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Thursday, 17 Oct 2013

Written Answers Nos 1-15

Budget 2014

Questions (9)

Gerry Adams

Question:

9. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Social Protection the impact of budget 2014 on poverty. [43364/13]

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Written answers

I am keenly aware that the expenditure reductions in this Budget will impact on some social welfare recipients. However, the lower adjustment of €226 million, rather than the €440 million originally requested of the Department means I have protected the weekly social welfare payments upon which people depend as well as crucial supplementary payments such as the Fuel Allowance, the Electricity/Gas Allowance, Free Travel, the Half-Rate Carer’s Allowance and the Respite Care Grant. Child Benefit rates have also been protected in this Budget.As part of the Budgetary deliberative process, the Department has analysed, in so far as possible, the distributive and poverty impact of possible welfare changes to all welfare recipients including different family types including those with children. The Department is now preparing an analysis of the Budget 2014 tax and welfare packages. This Social Impact Assessment will include an analysis of the distributive and poverty impacts of these changes on different family types as well as the impact on at risk of poverty levels. I will be examining the analysis when it is finalised and I will publish it in due course.

As I have already outlined, Budget 2014 continues the process of repairing the public finances while protecting the welfare safety net and providing a pathway back to work for jobseekers.

The principal reason I have been able to protect these crucial welfare supports is the Department’s role in helping people back to work, which in turn has seen the Live Register fall. Getting people back to work is the most effective way of reducing welfare expenditure – and we are doing it. Every 10,000 we help off the Live Register saves around €90 million in welfare expenditure per annum. But more importantly the best route out of poverty is through employment.

Since coming to office, I have focused on transforming the Department from the passive benefits provider of old to an active, engaged and focused employment service which is helping people to avail of education and training opportunities and ultimately to get back to work.

This work continues apace and the increase in the number of people in the workforce proves that this approach, combined with the work of my colleagues in Government, is bearing fruit.

- The numbers in work rose by 33,800 in the year to the second quarter of 2013.

- The Live Register is down by 20,000 over the past year, and will shortly fall below 400,000 for the first time since May 2009.

Next year, the Department will spend €1.08 billion on work, training and education places and related supports for jobseekers – an increase of almost €85 million on our projected spend this year.

During Ireland’s Presidency of the EU Council, I oversaw negotiations on the Youth Guarantee, which will be introduced across Europe from next year.

The Guarantee will be a youth employment stimulus, offering good-quality work, training and educational opportunities for young people.

This budget will help more people back to work, reduce the overall welfare spend as part of the sustained effort to repair the public finances, and ensure the safety net remains firmly in place for those who need it most.

Social Welfare Code Review

Questions (10)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

10. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the anomalies in the family income support system; if she has any plans to rectify these; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43333/13]

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Written answers

The family income supplement (FIS) is an in-work income support for employees with families on low earnings, who otherwise might be at risk of financial poverty. FIS also preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were unemployed and claiming social welfare. Expenditure on FIS for 2012 was of the order of €224 million in respect of some 32,000 families. The estimated expenditure for 2013 is expected to be €229 million.

To qualify for payment of FIS, a person must be engaged in full-time insurable employment which is expected to last for at least 3 months and be working for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight or 19 hours per week. Furthermore, the average family income must be below a specified amount which varies according to the number of qualified children in the family.

The “hours worked” eligibility criterion has been reduced significantly since the introduction of the scheme in 1984, from 30 hours per week to 19 hours per week in 1996. Further reducing the “hours worked” requirement would have expenditure implications. It is also important that FIS does not inadvertently subsidise unsustainably low earnings or encourage employers to offer minimal hours of employment.

Creating jobs and reducing unemployment are key challenges facing the Government. The tax and social protection systems have a part to play in addressing these issues and in ensuring work is remunerative. To this end, I established an Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare with the aim of harnessing expert opinion and experience in order to address a number of specific issues. The Group is currently examining the issue of working age supports. In this regard the Group is considering how employment incentives might be improved. Among the issues being examined by the Group is the role in-work supports, such as FIS, should play in facilitating people to move from welfare into work.

Community Employment Schemes Eligibility

Questions (11)

Clare Daly

Question:

11. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will justify the rationale in changes to community employment schemes which have resulted, for example, in golf clubs having to let go staff where there was a strong history of training and subsequent employment. [43680/13]

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Written answers

Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme which helps long-term unemployed people and other vulnerable groups to re-enter the workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine. The programme assists them to enhance and develop both their technical and personal skills which can then be used in the workplace.

The CE programme is sponsored by groups wishing to benefit the local community, namely voluntary organisations and public bodies involved in not-for-profit activities.

A CE project application submitted for approval by sponsoring organisations include a work programme to be undertaken by participants and an outline of the training qualifications to be provided over the timeframe. The proposal will also provide key performance indicators for the project relating to qualifications provided and progression into employment. The Department is interested in approving projects which may last from 1 to 3 years and support will always be conditional upon annual review and the availability of state funds.

Projects which are eligible are those which:

- Respond to an identified community need;

- Provide development for participants in areas involving heritage, arts, culture, tourism, sport and the environment;

- Have the agreement of relevant trade unions;

- Do not displace or replace existing jobs;

- Offer valuable work experience for participants.

Projects which are not eligible are those which:

- Are politically or commercially orientated;

- Involve a trading element;

- Enhance private property;

- Result in private gain.

Community Employment is not designed to assist private businesses or clubs. New applications by golf clubs for CE participants were stopped in December 2005.

European Court of Justice Rulings

Questions (12)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

12. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection when the Government proposes to act on the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union on 25 April 2013, which found that the Government is liable for the shortfall in pension funds for the Waterford Crystal workers; the estimated cost to the State of this decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43351/13]

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Written answers

The ruling by the European Court of Justice was in response to a reference by the High Court seeking clarification of the interpretation of European law emanating from EU Directive 2008/94EC on the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer.

Following the ECJ ruling, the matter will now revert to the High Court for consideration. Given this matter remains before the courts, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on any aspects of or possible issues arising from the case at this time.

Careful and detailed consideration is of course being given to the ruling of the European Court of Justice, and will be given to the outcomes of the case before the High Court.

Social Welfare Code Reform

Questions (13)

Timmy Dooley

Question:

13. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether changes made in recent years to the one parent family payment create a disincentive to take up employment; her plans to change this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43336/13]

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Written answers

The number of one-parent family payment (OFP) recipients stood at 80,823 in August 2013. The expenditure on the OFP scheme was €1.06 billion in 2012 and is estimated to be €935 million in 2013. Currently 36% of OFP recipients are employed.

Despite significant levels of state spending on one-parent families, the results have been poor in terms of tackling the poverty and social exclusion among them. The on-going reforms to the OFP scheme are predicated on activation and on getting people back into the workforce once their children have reached an appropriate age.

The reforms aim to provide the necessary supports to lone parents to help them to participate in education and training, enter the workforce and, ultimately, attain financial independence.

When lone parents reaches the end of their entitlement to OFP as a result of the reforms, there are a number of income support options available to them. These include Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) and Family Income Supplement (FIS). If the individual moves to the JA scheme they then have access to the full set of Intreo services to assist them to develop their skills and enter employment. If they are entitled to the FIS, this payment incentivises them to retain or increase their employment.

In order to ease the transition to the new payment structure for lone parents with young children, a special Jobseeker’s allowance transition arrangement was put in place in July 2013. This exempts previous OFP recipients with children under 14 years of age from certain conditionality within the Jobseeker’s Allowance scheme, including the requirement to be genuinely seeking and available for full-time work. Recipients of Jobseeker’s allowance under this transition arrangement are required to engage with the full Intreo services to help them prepare for employment, while balancing their caring responsibilities. I am also pleased that I have the agreement of my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth to a new strand of the Childcare Education and Training Support Scheme which will be available for certain CE (Community Employment) participants. The new strand will be primarily for children under five of existing or new participants on the scheme who have been on the Live Register or are Lone parents. Officials from both Departments will now work closely together to agree the precise terms of the scheme.

Rent Supplement Scheme Applications

Questions (14)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

14. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will allow leeway in the rent cap in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43413/13]

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Written answers

According to the records of this Department the persons concerned are a family with five dependent children. A rent supplement application from an applicant with five dependent children is assessed on a case by case basis, as a maximum rent limit is not stipulated within the maximum rent limit guidelines for such cases. It is open to the persons concerned to contact their local community welfare service to discuss the options available to them.

Budget 2014

Questions (15, 30, 59, 63)

Joan Collins

Question:

15. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure that child benefit is retained at its current level; that adult social welfare rates are retained at current levels; that family income supplement is maintained in its current form; if she will seek to raise the rates for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance and to maintain the budget for the school meals programme. [38874/13]

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Gerry Adams

Question:

30. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Social Protection the disruptive impact of the budget 2014. [43363/13]

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Bernard Durkan

Question:

59. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she expects to be in a position to protect the most vulnerable in society such as the elderly, those with special needs, families and children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43306/13]

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Mick Wallace

Question:

63. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has equality proofed any budget cuts to her Department; if such an analysis will be made publicly available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43361/13]

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Written answers

I propose to take Question Numbers 15, 30, 59 & 63 together.

The Expenditure Report 2013 published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform last December provided for additional new expenditure reduction measures of €440 million to be achieved in 2014 in the Department of Social Protection budget.

Again this year I sought to minimise the impact of the necessary adjustments to welfare expenditure and to protect as far as possible key income supports. This amount was lowered by Government to €226 million in new expenditure reductions announced yesterday. An additional €30 million in savings will be made through additional fraud and control measures in 2014, while €34 million will be saved through increased efficiencies and lower than expected demand on some schemes, bringing the Department’s cumulative adjustment on social protection expenditure to €290 million.

I am all too aware that reductions of €226 million will still impact on, and cause difficulties for, some social welfare recipients. However, the lower adjustment means I have protected the State Pension, Carer’s Allowance, Disability Allowance and all other weekly social welfare payments upon which people depend.

I have also protected crucial supplementary supports for pensioners, carers and people with disabilities, such as the Fuel Allowance, the Electricity/Gas Allowance, Free Travel, the Half-Rate Carer’s Allowance and the Respite Care Grant.

Child Benefit rates have also been protected in this Budget, and will remain a vital universal support for all families and all children.

As part of the Budgetary deliberative process, my Department has analysed, in so far as possible, the distributive and poverty impact of possible welfare changes to all welfare recipients including different family types, including those with children.

My Department is now preparing an analysis of the Budget 2014 tax and welfare packages. This Social Impact Assessment will include an analysis of the distributive and poverty impacts of these changes on different family types as well as the impact on at risk of poverty levels. Social impact assessment is an evidence-based methodology which uses a tax/welfare simulation model developed by the Economic and Social Research Institute to estimate the likely distributive effects of budgetary measures on income and social inequalities. I will be examining the analysis when it is finalised and I will publish it in due course.

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