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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 Feb 2002

Vol. 549 No. 3

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.

Ivor Callely

Question:

309 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the total expenditure on supplementary welfare allowance payments for asylum seekers for each year from 1995 to 2001; if he will give a breakdown under each heading for the payments made in 2001; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6327/02]

Ivor Callely

Question:

310 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the number of social welfare allowance payments currently being made to asylum seekers; the number of adults and children in receipt of such payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6328/02]

Ivor Callely

Question:

312 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the cost of all payments to asylum seekers in 2001 from the social welfare budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6330/02]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 309, 310 and 312 together.

The income maintenance needs of asylum seekers are met for the most part by the health boards which administer the supplementary welfare allowance scheme on behalf of my Department. The scheme provides entitlement for any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs.

At present there are of 9,532 basic supplementary welfare allowance claims in payment in respect of 19,215 asylum seekers, of which 13,136 are adults and 6,079 are children. In addition to the basic claims there are currently approximately 5,100 rent supplements in payment to asylum seekers. There are 528 claims for unemployment payments currently in payment to asylum seekers. These claims are in respect of 1,542 people, of which 845 are adults and 697 are children.

A small number of asylum seekers are in receipt of other social welfare payments such as one-parent family payments, pensions, disability allowance and child benefit. Details of the numbers involved in these categories are not available.

Expenditure on asylum seekers under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme was £60.83 million in 2001. This includes £38.53 million in respect of basic payments, £19.37 million in respect of rent supplements and £2.93 million in respect of exceptional needs payments.

Details of expenditure for the years 1997 to 2001 are set out in the following tabular statement. The information requested by the Deputy is not available in relation to earlier years. Prior to 1997, asylum seekers were not identified separately from other supplementary welfare allowance applicants.

Expenditure on Asylum Seekers under

the SWA scheme 1997-2001

£m

£m

£m

£m

£m

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

Basics

15.50

22.80

32.00

38.53

Rent

5.50

10.70

16.00

19.37

ENPs

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.93

Total

12.00

22.00

35.00

50.00

60.83

A breakdown of the figure for 1997 is not available.

Ivor Callely

Question:

311 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the items which are considered for social welfare allowance payments under exceptional or urgent need payments; if there has been a noticeable increase in a particular area of need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6329/02]

Under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme a health board may make a single payment to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. These payments are known as exceptional needs payments. Exceptional needs payments are subject to a means test. Eligible people would normally be in receipt of a social welfare or health board payment.

Urgent needs payments, on the other hand, can be made to people who would not normally qualify for supplementary welfare allowance. These payments are normally issued in emergency situations, for example, following a house fire or a flood. Immediate needs in respect of items such as food, clothing and shelter can be catered for by way of an urgent needs payment. The payments may be recoverable where they are made to people in full-time remunerative employment.

The legislation does not allow me to prescribe either the circumstances, or the nature of the need, in respect of which these payments may be made. The issuing of payments, and any recovery in the case of urgent needs payments, are made at the discretion of the health board taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of each individual case and neither I nor my Department have any function in deciding entitlement in individual cases.

A booklet containing guidelines on exceptional needs payments was published by my Department in 1995 to promote consistency of treatment of applications for exceptional needs payments both within and between the various health boards around the country. The situations outlined in the booklet relate to the most common items or situations for which the payments are made but as stated in the booklet it is not intended to be a comprehensive list. I have arranged for a copy of this booklet to be forwarded to the Deputy.

The most noticeable increase in expenditure on exceptional needs payments has been in respect of adult clothing for people with special clothing needs, rent deposits to assist people in securing private rented accommodation and the replacement or purchase of essential household items. Details of expenditure in these areas for the past three years are shown on the following tabular statement:

1999£m

2000£m

2001£m

%Increase

Adult Clothing

1.71

2.12

3.58

109

Rent Deposits

1.89

2.06

2.72

44

Household items*

6.11

7.14

9.91

62

*Includes replacement and purchase in the case of new accommodation of essential basic household items, basic furniture and floor covering requirements.
Question No. 312 answered with Question No. 309.

Andrew Boylan

Question:

313 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs when a payment of a carer's allowance will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Cavan; the reason there is such a long delay in granting payment; and if a payment will be provided forthwith. [6528/02]

In determining entitlement to carer's allowance there are medical, means and residency conditions which must be satisfied and there is inevitably a timelog involved in making the necessary investigations and inquiries to enable decisions to be made. The person concerned applied for carer's allowance on 3 October 2001. The principal conditions for receipt of the allowance are that full-time care and attention are required and being provided and that the means test which applies is satisfied.

The medical evidence submitted with the application was insufficient to determine whether the person being cared for required full-time care and attention and a more comprehensive medical report was requested from the care recipient's doctor.

This report was referred to the Department's chief medical adviser, who, in the light of the evidence presented, expressed the opinion that the care recipient did not require full-time care and attention in this particular case. The application was subsequently refused on that basis. The person concerned was notified of this decision and of her right of appeal to the social welfare appeals office on 20 February 2002.

Under social welfare legislation, decisions in relation to claims must be made by deciding officers and appeals officers. These officers are statutorily appointed and I have no role in regard to making such decisions.

Seán Haughey

Question:

314 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs his views on extending the hours for the free travel scheme to facilitate disabled students attending college lectures or patients attending hospital appointments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6536/02]

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

328 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the extent to which he proposes to improve or extend the availability of free travel or other free schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6893/02]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 328 together.

The free travel scheme is generally available to all people living in the State aged 66 years, or over. It is also available to carers and to people with disabilities who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments.

Time restrictions on the free travel scheme have been a feature of the scheme since its incep tion. They apply at peak times on city bus services in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. They do not, however, apply in the case of recipients of disability allowance who are mentally handicapped or attend long-term rehabilitation courses or certain work experience programmes.
In addition, they do not apply to disability allowance recipients who are attending a third level course of education or to certain other disabled or blind people. These people receive an unrestricted free travel pass which enables them to travel during the normally restricted travel times. The central issue in regard to time restrictions relates to capacity constraints.
Where restrictions apply it is at the request of the transport companies because the transport system is under severe pressure from commuters travelling to and from work and school in the morning and evening. There are no peak time travel restrictions on DART, suburban rail services, and on services provided by private transport operators in other parts of the country.
In general, demands for the easing of time restrictions are, without exception, based on the fact that people have difficulty attending hospitals for appointments that fall within the restricted peak times. My Department has written to the Department of Health and Children requesting that this problem be examined by that Department and the health boards with a view to introducing more convenient and flexible appointments for free travel pass holders. However, in general, it appears free travel pass-holders make suitable arrangements around the peak time restrictions.
In exceptional or extenuating circumstances where hospital appointments cannot be arranged out of peak travel time, my Department can issue a temporary unrestricted free travel pass, valid for up to six months. Requests for such passes can only be considered on a case by case basis and are only granted in very exceptional circumstances. Any general lifting of the time restrictions could cause capacity problems for CIE and further disruption to work and school commuters.
Very significant improvements have been made in the free schemes in recent budgets both in terms of the qualifying conditions and the coverage of the schemes. The operation of the schemes will be kept under review with a view identifying the scope for further improvements.
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