Vol. 563 No. 6
28 Mr. Eamon Ryan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the extent to which the efforts needed to co-ordinate increases in FÁS employment scheme payments have been discussed with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, to ensure such increases do not unnecessarily affect payments received from her Department. [8406/03]
FÁS runs a number of training and employment programmes designed to enhance participants' skills and improve their employment prospects. The two main employment schemes are community employment, which is a part-time option, and job initiative which is a full-time option.
The payments made under these schemes normally replace any weekly social welfare payment a participant had been receiving. Recipients of the one parent family payment, however, are eligible for an earnings disregard when they take up employment, which means that they retain entitlement to a payment under the FÁS schemes up to a specified earnings limit. This is designed to assist in offsetting the child care and other expenses, which a lone parent may face in taking up employment or training opportunities, and thus to encourage them to consider employment as an alternative to long-term welfare dependency. As already explained, there are no similar disregards applicable in other means-tested schemes.
30 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if applicants for disability benefit or disability allowance, where the illness is of a psychiatric or psychological nature, are medically assessed in all cases by medical staff who have the necessary psychiatric or psychological training; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8421/03]
Where a person claims a payment from my Department in respect of illness, an opinion regarding the person's medical condition is given in the first instance by their own doctor. Where required, a second opinion is provided by medical assessors employed by my Department for the guidance of the Department's deciding officers who ultimately determine entitlement.
Currently, there are 19 medical assessors, as well as the chief medical adviser and the deputy chief medical adviser. They are recruited via the Civil Service Commission and a condition of their appointment is that they must have at least six years experience in general medical practice. They are fully qualified and experienced medical practitioners who have full registration in accordance with Medical Council criteria. Prior to qualification as doctors, each undergoes psychiatric training to the appropriate level.
Among the medical assessor cadre are individual doctors with post-graduate and higher qualifications in various fields of occupational medicine, including psychology and psychotherapy.
Ongoing medical education is provided by national and international experts in the evaluation of disability, including distinguished psychiatrists. There are also regular meetings and seminars under the direction of the chief medical adviser where a range of medical issues and developments in the occupational medicine field are discussed.
31 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the effect she views her decision not to increase the child dependant allowance will have on the Government's efforts to tackle child poverty. [8482/03]
Since 1994, successive Governments have held the rate of child dependant allowances constant while concentrating resources for child income support on the child benefit scheme. It is important to recognise that over that period, the combined CB/CDA payment has increased by more than double the rate of inflation.
Child benefit is neutral vis-à-vis the employment status of the child's parents and does not contribute to poverty traps, whereas the loss of child dependant allowances by social welfare recipients on taking up employment can act as a disincentive to availing of work opportunities. As a universal payment, which is not taxable and is not assessed as means for other secondary benefits, child benefit is in fact more effective than child dependant allowances as a child income support mechanism when account is taken of these incentive issues.
The Government's commitment to this policy is reflected in the substantial resources we have invested in the child benefit scheme since entering office, including an additional expenditure of €1.27 billion on child benefit when the current programme of multi-annual increases is complete.
We will then have moved from a position in 1994 where 70% of child income support for a family claiming social welfare payments was in the form of child dependant allowances, to a position where child dependant allowances will account for less than 33%.
I should also mention that an analysis of the increased child benefit in budget 2001 showed that the greatest percentage gains had gone to households on the lowest incomes, that is, between 7% and 8%, with the most affluent groups gaining less than 2%.
