Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 October 2005
269 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when an application for the old age pension will be processed for a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28469/05]
View answer293 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the position regarding an application for the old age pension for a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28005/05]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 269 and 293 together.
The person concerned was recently awarded an old age non-contributory pension at the maximum personal rate of €166 per week with effect from 15 July 2005. A pension book payable from 30 September 2005 will issue to his local post office shortly for collection by him. A cheque in respect of arrears of pension due to him for the period from 15 July 2005 to 29 September 2005 will issue to him as soon as possible.
270 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons not in receipt of the carer’s allowance or the carer’s benefit who were successful and unsuccessful in qualifying for the respite care grant in 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27327/05]
View answerThe budget for 2005 provided, inter alia, for the extension of eligibility for the respite care grant to people providing full-time care and attention who are not in receipt of carer’s benefit or carer’s allowance. Those in receipt of the latter payments receive the grant automatically without having to make a separate application. A total of 5,804 applications were received up to Wednesday, 5 October 2005. The grant has been awarded to 5,180 applicants while 582 applications were unsuccessful. A total of 42 claims are being decided.
271 Mr. P. McGrath asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on the case of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath who returned home to care for her mother, should not be turned down on her application for the carer’s allowance on the grounds of non-compliance with the habitual residency clause. [27328/05]
View answerFrom 1 May 2004 the requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes, including carer's allowance and child benefit. The basis for the restriction contained in the new rules is the applicant's habitual residence. The restriction is not based on citizenship, nationality, immigration status or any other factor. The effect of the restriction is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere is not paid certain social welfare payments on arrival in Ireland. The question of what is a person's habitual residence is decided in accordance with European Court of Justice case law which sets out the grounds for assessing individual claims. Each case received for a determination on the habitual residence condition is dealt with in its own right and a decision is based on application of the guidelines to the particular individual circumstances of each case. An applicant who disagrees with the decision of a deciding officer has the right to appeal to the social welfare appeals office.
My Department has kept the operation of the habitual residence condition under review since its introduction. This is to assess the impact of the condition on different categories of claimants, the organisational arrangements and the service provided to customers, to identify opportunities for improvements in the administration of the scheme and identify emerging policy issues and consider how these should be addressed. Account is being taken of the views received from various groups and organisations who have an interest in the area. I expect to draw conclusions by the end of the year.
272 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, further to Question No. 746 of 28 September 2005, his views on whether the negative policy of the community welfare service of the Health Service Executive acting on its behalf is likely to place an extra burden on the Exchequer; if as is proposed, a single person who qualifies for one-parent family allowance and rent support in his or her own right is denied rent supplement if he or she returns to education to improve his or her employment opportunities and, ultimately, becomes independent of welfare support; if his attention has been drawn to the negative message this decision gives to young persons; if he proposes to take action in this case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27331/05]
View answerThe Health Service Executive, which administers the supplementary welfare scheme on my behalf, is applying the rules relating to rent supplement correctly in this case. Under section 172(1) of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993, people in full-time education are not eligible normally to receive assistance, including rent supplements, under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. However, there is a special provision for retention of rent supplement by one-parent family payment and other qualifying social welfare scheme recipients in the specific situation where they resume full-time education after a defined period with the assistance of the back-to-education allowance scheme. People participating in approved courses under this special facility receive a standard weekly rate of payment equivalent to the maximum rate of their relevant social welfare payment and may retain any secondary benefits, such as rent supplements, which may have been in payment prior to participating in the scheme. To qualify for participation in the scheme, people in receipt of one-parent family payment must be aged 21 years or over and in receipt of that payment for six months if accessing the second level option or for 12 months for the third level option. Lone parents and persons in receipt of an unemployment payment aged between 18 and 20 years may also access the scheme if they have been out of formal education for at least two years and in receipt of the relevant social welfare payment for the required period. This programme is designed specifically to give people on unemployment or one-parent family payments for extended periods a second chance to educate themselves to improve their skills and qualifications and to enhance their prospects of returning to the active workforce.
The scheme is not appropriate to the generality of students who, as in the case of the person concerned, complete their second level education and continue to third level studies in the normal way. The person concerned has not been out of the education system for two years or more and, therefore, does not qualify for participation in the back-to-education allowance scheme operated by my Department. As a result she is not eligible for rent supplement while she undertakes her third level course. The relevant State support mechanism in such cases is annual third level maintenance grants scheme to assist people from lower income households towards their living costs while undertaking college courses.
273 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, further to Questions Nos. 750 and 757 of 28 September 2005, when the review of a person’s entitlement to rent support will be concluded (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27332/05]
View answerThe Health Service Executive has advised that, following a review of her entitlements, the person concerned has been awarded a rent supplement of €16.20 for the month of July 2005 increasing to €65.20 per month from 1 August 2005. The person concerned has been informed of this decision and payment of her monthly rent supplement, together with any outstanding arrears, will be issued to her shortly by the executive.
274 Dr. Cowley asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will consider increasing the threshold of the back to school allowance; his views on whether it is necessary to increase this payment as the back to school expenses are constantly on the increase (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27380/05]
View answerThe back to school clothing and footwear allowance, BSCFA, which is administered on my behalf by the Health Service Executive, provides a one-off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when their children start school each autumn. An allowance of €80 is payable in respect of qualified children aged between two and 11 years or €150 in respect of qualified children aged from 12 to 22 years. Applications may be made between the beginning of June and the end of September each year. A person may qualify for payment of a BSCFA if he or she is in receipt of a social welfare or health board payment, is participating in an approved employment scheme or attending a recognised education or training course and has household income at or below certain specified levels.
Income limits for eligibility under the scheme have been increased regularly, along with general rate increases. These increases in underlying social welfare rates and in the corresponding household income limits for BSCFA purposes have considerably exceeded the rate of price change in clothing and footwear in recent times and have also helped to bring additional people on low incomes into eligibility under the scheme. An additional increase in the income limits or increases in the payment rates have budgetary implications and can only be considered in this context.
275 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny qualifies for benefit under the back-to-education scheme; and if he will review the case and issue a decision. [27403/05]
View answerThe back-to-education allowance is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active workforce. I reduced the qualifying period for access to the third level option of the scheme to 12 months — 312 days — in the last budget. I also increased the annual cost of education allowance, paid to people on BTEA, from €254 to €400. These changes came into effect from 1 September 2005.
Following an undertaking to the Dáil and the Joint Committee on Social and Family Affairs, I have further reduced the qualifying period for access to the third level option to nine months — 234 days. This condition will apply to persons who are participating in the national employment action plan, NEAP, process and where a FÁS employment services officer recommends pursuance of a third level course as essential to the enhancement of the individuals employment prospects. This new condition also came into effect from 1 September 2005.
The person concerned does not meet the qualifying period requirement and does not, therefore, satisfy the eligibility criteria for participation in the scheme, as only 166 days of paid unemployment were accumulated to the time the course of study started. This is well short of the required 312 days in this person's case.
276 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo is not in receipt of the free electricity allowance. [27416/05]
View answerThe person concerned has been awarded an electricity allowance with effect from 1 April 2005 and a telephone allowance from 30 March 2005. The relevant service providers have been notified to apply the allowances to the customer's accounts. A free lifetime television licence has also been awarded with effect from the expiry date of the customer's current television licence.
277 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason the fuel allowance is being withdrawn from eligible persons living in local authority senior citizens complexes with subsidised heating in view of the fact that these tenants pay €303.68 per annum to the local authority for heating; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27448/05]
View answerThe aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders in receipt of long-term social welfare or health service executive payments towards their additional heating needs during the winter season. Fuel allowances are not payable in cases where a person has access to his or her own fuel supply or is benefiting from a subsidised heating service such as that provided by Dublin City Council at a number of its housing complexes. This has been the policy since the inception of the scheme.
In the particular case raised by the Deputy, total heating needs are met at a cost to the tenant of less than €6 per week over the full year. In the course of a routine review of fuel allowance payments, the Department recently ceased fuel allowance entitlement which had been paid in error in a number of cases where recipients were in local authority accommodation with subsidised heating. The allowances were withdrawn in these cases. A change to the existing arrangements in respect of the fuel allowance for this group would have quite significant cost implications and would have to be considered in the context of the budget and in the light of the resources available to me for improvements in social welfare generally.
278 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his plans to increase the amount of €88.88 which can be earned by a dependant of an old age contributory pensioner (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27489/05]
View answerFor the purposes of most other social welfare payments, entitlement to an increase for a qualified adult is based on the income of the spouse or partner. A qualified adult increase at the maximum rate is payable where the spouse-partner's income is €88.88 per week or less and tapered reduced rates are payable where income is less than €220 per week. The lower threshold was last increased in the budget for 2000 while the upper threshold has been increased in each successive budget since then from €135 in 2000 to €220 in the budget for 2005. A change in the current arrangements relating to entitlement to qualified adult allowances would have to be considered in a budgetary context and in the light of available resources.
279 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason an application for the back-to-education allowance by a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9 was refused; if the exceptional and compassionate circumstances of this case will be examined as provided for in the scheme; the reason the allowance will not be awarded if the person already holds a qualification at an equivalent or higher level; if this decision will be reversed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27497/05]
View answerThe back-to-education allowance is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to encourage and facilitate people on certain social welfare payments to improve their skills and qualifications and, therefore, their prospects of returning to the active workforce. Since the scheme was introduced, its primary focus has been people who most need additional training or qualifications to gain a foothold in the labour market. People with a primary degree are already in possession of a third level qualification and their academic qualifications impact positively on their employment prospects. Furthermore, the scheme was never intended to be an alternative form of funding for people entering the third level education system.
The person concerned applied for participation in the back-to-education allowance scheme to pursue a three-year bachelor of science degree in occupational therapy at Trinity College Dublin. She already holds a primary degree, BA, obtained in 1966. The application was refused on the grounds that the person concerned has achieved a level of academic attainment which should impact positively on her employment prospects.
