I understand that the Deputy is concerned about the impact on entitlement to disability allowance where an existing single recipient marries or cohabits with a partner who is employed, particularly where the couple wish to take out a mortgage to purchase a property. In the case of all social assistance schemes, including disability allowance, account is taken, for means testing purposes, of the claimant's own means and, in the case of a couple, their joint means.
In assessing means, an initial amount of a spouse or partner's earnings, net of tax, PRSI, superannuation contributions and health insurance contributions, is disregarded. Any mortgage repayments which the claimant and/or the spouse or partner may be paying are not included in the calculation of the disregard.
In Budget 2006, I was pleased to be able to increase the level of the disregard, from €88.88 to €100 a week. This comes into effect from next week for the purposes of disability allowance. I also announced an increase in the spouse or partner's income threshold (gross) for entitlement to the full rate of qualified adult allowance increases from €88.88 to €100 a week. The upper income threshold for entitlement to a reduced rate of qualified adult allowance was increased by €20 per week, to €240 per week with effect from last January and this will further increase to €250 concurrently with the other improvements detailed above.
The purpose of both of these measures was to encourage the spouses or partners of social assistance recipients generally to take up employment. It is not possible, at this stage, to estimate the cost of disregarding all spousal income in the case of disability allowance or other social assistance schemes.
I am always prepared to consider changes to existing arrangements where these are for the benefit of recipients and financially sustainable within the resources available to me. Proposals involving additional expenditure must be considered in a budgetary context.