Written Answers Nos. 195-210
195. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an employer redundancy rebate application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40181/12]
View answerA redundancy rebate claim for the employer concerned has recently been awarded. Payment will be issued by cheque shortly.
196. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding rent allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40183/12]
View answerThe person concerned has lodged an application for Rent Supplement indicating that he has access to his child and is paying rent of €850.00 monthly. The child’s housing need is met by his primary carer. The person concerned does not, have any qualified children related to his Jobseeker’s Allowance claim and, therefore, does not have an entitlement to Rent Supplement in respect of a two bedroom property, nor an entitlement to have the appropriate maximum amount of rent that applies to a one parent family with one child applied in this case. The appropriate rent limit for the person concerned is €475 per month.
197. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when a person (details supplied) in County Kildare will qualify for state pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40184/12]
View answerThe Department is unable to provide forecasts for people in relation to their possible future State pension (transition/contributory) entitlements, or to comment on individual pension planning enquiries.
The person concerned has not reached pension age. He has been furnished with a copy of his social insurance record as currently held by the Department, together with a guide which explains how entitlement to a State pension (transition/contributory) is currently assessed and which should assist him in calculating what his future State pension entitlements may be.
The Department’s website, www.welfare.ie, also provides a comprehensive suite of information in relation to State pension entitlements, including a range of frequently asked questions and answers.
198. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) in Dublin 10 will be given permission to finish their course work on placement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40189/12]
View answerThe Department has no record of the person concerned undertaking course work on placement.
199. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Clare will be facilitated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40198/12]
View answerFurther to my response to Parliamentary Question No. 746 on 18th September 2012, I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that there is no update to the information given previously.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
200. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on a domiciliary allowance will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40200/12]
View answerFollowing a review of the medical evidence in this case, the person concerned was found to be eligible for the domiciliary care allowance. The claims is in payment and all arrears due have issued.
201. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on a domiciliary care scheme will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40201/12]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received on the 21st May 2012. This application was referred to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors who found that the child was not medically eligible for DCA. A letter issued on the 17th July 2012 refusing the allowance. The person concerned subsequently lodged an appeal against this decision.
As part of the appeal process, the case has been forwarded to another of the Department’s Medical Assessors for further consideration, including a review of any new information supplied. Upon receipt of the Medical Assessor’s opinion, the case will be further examined and will be forwarded for consideration by the Appeals Office, if necessary.
202. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive a decision on their application for carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40217/12]
View answerI confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question. The application will be processed as quickly as possible and when a decision is made the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome
203. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County will receive a decision on their application for carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40222/12]
View answerI confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question. The application will be processed as quickly as possible and when a decision is made the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome
204. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) in County Kildare qualifies for old age pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40230/12]
View answerIt is not possible for a person to qualify for State pension (contributory) on the basis of their spouse’s PRSI record.
The person concerned does not satisfy the qualifying conditions for State pension (contributory) which applied on the date that she reached pension age (66):
- have entered insurable employment before attaining the age of 56 years.
- have at least 156 paid contribution weeks since entry into insurance, from employment or self-employment.
- have a yearly average of at least 48 paid and/or credited full-rate contributions from 1979 to the end of the tax year preceding her 66th birthday, or
- have a yearly average of at least 10 paid-credited contributions from the date of her entry into insurable employment, to the end of the tax year preceding her 66th birthday (to qualify for the maximum rate, a yearly average of 48 is required).
The person concerned, according to the records of the Department, has a yearly average of 4 contributions from 1952 to 1996. She does not therefore satisfy the qualifying conditions for State pension (contributory) as outlined, and her claim was disallowed on this basis.
Section 110 (1)(a) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 stipulates that in order to be eligible for a State pension (contributory), at least one year’s self-employment contributions must be paid prior to the person reaching pension age. The person concerned had applied to this Department, in 2010, for recognition of a commercial partnership with her husband and recognition of the partnership has been granted. All outstanding PRSI was paid by the person concerned in November 2010 which was after her 66th birthday. In this case, as all of the self-employment contributions due were paid after the person concerned reached the age of 66 years, and insufficient class S PRSI had been paid by her husband to cover both of their liabilities for at least one single tax year prior to her 66th birthday, the person concerned does not satisfy the first eligibility condition as outlined above.
It is noted that the person concerned has not made application for a Widow(er)’s and Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension. An information leaflet and claim form for this pension has been sent to her. Should she decide to apply for this pension, on receipt of the completed claim form, her entitlement to pension will be fully examined and she will be notified of the outcome without delay.
205. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason persons with Fibromyalgia, despite submitting all relevant medical paperwork, are been refused on the basis of a desk assessment. [40231/12]
View answerFibromyalgia is accepted as a certifiable medical condition. Eligibility to the various illness related schemes is determined by its severity and expected duration.
The medical assessment is made in accordance with the Department’s evidence based medical guidelines/protocols.
All medical evidence submitted is taken into consideration in assessing eligibility for the various illness related schemes.
206. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the way it has occurred that an alleged overpayment was made in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40235/12]
View answerFollowing a review of this case an overpayment was assessed as it was established that the person concerned had failed to notify the Department of a change in her circumstances.
207. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when one parent family allowance will be paid in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; if she will review the decision to cease payment under this scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40243/12]
View answerThe one parent family application of the person concerned is being processed, and she will be informed of the outcome once this process is completed. The person concerned submitted a written request to have her previous one parent family claim closed, and the Department have no plans to carry out a review of the decision to close that claim.
208. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive a decision in relation to their application for invalidity pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40244/12]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer having fully considered all the available evidence allowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision. The person concerned was notified of the Appeals Officer decision on 19th September 2012.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
209. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of child benefit who are also in receipt of a social welfare payment, including family income supplement, and the percentage that they compose of the child benefit budget. [40245/12]
View answer210. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of the child benefit budget allocated to those who are not recipients of social welfare payments, including family income supplement. [40246/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 209 and 210 together.
The information requested by the Deputy is not routinely collated by my Department. However, I am informed that on the 31st of December 2011, there were 597,333 families in receipt of child benefit. There 263,515 families in receipt of qualified child increases across the various social welfare schemes administered by the Department of Social Protection on that date and 28,876 families in receipt of Family Income Supplement on that date.
These data show that approximately 51% of families who receive Child Benefit are not in receipt of a social welfare payment.
