Brendan Griffin
Question:138. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection her future plans for the JobBridge programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39562/12]
View answerNational Internship Scheme Administration
Questions (138)
Written answers
The National Internship Scheme provides internship opportunities of either 6 or 9 months for unemployed individuals in receipt of a Live Claim, in organizations in the private, public, community and voluntary sectors; at present it is limited to individuals who are in receipt of a Live Claim (Jobseekers Allowance/Jobseekers Benefit/One Parent Family Payment/Disability Allowance) or are signing on for credits for at least 3 of the last 6 months (78 Days).
JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme came into operation on 1 July 2011. A total of10,108 internships have commenced to date with 4,798 participants currently on an internship as at 13 September 2012 and over 2,056 opportunities presently advertised on www.JobBridge.ie. Our records indicate that almost 38% of individuals who have participated in JobBridge have progressed into employment immediately on completion of their internship placements. This represents very significant progress in a short period of time as well as comparing very favourably with European averages. However it is important to note that this does not take into account of interns who may have secured employment in the subsequent weeks or months after completing their internship. Further information on outcomes will be ascertained as a result of the forthcoming formal evaluation of JobBridge
This independent evaluation of the Scheme is being undertaken at the moment by Indecon International Economic Consultants. This evaluation will assess the design, delivery and impact of the JobBridge Scheme, it will provide details of the nature of the work experience of the participants; a measurement of the relevance of that experience to the labour market and progression into employment. The report to be published later this year it will also present recommendations on how the Scheme might be improved. It is at this stage that further consideration will be given to amending the terms and conditions of the scheme.
Family Income Supplement Eligibility
Questions (139)
Tom Fleming
Question:139. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the family income supplement for working one parent families adversely affected by her budget cuts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39570/12]
View answerWritten answers
The Family Income Supplement (FIS) payment is designed to provide income for employees with families who are on low earnings. Expenditure on FIS for 2011 was of the order of €204 million in respect of some 29,000 families.
The payment preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he/she was unemployed and claiming other social welfare payments. To qualify for payment of FIS, a person must be engaged in insurable employment which is expected to last for at least 3 months and be working for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight or 19 hours per week. The applicant must also have at least one qualified child who normally resides with - or is in a family which is supported by - him/her. Furthermore, the average family income must be below a specified amount which varies according to the number of qualified children in the family.
An integral part of the FIS scheme is that once the level of payment is determined, it continues to be payable at that rate for a period of 52 weeks, provided that the person remains in full-time employment. The rate of payment may be increased if an additional child is born in the course of the 52 weeks. On the other hand, the rate of payment will not change if there is an increase or decrease in the recipient’s earnings. A key advantage of this approach, which is unique to the FIS scheme, is that claimants can be certain that they will receive a guaranteed level of income support throughout the period. This certainty is important to the success of the scheme as it provides a real incentive to workers with families to avail of employment opportunities.
However, once the 52 week period has expired, customers are invited to re-apply. If at that stage they continue to satisfy the basic qualifying conditions their up-to-date family income will be assessed for FIS purposes and a change in rate will be approved if appropriate. Accordingly where customers have had their overall family income reduced as a result of any reduction in One Parent Family Payment (OPFP) their FIS entitlement will be adjusted to reflect any income changes at this annual FIS review. I have no plans at present to change these arrangements.
Pension Provisions
Questions (140)
Clare Daly
Question:140. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will justify the rationale of restructuring contributory state pensions in Budget 2012, which discriminate against women who took time out of the workforce to rear their children and will have the effect of reducing the average annual contributions by €1,000 per year, causing immense hardship. [39580/12]
View answerWritten answers
The sustainability of pensions into the future is important given the changing demographics, the increased numbers of those over 65 and increased longevity and reduced dependency ratio. Because the State pension is a very valuable benefit it is important to ensure that those qualifying have made a sustained contribution to the Social Insurance Fund over their working lives. That is why there have been a number of changes to State Pension, including the move to 520 paid contributions from April 2012 as one of the qualifying conditions for State pension.
People who leave the workplace for homemaking/caring purposes can, if eligible, avail of the homemakers scheme which helps to provide a higher rate of pension for those who meet the qualifying conditions.
It is important in assessing any rates of payment that we focus on the real impact of social welfare payments. In this regard, it should be noted that older people do not experience the levels of poverty that existed in the past. This can be clearly seen in a wide range of data such as the significant reduction in the ‘risk of poverty’ rate from 27.1% in 2004 to 9.6% in 2010. The consistent poverty rate over the same period also declined from 3.9% to 0.9%. If one examines deprivation rates from a gender perspective, it can be seen that in 2009, the deprivation rate of older men at 7.6% was lower than the deprivation rate of older women at 11.1%. However, in 2010 this pattern has reversed and the data now shows us that older women suffer lower rates of deprivation at 6.9% compared to 11.8% for older men.
Women who do not qualify for a pension or are affected by other changes to State pension may, if their spouse is in receipt of a State pension contributory, receive a qualified adult payment at a higher rate where they satisfy a means test. A State pension non-contributory, which is a means tested payment, may also be payable.
The Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund shows that, notwithstanding the changes in the contribution rules and associated rates of payment introduced in September 2012, those with lower earnings and those with short contribution histories can fare better than those with full contribution histories, which is of particular importance to women. The report also shows that the Fund provides better value to female than to male contributors.
Ministerial Staff
Questions (141)
Ray Butler
Question:141. Deputy Ray Butler asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will outline in tabular format the annual salary costs for private and constituency offices of Ministers in her Department in each of the years 2009 and 2010; the same figures for any Ministers of State in her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39647/12]
View answerWritten answers
Details of the gross annual salary costs in respect of the Ministerial private and constituency offices for 2009 and 2010 are set out in the following table. The totals show the annualised salary costs of the staffing levels as they stood on 1 September in each of the years in question. There is no Minister of State attached to the Department at present nor was there during the years in question.
|
Salary Cost as at 01/09/2009 |
€ |
|
Constituency Office |
247,866.47 |
|
Private Office |
413,022.45 |
|
Total Cost |
660,888.92 |
|
Salary Cost as at 01/09/2010 |
€ |
|
Constituency Office |
235,069.06 |
|
Private Office |
359,571.29 |
|
Total Cost |
594,640.35 |