Paul Donnelly
Question:9. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the delay with the issuing of personal public service, PPS, numbers by her Department; and if there are plans to tackle this delay. [49787/22]
Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions
Questions Nos. 6, 7 and 8 taken after Question No. 9.
Personal Public Service Numbers
I wish to ask the Minister for her views on the delay in issuing PPS numbers by her Department and the plans that are in place to tackle this delay.
PPS numbers are issued automatically when a birth is registered or via an application by a person who does not already have a PPS number, such as a new worker arriving into the State. On average, it takes 31 days to issue a PPS number following an application. Some 90% of applications are processed within two months. While the Department is working to reduce processing times, the time to process a PPS number has to be considered in the context of the increase in the number of applications for PPS numbers received so far in 2022, the care that must be taken to ensure PPS numbers are only issued to people who can properly validate their identity and the arrangements of the Department has in place to process PPS numbers in the case of emergency.
Apart from the PPS numbers automatically allocated as a result of birth registration, my Department processed over 179,000 applications to the end of September this year, an increase of more than 130,000, or 170%, on the same period in 2021. My Department has already allocated more PPS numbers in the first nine months of this year than were allocated in total last year. Separate to the arrival of Ukrainian refugees, my Department has also seen an increase of over 40,000 applications from people arriving in Ireland to take up employment, reflecting the strong economic recovery as we exit the Covid pandemic.
While the PPS number application process is relatively straightforward, delays can occur where incomplete applications are submitted or there are problems with the quality of the documents provided. When this occurs, the applicant is contacted by my Department to help progress the application. The Department has also established arrangements with other public bodies, employer groups and representative bodies to expedite applications in cases of urgency.
Given the significant increase in application volumes, the Department has trained additional staff on PPS number work and resources have been supplemented by overtime. This reallocation of resources does, however, need to be managed, taking account of other work pressures including a recent increase in applications for additional needs payments. As a result, my Department sought and received an increased staff allocation of 289 as part of the Estimates process and is already in the process of recruiting these staff.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I accept the difficulties that have been experienced by the Department over the past six or seven months, in particular in respect of the crisis in Ukraine. I commend the workers in the Department who have been operating in very difficult circumstances.
An Irish citizen who worked in the UAE came home to get a job. We are asking people to come back and contribute to our society. He is from the North and sought a PPS number on his return to Ireland. He had to wait three months, even though he was told there was a six-week delay. He was out of work for those three months as a result. I appreciate that there are extreme difficulties in the Department and acknowledge that there has been extra overtime and that people are being trained. I hope the delay will be resolved very soon.
I have outlined the reaction of the Department, including increased staffing and overtime hours and moving personnel from other sections. An important message to send out today is that people who are applying should take their time. If they rush the application and get it wrong, that can delay the process significantly. People should take the time to scan the form carefully and fill it out in its entirety. In terms of the additional documents and supporting information that need to go with an application, people should make sure they have ticked all the boxes and checklists because there are delays when people submit incomplete applications. If an incomplete application is sent in, the Department will send the person an email. Very often the email is not spotted. I advise people to check their inboxes and other folders because there may be a notification from the Department that they need to revert to it with clearer or additional information.
I accept the response from the Minister of State.
Social Welfare Offices
Ruairí Ó Murchú
Question:6. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if additional resources are being given to Intreo centres, in particular community welfare offices, in order to deal with the huge number of additional requests for supplementary welfare and exceptional needs payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49886/22]
Rose Conway-Walsh
Question:10. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Social Protection the additional resources that were put in place to deal with the surge in applications for supplementary welfare allowance and additional needs payments, given that these are being promoted as a source of additional emergency income for those with increased energy costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50716/22]
I want to ask the Minister if additional resources are being given to Intreo centres, in particular community welfare offices, in order to deal with the significant additional requests we are all aware of for supplementary welfare allowance and additional needs and exceptional needs payments, and if she can make a statement on the matter. There is a growing backlog that is holding back people on the housing list who want to move to new accommodation but cannot get payments.
I proposed to take Question Nos. 6 and 10 together.
The delivery of crucial community welfare services to meet the challenges and needs of citizens across the country is a priority for me and my Department. I want to be absolutely clear that the Department continues to provide access to local community welfare officers in our public offices across the country and will continue to do so. Community welfare staff also attend local clinics and are available to attend at other locations including the client's home, if necessary. In addition, staffing levels have been maintained in the community welfare service nationwide in recent years, even during times when demands on the service decreased significantly. This reflects my commitment to continue to support the delivery of locally based services to citizens.
There are currently more than 400 staff working in the community welfare service throughout the country, with a permanent community welfare officer presence available at all times during working hours in over 50 of the Department's public offices. These staff have processed and paid 66,000 additional needs payments to the end of September, an increase of about 60% on 2021 levels, as well as managing applications for other supplementary welfare allowance schemes.
My Department has introduced a number of measures this year with the aim of increasing the capacity of the service and modernising and improving how it operates. These include the introduction of a national community welfare service freephone line, meaning clients do not have to attend the office in person to make a claim, the rostering of staff to ensure there is a full-time community welfare officer present in over 50 offices nationwide and the establishment of a back-office support team to take on the more routine administrative tasks associated with claim processing, freeing up front-line community welfare officers to meet customers and process their claims. In addition, the Department is well advanced in the development of an online claims option. These changes mean that the community welfare service is in a stronger position than it would otherwise have been to respond to the significant 60% increase in service demand. For example, 75% of calls to the national freephone line are dealt with and the claim decided without the client ever having to attend a public office.
The Department is also taking steps to allocate additional staff to the community welfare service function having received an increased staffing allocation during the Estimates process. I expect recruitment for these posts to begin shortly. It is the Department's plan to allocate an additional 80 staff to this service.
I welcome the fact that we are now looking at the recruitment of 80 staff. I do not think anybody who has been in a constituency office of any party over the past while will not consider that as an absolute necessity. What is the timeline? I am not taking away from the considerable work that has been done by community welfare officers and those working in administration in the back office but, the fact is that there is a considerable backlog. In fairness, some of that is down to our being in a cost-of-living crisis. People are under severe pressure. The advertising campaign that has been carried out has had a considerable impact. We have dealt with a considerable number of people who have been putting in genuine claims. I will be honest. Occasionally one comes across people and one is fairly sure they should not be making these claims. We generally try to deal with them at our office in order that they do not clog up the social protection offices.
I listened to the Minister's reply earlier to Deputy Kerrane. I thank the community welfare officers and acknowledge the work done by them. The ones I know are certainly going above and beyond in trying to meet the needs of people who are in a very desperate situation. I welcome the measures that the Minister has outlined but I wish to know how long the recruitment process will be because I am concerned that might take weeks or even months. What are the target times? Will we be in a situation by Christmas in which the time is much reduced? How quickly will the online system be up and running? Will the Minister explain a bit more about people not having to go into the office? It is not the easiest thing in the world for people to try to gather bank statements. It can take quite a long time, especially for people who have literacy issues and are extremely marginalised. My real concern is about how they can access this as smoothly and as quickly as possible.
Agreement has been reached with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for an additional 289 staff for the Department, of whom approximately 80 will be allocated to community welfare service. These staff will be at all grades and will increase the capacity of the community welfare officers to focus on making decisions on complex applications and meeting with claimants locally, as required. We have approval and it is going ahead. A process has to be got through but resources will be increased in that area as quickly as possible.
The Deputy has heard me say many times that this is the State safety net. We want people to have access to this money but we want to put checks in place, which the Deputy can understand, because not every application will qualify. Many applications are coming in. We have made a number of changes to try to simplify the process and make it easier for people to access the additional needs payment and we have the national helpline phone number. We also developed the new income guidelines aligned with those for the working family payment, which we put up on our website, while still ensuring that the local community welfare office has discretion. We got rid of the 30-hour rule. We also ran two major public awareness campaigns with radio adverts and much social media, which I know the Deputy has welcomed.
The campaign has worked. More people are aware that this is available to help them out and there are more people applying for it. We have approved more than 66,000 applications to the end of September. That is a 60% increase on the same period last year. There is a massive increase by any yardstick. In fairness, the community welfare officers throughout the country are doing a great job to help people and we all know that. They help people out when they need it.
I ask for an update on the timeline for employing those 80 people. What target times are we looking at for processing the claims? We all get that considerable work is being done and that is the reason more staff are being sought but Louth County Council informed us that it takes approximately six weeks for applications for white goods and floors. That can hold up people on the housing list in moving on and create a difficulty when looking for those. The properties that are being vacated should become available, because they are like hen's teeth at present with the housing crisis. Anything that can be done should be done.
I thank the Minister for her response and I hope that things will be speeded up. The message that needs to go out today is that people should not wait until the very last moment before contacting the community welfare officer. They should also know that there will be some length of time to wait. What I have been finding an awful lot, even before the most immediate pressures, is that people cannot afford to get to hospital appointments. If one is in Mayo and one has to try to get transport to one's hospital appointment, there is no public transport. That is a real need. That can wipe out somebody's whole income for the week, if they are on a social welfare payment. I ask for as much flexibility as possible around those payments in order that people can get to vital hospital appointments and get the money that they need.
If there are any especially long delays in any area, I ask that the Deputy bring them to my attention and I will be happy to address them and see whether there is a problem that we need to sort out. The Deputy was right when she said that people should not wait until the last minute to go to the community welfare officer. If they think there will be a problem, they should put in their application as to what it would be. The average is four weeks but an urgent need will be dealt with straight away.
I was at an event last week to celebrate 30 years of the Money Advice & Budgeting Service, MABS. I was talking to some of the MABS people who said that there is a good relationship between MABS and the community welfare officers. When MABS said that it needs the help, it usually gets the payments straight away. There are other ways to approach this as well and if some people who have particular difficulties are concerned, they should go to the local MABS office.
Deputy Kerrane asked me about a review in 2021 and I wished to answer but I ran out of time. As is the case with any large customer service organisation, the Department is constantly reviewing and refining its operational procedures and management structures. As part of this ongoing process, the Department made some changes to how it organised the processing of the Intreo claims centre in 2021, to take account of remote working and blended working developments and to ensure that staff workloads could be balanced. It also made some changes to management reporting lines.
The review did not involve any changes to Intreo centre locations or services available to the public at Intreo centres. As is normal practice, these changes were discussed with staff unions and have been in place since January 2022. Ongoing regular reviews of internal structure and processes are normal in any operational environment. These routine operational reviews do not involve any change to customer benefits or entitlements but represent normal business process change and refinement. It is not the practice to publish internal reviews.
Community Employment Schemes
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Question:7. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans, if any, to review the community employment scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50108/22]
What are the plans to review the community employment, CE, schemes?
I am very conscious of the important role CE and other schemes play and the Minister and I want to support them as best we can. In addition to providing valuable occupational experience and training as a stepping-stone to employment for people who are unemployed, schemes such as CE also provide important, and in many cases essential, services to their local communities.
Given the strong labour market performance the number of unemployed people dependent on social welfare payments continues to fall. While this is very welcome it also means that the number of candidates available to CE schemes also falls. This creates an obvious challenge. Having said that, it is not an insurmountable one and working together with CE sponsors we can, and have, devised changes that will help the schemes to continue to support their local communities.
For example, following engagement with scheme sponsors the Minister and I announced a number of reforms and enhancements to CE last December and again in June of this year. These changes included a provision to allow CE participants who reach 60 years of age to remain on CE until they reach State pension age. We also updated the baseline year for CE to enable other placements to be extended. More recently, as part of budget 2023, we announced an increase of €5 per week or just over 22% in the weekly CE allowance. This increase is in addition to the increase in the core social welfare payments of €12 per week and this means the minimum payment on CE will amount to €247.50 per week. This is the lowest rate of payment and people with children or other dependants receive additional payments and these are also increasing as part of our budget measures. We also changed the candidate referral process. Schemes have been given new flexibility to allow them directly to recruit eligible candidates to fill 30% of places but are also mandated to accept and place at least 60% of people referred by Intreo. This is to ensure that places do not go unfilled when there are candidates available from the live register. Schemes have also been granted flexibility to extend individual placements and to retain existing participants in cases where no replacement is immediately available.
I thank the Minister of State. CE schemes are designed to help those in long-term unemployment, who are disadvantaged or who find it impossible to get mainstream work to have a job in their local communities. They provide childcare help, elderly care and drug rehabilitation services. The €5 extra for CE scheme workers in the budget was a modest increase and as a result it is difficult to find people to participate in the scheme. I have raised this both in the Dáil and at my party's recent think-in, held in Mullingar. These programmes not only benefit participants but also the community by providing essential services. However, the scheme does not pay enough for providing such great work within the community. I can only say it is not fit for purpose. I advocate for this to be changed. Fianna Fáil has always been a strong supporter and advocate of CE schemes and one of the first ones started in my own area. However, the €5 increase in the budget was absolutely unacceptable.
I thank the Deputy. It has been a while since there was an increase in the top-up for CE. While we would all like to have more than €5 going on it that is what we got this year. We all would have preferred more.
I disagree vehemently with the assertion that CE is not fit for purpose. It is one of the most impactful and useful schemes for both individuals and communities across the country. Of all the schemes the Government supports, it is one of the best. It manages to perform two important functions. It gives people who are quite far from the labour market another option in life and opens up pathways to people who would not otherwise have a way into that market. At the same time, it provides, as the Deputy has acknowledged, essential and important community services. On the fundamentals of CE, it is one of the best schemes we have.
I acknowledge there are issues with it. I acknowledge we are having difficulties getting participants on to it. I would like to see better supports for CE participants in the future as well.
I am aware much work has been done. We can look at the rural social scheme and the eligibility for Tús being extended to persons in receipt of disability payments. There is the new flexibility to allow CE schemes to recruit eligible candidates directly to fill 30% of places. However, we must be practical. The reason communities cannot get people on CE schemes is because CE does not pay them, first of all. If you have to travel 15 or 20 miles to where that scheme is you are losing money, though I do not even know that it is about losing money. I am not saying the scheme is not a great one, because it is. However, why are people not participating in it? Why are they not getting more money? The reason is it just does not work out for them. They are doing this extra work that they love. I compliment everyone involved in the scheme. I know so many in my own community who do so much work.
I thank the Deputy.
However, everyone I am talking to lately in all the different areas have come to me looking for CE scheme workers and cannot get them.
I am moving on to Deputy Stanton as he wanted to come in on this.
This scheme is good for the community and for the participants. I agree with the Minister of State that we would all like to see more money being made available for the participants. I have two questions for him. Has any consideration been given to facilitating those who are at pension age also carrying on with the scheme? Many people over 66 years would like to and are able to but cannot. Is extra emphasis being put on encouraging people with refugee status to get on the courses? Due to the great work the Government has done we are approaching full employment and that is why it is difficult to get participants for these schemes in many areas.
I think we all welcome the work CE scheme participants carry out. It can be everything from drug addiction services right through to many pieces of work in the community. We need to review CE with a view to strengthening it. I welcome what has been said previously. We need to look at the pension age question Deputy Stanton has raised. Beyond that, for us to make this entirely sustainable we need to deal with the issue of CE supervisors' pay and conditions. We all know that is an ongoing issue and we need a whole-of-government response to deal with that.
I will have a go at responding to all that in a single minute. We are being very practical about CE. There was a review published at the end of last year but we are not stopping at that. We are trying to increase the flow in, to retain the people we have and to stop the flow out as well. We have taken policy measures in each of those three areas. As for broadening the pool of people, plans are at an advanced stage for a new pilot scheme to extend CE eligibility to people who are qualified adults on a jobseeker claim.
On the pension age question, we are looking at everything we can to broaden the pool and retain people but that is one of the suggestions we are slower to consider, to be honest. The qualifying age for refugees is I think 18 years so there are broader qualifying criteria for them as well. In short, we are looking at everything we can to broaden the pool and get more people in as well as stemming the flow out.
I acknowledge the CE supervisors question. My officials had exploratory meetings with union reps in September. There is an agreement to have another meeting in the near future as well.
Social Welfare Benefits
Emer Higgins
Question:8. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the feasibility of extending child benefit to children who are 18 years or over, but are still in full-time post-primary education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50309/22]
Alan Farrell
Question:29. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who will benefit from the double payment of child benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49598/22]
Brendan Griffin
Question:46. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection when she expects to be able to provide the bonus child benefit payment to families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50617/22]
Aindrias Moynihan
Question:89. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider expanding the children's allowance payment to include children after the age of 18 years who are still in second level education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50595/22]
My question is on the feasibility of extending child benefit to children who are aged over 18 years but are still in full-time post-primary education. Is this something the Minister has considered?
I propose to take Question Nos. 8, 29, 46 and 89 together as they all relate to the same thing. Child benefit is a universal monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children who are in full-time education until their 18th birthday, whether that is post-primary, post leaving certificate or third level. Payment up to age 18 years is also made in respect of children who have a disability. Estimated expenditure on the scheme will be approximately €2.1 billion in 2022.
In budget 2023 I secured a significant social welfare package of over €2.1 billion. As part of that, one of my priorities was to provide support for families and children. People who are in receipt of child benefit will receive a cost-of-living double payment on 1 November 2022 and that will be made to approximately 638,000 families in respect of over 1.2 million children at an estimated cost of €170.4 million.
Although the current arrangements for extending child benefit to the age of 18 were primarily intended to cover situations where a child is in full-time post-primary education, they are not limited in this way but are available for children aged up to 18 in full-time education, including those in third level education. The suggestion to extend the age limit, but in so doing exclude those in further or higher education from what is generally a universal payment, may therefore present difficulties. In addition, the cost consequences of any such extension would need to be considered.
Separately, I emphasise that for those on social welfare payments, an increase for a qualified child will be paid up to the age of 22 or up to the end of the academic year in which he or she reaches 22. This approach ensures targeted assistance that is directly linked to household income and thereby supports low-income families with older children participating in full-time education.
Families on low incomes may be able to avail of a number of social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including the increase for a qualified child, primary social welfare payments, the working family payment for low-paid employees with children, and the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. These schemes provide targeted assistance that is directly linked to household income and thereby support low-income families with older children participating in full-time education. In addition, there are budget measures specifically for families with children, such as the double child benefit payment and the €500 lump sum payment to recipients of the working family payment. Low-income families will also benefit from other budget measures, such as the €12 increase in the weekly personal rate for recipients of the working age payment.
In July, the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance was increased by €100 for each eligible child under the scheme. This year, the amount paid for each qualified child aged four to 11 years is €260. The rate payable for each eligible child aged 12 and over is €385. Approximately 151,000 families, with more than 262,000 children, have benefited from this measure. Budget 2023 also provides a €40 weekly increase in the working family payment income limits for families of all sizes from January, at a cost of approximately €16.8 million in 2023. I have also provided for a €500 lump sum payment to all families in receipt of the payment in November 2022, at an estimated cost of €23 million. I have provided for a €2 increase in the qualified child payment to €42 per week for children aged under 12 and by €2 to €50 per week for children over 12. These increases will take effect from January at an estimated cost of €30.4 million.
Child benefit delivers a standard rate of €140 a month for each child in a family. Similarly, the targeted payments mentioned above are paid in respect of each qualifying child. The income limit associated with the working family payment increases with increasing family size. In the case of twins, child benefit is paid at 1.5 times the normal monthly rate for each child. For triplets and other multiple births, child benefit is paid at double the normal monthly rate for each child.
There are many supports in the budget for families and children, including the double payment of child benefit in November; the autumn cost-of-living double payment paid to recipients of a range of schemes in October, including one-parent family payment and jobseeker's transitional payment recipients; the Christmas bonus double payment to recipients of a range of schemes, including the one-parent family payment; the €500 cost-of-living lump sum payment to all families in receipt of the working family payment; and a €400 lump sum payment to all fuel allowance recipients. There is much in this, which is not to mention what the Minister, Deputy Harris, announced in his package.
I thank the Minister for outlining all the supports and measures that she introduced in this budget. People are grateful for them and they have gone down positively in my community. I thank her for that level of investment. It was interesting to hear the Minister talk about 16 years of age being the cut-off point for child benefit, with an extension once people are still in full-time education. Was 16 years of age set at a time when many people chose to leave school at 16? I started college at 17. I was part of a generation from which many went to college. Now, people are often 18 or 19 when they go to college. Transition year is done much more frequently or people may have started school when they were five or six, so they may now be in full-time post-primary education at 18. There is a gap where we are not supporting parents through that transition. If people then go to college, they may be entitled to the Student Universal Support Ireland grant. There are probably only six months in which those children and young people who are 18 are not getting that child benefit. Could that be looked at, costed or modelled with a view to exploring the idea?
I thank the Minister for her response. I lend my support to Deputy Higgins's proposal, which I think is merited. While I note the significant range of measures that the Minister has announced in this budget and the information that she has provided to the House, there is a gap. It is a small gap which affects less than half of leaving certificate students and their families, but it should be borne in mind. As Deputy Higgins said, this scheme was probably designed when fourth year was not done in all schools and children perhaps started school a little earlier. I highlight the welcome support for 1.2 million children whose parents will receive a double payment. The Minister is talking about an expansionary budget in her Department which will benefit more than 639,000 families in just one area and it should be welcomed, particularly with the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis.
I thank the Minister for the comprehensive response. There is a wide range of positive supports. When people reach 16, they need to confirm that they are in full-time education to be eligible. Clearly, full-time secondary school education is the threshold to be eligible. They continue to be in that situation, with the same costs, throughout the leaving certificate cycle, whether they are 16, 17, 18 or even 19. They are similar costs and will not differ. Many do not have the opportunity to work and would be so focused on the leaving certificate that they would not want to be earning or in employment. Has the Minister looked at the number of people who would just have turned 18 or are almost 19 who are still in the leaving certificate cycle? What costs would be involved in supporting them? It would be a practical measure to support families. Household costs have not really changed throughout.
I thank the Deputies. For those people who are in receipt of social welfare payments, an increase for a qualified child will be paid up to the age of 22 or until the end of the academic year in which they reach 22. This approach ensures targeted assistance that is directly linked to household income and thereby supports low-income families with older children participating in full-time education. I take the Deputies' points. Keeping a child in full-time education is expensive. Budgets are also about choices. We are providing €2.2 billion in supports, between the various lump-sum payments and the changes which will take effect from January. It represents the largest social protection budget in the history of the State, but even with that, we cannot do everything that we want to. There are other things that we would like to do, but at the end of the day, the Government has to cut its cloth to measure. I prioritised the double payment of child benefit in the budget, which will support 639,000 families with 1.2 million children. That measure alone will cost €170 million, which demonstrates the scale of the calls for any changes to child benefit. I hear the point about somebody who is older than 18 and still in full-time second level education.
However, if we expanded the child benefits currently in place it would have cost implications into the future. In budget 2023 it was decided to target low-income families on a long-term basis through providing for the increases in the personal rates of payment and increases for the qualified child as well as increases in the working family payment income threshold. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, announced a comprehensive package in the budget to reduce the cost of third level education. The income limit for the student contribution 50% grant has been increased to €62,000 and student maintenance grants will increase in January. There is a €30 million increase in funding to increase capacity for apprenticeships in 2023. When these changes are seen in the round there is a good deal of support to help both working families and those who are not in receipt of social welfare payments. However my job as Minister for Social Protection is to target those who are least well off in our society. Looking at the whole package that we put together it is a very comprehensive budget package.
I thank the Minister for her response. This really was a cost-of-living budget. It was about targeting help towards people who most need it and also providing universal assistance. Every family throughout the country is struggling with the increase in the cost of living. It was good to hear the Minister talk about those low-income families who received the targeted support of the qualified child payment up to the age of 23 while in full-time education. A universal support measure could be to assist people during those few months when they may have an 18-year-old still in second level education. In particular I am thinking of the squeezed middle which would benefit from that. Will the Minister undertake some level of costings to see whether this may be possible to include in next year’s budget?
The measures and the focus on lower income families is positive and constructive. I agree with the Minister on it. Not every household is on social welfare. There are those that are just beyond the threshold. They also feel the burden of costs. Choices must be made. You have to cut your cloth according to measure but to do that you must measure. Has the Minister measured how many people would be involved if this support was made available? Has she examined what the cost would be? It is hugely important. One cannot make an informed decision without having the figures available. We are really looking at a small number of people. Has the Minister actually measured that and put a figure on it? It would support many households where people have just turned 18 years of age and who have not yet done the leaving certificate.
Trying to establish whether people are in full-time education or not would be hard for us. If they are over 18 years of and are still in second level education, it would be hard to find the data and it could take some time. I am not sure where we would obtain it because people themselves have to declare that their children are still in full-time education at the age of 16. I am always willing to look at other ways in which we can help people so I would say to each of the Deputies that I am of course happy to look at these things. I continue to look at different ways in which we can improve the supports we give to people. I am conscious that there are people who receive no support other than the child benefit support. That is why in this budget the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O’Gorman, included the 25% reduction in childcare costs. A single person on €40,000 will be €800 better off per year as a result of the income tax changes while a couple will be €1,600 better off following the budget changes. Next September there will be free schoolbooks in primary school. There is free transport at the moment. There is a good deal in this budget to support working families. That is a positive thing. I continue to review all the schemes we have to see whether we can make them better. Each year there are more and more welcome changes and I will continue to do that. To answer the Deputies who have raised this issue with me, I will look at it, and I thank them for raising it.
Question No. 10 taken with Question No. 6.
Cost of Living Issues
Emer Higgins
Question:11. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a timeframe for the introduction of the cost-of-living payments announced in budget 2023 that are due to be issued before Christmas 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50308/22]
David Stanton
Question:50. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeline for cost-of-living payments issued before Christmas 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50367/22]
Colm Burke
Question:60. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection when cost-of-living payments scheduled before Christmas 2022 will issue to recipients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50532/22]
Neale Richmond
Question:74. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost-of-living supports her Department announced in budget 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49689/22]
Kieran O'Donnell
Question:82. Deputy Kieran O'Donnell asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will outline all of the cost-of-living measures and payments due in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50598/22]
This question relates to providing a timeframe for the introduction of the cost-of-living payments announced in the budget. It has possibly been publicised since this question was tabled but will the Minister talk us through that please?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 50, 60, 74 and 82 together.
In response to the ongoing cost-of-living pressures as part of budget 2023 I secured more than €2.1 billion in new measures. This is the largest social protection package in the history of the State. Recognising that the autumn and winter period is the most expensive time of the year for many households, rather than waiting until the new year, €1.1 billion of this package has been targeted to provide for a wide range of lump-sum payments which will be paid out in the coming months. These payments are in addition to a wide range of increases that will come into effect from January. My Department is currently putting in place the necessary IT systems and administrative processes to administer the various lump-sum payments. The cost-of-living supports recently announced will be paid on the following dates: the autumn cost-of-living double-week payment to most weekly social protection schemes will be paid during the week commencing 17 October 2023. That is next week. The double payment of child benefit to support families with children will be paid alongside the regular child benefit that is due to be paid on 1 November. Families who receive child benefit will get a double payment on 1 November.
The following cost-of-living measures will be paid during the week commencing 14 November. There will be a €400 lump-sum fuel allowance payment to all households receiving the fuel allowance; a €200 lump-sum payment for pensioners and people with a disability receiving the living alone allowance; a €500 lump-sum payment to all families in receipt of the working family payment and a €500 lump-sum payment to those on disability allowance, blind pension and invalidity pension; and a €500 lump-sum payment will be paid to those in receipt of the carer’s support grant during the week commencing 21 November 2022. In addition a 100% Christmas bonus will be paid to long-term social welfare recipients during the week beginning 5 December 2022.
In addition to these measures in 2022 I announced a series of measures as part of budget 2023 which take effect in January. These include a €12 increase which will be provided on weekly payments with additional increases to those people with qualified adults; an increase in the income thresholds on working family payment by €40 across the board. This will benefit working families on the payment by up to €24 per week.
There is a significant increase in the income threshold for people over 70. From 1 January 2023 it will be €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple. That means a single person can earn up to €500 a week and a couple can earn €1,000 per week. In addition I am improving the standard fuel allowance means test for the scheme, for those under 70, by raising the means limit from €120 to €200 above the contributory pension rate. This means people will be able to earn €200 above the contributory pension rate from 1 January 2023 and it will not be taken into account when assessing the fuel allowance.
This is something that has been brought up with me during the year and I changed it. That is an improvement.
I am raising the qualified child payment rate for children under 12 by €2, raising it to €42, and by €2 for children over 12 as well, bringing that rate up to €50 per week. Over the past three budgets, we have now increased the under-12 rate by €6 and over-12 rate by €10.
I also announced that we will amend these rules so parents can qualify for domiciliary care allowance when babies do not leave hospital but would otherwise have qualified for the payments. There was a situation where the child had to be at home before people could qualify for the domiciliary care allowance. For some people, having a child in hospital is a very difficult time and there is a lot of extra expense. Even if the child has never been able to come home, unfortunately, we will let them qualify for the domiciliary care allowance.
I am increasing the rate of payment for the domiciliary care allowance, which is monthly, from €309.50 to €330. I am also increasing the earnings disregard on disability allowance to €165 per week to allow those people with disabilities who can work to earn more and retain their social welfare payment. That is a very important measure because there are some people for whom it might be helpful to work part time. This is means they can still keep their payment and do some work. I would encourage them to look at that if they can.
The Government also announced a range of other measures to support households throughout the winter period, in particular three further energy credits, totalling €600, which will be paid to all households, with the first of these being paid before the end of the year.
I thank the Minister for that comprehensive response. It has been an absolutely historic budget. As the Minister said, it has been the largest ever package to get money back into people’s pockets. That has been welcomed by an awful lot of people. The Minister has done a great job of supporting people on low incomes who need help, support and intervention the most. She has also catered for the squeezed middle who were once considered to have decent jobs and wages and are now finding that they are struggling to make ends meet. This budget and the welfare announcements that the Minister made in respect of the €2.1 billion achieve that.
A couple of constituents have been in touch with me about getting letters now asking for a review of their circumstances before they receive any payments. This might be something that happens every couple of years, I am not sure. Perhaps the Minister could clarify if it is in relation to this in particular.
I also wish to acknowledge the changes the Minister made around the fuel allowance eligibility criteria with the half-rate for carers and the disability payments not being taken into account for the means test. Those are issues I raised with the Minister in this Chamber and it fantastic to see her taking on board so much of the feedback she gets here and making it happen. That is what changes people’s circumstances at home.
The Minister did well on the budget. What she did will make a huge difference to many people.
I have two points. First, is the Minister doing anything to ensure that people know what they are entitled to with the changes that have come in? Some of the changes are quite complicated, people may have to apply and may not know that. Are there information leaflets being given out to people or whatever?
Second, it strikes me that many people will be getting a lot of cash. Will the Minister ensure that people will be made aware that they can lodge to their bank account through the post office rather than carrying a lot of cash home? It is one thing that strikes me. It is great to see people getting all this money, but if they have it in cash, especially older people, vulnerable people or people with disabilities, it can lead them being vulnerable to robbery and so forth. Perhaps they can lodge it at the post office or in their bank account through the post office. Some people do not realise that they can do that and will travel to the bank, which may be far away, not knowing they can do it through the post office.
On the issue of cash, for those who will collect it in their post office, I would tell them to lodge it in their bank account or go to their credit union and put it in there. The credit union is the place to put it. They can take it out when they need it. It is the best way they can manage it. I know from working in a credit union that many a person got extra money and the sensible people went in, put in the credit union and took it out when they needed it. Most credit unions have ATMs as well. That is where they should go with it.
On the means test, the Deputy is right that I do listen here. There are a load of things raised with me during the year, so I was glad I was about to take some of those views on board from across the House and make the difference.
The Deputy talked about the review. There are continual reviews always taking place. We review payments because people’s circumstances change and we need to have the up-to-date information. We have limited resources and we want to target them at those most in need. If people’s circumstances change and they win the lotto, they need to make social protection aware of the changed circumstances. There are reviews ongoing all the time. That is part of our control measures as well - to make sure that when people are receiving the allowances, they are entitled to them and need them. That is part of social welfare and it is important that we carry out those checks and balances.
I thank the Minister for her explanation on reviews. As I said, a constituent of mine has been in touch on this. She is working two seasonal part-time jobs and she is a lone parent. In situations such as hers and in all situations, we absolutely have to have control measures and means-testing. However, I hope that our means test will not be mean enough to discourage people from going out, working and bettering their lives and circumstances.
I thank the Minister for all that she has done. The increased payments and lump sums will be very welcome this winter. I agree with Deputy Stanton when it comes to information campaigns. I would love to know how we are reaching out to people who may not have been eligible for the likes of fuel allowance who are likely now to become eligible to make sure that they are getting the information that the entitlement changed and they should apply for it. I am doing much work with my senior citizens groups in Lucan and Clondalkin to make sure that word gets out there. I would love to get an update on what the Department is doing nationwide.
There will be a campaign, of course, to tell people what they are entitled to and what they should apply for. On the expanded fuel allowance, we hope to target an additional 81,000 homes with the changes to the means test for the over-70s. Just in case people are wondering, we have to change our systems to do that and we are putting together an application form, which we hope to have ready at the end of the year or early next year. However, they will get it from 1 January. If they do not get the money immediately, it will backdated to 1 January.
We are doing everything we can. The staff in social protection have done tremendous work over the past number of years. We had the pandemic and now the cost-of-living crisis. There are many payments that we need to get out before the end of the year. We want to do them in a way that people get them and there are no hiccups. We have to be careful that our IT systems and programmes are written properly so that they are secure and safe. It is a process that needs attention.
We will inform people. I was out in Tallaght in Dublin yesterday-----
We are over time and trying to squeeze in one last bit.
Social Welfare Rates
Claire Kerrane
Question:12. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the way that her Department will ensure that social welfare payment rates are adequate and that the social protection system protects persons from poverty considering the announcement of a €12 increase to the weekly core payment rates in budget 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50411/22]
I refer to the €12 increases, which will kick in in January for all social welfare rates across the board and in light of that its inadequacy, based on the minimum essential standard of living that I have raised with the Minister many times.
As the Deputy knows, I announced on budget day that the Government will spend over €2.1 billion on social protection measures, including over €880 million in order to provide for a €12 increase in the weekly rate of social welfare payments from January 2023. This supports both pensioners and those of working age and includes a proportionate increase for qualified adults. This is the largest social welfare package in the history of the State.
The rate increase is accompanied by a wide range of additional measures and lump sum payments this year to social welfare customers. Taken together, for many household types, the combination effectively matches or exceeds inflation.
For example, a pensioner living alone will receive more than €1,600 in additional payments and energy credits in the next 12 months compared with the 12 months that have just passed. That is equivalent to an increase of approximately €31 per week. To take another example, a person with a disability living alone will benefit by approximately €1,850, an increase of approximately 14%, which is worth €36 per week. In general, most welfare recipients, taking into account the one-off measures, energy credits and underlying rate increase, will be better off by approximately 10% in the next 12 months compared with the 12 months just passed. Year on year, they are better off by 10%.
Combining one-off measures with underlying rate increases is a prudent targeted approach. In its post-budget analysis, the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, stated that welfare increases in 2022 and 2023, together with one-off measures, are large enough to leave the lowest-income households better off, on average, than they would have been had welfare payments risen in line with inflation this year and next. I am satisfied that the total social welfare budget package for 2023 has been designed to protect the most vulnerable in society. As we have done to date, the Government will continue to monitor the situation closely and will respond again when necessary.
I wish we could see a commitment from the Government to get to the minimum essential standard of living, MESL, rather than the haggling we heard just before the budget over whether it might be €10 or €15 or might fall in the middle. We need and should be moving towards providing certainty to social welfare recipients to go to the MESL.
We will leave the last word to the Minister.
One of the benefits of the Vincentian MESL Research Centre is that it provides an analysis of the different levels of income needed for a wide range of household types, including the different costs. For example, the latest MESL annual update shows the differences in the cost of meeting household needs in urban and rural areas. For a start, differentiating social welfare payment rates based on location would be problematic. For these reasons, while not used for benchmarking, the work of the Vincentian MESL Research Centre at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and previously the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, has been and will continue to be a valuable input into the policy-making process. We have taken on board a good number of its recommendations.