Gerry Adams
Question:99. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently in receipt of rent allowance in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13435/13]
View answerRent Supplement Scheme Application Numbers
Questions (99)
Written answers
The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. There are currently over 87,000 recipients for which the Government has provided over €403 million in 2013. There are currently 2,493 recipients of rent supplement in County Louth.
Foster Care Expenditure
Questions (100)
Luke 'Ming' Flanagan
Question:100. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Social Protection if the fostering care allowance should be excluded as income by lending institutions when calculating mortgage repayments (details supplied); her views on whether including such an allowance in mortgage repayments calculations is to put the welfare of fostered children in jeopardy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13185/13]
View answerWritten answers
Foster’s Care Allowance is administered by the Health Service Executive and not by the Department of Social Protection. Calculating of the inclusion of or the exclusion of Foster Care Allowance is a matter for the HSE who administer the scheme.
Social Welfare Code Issues
Questions (101)
Joanna Tuffy
Question:101. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Social Protection the rules regarding habitual residence to whom those rules apply; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13189/13]
View answerWritten answers
The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1 May 2004. This qualifying condition is applied to all applicants, regardless of their nationality. The effect of the condition is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere would not normally be entitled to social welfare assistance or child benefit payments on arrival in Ireland. The habitual residence condition (HRC), as provided for in section 246 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 (as amended), applies to claims for jobseeker’s allowance, non-contributory State pension, blind pension, non-contributory widow’s and widower’s pensions and guardian’s payment, one-parent family payment, carer’s allowance, disability allowance, supplementary welfare allowance including rent supplement, and child benefit. A person who does not have a right to reside in the State shall not be regarded as being habitually resident in the State. HRC does not apply to exceptional needs or urgent needs payments under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.
Under Social Welfare legislation, decisions in relation to all aspects of claims are made by statutorily appointed Deciding Officers. Each case received for a determination on HRC is dealt with in its own right and a decision is based on application of the legislation and guidelines to the particular individual circumstances of each case.
The determination of a person’s habitual residence is made in accordance with five factors which are set out in legislation, as follows:
(a) the length and continuity of residence in the State or in any other particular country;
(b) the length and purpose of any absence from the State;
(c) the nature and pattern of the person’s employment;
(d) the person’s main centre of interest, and
(e) the future intentions of the person concerned as they appear from all the circumstances.
These five factors have been derived from European Court of Justice case law, and are generally sufficient to enable the deciding officer to determine whether a person’s present circumstances in Ireland indicate a temporary visit or habitual residence. Any applicant who disagrees with the decision on a case has the right to request a review of that decision and/or appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
Departmental Reports
Questions (102)
Paul Connaughton
Question:102. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Social Protection the action she intends to take on foot of recommendations in the report on the disability sector by Watson and Nolan; her plans in terms of getting persons on disability back into the workforce; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13208/13]
View answerWritten answers
The report referred to by the Deputy is “A Social Portrait of People with Disabilities in Ireland” by Dorothy Watson and Brian Nolan which was published in 2011. This report was commissioned from the Economic & Social Research Institute by my Department as part of the Social Inclusion Research Report series. It details the social and living conditions of people with disabilities and is intended to assist policy makers and service deliverers to meet the national poverty and high level social inclusion goals set out in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007–2016. While it provides a valuable detailed social portrait of people with disabilities in the State, it does not make specific recommendations for implementation.
However, I should point out that the policy of the Department is to support and facilitate people with disabilities who wish to engage in the labour force and there are a range of measures in place in this area. These include:
- Partial capacity benefit, introduced in 2012, which enables people in receipt of invalidity pension and illness benefit to take up work while continuing to receive income support.
- The earnings disregard under the disability allowance scheme which is designed to facilitate claimants of that payment to avail of employment opportunities.
- The National Internship Programme (Job Bridge) which is open to people in receipt of a disability related payment.
- The EmployAbility service which provides a dedicated job-coaching service for people with disabilities as well as providing a range of supports to employers who employ people with disabilities.
Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility
Questions (103)
Maureen O'Sullivan
Question:103. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will list the detailed benefits that accrue from the payments of pay related social insurance in view of the fact that persons paying these may pay a significant sum for attendance at accident and emergency, pay inpatient hospital charges and no longer have optical or dental benefit under the schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13228/13]
View answerWritten answers
The following table sets out the benefits accruing to the various categories of persons paying PRSI according to the Class of PRSI contribution paid:
PRSI CLASSES
|
BENEFITS/PENSIONS |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
H |
J |
P |
S (self-employed) |
|
Jobseeker’s Benefit |
* |
||||||||
|
Illness Benefit |
* |
||||||||
|
Health and Safety Benefit |
|||||||||
|
Maternity Benefit |
|||||||||
|
Adoptive Benefit |
|||||||||
|
Invalidity Pension |
|||||||||
|
Widow's, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension |
|||||||||
|
Guardian’s Payment (Contributory) |
|||||||||
|
State Pension (Transition) |
|||||||||
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
|||||||||
|
Bereavement Grant |
|||||||||
|
Treatment Benefit |
|||||||||
|
Occupational Injuries Benefit |
* |
||||||||
|
Carer’s Benefit |
* Limited Benefit
Optical, Dental and Audiological Benefit are available under the Department’s Treatment Benefit scheme. Optical and Dental Benefit currently offer free examinations, while Audiological Benefit pays part of the cost of the purchase of hearing aids.
Issues relating to the charges for attendance at accident and emergency departments or for in-patient hospital charges are a matter for the Minister for Health.
Question No. 104 withdrawn.
Carer's Allowance Appeals
Questions (105)
Willie Penrose
Question:105. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13320/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 6th February 2013. 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.
Carer's Allowance Appeals
Questions (106)
Jack Wall
Question:106. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a carer's allowance appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13336/13]
View answerWritten answers
The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 14th January 2013. 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.