Seán Haughey
Question:685 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if the fuel allowance payment will be made all year round to old age pensioners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13765/02]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders who are on long-term social welfare or health board payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs. A payment of €9 per week is normally paid to eligible households. However, an additional €3.90 per week is paid in smokeless zones, bringing the total amount in those areas to €12.90 per week. In the case of a relatively small number of people living in smokeless zones, the €3.90 per week smokeless fuel supplement only is payable.
The conditions of the scheme are that the applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, satisfy a means test, and must live alone or only with other qualified persons.
Over the course of recent budgets a number of improvements have been introduced in relation to the operation of the scheme. In the budget of 2001, the duration of the fuel season was extended from 26 weeks to 29 weeks. The fuel season now runs from the first week in October until late April. In addition, the means test was eased. Since October 2001 a person may have a combined household income of up to €50.79 per week or savings-investments of up to €41,266.49 over and above their pension and still qualify for a fuel allowance. In the budget of 2002 the payment rate of the standard fuel allowance was increased, with effect from January 2002, from €6.35 to €9 per week.
With the scheme now running for 29 weeks of the year, from early October to April, there will be periods when the allowance will be paid although temperatures are above the seasonal norm. Equally, there may be a small number of occasions outside of the heating season when the allowance is not paid even though temperatures are unseasonably cold. However, as the scheme extends for almost seven months of the year this is likely to be the exception rather than the rule.
Any further extension of the duration of the national fuel scheme would have cost implications and could only be considered in a budgetary context.
Although the national fuel scheme operates for a fixed period, there is a facility available through the supplementary welfare allowance, SWA, scheme to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs at any time of the year. This operates in addition to the national fuel scheme. Under the SWA scheme, a person who has exceptional heating costs due to ill health or infirmity may qualify for a heating supplement. This can be paid as a weekly supplement in addition to other social welfare payments. An application for a heating supplement may be made by contacting the community welfare officer at the local health centre.
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:686 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if she will abolish the means test for the carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13766/02]
The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment which provides support to carers on low incomes who look after people who are in need of full-time care and attention. It is not a payment for caring.
The means test applied to the carer's allowance is one of the more generous in terms of the assessment of household income and it is necessary in order to target scarce resources towards those who are most in need of support. These views were borne out in the review of the carer's allowance, published in October 1998.
However, to increase the number of carers eligible for carer's allowance, the Agreed Programme for Government commits to the relaxing of the means test so that all those on average industrial incomes can qualify. The current weekly income disregard is €191 for a single person and €382 for a couple. Average industrial earnings at December 2001 were €491.30 per week. Further improvements in the means test will be examined in the context of the next budget.
The health strategy proposes to reform existing arrangements for carers in order to introduce an integrated care subvention scheme which maximises support for home care. Following on from this, An Agreed Programme for Government has committed to introducing a new home subvention scheme to maximise support to those needing full-time care in the community. My Department has already begun to work with the Department of Health and Children to develop proposals in this area.
In addition, the strategy proposes that a co-ordinated action plan to meet the needs of ageing and older people be developed by the Department of Health and Children in conjunction with my own Department, the Department of Public Enterprise and the Department of the Environment and Local Government. This wider approach is the most appropriate way to proceed.
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:687 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if she will liberalise contribution qualifications for eligibility in respect of dental and optical benefits; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13767/02]
The treatment benefit scheme operated by my Department provides to insured persons and their dependent spouses a range of services in the area of dental, optical and aural benefit. The availability of these benefits are subject to certain PRSI contribution conditions. The PRSI contribution classes which qualify for treatment benefit are A, E, H and P.
The PRSI contribution eligibility requirements vary depending on the insured person's age. Persons aged under 21 must have at least 39 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work in order to qualify while persons aged from 21 to 24 must have at least 39 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work and 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the relevant tax year. In the case of persons aged from 25 to 65, the requirement is that they have at least 260 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work and 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in the relevant tax year. Persons aged 66 or over are required to have at least 260 weeks PRSI paid since first starting work and 39 weeks PRSI paid or credited in either of the last two tax years before reaching age 66.
The relevant tax year for claims made in the year 2002 is 2000-01. Currently I have no specific proposals for changing the qualifying contribution conditions. However, my Department monitors the operation of the treatment benefit scheme on an ongoing basis.
Michael Ring
Question:688 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo was not approved for the fuel allowance. [13768/02]
A condition for receipt of the fuel allowance is that the claimant must reside alone or only with certain excepted categories of people. These categories comprise a dependent spouse-partner, dependent child or children, a person who would qualify for the allowance in their own right, a person who gives the claimant full-time care and attention if he or she is disabled or a semi-invalid, or a person receiving short-term unemployment assistance.
In July 2001, the person concerned applied for the fuel allowance. However, her application had to be disallowed on the basis that her son who was residing with her was not one of the excepted categories of people mentioned above. However, he subsequently applied for and was awarded a carer's allowance with effect from 20 December 2001. As a consequence, his mother would have had an entitlement to the allowance from that date.
On this basis, a decision has been made now to award a fuel allowance to the person concerned with effect from 21 December 2001. A cheque for €156.70, representing arrears of the allowance for the 18 week period from 21 December 2001 up to the end of the heating season on 25 April 2002, will be issued to her shortly. In future, this allowance will be paid automatically as part of her pension payment, provided her household circumstances remain unchanged.