Written Answers Nos. 532-552
532. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection her views made in the media on 23 October 2012, to the effect that the Government are considering introducing a pensions cap for the purposes of tax relief; if she will explain how this would work and if this approach is being considered instead of reducing tax reliefs as was provided for in the National Pensions Framework. [47777/12]
View answerThis is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Finance.
533. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on carer's allowance will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47801/12]
View answerThis application for carer’s allowance was awarded on 6th of October 2012 and the department has been in contact with the person in question setting out the details.
534. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47803/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 3rd August 2012. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
535. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when an appeal for invalidity pension will be determined in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47779/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 1st October 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the case in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
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.
536. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on carer's allowance will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47809/12]
View answerThis application for carer’s allowance was awarded on 3rd November 2012. A letter with all details of entitlement issued to the person in question on that date.
537. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on the domiciliary care allowance appeal will be determined in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47823/12]
View answerThe person concerned was notified on 10th September 2012 that her appeal had been successful and her claim was awarded. The first payment issued to her on 16th October 2012.
538. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a rent supplement appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kikldare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47828/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 15th March 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on the 11th May 2012 and the case has been referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
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.
539. Deputy Paschal Donohoe asked the Minister for Social Protection when an application for carer's allowance was received in her Department in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; when the medical element was approved; when the file was sent to the inspector for the means assessment to be carried out; when a decision will be made in view of the fact that this application has been ongoing for over twelve months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47714/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 27th September 2011. As the person being cared for is aged under 16 and in receipt of a Domiciliary Care Allowance no medical assessment in regard to carer’s allowance is necessary. As this case is a particularly complex one in regard to the means assessment, it was necessary to refer the file to a social welfare investigative officer for a means assessment and confirmation that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. The file was referred to the social welfare investigative officer on 24 August 2012.
Once the deciding officer receives the report of the social welfare investigative officer, the application will be processed and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
540. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on an appeal for rent allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47716/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 3rd July 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on the 30th July 2012 and the case has been referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
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.
541. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will to expedite an application for carer’s allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; the reason for the delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47788/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 3rd February 2012. The medical assessment has been completed. The application is currently with a social welfare investigative officer for confirmation that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. Once the investigative officer has completed and submitted the report a deciding officer will make a full decision. 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.
542. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will confirm that a person (details supplied) in County Laois is receiving the correct amount of carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47870/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 7th July 2012. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
543. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Social Protection if additional medical evidence outlining progressive cancer (details supplied) has been taken into consideration in a carer's allowance appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47892/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 12th September 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
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.
544. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for carer's allowance which is currently awaiting review in respect of a person (details supplied); if she will expedite a response to enable the person to make alternative arrangements if they are not granted the allowance. [47894/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 19th September 2011. This application was referred to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors who found that the caree in question was not medically eligible for carer’s allowance. A letter issued on the 3rd July 2012 refusing the allowance. The person in question subsequently submitted further medical evidence for review on 7th August 2012. This medical evidence is awaiting medical assessment by a medical assessor. On completion of all the necessary investigations as part of this review, a decision will be made and the person in question will be contacted directly with the outcome.
545. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Social Protection the current number of applications for family income supplement renewal and initial approval respectively; the corresponding waiting time in each category; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47900/12]
View answerThe Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers.
The average waiting time for new family income supplement (FIS) claims at the end of September was 18 weeks and for renewal applications was 19 weeks. At the end of September, there were 7,393 new FIS applications and 8,173 renewal applications awaiting decision. The volume of FIS claims on hands and the delays in processing are a consequence of continued strong claim intake.
An in-depth business process improvement (BPI) project has recently been completed for the FIS scheme. This project focused on optimising output and customer service and the reduction of backlogs. Part of the project was a detailed examination of workloads and a full assessment of existing capacity within the area and what capacity is needed in order to process the volumes of claims, both new and renewal, being received.
A plan has now been devised and implementation will commence from 5 November 2012. This will allow the normal weekly new claim and renewal intake to be processed without delay and the backlog to be ring-fenced and eliminated over the coming months.
546. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of farm assist on a county basis; the number of claims awaiting to be processed and the current waiting time; the number which have been reviewed since January last; the estimated out turn for the cost of payments in 2012; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47904/12]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is not collated by my Department as claim processing statistics are not separately measured in respect of this scheme. I am, however, informed that there were 11,092 recipients of farm assist at 30th September 2012. A table detailing the available statistics is provided for the Deputy’s information.
Just over €115m. has been provided for Farm Assist in the 2012 Estimates. The cost of this scheme in 2011 was €113.7m.
|
Farm Assis |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
County |
- |
31st December 2010 |
- |
31st December 2011 |
|
Carlow |
- |
102 |
- |
95 |
|
Cavan |
- |
401 |
- |
407 |
|
Clare |
- |
637 |
- |
643 |
|
Cork |
- |
917 |
- |
957 |
|
Donegal |
- |
1,389 |
- |
1,491 |
|
Dublin |
- |
11 |
- |
35 |
|
Galway |
- |
1,133 |
- |
1,137 |
|
Kerry |
- |
742 |
- |
819 |
|
Kildare |
- |
56 |
- |
53 |
|
Kilkenny |
- |
173 |
- |
154 |
|
Laois |
- |
149 |
- |
177 |
|
Leitrim |
- |
331 |
- |
377 |
|
Limerick |
- |
265 |
- |
247 |
|
Longford |
- |
176 |
- |
258 |
|
Louth |
- |
81 |
- |
84 |
|
Mayo |
- |
1,684 |
- |
1,869 |
|
Meath |
- |
90 |
- |
82 |
|
Monaghan |
- |
516 |
- |
545 |
|
Offaly |
- |
127 |
- |
133 |
|
Roscommon |
- |
407 |
- |
433 |
|
Sligo |
- |
478 |
- |
315 |
|
Tipperary |
- |
350 |
- |
402 |
|
Waterford |
- |
84 |
- |
96 |
|
Westmeath |
- |
134 |
- |
193 |
|
Wexford |
- |
202 |
- |
255 |
|
Wicklow |
- |
79 |
- |
76 |
|
Others |
- |
0 |
- |
0 |
|
Totals |
- |
10,714 |
- |
11,333 |
|
- |
- |
Total Recipients at 30 - September 2012 |
- |
11,092 |
|
- |
2010 - €000 |
- |
2011 - €000 |
2012 - REV-II - €000 |
|
Scheme Expenditure |
110,931 |
- |
113,724 |
115,070 |
547. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on a disability allowance will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47908/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 24th July 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred in to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
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.
548. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on an invalidity pension review will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47915/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 28th August 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
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.
549. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Social Protection following the report by her Department into the high administration cost of pension schemes, the steps she is taking to address this situation; if she is satisfied that the pension industry is regulated to international norms and is properly policed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47918/12]
View answerThe Report on Pension Charges 2012 was undertaken by my Department with support from the Central Bank and Pensions Board. The primary objective of the report was to gather information on the level of pension charges levied, to assess whether these charges are reasonable and transparent, to report on the findings and to make recommendations.
The report highlights a wide range of issues in relation to pension charges and identifies a number of serious problems. It is fully recognised that the provision of pension schemes cannot be cost free. However, there are major challenges to be addressed in the two main areas of reasonableness and transparency of charges.
In recent years a number of initiatives have been progressed at Irish and EU level which focused on the area of disclosure and transparency of pension charges. These initiatives included the publication of the revised Consumer Protection Code by the Central Bank in 2012 and the recent consultation paper by the Pensions Board on pension simplification. At EU level, my department will be monitoring development across a range of proposals which are currently under consideration and will be progressed during 2013. The outcome of these developments will inform a review of relevant regulatory framework in Ireland.
The report is a fact finding report, comments from interested parties and stakeholders are being invited over a 3 month period (i.e. by the end of January 2013). These responses will be considered and a further policy and regulatory response, if necessary, will be brought to Government.
On the broader pension policy front, the report clearly identifies the importance of economies of scale in driving down charges. At present, the OECD is conducting a review of longer term pension policy and will comment on key policy issues such as the possible introduction of an auto-enrolment pension scheme for all employees, which could have a major impact on reducing charges.
550. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a request to review a decision to withdraw entitlement to carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47921/12]
View answerCarer’s allowance was stopped on 10th October 2012 in respect of the person in question as, following a review, it was decided that the medical criteria were no longer satisfied.
In order for a child under 16 years to be deemed eligible for carer's allowance, domiciliary care allowance must be in payment for that child. In those circumstances, the child is deemed to be automatically medically eligible for carer’s allowance.
Once the child reaches 16 years and is no longer entitled to domiciliary care allowance, a review of the continuing entitlement to carer’s allowance is carried out.
If the person in question is not satisfied with the decision to stop her carer’s allowance, she may request a review or may submit an appeal to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office.
551. Deputy Damien English asked the Minister for Social Protection if a review will take place regarding arrears paid to a person (details supplied) for disability allowance. [47940/12]
View answerThe person concerned was awarded disability allowance with effect from 14 March 2012 and she received her first weekly payment on 15 August 2012. As the person had been in receipt of illness benefit for some of the period concerned, the amount she received on this payment was deducted from the disability allowance arrears due and she was paid arrears of €895.40 on 23 August 2012.
A review of the arrears paid to the person concerned has been completed. No further arrears are due to her and she will be notified in writing of this decision.
552. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a carer's allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; if she will provide a timeframe as to when it is likely a decision will issue and the reason the application is taking so long to process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47957/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 9th January 2012. The application has been examined by a deciding officer who has sent a request to the person in question for further information needed to process the application. Once all the necessary information has been returned to the department, a deciding officer will process the application and a full decision will issue directly to the person in question.
