Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 April 2004
118 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will reverse any or all of the remaining 15 social welfare cuts introduced in the budget 2003; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12105/04]
View answer119 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, following her decision to reverse the cut of the half rate payment of disability, unemployment and other related benefits to persons in receipt of the widow’s and widower’s pension or one-parent family payments, she has plans to review the other cutbacks announced by her in November 2003, particularly in view of the serious problems being created for many recipients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12066/04]
View answer138 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she intends to review all the cutbacks that she announced in November 2003; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12108/04]
View answer209 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will reverse all the social welfare cuts introduced in the budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12323/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 118, 119, 138 and 209 together.
The Estimates for the Department of Social and Family Affairs, announced last November, included a number of provisions to better target resources within the social welfare code. My Department keeps all its schemes under review so that the total social welfare budget is applied to the best effect in tackling disadvantage and to continue the Government's policy of significant improvement in basic payments to social welfare recipients, as with other improvements to the social welfare code.
I have continued to keep the implementation of all of the Estimates measures under review. In that context, I reviewed the measure regarding entitlement to certain half-rate payments and, given that my review suggested that there may be potential hardship in some cases, I decided to fully retrospectively restore entitlement to the affected persons. I have no plans to change any of the other measures implemented in the Estimates. The measures announced in November produced significant savings which, in turn, freed up resources towards a substantial budget 2004 package of €630 million. This enabled the provision of increases well ahead of inflation for all social welfare recipients of weekly payments as well as significant general improvements in social welfare provisions generally.
The record of this Government in investment in social welfare is second to none. When it came into office in 1997, the level of spending on social welfare was €5.7 billion. This year, the Estimates provide for total spending of well over €11.2 billion, a doubling of social welfare expenditure over this period. This is all the more remarkable when one takes account of the drop of 86,000 over that period in the numbers in receipt of unemployment payments, which in the years prior to 1997 accounted for a significant portion in overall expenditure.
The levels of increases provided in budget 2004, in conjunction with the levels of increases provided over the period from 1998, demonstrate the Government's continuing commitment to safeguard and enhance the living standards of the most vulnerable in our society.
120 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will give details regarding the impact of a recent court decision relating to absentee fathers. [12094/04]
View answerUnder social welfare legislation, there is a statutory obligation on spouses to maintain each other and their children and on parents to maintain their children. Applicants for one-parent family payment are required to make ongoing efforts to seek adequate maintenance from their former spouses, or, in the case of unmarried applicants, the other parent of their child. Normally, such maintenance is obtained by way of negotiation or by court order, though separated couples are increasingly using my Department's Family Mediation Service, which is being progressively extended countrywide. Since 2001, one-parent family payment customers are allowed to retain 50% of any maintenance received without reduction in their social welfare entitlements, as a further incentive to seek support themselves.
Where social welfare support is being provided to the one-parent family, the other parent is legally liable to contribute to the cost of this payment. In every case where one-parent family payment goes into payment, the maintenance recovery unit of my Department seeks to trace the liable relative involved in order to ascertain whether s/he is in a financial position to contribute towards the cost of the one-parent family payment. This follow-up activity takes place within two to three weeks of award of payment. Legislation allows my Department to seek recovery from liable relatives through the courts in appropriate cases.
At a recent court hearing in the Dublin area, four cases were heard where the liable relatives had not complied with requests from the Department for a contribution towards the cost of one-parent family payment paid in respect of their children. All four liable relatives had failed to make contact with the Department prior to the court date and also failed to attend the court hearing. The presiding judge, on hearing all the evidence before the court, ruled that orders for amounts in excess of those assessed by the Department be discharged immediately and costs were awarded in each case. These amounts ordered to be paid to the Department by each person were for €100 or more per week.
Each of these liable relatives had already failed previously to provide adequate maintenance to their separated spouse and children, forcing the families concerned to rely on social welfare for their income support. These four cases were part of an overall total of 132 cases which were submitted for court action between 2001 and 2003. The majority of these cases have resulted either in orders being written against the liable relative in court or the liable relative agreeing to pay a contribution to either the Department or the lone parent. Further cases are in the course of preparation by the Department for court action.
The Department will continue to prosecute any liable relative who fails to co-operate or who defaults on their contributions.
