Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2004
410 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will withdraw guidance that exemptions to the Government housing supplement be minimal in number and advise that persons who have sought housing assessment by their local authority but those termination is pending can receive rent supplement. [14167/04]
View answerRent supplements are paid under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on behalf of my Department by the health boards.
Measures were introduced last January to re-focus the rent supplement scheme on its original objective which is to meet immediate short-term income maintenance needs as opposed to long-term housing needs. However, the new provisions do not restrict the discretion given to health boards to award a supplement in any case where it appears to the board that the circumstances of the case so warrant e.g. where an applicant is being made homeless or forced to use homeless facilities unless rent supplement is paid.
Naturally, it is expected that the type of cases referred to should, by their nature, be exceptional and it would be expected that the number of such cases would be minimal.
The health boards have indicated that the housing authorities are responding to requests for housing assessments without undue delay. If, however, there is a delay in any particular case, a health board still has the discretion to make a payment where it considers it necessary to do so.
My Department will continue to monitor the implementation of the new measures to ensure that they are effective and do not lead to hardship in individual cases.
411 Mr. McCormack asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason for the decision by her Department to withdraw allowances for crèche payment to mothers availing of back to education schemes; and if this payment of crèche charges is being provided by another Department to mothers in back to education schemes who have young children in crèche facilities. [14326/04]
View answerThe objective of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, under which crèche supplements are paid, is to meet immediate, short-term income maintenance needs. The scheme is not intended to be a long-term solution in any individual case.
The crèche supplement was introduced with the intention of providing assistance to a parent who is in need of a short-term emergency support. This could arise, for example, where, without assistance with child minding, a parent would not be able to avail of necessary particular supports such as counselling services or addiction treatment programmes.
It was never intended to be a long-term ongoing support for people returning to full-time education.
When the change was announced in November 2003, there were 1,738 crèche supplements in payment. This figure represented an increase of almost 150% in less than three years from January 2001 when there were approximately 700 people in receipt of a crèche supplement. Payment of crèche supplements were increasingly being made for reasons which were clearly outside the scope of the original intentions of the scheme.
The fact that the supplements were in payment for long durations in many cases indicated that they had become a long term childcare support rather than the short term social welfare support which was originally intended.
This is not an appropriate way for meeting the needs of the people in question. However, crèche supplements in payment prior to 1 January 2004 have been allowed to remain in payment for a limited period.
While the total amount spent on crèche supplements is significant, with some €2.1 million spent in 2003, funding crèches in this manner is administratively inefficient as it requires the parents to apply individually for a weekly payment. The cost of administration represents a high proportion of the value of the funds provided to the crèches.
As the Deputy may be aware, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has introduced the Equal Opportunities Childcare Programme, 2000-2006 to fund the development of childcare in Ireland while seeking to ensure that existing child care services are not displaced by the introduction of new initiatives in this area.
One of the main aims of the programme is to provide childcare facilities which will allow parents to avail of educational, training and employment opportunities. In this regard the equal opportunities childcare programme is the more appropriate vehicle to address the needs of the people identified by the Deputy.
Discussions are continuing with officials from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Department of Health and Children and from some of the health boards to ensure that more appropriate arrangements are put in place.
In the meantime, I would point out that the changes I introduced in the supplementary welfare allowance scheme in no way affect the discretion available to health boards to provide assistance in emergency cases which may arise from time to time.
412 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kildare is not being awarded a rent subsidy in view of the fact this person’s local authority states that they are in need of housing; if this is not accepted by her Department, the proper procedure this person has to follow to ensure that they receive the rent subsidy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14343/04]
View answerThe South Western Area Health Board was contacted regarding this case and has advised that it is aware of the correspondence referred to by the Deputy. However, the information available to the board is that the person concerned has not actually been assessed by the local housing authority in respect of her housing needs.
It is not sufficient for the local authority to deem an applicant to be in need of housing. For rent supplement purposes, it is necessary that an assessment of housing need is undertaken by the local authority. The board is awaiting the outcome of this assessment before it will be in a position to determine whether or not a rent supplement is payable in this case.
413 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason the supplementary welfare allowance appeal by a person (details supplied) in County Dublin was refused, in view of the circumstances; if he intends to review the situation in view of the hardship being experienced by this person’s family and the fact that a loan has had to be taken out to pay for the rent; and the other course of action she recommends. [14447/04]
View answerIt is a statutory condition for receipt of a rent allowance under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme that a person has not vacated accommodation provided by a housing authority or if he or she has vacated such accommodation the health board is satisfied that he or she had good cause for doing so.
The person concerned applied for a rent allowance in respect of her current accommodation in October 2003. This application was disallowed by the South Western Area Health Board on the basis that she had vacated her previous local authority house voluntarily and without having good cause for doing so.
The person appealed against this decision and her appeal was considered by the health board's appeals officer who upheld the decision. The person then appealed to the chief appeals officer of the social welfare appeals office. Following an oral hearing on 10 March 2004 an appeals officer, having considered all the available evidence and the circumstances of the case, determined that it had not been established that "good cause" existed for the person to vacate the accommodation provided by the local authority in Athlone. Accordingly, the appeal was disallowed.
An appeals officer's decision is final and can only be altered in the light of new facts or evidence. A review of the decision was recently carried out at the request of the person concerned. The appeals officer decided that there was no new information that would warrant a revision of his decision and she was advised accordingly.
Under social welfare legislation decisions in relation to claims must be made by deciding officers and appeals officers. These officers are statutorily appointed and I have no role in regard to making such decisions.
414 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason supplementary welfare allowance has been suspended for a person (details supplied) in County Kildare while the one parent claim is being processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14487/04]
View answerThe South Western Area Health Board was contacted regarding this case and has advised that payment of a basic supplementary welfare allowance and a mortgage interest supplement were temporarily suspended pending full disclosure of means from the person concerned.
The board has further advised that payment of the basic supplementary welfare allowance at a reduced rate, which takes account of her revised means, is to resume this week. Arrears of both the basic allowance and the mortgage interest supplement will issue the following week.
