Written Answers Nos. 306 - 323
306. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the procedures to be followed when a person wants to change information on a birth certificate; and her plans, if any, to change this process. [14765/13]
View answerThe provisions allowing for the amendment of entries in the register of births are contained in the Civil Registration Act 2004.
Section 63 of the Act allows for the correction of clerical or factual errors in an entry, upon application to a Superintendent Registrar where satisfactory evidence that an error has occurred is presented by the applicant.
A person may also apply to the Registrar General to have an enquiry conducted under the provisions of section 65 of the Act, which allows the Registrar General to examine any entry to determine whether it is correct and complete and, where appropriate, and subject to the provision of satisfactory evidence, to authorise the correction and/or completion of the entry.
Information contained in a birth entry that is neither erroneous nor incomplete may not be amended.
There are no plans to amend any of the provisions contained in the sections referred to above.
307. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of the European Pledge Youth G'Tee she has secured for Ireland; the programmes she has put in place to tackle youth unemployment; the targets that have been set in terms of job creation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14771/13]
View answerAs part of the European Council agreement on the 2014 – 2020 Multi Annual Financial Framework of 7-8 February, it was decided to provide EUR 6 billion for a new Youth Employment Initiative for regions with youth unemployment above 25%. This funding will consist of EUR 3 billion from the European Social Fund and an additional EUR 3 billion from a new Youth Employment budget line.
The European Commission has now published its legislative proposal for this initiative, which in the first instance will have to be considered by Council and then, in turn, negotiated with the European Parliament. The eligibility criteria for funding support are based on 2012 regional youth unemployment figures, which are not yet available on a pan-European basis, but are expected to be published by Eurostat next month. The financial allocation will be determined based on the number of young unemployed persons between the ages of 15-24 in the NUTS 2 level regions that have youth unemployment rates of more than 25% in 2012. The allocation corresponding to each eligible region is then calculated on the basis of the ratio between the number of young unemployed persons in the eligible region and the total number of young unemployed persons in all eligible regions.
In the absence of the published regional level youth unemployment data and subject to the final agreement on the legislative texts at EU level, we cannot be more definitive at this stage. However, it is expected both Irish regions, the Border, Midland and West and the Southern and Eastern Regions will qualify for funding. While I do not wish to pre-empt a final decision on funding, I can assure the Deputy that we will be seeking to maximise the possible benefits to Ireland.
The Government is already implementing a number of programmes to assist young unemployed persons and keep young jobseekers close to the labour market. There are five main approaches being taken to tackle youth unemployment: education, training, job search assistance/guidance, work experience, and encouraging job creation. These actions range across a number of Departments and Agencies and include:-
- The Youthreach programme providing 6,000 integrated education, training and work experience for early school leavers without any qualifications or vocational training who are between 15 and 20 years of age;
- The Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme scheme, which provides a range of courses to meet the education and training needs of unemployed people over 21 years of age, particularly focusing upon early school leavers;
- The Back to Education Allowance scheme run by the Department of Social Protection provides income maintenance for unemployed people returning to further or higher education. Over 6,500 young people participated on
this scheme in the last academic year;
- Approximately 12,000 persons aged under 25 completed a training course with FÁS in 2012. This excludes apprenticeships and evening courses;
- This year MOMENTUM, a scheme for education and training interventions, which is part of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs initiative, is currently being rolled out by the Department of Education. MOMENTUM will
support the provision of free education and training projects to allow 6,500 long term jobseekers to gain skills and to access work opportunities in identified growing sectors;
- The JobBridge National Internship Scheme is focused on providing work experience to young people with the total number of placements of young people on JobBridge during 2012 at 2,700;
- Long-term unemployed youth will also benefit from the JobsPlus initiative which is designed to encourage employers to recruit long-term unemployed people. Under this scheme the State will pay circa €1 of every €4 it costs the
employer to recruit a person from the Live Register;
- In the December Budget, funding was secured for an additional 10,000 places this year across a range of programmes -- including JobBridge, TÚS and Community Employment. About a quarter of these places are expected to
be taken up by unemployed young people.
In terms of job creation, the Government’s primary strategy to tackle youth unemployment is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth. Past experience suggests that youth unemployment, which tends to rise relatively rapidly in a downturn, can be expected to fall relatively rapidly during the recovery.
With regard to targets for job creation, the original Action Plan for Jobs sets out a target for 100,000 net new jobs to be created by 2016, many of which will be filled by young people. In addition, the Action Plan for Jobs 2013 includes the Pathways to Work initiative’s targets for increasing the number of people who are long-term unemployed moving into employment and reducing the average length of time spent on the Live Register.
Specifically, these targets are that:
(i) at least 75,000 of those currently long-term unemployed will move into employment by 2015.
(ii) Reducing the average time spent on the Live Register from 21 months today to less than 12 months by the end of 2015.
As two out of five young unemployed are long-term unemployed, these targets are pertinent to young people.
A new recruitment incentive – JobsPlus – has also been developed by my Department and was approved by the Government as part of the Action Plan for Jobs. This incentive will cover the cost of c. €1 in every €4 of an employer’s wage costs and will be launched for availability by July 2013. Young people are likely to be major beneficiaries of this initiative as employers tend to hire young people when there is a recovery in employment.
308. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection in view of the EU Council recommendation to introduce a youth employment initiative, if she will confirm the Minister that will take the lead in rolling out the initiatives for tackling youth unemployment, including the youth guarantee. [15281/13]
View answer341. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection following on from the June 2011 council conclusions, the cooperation that has been undertaken with the social partners, employment services and other labour market stakeholders and education and training providers to target youth unemployment and youth not in education, employment or training. [15276/13]
View answer342. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection as part of the Europe 2020 strategy, the legal and administrative obstacles that were identified to ensure that all young persons are in a job or further education within four months of leaving school. [15278/13]
View answer343. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the way the Government is identifying the appropriate timescale for implementation of youth guarantee in Ireland's current employment and budgetary circumstances; the criteria being used; the way a youth guarantee will be phased in; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15280/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 308 and 341 to 343, inclusive, together.
Work on the issue of youth unemployment arising from both the June 2011 Council conclusions and the Europe 2020 Strategy is now reflected both in the work of the Commission in presenting the guarantee recommendation in December 2012, and the work of the Irish Presidency in negotiating the recommendation through the Council.
Under my chairmanship, the Council of Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Ministers (EPSCO) last month agreed a recommendation on an EU-wide Youth Guarantee. The EPSCO Recommendation is that each Member State should ensure that young people receive a quality offer of employment or of continued education, an apprenticeship or traineeship within four months of becoming unemployed. The Recommendation will now move to be considered for formal adoption by the Council at a later stage in Ireland's Presidency - most likely in May.
The Recommendation encourages Member States to implement its provisions as soon as possible once it is formally adopted. It is also recognised that implementation will need to be more gradual in countries with higher levels of youth unemployment and particularly severe budgetary problems. The Department intends to work with youth and other agencies to maximise the impact of a youth guarantee in Ireland. For example, numerous organisations (e.g. IBEC, Ballymun Job Centre, National Youth Council of Ireland) have agreed to participate in the proposed pilot Youth Guarantee project, for which we have sought funding from the European Commission.
In anticipation of the formal adoption of the Recommendation, the government will review the current range of youth employment and training policies in Ireland to assess what measures will need to be taken to commence the gradual implementation of the guarantee. This will include the identification of what would be the appropriate timescale for implementation in Ireland's current employment and budgetary circumstances. We do not anticipate any significant administrative difficulties, given that this Department, together with the Department for Education & Skills, the Department for Children & Youth Affairs and the Department for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation already administer significant schemes to generate employment, education and training opportunities and to ensure that young people have access to such opportunities. The Youth Guarantee will support rather than impede or replace this work. I, as Minister for Social Protection will work with my colleagues in Cabinet with responsibility for these portfolios to further the implementation of the Youth Guarantee.
The scale and nature of the measures required will depend on the trend in youth unemployment, and in particular the number of young people likely to experience periods of unemployment of more than four months under current policies. In this context, it is a welcome development that the official labour market figures published by the CSO recently indicated that the number of young unemployed at the end of 2012, at 59,000, a reduction of almost 9,000 on the same time a year earlier. It is to be hoped that this is the beginning of a sustained downward movement in youth unemployment as the economy recovers. Even so, the implementation of a guarantee will, almost certainly require an expansion in the range of opportunities currently on offer to young people in the form of further education, training, internships, subsidised private-sector recruitment, and supports for self-employment.
In this regard the State already provides a significant number of places which are available to young people and the Department of Social Protection took steps in Budget 2013 to increase funding and places for schemes such as JobBridge, Community Employment, TÚS and a new state employment scheme in the local Government sector. In total an additional 10,000 places will be provided. The Department of Education also made provision for the new MOMENTUM programme which is providing 6,500 new training places many of which will be taken up by young people. A new recruitment incentive – JobsPlus – has also been developed by my Department and was approved by the Government as part of the Action Plan for Jobs. This incentive will cover the cost of c. €1 in every €4 of an employer’s wage costs and will be launched for availability by July 2013.
The size and the timescale for any additional provision, over and above that outlined above that is both desirable and feasible will be established over the coming months.
309. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Social Protection when an application for carer's allowance appeal will be finalised in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14685/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 13th March 2013, 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.
310. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are any proposals to review the Mortgage Interest Supplement to allow further categories to qualify for the payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14716/13]
View answer311. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Social Protection the numbers of families in receipt of mortgage interest supplement in the following years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14718/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 310 and 311 together.
Mortgage interest supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence. There are approximately 14,000 mortgage interest supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €42 million for in 2013. I have set out below a tabular statement showing the number of mortgage interest supplement recipients from 2007 to 2012 and at end February 2013.
Following the Department’s review of the administrative, policy and legal aspects of the mortgage interest supplement scheme and the review of the Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Review Group, changes were made to the scheme in 2012.
To ensure that those who are in mortgage difficulty engage with their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) and avail of its forbearance arrangements, from June 2012 the mortgage interest supplement is not payable until applicants have agreed with their lender and complied with an alternative payment arrangement for a cumulative period of not less than 12 months. This process acknowledges that it is in the interest of both the lender and the borrower to address financial difficulties as speedily and effectively as circumstances allow.
In December 2012, to facilitate people who wish to trade down or downsize, the condition which provided that entitlement to mortgage interest supplement should be discontinued where the property is offered for sale was removed. The removal of this condition will allow persons to engage in selling their residence and remain eligible for mortgage interest supplement, subject to the other conditions of the scheme.
Any further changes to the scheme which would allow additional categories to qualify for the payment would have to be considered in a budgetary context.
TABULAR STATEMENT
Mortgage Interest Supplement – Recipient numbers
|
Year |
Recipients |
|
2007 |
4,111 |
|
2008 |
8,091 |
|
2009 |
15,101 |
|
2010 |
17,974 |
|
2011 |
18,988 |
|
2012 |
14,597 |
|
2013 |
13,755 (1) |
(1) End February 2013
313. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Social Protection the benefits for persons signing for credits; if there are any plans to introduce a scheme whereby individuals can have the option of paying towards additional paid-up contributions in order to help them qualify for benefits such as old age contributory pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14728/13]
View answerPRSI credited contributions are an integral part of the social insurance system. For the most part they are linked to having an underlying entitlement to a social welfare payment while temporarily detached from the labour force or having entitlement to statutory leave e.g. parental or maternity leave. The primary purpose of PRSI credits is to secure social welfare benefits and pensions of employees by covering gaps in insurance where they are not in a position to pay PRSI such as during periods of unemployment, illness, etc.
The class at which a contributor paid his or her last PRSI contribution determines entitlement to credited contributions. Credits are usually awarded at the same rate as your last paid PRSI contribution. For example, Class A PRSI contributions may entitle a person to all insured DSP benefits, provided they satisfy the qualifying conditions.
Class B PRSI contributions may entitle a person to widow/er’s or surviving civil partner pension (contributory), Guardian payment (contributory), bereavement grant, carers benefit and limited occupational injuries benefits.
People who cease to be covered by compulsory social insurance, may opt to protect their existing long-term social insurance pension entitlements by becoming insured on a voluntary basis and paying voluntary contributions. Payment of voluntary contributions does not provide social insurance cover for short term benefits such as jobseeker’s benefit. A person who wishes to become a voluntary contributor must satisfy certain contribution conditions and must apply to become a voluntary contributor within 12 months after the end of the contribution year in which he/she was last compulsorily insured.
A person cannot be a voluntary contributor while also an employed contributor or in receipt of credited employment contributions.
314. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will explain the encouragement the State gives to a cohort of students (details supplied); if she believes that such students should abandon their studies and apply to the live register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14729/13]
View answerThe Department operates a range of employment support measures designed to encourage and support social welfare recipients of working age to reduce their dependency on welfare payments. Amongst the supports available are the back to education allowance scheme (BTEA) and the part time education option (PTEO) for persons who will to avail of a course of education. These supports may be available to persons on qualifying social welfare payments.
Eligibility conditions attached to BTEA include that a person must be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment, if under the age of 21 years must be out of formal education for at least two years and pursuing a full time course of education leading to a recognised qualification. BTEA is essentially a social welfare replacement income which is paid in lieu of the relevant social welfare payment that qualifies the applicant for participation in the scheme.
However, if a person wishes to pursue a part time education course they may be able to do so while retaining their jobseekers payment under PTEO of the back to education programme. They must apply at their local social welfare office and verify that participation on the course does not reduce their availability for work and that they are genuinely seeking work.
As the Deputy is aware from a previous parliamentary question raised, the person in question is not, nor have they ever been, in receipt of a social welfare payment in their own right. According to records, the person concerned is attending a training course and on related work placement for a total of five days per week until June 2013. The Department of Social Protection does not offer specific income supports for students outside of the back to education programme.
315. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a domiciliary care allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14749/13]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance was received on the 12th February 2013. 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 the 20th March 2013 advising of the decision.
In the case of an application which is refused on medical grounds the applicant may submit additional information and/or ask for the case to be reviewed or they may appeal the decision directly to the Social Welfare Appeals Office within twenty one days.
316. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection the way she intends to incentivise taking up additional days at work for part-time workers (details supplied). [14772/13]
View answerThe current total of 424,617 persons on the Live Register includes over 80,000 casual workers in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance or jobseeker’s benefit.
It should be noted that the great majority of people on the Live Register have a strong financial incentive to work and significant numbers leave the register each year for employment. Indeed, for many unemployed people, unemployment is a short-term experience and the jobseeker’s schemes have an important role to play in supporting people through periods of involuntary unemployment.
The replacement rate for given income levels measures the proportion of out-of-work benefits received when unemployed against take home pay if in work. While there is no pre-determined level of replacement rate, which would influence every individual’s decision to work, clearly the higher the replacement rate, the lower the incentive to work. A replacement rate in excess of 70% may be considered to be excessive as the higher the replacement rate the greater the disincentive to take up offers of employment.
The comparison of an individual’s total income on a jobseeker’s payment with total income equivalent to two thirds the average industrial earnings shows that;
- 82% of Live Register claimants have a replacement rate of less than 60%;
- 12% of Live Register claimants have an RR above 60% but less than 70%; and
- 6% of Live Register claimants have an RR above 70% but less than 80%
This demonstrates that for the overwhelming majority of social welfare recipients, replacement rates are relatively low and therefore availing of an employment opportunity is financially worthwhile. This finding is supported by analysis conducted by the ESRI.
I recognise that a changing labour market has resulted in a move away from the more traditional work patterns, with a consequent increase in the number of casual workers. In fact, the number of casual workers in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment has increased more than four-fold over the last seven years. In acknowledgement of this trend, my Department is considering the future structure of the jobseeker schemes. A key feature of this work will be ensuring that social welfare recipients, including those who work part-time, continue to have a significant financial incentive to avail of an employment opportunity.
317. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12 will receive a response to their appeal. [14836/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 22nd 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 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.
318. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection when she will publish the draft heads of the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill which is to include a section amending the rules for the distribution of assets in the wind up of defined benefit pension schemes that are underfunded. [14842/13]
View answerI expect that the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill will be published in May 2013.
You will appreciate that the issue of how the assets of a pension scheme are distributed on the wind-up of a pension scheme is a sensitive and complex issue and one which requires careful consideration before any change is made to the current provisions. In this regard, my officials have completed a detailed review of these provisions which involved engagement with stakeholder representatives and with external consultants who provided valuable assistance in reviewing this issue.
The outcome of this review is being considered at present.
320. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite a domiciliary care allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14870/13]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received from the person concerned on the 5th February 2013. This application has been forwarded to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors for their medical opinion. Upon receipt of this opinion, a decision will issue to the person concerned.
It can take up to 8 weeks to process an application for DCA.
323. Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will report on progress made in her Department in considering the issue of social welfare supports for the self-employed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14893/13]
View answerSelf-employed persons are liable for PRSI at the Class S rate of 4% which entitles them to access long-term benefits such as State pension (contributory) and widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension (contributory). Ordinary employees who have access to the full range of social insurance benefits pay Class A PRSI at the rate of 4%. In addition, their employers make a PRSI contribution of 10.75% in respect of their employees, resulting in the payment of a combined 14.75% rate per employee under full-rate PRSI Class A. (For employees earning less than €356 per week, the rate of employer’s PRSI is 4.25%).
In 2011 I established the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare to meet the commitment made in the Programme for Government. The Advisory Group will, inter alia, examine and report on issues involved in providing social insurance cover for self-employed persons in order to establish whether or not such cover is technically feasible and financially sustainable.
The Advisory Group’s overall method of working is based on producing modular reports on the priority areas identified in the Terms of Reference. Where possible, the aim is to provide recommendations that can be acted upon in time for the annual budget, estimates and legislative cycle and to allow the Government to best address its commitments under the EU-IMF Programme of Financial Support. The Group has been considering the issue of social insurance cover for the self-employed and will submit its report once its examination of the various questions has been completed.
The third Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund, as at 31 December 2010, was completed by consultants KPMG in June 2012 and laid before each House of the Oireachtas on 24 August 2012. The Review covers a 55 year period from 2011–2066 and builds on the findings of the 2000 and 2005 Actuarial Reviews of the Fund.
One of the issues examined in the 2010 Review was the long-term cost implications to the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) and the break-even contribution rates required to provide invalidity pensions to the self-employed and to provide jobseeker’s benefit for self-employed workers. The report found that the effective annual rate of contribution, or the required contribution as a percentage of salary, needed to provide the core full-rate State pension (contributory), which is the benefit currently available to self-employed contributors, is approximately 15%. This compares favourably with the 4% rate currently paid by the self-employed. An incremental increase in contribution rates from approximately 15% to 16% would be required if jobseeker’s benefit in addition to core State pension (contributory) is provided. The average contribution rate required for the core State pension (contributory) plus jobseeker’s benefit and the invalidity pension is estimated to be in the region of 17.3%.
Any proposals to revise the social insurance system for self-employed persons by extending social insurance entitlements will have to be considered in a budgetary context, taking account of the finding of the Actuarial Review that the self-employed achieve very good value for money compared with the employed – when the comparison includes both employer and employee contributions in respect of the employed person.
Self-employed workers may access social welfare supports by establishing eligibility to assistance-based payments such as jobseeker’s allowance and disability allowance. In the case of jobseeker’s allowance they can apply for the means-tested jobseeker’s allowance if their business ceases or if they are on low income as a result of a downturn in demand for their services. In general, their means will take account of the level of earnings in the last twelve months in determining their expected income for the following year and, in the current climate, account is taken of the downward trend in the economy. As in the case of a non-self-employed claimant for jobseeker’s allowance or disability allowance, the means of husband/wife, civil partner or cohabitant will be taken into account in deciding on entitlement to a payment.
