Written Answers. - Departmental Correspondence.
Jan O'Sullivan
Question:
40
Ms O'Sullivan
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the number of letters sent out in his name since 1 January 2002, informing customers of his Department of increases in payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6613/02]
Jan O'Sullivan
Question:
61
Ms O'Sullivan
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the procedures in place within his Department to ensure that letters or circulars are not sent to deceased persons in order to avoid causing distress to survivors; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[6614/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 61 together.
In 2002, for the first time, increases in weekly social welfare rates provided for in the budget were effective from the beginning of January.
Increases in short-term weekly payments such as unemployment and disability benefits were implemented from the first pay day in January. However, book-based payment systems, which are the chosen payment option for the majority of pensioners and other long-term weekly beneficiaries, are less flexible than other payment methods and require longer lead-times to implement increases. Budget increases for those customer categories were paid via lump sum payments in February, with full retrospection applied to the effective date of the increase in all cases.
Customers on schemes where books were renewed in February were paid a lump sum in respect of the six weeks increase due from the start of 2002 in payments issued on 14 and 15 February. Customers on schemes where new books are due in April 2002 also received a lump sum during February, containing six weeks backdated payment to the start of 2002, plus an advance payment of the increase for seven weeks to bring them up to the date on which their new books arrive.
As the manner and date by which customers received their increases differed depending on their payment category, it was essential to ensure that all customers were fully aware of when and how their increase would be paid. It was also essential that, where payments were being made via lump sums in February, the relevant customers groups should be made aware that retrospection was being applied so that they would receive the full benefit of the increases effective back to the start of January.
To that end, my Department implemented a range of measures to ensure that our diverse range of customers were fully aware of the arrangements for payment of budget rate increases. These measures included television, radio and national newspaper advertising, a freephone service for customer inquiries and a mailshot delivered during late January and early February 2002 to 588,944 customers in categories which received their increase via lump sum payments in February. The mailshot explained the payment arrangements for the increases and also provided departmental contact details for any further inquiries arising.
It was particularly important to ensure that an appropriate range of public awareness measures were in place regarding the arrangements for payment of budget increases in the situation where euro notes and coins were also being introduced from the start of January, so as to reassure customers that no one would lose out either as a result of the arrangements for payment of budget increases or on the changeover to the euro. By implementing these measures, my Department ensured that all our customers were provided with the necessary clarity and reassurance about how and when their budget increases would be paid.
Every effort is made to minimise the potential for the issue of a letter to a deceased person by ensuring that address data is extracted as close as possible to the issue date and excludes data where the record has been updated with details of the death of a customer. However, it is still possible that the Department may not be aware of the death of a pensioner, for example, where a person dies in the interval between extracting the data and the delivery of the correspondence.
My Department is very aware of the risk of causing distress to survivors of deceased persons and, when extracting customer address data for the issue of mailshots and circular letters to customer groups, checks are carried out to ensure that correspondence issues only to current customers. If the Deputy has in mind a particular case which she wishes me to have investigated further, and can provide details, then I will make the necessary arrangements.
