Wednesday, 29 May 2013

Written Answers Nos. 24-27

Departmental Staff Remuneration

Questions (24)

Jonathan O'Brien

Question:

24. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount of savings that would be made if salaries to personnel in her Department were capped at €100,000. [25727/13]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The amount of gross savings that would be made by the Department if salaries to personnel were capped at €100,000 is approximately €592,000 in a full year. This figure is based on the salaries paid as at week ending 16 March 2013 and is inclusive of Employer’s PRSI. This figure does not take account of lost revenue to the State from statutory deductions on amounts over €100,000.

Public Sector Staff Retirements

Questions (25)

Sandra McLellan

Question:

25. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she expects pesons who are forced to retire from the Civil Service at 65 years to claim jobseeker's benefit or allowance until they can receive the pension at 66 and 67 years. [25718/13]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2011 provides that State pension age will be increased gradually to 68 years. This will begin in 2014 with the abolition of the State pension (transition) thereby standardising State pension age for all at 66 years. The State pension age will be further increased to 67 years in 2021 and to 68 years in 2028. These changes apply to all fully insured employees, including some public servants. Public servants (including civil servants) who are due to retire aged 65 in January 2014 will be able to draw their occupational public service pension at age 65. However, for those public servants (including civil servants) who are fully insured, their public service pensions (and contributions) are, like many occupational pension schemes, integrated (or co-ordinated) with social welfare benefits. This means the occupational pension paid is based on the assumption that the pensioner also receives the State pension (transition or contributory). Where this does not happen, a discretionary supplementary pension may be payable under the relevant public service pension scheme to bridge the gap.

In this instance, a supplementary pension is only payable where the individual, through no fault of their own, does not qualify for social welfare benefit or qualifies at less than the maximum personal rate. It is, therefore, necessary to claim any available social welfare benefits in order to receive a supplementary pension. This situation is not new and already applies to public sector workers who have a retirement age below 65. For other workers, the main social welfare payments available to those who leave employment before pension age are jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker's allowance. Persons aged between 65 and 66 years who qualify for a jobseeker's payment are generally entitled to receive payment up to the date on which they reach pensionable age (66 years).

It should be noted that until the 1970s, the standard age for receipt of State pension was 70 years of age. Increasing longevity and significant improvements in health status mean that people can work longer to support themselves in retirement. Raising State pension age and the abolition of the State pension (transition) is a necessary step in ensuring the sustainability of pensions into the future. The recently published OECD report on the Review of the Irish Pension System confirms that reforms are necessary if we are to continue to put pension provision on a sustainable footing given the changes in demographics, the deficit in the Social Insurance Fund and the difficult fiscal situation.

Departmental Agencies Funding

Questions (26, 28, 34, 40)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

26. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount of funding allocated to Citizens Information centres during each of the past five years; and the amount of this funding which was allocated to Money Advice and Budgeting Service in the same period. [25706/13]

Gerry Adams

Question:

28. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether the 16 additional temporary staff assigned to Money Advice and Budgeting Service is sufficient. [25708/13]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

34. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of clients that Money Advice and Budgeting Service has assisted during each of the past five years. [25707/13]

Niall Collins

Question:

40. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is satisfied that the Money Advice and Budgeting Service will be able to discharge its role under the new personal insolvency system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25820/13]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 26, 28, 34 and 40 together.

The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice including money and budgeting advice and advocacy on a wide range of public and social services. It provides some services directly to the public. It directly funds and supports an extensive range of services through its delivery partners, including the 42 Citizens Information Centres, CIS, and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, which is made up of a network of 53 companies, including 51 local companies, MABS National Development and National Traveller MABS. Some 277 money advice staff are employed across the MABS network. The Citizens Information Board is allocated an annual budget from which it funds all of its services. It is responsible for ensuring appropriate governance arrangements are in place in relation to the expenditure of these public funds. Responsibility for MABS transferred to the CIB in July 2009. Funding for MABS now forms part of the overall CIB allocation. The funding made available to MABS has increased every year since then and the details are as follows:

Year	CIB Allocation from Department (€m)	CIS Allocation from CIB (€m)	MABS Allocation from CIB (€m)
2008	29.47	14.47	17.95* (direct allocation from Department)
2009	28.01	15.57	17.67* (direct allocation from Department)
2010	44.99	15.34	18.22
2011	46.64	15.49	18.36
2012	45.74	14.59	18.31
2013	47.45	14.59	19.00

*direct allocation from Department

The numbers of new clients and helpline callers dealt with by MABS in each year are as follows:

Year	Clients	Helpline
2008	16,600	10,973
2009	19,094	24,802
2010	21,653	27,742
2011	22,462	29,629
2012	22,198	24,202
2013 Q1	5,737	6,371

I am very pleased that sanction has been given for 16 temporary staff to be assigned to MABS for up to two years, to establish an Approved Intermediary Service as part of the new Insolvency Service. The CIB and MABS National Development Limited are working closely to ensure the appropriate structures are in place within MABS to implement this new and important statutory role. They have also engaged proactively with the Insolvency Service to ensure the Approved Intermediary Service is fully operational in time for the establishment of the Insolvency Service. I am satisfied that this additional resource ensures MABS will play an important role in the new arrangements for dealing with debt and will continue to provide a high quality personal service to assist people in overcoming their indebtedness and managing their finances.

Child Benefit Rates

Questions (27, 29, 52)

Mary Lou McDonald

Question:

27. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has had any discussions with the Department of Education and Skills regarding potential changes to child benefit payments. [25717/13]

John Halligan

Question:

29. Deputy John Halligan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has been involved in any discussions regarding the proposal announced by the Minister for Education and Skills on 8 May 2013 to use child benefit funds to pay for preschool education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25869/13]

Michael Colreavy

Question:

52. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will maintain child benefit at its current rate and as a universal payment in budget 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25722/13]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 29 and 52 together.

Child benefit is a universal payment that assists parents with the cost of raising children and it contributes towards alleviating child poverty. The estimated expenditure on child benefit in 2013 is around €1.9 billion and it is currently paid to around 611,000 families in respect of some 1.16 million children. The Government is conscious that child benefit, as a universal payment, can be an important source of income for all families, especially during a time of recession and high unemployment. Since becoming Minister for Social Protection, I have strongly defended the universality of child benefit because the State must value every child and support families. The fact that every family receives child benefit, regardless of their employment status, also ensures there is not a disincentive to work. It is envisaged that any proposed changes to the child benefit payment would be considered in the context of the annual budget and estimates process and announced on Budget day.

In addition to child benefit, the social protection system also provides assistance to low income families with children through the payment of qualified child increases on primary social welfare payments and through the family income supplement payment. Both of these provide a level of assistance which is directly or indirectly linked with a household’s income situation. Achieving a better design of the overall system of child income supports raises complex issues about the effectiveness and the efficiency of the full range of income supports currently provided to families and their children. In this context and in line with a commitment in the Programme for Government, I established an Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare, which has been tasked with recommending cost-effective solutions as to how employment disincentives can be improved and better poverty outcomes can be achieved, particularly child poverty outcomes. The Advisory Group prioritised the area of family and child income supports and its report on this issue was published in February.

This report makes important recommendations on how child benefit could be maintained as a universal payment while reforming the current system of child and family income supports so as to better target those who need these supports most. Given the range of complex issues involved, including fiscal, operational and legal considerations, as well as the implications for reforms in terms of child poverty and employment incentive outcomes, the Government has made no decision at this time on the core recommendations of the report. It is the Government’s intention that the report will now contribute to the policy debate on the matter. In considering the proposals to reform the structure of child and family income support payments, including the balance between income supports and services, such as child care, I expect the Government will also take into account further work by the Advisory Group on the issue of social protection and taxation supports for working age persons and more general developments in the budgetary and fiscal situation.

Government policy on the provision of child care services, such as those supported by the Early Childhood Care and Education scheme, is primarily a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Any proposal to fund additional child care services from reductions in the child benefit scheme would require a Government decision within an overall budgetary context on which no indications can be given at the present time. It should also be noted that as the Government meets and acts collectively, Ministers regularly consult with their colleagues in Government on policy proposals and any implications that such proposals might have.