Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2012
634 Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Longford will receive payment of their invalidity pension in respect of his child who is a third level student; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18955/12]
View answerWhere a student reaches age 22 during an academic year, the increase for a qualified child is continued in payment for the duration of that academic year, provided s/he remains in full-time education. The child concerned reached 22 on 15 September 2011, however the academic year did not start until 19 September 2011. As the child was 22 before the academic year, the person concerned is not entitled to payment of an Increase for the child.
635 Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason persons (details supplied) have been refused domiciliary care allowance in consideration of the extra care and attention required to look after their two young children suffering from Asperger’s syndrome and related problems, as well as the care of a younger child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18956/12]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance was received on 11th November 2011. This application was referred to one of the Department's Medical Assessors who found that the child was not medically eligible for the allowance. A letter issued on 7th February 2012 advising the person concerned of the decision. She subsequently lodged an appeal against this decision and supplied additional information on her child's condition. As part of the appeal process, her application along with the extra information she provided, was reviewed by a second Medical Assessor who found the child medically eligible for the allowance. The person concerned was notified of the decision on 26th March 2012.
636 Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans, if any, to restructure payment methods within her department to ensure that the 700,000 people currently living below the poverty line are brought above the poverty threshold; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18980/12]
View answer640 Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure that there is a policy in place for transition from illness benefit to invalidity pension whereby applications for invalidity are being processed and ready to transfer prior to the expiration of illness benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18986/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 636 and 640 together.
The Deputy has clarified that this PQ is regarding two specific issues relating to the timelag between making a claim and receiving a decision. In particular, (1) delays when a person is claiming invalidity pension (IP) having previously been in receipt of illness benefit (IB) and (2) delays in processing family income supplement (FIS) payments where a person or their spouse is awaiting a decision on another social welfare application.
Since January 2009 payment of IB is limited to a maximum of 104 weeks (624 pay days) in most cases. There are a number of possible social welfare payments for which a customer may qualify thereafter, depending on their circumstances. Letters are sent to IB customers 13 weeks before their claim is due to expire. The customer is advised about other possible schemes for which they may qualify, including invalidity pension, disability allowance, jobseeker's benefit, jobseeker's allowance and supplementary welfare allowance. Customers are also advised that if they are considering applying for any of the schemes they should do so as soon as possible.
Invalidity Pension is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the PRSI conditions. In an effort to ensure continuity of payment priority is given to applications received from IB recipients whose payment is due to expire. Since the introduction of the two year expiration of IB there has been a significant increase in the number of IP claims received in this department. A high percentage of these applicants are not suitable for IP as they are not medically assessed as being permanently incapable of work.
The processing time for individual Invalidity pension claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the qualifying criteria.
Payment of FIS is based, inter alia, on a fixed proportion of the gap between the assessable income (net of income taxes, PRSI, Pension contribution and USC) of the household and prescribed FIS income thresholds.
In assessing weekly family income for the purposes of FIS most weekly social welfare payments are also taken into account when means are assessed. Accordingly in order for a FIS means assessment to be completed the value of other assessable social welfare payments being made to a household must be available.
Consequently there can be a delay in completing the FIS means assessment in a small number of cases where a final outcome is awaited on the value of another social welfare payment due to a household.
There are approximately 69 FIS claims currently awaiting finalisation of a means test pending a decision on another social welfare application by a household. These cases are being kept under review to ensure that the final FIS means assessment is completed as quickly as possible.
This Department is continually reviewing its processes in an effort to improve processing times and subsequently customer service. Customers waiting on a decision on a social welfare claim, who have urgent income support needs, can apply for the means tested supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) from their local Community Welfare Officer.
637 Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department will consider making the jobsbridge scheme available to persons in receipt of disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18981/12]
View answerThe National Internship Scheme is currently limited to individuals who are currently on the Live Register and have been in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance/Benefit or are signing on for credits for at least 3 of the last 6 months.
Given the scale of the unemployment crisis, it is important that as employment opportunities become available they are taken up by those on the Live Register. The key objective of labour market policy is to keep those on the Live Register close to the Labour Market and prevent the drift into long-term unemployment. This will ensure that Live Register members availing of activation measures such as the National Internship Scheme will, while retaining social welfare unemployment payments and a top up allowance of €50, get an opportunity to engage in the workplace, get work experience and so be in a position to avail of employment opportunities as the economy improves.
For these reasons, it has been proposed as a matter of public policy that eligibility for the scheme be confined to those on the Live Register and in receipt of unemployment payments or signing for credits for 3 of the last 6 months. As such, the policy objective is to prioritise scarce resources on those on the Live Register so as to increase their chances of leaving it thereby ensuring a reduction in Exchequer costs over time.
Individuals who are in receipt of a disability allowance however can access the Work Placement Programme, which provides participants with a work experience placement of between two and nine months. During this time participants may be able to retain their social welfare entitlements.
In addition, people in receipt of a disability allowance can access a range of other specific programmes, such as the Supported Employment Programme and the Wage Subsidy Scheme. Both of these programmes aim to assist people with a disability to secure and maintain a job in the labour market.
My Department continues to monitor and review the operation of the JobBridge scheme including its eligibility criteria on an ongoing basis. The extension of JobBridge to those in receipt of Disability Allowances forms part of this broader review process.
638 Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of families waiting in excess of one month, three months, six months and twelve months for FIS applications to be processed and paid out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18983/12]
View answerThe Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
The number of families waiting in excess of one month, three months, six months and twelve months for FIS applications to be processed at the end of February is given in the following table:
|
Time pending |
Renewals |
New |
Total |
|
< 1 Month |
2,356 |
1,574 |
3,930 |
|
> 1 Month |
2,447 |
2,130 |
4,577 |
|
> 3 Months |
214 |
2,571 |
2,785 |
|
> 6 Months |
14 |
261 |
275 |
|
> 12 Months |
7 |
80 |
87 |
|
Total |
5,038 |
6,616 |
11,654 |
The volume of FIS claims on hands and the delays in processing are a consequence of continued strong claim intake.
The Department has introduced a number of measures to address the efficiency of claim processing for FIS in light of the current waiting times:
Existing processes and procedures are reviewed on an ongoing basis with the explicit objective of reducing delays in claim processing;
Priority is being given to claims where a claim is being renewed to ensure continuity of payment;
The ongoing staffing requirement is being kept under review in light of the increased volumes of claims;
Additional temporary staff have been recruited to help reduce the backlog;
Overtime working is being judiciously applied;
These measures will, over time, lead to more efficient processing and reduce the number of claims on hand. The position is being closely monitored and kept under review by the Department.
639 Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of low income families who depend on family income supplement that have had their application put on hold because they are awaiting a decision on an allowance or benefit from their Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18985/12]
View answer641 Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason applications for FIS cannot be processed while a family member is awaiting a decision on a benefit or allowance from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18987/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 639 and 641 together.
Family Income Supplement (FIS) is designed to provide support for people with families who are on low earnings. This preserves the incentive for them to remain in employment in circumstances where they might only be marginally better off than if they were claiming other social welfare payments. The payment amount is based on a fixed proportion of the gap between the assessable income (net of income taxes, PRSI, Pension contribution and USC) of the household and prescribed FIS income thresholds. Currently this fixed proportion is 60 per cent of the difference between the weekly income and the income threshold for the family size.
In assessing weekly family income for the purposes of FIS, most weekly social welfare payments are assessable as income. Accordingly, in order for a FIS means assessment to be completed, the value of other assessable weekly social welfare payments being made to a household must be available.
Consequently there can be a delay in completing the FIS means assessment in a small number of cases where a final outcome is awaited on the value of another social welfare payment due to a household.
There are approximately 69 FIS claims currently awaiting a decision which are awaiting finalisation of a decision on another relevant social welfare application. These cases are kept under review to ensure to ensure that the final FIS means assessment is completed as quickly as possible.
