Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 May 2005
210 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of customers who receive either weekly or monthly payments from his Department; the percentage of these who receive their cash payments through the local post office; if he has encouraged his customers to opt for payments through a particular method; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15521/05]
View answerMy Department makes payments to some 1.6 million customers on a weekly or monthly basis. Of those, 58% currently receive payment through their local post office, 11% are paid by cheque through the postal system and 31% receive direct electronic payment to their bank or building society account.
Customers opt for a particular payment method having regard to their own circumstances and particular needs. It is my Department's policy to provide as much information as possible to customers to enable them to make an informed choice in this regard. Occasionally, it may be necessary for customers to move from one payment method to another, for example, where a new computer system is being introduced and a particular payment option is no longer available. Subject to this, customers generally are free to opt for the payment method which suits them.
211 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, following the introduction in 2005 of a €35 allowance to disabled persons in residential care who have hitherto been deprived of any disability payment, it is intended to award some or all of the years of back money to these residents. [15522/05]
View answerResponsibility for the disabled person's maintenance allowance, DPMA, scheme was transferred from the Department of Health and Children and the health boards to the Department of Social and Family Affairs in October 1996. On the transfer of the scheme, the existing qualifying conditions were retained and the scheme was renamed "disability allowance". This position was provided for in Part IV of the Social Welfare Act 1996.
One of the qualifying conditions applying to the former DPMA scheme was that the payment could not be made to people who were in residential care where the cost of the person's maintenance was met in whole or in part by a health board. Since 1999, the restrictions on payment to persons in residential care have been progressively relaxed, as reflected in successive amendments to the Act. From August 1999, existing disability allowance recipients living at home can retain their entitlement where they subsequently go into hospital or residential care.
A wide-ranging review of illness and disability payment schemes completed by my Department in September 2003 recommended the removal of the residential care disqualification for disability allowance purposes. The working group which oversaw the review recognised that the removal would have a range of implications, and that, in the absence of reliable data on the numbers involved and the actual funding arrangements currently in place, it was not possible to assess fully the likely impact or cost of such a move.
Budget 2003 provided for the takeover 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 then undertook 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.
In budget 2005, I announced that, as an interim measure, a payment of €35 per week would be payable to the persons with disabilities who are affected by the current restriction, with effect from June 2005. This development was provided for in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2005.
There are a number of practical and administrative issues to be resolved with the Department of Health and Children, including the question of the appropriate contribution to be made by residents of institutions towards care and maintenance. It is my intention that the outstanding issues will be progressed as a matter of urgency. Payments of disability allowance were at all times made in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions so the issue of repayments does not arise in this instance.
