Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 November 2013
542. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion report on benefits tourism for the European Commission; if she is concerned with some of the findings relating to Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46669/13]
View answer543. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the finding of the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion report on benefits tourism for the European Commission that Ireland has one of the highest percentages of non-active EU migrants of all 27 EU member countries surveyed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46670/13]
View answer544. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the finding of the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion report on benefits tourism for the European Commission that Ireland has the second highest proportion of non-active EU migrants claiming benefits; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46671/13]
View answer545. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the finding of the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion report on benefits tourism for the European Commission that Ireland has three times the average percentage of non-active EU migrants of all 27 EU member countries surveyed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46672/13]
View answer546. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the fact that Ireland is one of only five of all 27 EU member countries where persons can draw payments when unemployed without ever having paid into the system; if she is fearful that this is contributing to Ireland becoming a destination for benefit tourism; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46673/13]
View answer548. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the finding of the DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion report on benefits tourism for the European Commission that Ireland has one of the highest percentages of non-active EU migrants of all 27 EU member countries surveyed who have never worked here 48%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46676/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 542 to 546, inclusive, and 548 together.
The report referred to by the Deputy has its origins in discussions between Member States and the EU Commission on the relationship between the EU regulations coordinating social security systems and the Residence Directive, which sets out conditions governing the rights of residence migrants in the host country and the impact accessing social welfare benefits has on these rights.
Some Member States, including Ireland, have raised concerns generally about access to welfare from non-active residents of other Member States and were asking for legislative change to clarify the rights of non-active people moving around the EU. Given the nature of the issue, Member States were unable to quantify the extent of welfare tourism and, in the absence of such data, the EU Commission has resisted requests for any legislative change to date.
The report was undertaken by consultants on behalf of the Commission to determine the impact on the Member States' social security systems of the entitlements of non-active intra-EU migrants to special non-contributory cash benefits and healthcare, granted on the basis of residence. Ireland was contacted by the consultants to provide information for the study but, in common with many other Member States, most of the data requested was not available as it is not collected. The Department did provide what limited information is available on claiming by EU migrants and this has been used by consultants in conjunction with other EU data sets to draw the conclusions reached.
Overall, the consultants concluded that the share of non-active intra-EU migrants is very small, they account for a similarly limited share of recipients of special non-contributory benefits and the budgetary impact of such claims on national welfare budgets is very low. Member States were not consulted on the content or conclusions prior to publication and, while a detailed analysis of the report is required, some Member States, including Ireland, have already expressed concerns in relation to the methodology, data and conclusions reached.
This is a very large and complex report which deals with a wide range of migrants including pensioners, people with disabilities, students and the unemployed and will require in-depth analysis of the statistics used and the conclusions reached before it can be commented on in detail. However, a number of points can be made at this stage.
As the Deputy is aware, there was very significant migration to this country in the years preceding the current crisis by people seeking employment. These migrants paid social insurance contributions and income taxes while they were in employment here. Many subsequently lost jobs, and while some have returned home to their native countries, significant numbers had put down roots here and, as a result, were entitled to claim benefits when they became unemployed. As social insurance payments became exhausted this group will have graduated to the social assistance type payments which are the subject of this report. As the report points out 78% of the non-active migrants have been resident here for 5 to 10 years.
The report is focusing on what are termed special non-contributory benefits which is a classification under EU regulations determined by the contingency covered by the benefit, the qualifying conditions and the manner in which it is financed. The report suggests that such benefits form a relatively small part of a country’s wider social welfare system. That is certainly the case with many Member States, with benefits provided on the basis of contributions made or through a general social assistance scheme, the latter not being a focus of this report. This does not apply to Ireland, as the structure of our social welfare system means that most of what we regard as social assistance (job-seekers allowance, disability allowance etc.) is classed as special non-contributory benefits and encompassed by the report. Indeed, Ireland is one of only 5 countries providing non-contributory cash benefits to unemployed job-seekers. Arrangements differ across countries but many make payments where necessary through their general social assistance scheme. This may explain to some extent the higher level of benefit claiming attributed to Ireland as jobseeker’s allowance is classed for EU purposes as a special non-contributory benefit. It should be remembered that all such payments are subject to the habitual residence condition so those claiming will have established strong links with this country.
The majority of special non-contributory benefits paid by Member States are related to old age, death/disability. In most countries migrants tend to be in the lower age groups with significantly more non-active nationals than migrants aged 65 and over. However, in Ireland the report points out EU migrants receive state pension non-contributory to a greater extent than nationals, although they represent a lower share of those aged 65 and over. This is probably related to those resident here topping up smaller pensions received from other Member States. Those claiming non-contributory pensions are, of course, subject to the habitual residence test and, as already indicated, most inactive migrants have been resident here for quite a number of years.
The EU coordination system is a benefit to all EU citizens, including Irish citizens, who exercise their right to live and work in other EU States. Apart from the cost that any such abuse of the system entails for Member States, there is also the reputation of the EU Coordination system to consider. Whether the problem is big or small, unjustifiable claiming of benefits by migrants engenders resentment amongst local populations and damages the credibility and acceptance of the coordination system amongst citizens. Accordingly, Ireland will continue to work with other Member States in asking for changes to limit the opportunities for unfair access to our social security system.
