Vol. 567 No. 1
92 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if a review of bilateral arrangements can be undertaken with a view to speeding up the processing of applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13485/03]
My Department has responsibility for bilateral social security agreements with seven countries: Austria, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the USA and Switzerland. Ireland also entered into a bilateral understanding with Quebec on 1 October 1994. EU regulations govern arrangements with the other EU member states. A review of the implementation of EU and bilateral arrangements was carried out by officials from my Department last year. The time taken to have social insurance records made available was addressed in the course of that review. The results were quite satisfactory, to the extent that my Department is not experiencing difficulty with any one country at this point in time. The position is being continually monitored and further action will be taken where circumstances warrant it.
The volume of claims which fall to be considered under the EU regulations and the bilateral agreements will continue to grow following EU enlargement, the number of new bilateral agreements entered into in recent years and the increased mobility of workers globally. Pension applications based on a combination of Irish insurance contributions and contributions from another EU member state or a country with which Ireland has a bilateral agreement take longer than normal to process for a variety of reasons. For example, they must first have their entitlement to a standard rate pension determined. Where there is no such entitlement, the applications are then referred to the EU-bilateral section for consideration. The cases are also more complex than standard rate pensions and involve checking insurance records from various sources.
In cases where employment contributions have been made outside of EU countries entitlement may have to be tested under more than one agreement. In all cases the over-riding consideration is to ensure that customers receive their correct entitlement and decisions cannot be taken until all appropriate information is received and clarified. The time taken to deal with these claims has also been affected by the significant number of cases arising where a person does not qualify for a standard pre-53 pension but may have entitlement to a pro-rata rate. Some 3,000 of these cases have come to light since the pre-53 pension was introduced in May 2000. Every effort is being made to process these claims as quickly as possible. Additional resources have been deployed to the area and the situation will be kept under review.
Delays in processing applications do not result in any losses to pensioners, the majority of whom are already in receipt of a basic pension. Those who qualify for payment have their claims backdated in accordance with the appropriate provisions.
93 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her estimate of the cost of the abolition of the means test for the carer's allowance. [13518/03]
95 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the recent changes made to the carer's allowance scheme; if she will abolish the means test for the carer's allowance immediately; the number of people here currently in receipt of the carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13559/03]
96 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her plans to extend payment of carer's allowance to a greater number of carers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13486/03]
104 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her plans to amend the carer's allowance to allow widows to receive a payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13333/03]
120 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her views on the fact that there is a great need to extend the carer's allowance in order that as least those who are particularly financially vulnerable, such as social recipients, can qualify therefor. [13548/03]
121 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her Department has carried out recent research or surveys into poverty among carers. [13521/03]
137 Mr. Deenihan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her estimate of the cost of abolishing the means test for the carer's allowance. [13524/03]
440 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of carers currently in receipt of a payment; the number likely to qualify in the event of an expansion of the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13800/03]
441 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her plans for the expansion of the carer's service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13801/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 93, 95, 96, 104, 120, 121, 137, 440 and 441 together.
The carer's allowance is a social assistance payment which provides income support to people who are providing certain elderly or incapacitated persons with full-time care and attention and whose incomes fall below a certain limit. There are currently 20,600 people in receipt of the allowance at a cost of €160 million last year. As with all other social assistance schemes, a means test applies under which the income of the applicant and his-her partner is assessable to ensure that limited resources are directed to those in greatest need.
