retirement pension and widow and widower's contributory pension in the case of claims which are not more than 12 months late. Under regulations I have made, additional arrears are payable on a proportional basis in the case of claims which are more than 12 months late. I have also provided that further payment may be made, up to the level of full retrospection, in the following exceptional circumstances: where the delay was due to incorrect information given by the Department; or where illness or a force majeure prevented a person from claiming earlier; or where the person is suffering current financial hardship.
In addition, last month I placed on a statutory footing a compensation scheme for social welfare recipients, such as pensioners, for delays by the Department in determining their social welfare entitlements. Under these arrangements compensation will arise where a social welfare payment is not made within 12 months due to an error by the Department in processing the claim. This could arise, for example, where a valid claim is mistakenly disallowed or the Department has misinterpreted the law governing the appropriate entitlement to a particular payment during the process.
