Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 February 2006
150 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the way in which his Department investigated the effect or benefit of the recent increase in training allowances for single parent families (details supplied); the action he intends to take to rectify the anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6295/06]
View answer151 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of a group (details supplied) about the effect of recent budgetary increases and the effect on participants of the group; the action he intends or proposes in regard to the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6296/06]
View answer160 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of a group (details supplied) about rent supplement payments; and if so, the action his Department intends to take to alleviate the matter. [6297/06]
View answer161 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that recent budgetary decisions can in some instances cause problems for families who are participants in FÁS schemes (details supplied); if the anomaly will be investigated and rectified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6298/06]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 150, 151, 160 and 161 together.
The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Neither I nor my Department has any function with regard to decisions on individual claims.
Under the rules of the scheme, rent supplements are calculated to ensure that an eligible person has an income after the payment of rent equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her family circumstances, less a minimum contribution of €13 which each recipient is required to pay from his or her own resources. Where a person has an additional income as a result of participation on a FÁS training course, such as the moving on programme, the means test provides for a weekly disregard of up to €60 per week and for half of any additional income between €60 and €90 to be disregarded for means assessment purposes. This type of additional income disregard was first introduced in budget 2000 and has been increased over the years to its current level.
Lone parents who participate in the moving on programme are not penalised for doing so. For example, a lone parent with one child living in Carlow with rent of €150 per week, whose sole income is a one parent family payment of €185.10 per week, would ordinarily receive rent supplement of €134.50 per week, resulting in a net income after paying rent of €169.60 per week. If she takes up a place in the moving on programme, her total income before rent supplement and before paying rent would rise to €280.10 per week. In these circumstances, she would be entitled to €114.50 in rent supplement and her income after paying rent would be €244.60 per week. She would be €75 better off for having participated in the programme.
Improvements in the training allowance disregards combined with the increases in social welfare payments ensure that lone parents continue to benefit from budgetary increases in training allowance rates. For example, in 2005 a lone parent with one child living in Carlow with rent of €150 per week and participating on the moving on programme would have been entitled to a rent supplement of €111.50 per week and her income after paying rent would have been €212.60 per week. Following budget 2006, she is now €32 per week better off arising from the combined social welfare and training allowance increases, including a €3 per week increase in the amount of rent supplement payable. Overall I consider that the current rent supplement additional income disregards ensure that people have a financial incentive to take up training opportunities but I will continue to keep the issue under review.
