Written Answers Nos. 98-105
98. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the correct level of rent support in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38930/13]
View answerAs outlined to the Deputy very recently in PQ 37152-13, the rent supplement in respect of the person concerned is temporarily suspended pending requested information being made available to the Department which will allow reassessment of entitlement.
100. Deputy Damien English asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will issue on an appeal for family income supplement in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Meath in relation to a 2012 claim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38933/13]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer's decision.
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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
101. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite a carer's allowance appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38934/13]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence including that adduced at the oral hearing held on 26 August 2013, has disallowed the appeal of the person concerned. The person concerned has been notified of the decision.
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.
102. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider extending the Tús community work placement initiative from 12 months duration to 24 months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38945/13]
View answerAs part of budget 2012, I extended the number of opportunities available on Tús by another 2,500, bringing the total number of places available to 7,500. This initiative is being delivered through the network of local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta. To date, Tús has provided nearly 12,800 people with work opportunities. As of 13th September 2013, 6,487 participants and 341 supervisory staff were on the payroll. Tús will continue to expand as work opportunities become available over the coming months.
Tús is designed to break the cycle of unemployment and to improve a person's opportunities in returning to the labour market. I consider the existing 12-month period on Tús to be adequate to meet the objectives of the initiative whilst also ensuring that as many unemployed people as possible are able to benefit from the initiative. There are no circumstances under which a person's term on Tús will be extended beyond 12 months. The Deputy should note that a Tús participant can access community employment and a range of other supports where it is determined that they would benefit from such additional activation supports.
103. Deputy Dara Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to introduce changes to PRSI contributions for self-employed persons in order that they might be guaranteed social welfare benefits; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38951/13]
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%).
Self-employed workers may also 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 co-habitant will be taken into account in deciding on entitlement to a payment.
On 6 September 2013 I published the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare Group's report on the issues involved in providing social insurance cover for self-employed persons so as to establish whether or not such cover is technically feasible and financially sustainable. The Group found that the current system of means tested jobseeker's allowance payments adequately provides cover to self-employed people for the risks associated with unemployment. Consequently, the Group was not convinced that there was a need for the extension of social insurance for the self-employed to provide cover for jobseeker's benefit.
The Group found that extending social insurance for the self-employed was warranted in cases related to long term sickness or injuries. To this end, the Group recommended that Class S benefits should be extended to provide cover for people who are permanently incapable of work because of a long-term illness or incapacity through the invalidity pension and the partial capacity benefit. The Group further recommended that the extension of social insurance in this regard should be on a compulsory basis and that the rate of contribution for Class S should be increased by at least 1.5 percentage points. This is in line with the estimated level of contributions needed to provide access for the self-employed to Invalidity Pension contained in the 2010 Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund.
In the course of the Group's deliberations, the Group identified a range of issues associated with the subject of social insurance for the self-employed that should be addressed and have made a number of recommendations in this regard. These include, among others, the means assessment for self-employed income in terms of accessing jobseeker's allowance payments, credited PRSI contributions, self-employed access to activation and training schemes and the role that information campaigns might play in addressing information deficits, particularly with regard to entitlements to jobseeker's allowance.
The question as to whether the present arrangements regarding social insurance for the self-employed are appropriate has increased in prominence over recent years. I welcome the Group's finding that the current system of means tested jobseeker's allowance payments adequately provides cover to self-employed people for the risks associated with unemployment. The recommendation concerning long-term sickness or injuries is an important contribution to the policy debate regarding the range of benefits the self-employed might access through their social insurance contributions. In this regard, the 2010 Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund, published last year, determined that the self-employed are obtaining better value for the level of their current social insurance contributions than employees (the Actuarial Review found that the effective annual rate of contributions needed to provide the core full-rate State pension (contributory), currently available to self-employed contributors, is approximately 15%). This finding was noted by the Advisory Group in its recommendations. Consequently, the recommendations of the Advisory Group require further consideration in conjunction with the findings of the 2010 Actuarial Review relating to the level of contributions levied on Class S contributors and the current shortfall in this regard.
My colleagues in Government and I will now carefully reflect on the findings of the Advisory Group on this issue and will further consider the recommendations contained in the report taking into account future developments in terms of the budgetary and fiscal situation.
104. Deputy Dara Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person is entitled to switch from a contributory pension to a higher rate on the non-contributory pension; her views on whether it is fair that this pay difference exists; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38952/13]
View answerIn cases where a person does not meet the qualifying conditions for State pension (contributory) or qualifies for a reduced rate of State pension (contributory), they may apply for the means-tested State pension (non-contributory). The means test for State pension (non-contributory) assesses the income and assets of both the claimant and his or her spouse or partner. Where the State pension (non-contributory) is higher than the State pension (contributory), the higher of the determined pension entitlement may be awarded. A claimant may wish to apply to transfer from the State pension (contributory) to the higher rate of (non-contributory) pension if this is the case. Where claimants wish to apply for both pensions, the Department will award the higher pension.
In terms of fairness, my Department provides a safety net for those who do not qualify for schemes as a result of their contribution history. The non-contributory state pensions falls into this category and it has to be borne in mind that this pension is a means-tested payment and differs substantially in qualifying conditions from the contributory pension, which is based on the number of social insurance contributions made and is linked to the person's employment record.
105. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on disability allowance will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38966/13]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence has allowed the appeal of the person concerned. The person concerned has been notified of the decision.
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.
