Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 November 2004
334 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will investigate the difficulty which members of the public have in making contact with the child benefit and children’s allowance section of his Department in Letterkenny; and if he will put in place additional measures to ensure that phones are answered and callers receive the necessary response. [31062/04]
View answerIn the months September to November each year, there is a seasonal peak in the volume of claims for children over the age of 16 who resume full-time education and some 66,000 additional claims are received in this period. Staff are redeployed as circumstances allow to deal with the increased volumes of telephone calls but the over-riding priority is to clear the claims as quickly as possible.
The situation is monitored on an ongoing basis and every effort is made to minimise any inconvenience to customers while this seasonal claims influx is being dealt with. The work in question has just been completed and an improvement in the telephone service is expected.
335 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when disability allowance will be awarded in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; the reason this was previously refused; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31089/04]
View answerSince 1 May 2004 applicants for social welfare assistance schemes and child benefit are subject to the habitual residence condition. The disability allowance scheme is included among these schemes.
The person concerned made a claim for disability allowance on 21 May 2004 and was deemed not to satisfy the habitual residence condition. This decision was upheld on review. He subsequently appealed the decision and his case has been forwarded to the social welfare appeals office. He will be notified of the outcome of the appeal in due course.
336 Mr. O’Shea asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his proposals regarding issues arising since persons with an intellectual disability in community housing under the auspices of voluntary services or health boards have become eligible for disability allowance (details attached); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31091/04]
View answerDisability allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a disability who are aged between 16 and 66. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year. The allowance is subject to both medical suitability and a means test. However, under social welfare legislation payment may be made to a person other than the claimant where this is requested or appropriate in certain circumstances. Such persons are appointed to act as agents to, inter alia, collect payments on behalf of a claimant. Agents are appointed where a person is unable to cash their payment due to serious illness or loss of mobility. They may also be appointed in cases where a person is permanently unable to act for themselves or discharge responsibility generally due to severe mental incapacity. In many cases parents, guardians or other family members are appointed as agents.
The issue of how much a person in residential care or community housing should contribute to the cost of their care and maintenance is primarily a matter for the health service and the service provider.
It would seem reasonable that those receiving publicly-funded long-term care should make some contribution towards upkeep and maintenance if they can afford to do so, just as they would if they were living in the community. Under the nursing home subvention regulations 1993, a person in full time residential care must be allowed to retain an amount equivalent to one fifth of the amount of the old age non-contributory pension as a personal income.
Budget 2003 provided for the take-over by my Department of the discretionary pocket money allowances paid to people with disabilities in residential care who are not entitled to disability allowance and for the standardisation of the level of these allowances. My Department has undertaken an information gathering process with the health boards with a view to arranging for the transfer of responsibility for the payment of these allowances and of the funds involved. An assessment of the scale of the transfer and its implications for a more general removal of the residential care disqualification for disability allowance purposes will be made in the light of this transfer and having regard to available resources and priorities generally.
