Vol. 536 No. 2
351 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will arrange for the threshold for the adult dependant's income in order to claim treatment benefit on a spouse's insurance record be increased from £60 to at least £70 in line with other schemes; and if he will make provision for partial entitlement over a range of incomes. [13546/01]
The treatment benefit scheme operated by my Department provides a range of benefits in the areas of dental, optical and aural treatment for qualified PRSI contributors and their dependent spouses. A qualified adult is entitled to treatment benefit based on the insured person's PRSI record provided he has gross earnings of £60 or less per week and is not in receipt of any benefit or allowance from this Department or a health board, except carer's allowance, disablement pension, supplementary welfare allowance or child benefit. Any changes in the qualifying conditions for receipt of treatment benefit would require the agreement of the representative professional associations. The attendant financial implications of such changes would be a matter for consideration within the constraints of budgetary policy and the best targeting of available resources. While I have no specific proposals for changing the qualifying conditions or entitlements under the treatment benefit scheme, the issue will be raised with the practitioners in the course of the annual review of the scheme.
352 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reason he has cut the right to retain secondary benefits to a declining balance of 75% year 1 to 25% year 3, for persons in community employment; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there is no provision for paying more than the basic community employment allowance in second or subsequent years of participation. [13549/01]
Under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme payment of a weekly or monthly supplement may be made in respect of rent or mortgage interest to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The SWA scheme is administered on behalf of my Department by the health boards and neither I nor my Department have any function in deciding entitlement in individual cases. Participants on CE schemes receive a full weekly allowance consisting of a personal payment and additional payments for any adult and child dependants. The amount paid is higher than the standard rate of unemployment assistance. In the case of lone parents, this full weekly allowance is paid in addition to their one-parent family payment while in the case of unemployed people, the allowance is paid instead of their unemployment assistance and unemployment benefit. The declining rate of payment in secondary benefits referred to by the Deputy only applies to rent and mortgage interest supplement payments for participants in approved employ ment schemes such as community employment. Other secondary benefits can be fully retained by those going on CE schemes provided they satisfy the relevant conditions and their gross household income is less than £250 per week.
SWA is subject to a means test. Rent supplements are normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of SWA appropriate to their family circumstances, less £6. This £6 represents the minimum contribution which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. Most recipients pay more than £6 towards their rent because applicants are required to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate basic SWA rate towards their rent. People on approved schemes, such as community employment, can retain part of their rent or mortgage interest supplement, subject to a gross household income limit of £250 per week and certain other conditions. Following discussions with the social partners under Partnership 2000, substantial improvements in the conditions relating to the retention of rent and mortgage interest supplements were introduced from 6 April 2000. The £250 per month limit on the amount of rent supplement payable was abolished and the sharp withdrawal of support at the end of the third year was removed, the supplement now being withdrawn on a tapered basis over a four year period, that is, 75% in year one, 50% in year two and 25% in year three and 25% in year four.
As a result, many participants in CE schemes now retain a greater amount of rent supplement than they would have done under the earlier arrangements and this is particularly the case for families. In no circumstances do the new rules result in a lower rate of rent supplement than is payable under the standard rules of SWA. All CE recipients are entitled to either the gradually reducing amount that can be retained under the transitional arrangements described above or the amount that is normally paid under the standard rules of SWA described earlier, whichever is the greater. The conditions for receiving and retaining rent and mortgage interest supplement will be examined as part of the review of the SWA scheme which is currently being undertaken as part of my Department's series of formal programme evaluations.
