Social Welfare Benefits.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 November 2004

Wednesday, 17 November 2004

Questions (257, 258)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

297 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will examine the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11; his policy in relation to widowed persons who were in receipt of long-term payments not covered under the six weeks rule and whose spouses died prior to June 2003; his views on whether the change introduced in June 2003 corrected a discriminatory policy against certain long-term welfare recipients; and if on this basis, he will he examine whether such payments can be back-dated. [28636/04]

Written answers

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Mr. Brennan)

Provision was made in budget 2003 to extend the scheme of six weeks payment after death to ensure that where a person in receipt of a social welfare payment dies, the social welfare income paid to the surviving spouse-partner is maintained at the same level for the six weeks after the death of the pensioner. This measure was implemented from June 2003. The person concerned and her spouse were both in receipt of an invalidity pension at the time of her spouse's death in May 2003. The person concerned was not covered by the new arrangements and did not receive six weeks payment of her spouse's invalidity pension. There are no plans for backdating this arrangement. To do so would involve additional expenditure and could only be considered in a budgetary context.

Tony Gregory

Question:

298 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the entitlements available to a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7 whose lone parent payment was withdrawn without notice and is now solely dependent on a part-time income. [28653/04]

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Mr. Brennan)

There is a statutory obligation on all claimants to satisfy, and continue to satisfy, the conditions for entitlement to the one parent family payment. One of the qualifying conditions of the scheme is that the claimant must have a qualified child dependant. A person can claim for a child as a dependant if: they have the main care and charge of that child; that child is under age 18 or, in the case of a child aged 18 to 22, that child is in full-time education by day at a recognised school or college. In the case of the person concerned her daughter has ceased full-time education and therefore her payment has been stopped as she no longer satisfies the qualifying conditions of the scheme.

It is normal practice to issue a letter informing claimants that their payment will be stopped. In this case, however, there is no record of such a letter being issued. This is regretted. Procedures have been reviewed to ensure that all claimants are notified before their payment is terminated and a record kept of such notifications. The person concerned is currently in receipt of unemployment assistance.