Written Answers Nos. 164 - 178
165. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection when a carer's allowance appeal will be approved in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Laois; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51437/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 30th October 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
166. Deputy Seán Conlan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan has been waiting for an outcome of a review of his or her eligibility for disability allowance since 26 July 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51489/13]
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.
167. Deputy Dara Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to remove the cash post office payment option with regard to the State pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51518/13]
View answerThe Government has approved a Payments Strategy for this Department which has the aim of modernising its payment processes and approaches over the coming years. It includes the objective of progressively migrating the bulk of the Department’s customers to electronic methods of payment, subject to satisfactory arrangements for all of the Department’s business and anti-fraud requirements. This is a key element of the Government’s wider National Payments Plan which is aimed at reducing costs and improving the competitiveness of the Irish economy. The estimated net cost to the Department of issuing a payment in cash is six and a half times more than paying to an account in a financial institution. Clearly, with some 87 million payments per annum being issued by the Department – 50% of which are in cash – every effort should be made to drive efficiencies where they are available within our payments processes. The Payment Strategy will be published in the near future.
The progressive migration of customers to electronic payments will include those in receipt of state pension. It is anticipated that the majority of welfare payments will eventually be made by EFT into accounts in financial institutions, but it is also expected there will be a sizeable minority that may not be able or wish to use such financial institutions or whom the Department may wish to manage otherwise as part of its control and anti-fraud measures. Accordingly, the Strategy sets out how an alternative electronic solution will be procured to accommodate such people.
The trend towards electronic payments is appreciable. Last year those customers claiming state pension for the first time chose EFT as their preferred payment method by a ratio of two to one despite the cash option being available. Approximately half of the current customers have already opted to be paid by electronic payment directly into an account in a financial institution. It appears from research undertaken for the Department that there is some scope for more pensioners to be paid by electronic payments. In a survey of welfare customers, while 62% of the pensioners interviewed were being paid in cash, 81% of those customers have and use bank accounts, 69% have a credit union account and 40% have a savings account.
The first phase of implementation of the Payment Strategy has commenced with a new contract being put in place with An Post to maintain existing over the counter cash services. This will ensure that customers, including those in receipt of state pension, can continue to receive their payments in cash at local post offices for the foreseeable future.
Moving to electronic payments will require a significant effort to assist and support suitable customers over the coming years. The Department will work energetically to help customers and their representatives in the transition period. The Deputy can, however, be assured that customers will not be refused a payment simply because they cannot receive it electronically.
168. Deputy Dara Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to introduce a supplementary allowance to allow certain persons, in receipt of the old age State pension, to receive an allowance to cover the cost of a telephone line where they have installed a personal pendant alarm; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51519/13]
View answerThe overall concern of the Government in this and previous Budgets has been to protect the primary weekly social welfare rates. Maintaining the rate of the State pension and other core payments is critical in relation to protecting people from poverty. To allow us to protect these core payments, we have had to look very carefully at other additional payments. While we are ending the telephone allowance the savings that this will provide means that we have been able to keep at the same rates the other elements of the household benefits package, including the free electricity/gas allowance and the free television licence. We have also retained the fuel allowance, free travel and the living alone increase.
The monthly allowances under the household benefits package are a contribution towards the cost of services; they are not intended to meet those costs in full. The ending of the telephone allowance of €9.50 per month (or about €2.20 per week) will not result in the automatic removal of any landline service linked to a personal alarm. Indeed, since the Budget announcement, I am aware that one telephone company has advertised that they will cover the value of the allowance. I would hope that other telephone companies will consider this.
The telephone allowance was introduced at a time when telephones were expensive and uncommon and a landline service was the only option available to the customer. The market has changed enormously since the introduction of the allowance, with several companies providing a range of services and rates with bundled services including television, telephone and broadband and pay-as-you-go mobiles. There are also personal security services that use mobile technology rather than land lines. Accordingly, I have no plans to introduce a supplementary welfare allowance to cover the cost of a telephone line where a person in receipt of a State pension has installed a personal pendant alarm.
The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government operates the senior’s alert scheme which provides grant support for the supply of equipment such as personal alarms, smoke detectors and security lighting to enable older people without sufficient means to continue to live securely in their homes. The budget allocation for 2013 was €2.35 million. There has been no reduction in this funding in Budget 2014.
It is important to be aware that Ireland’s pensioners as a group have the lowest consistent poverty rate and, as a group compared to the rest of the population, are least likely to be at risk of poverty - pointing to the adequacy and importance of the State pension. Between 2004 and 2011, consistent poverty for older people (those over 65) fell from 3.3% to
1.9%. The ‘at risk of poverty’ rate for people in that age group also reduced from 27.1% to 9.7% over the same period.
170. Deputy Seán Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 13 has been notified that their carer's allowance will be withdrawn; and if she will acknowledge that she has received an appeal against this decision. [51550/13]
View answerPayment of carer’s allowance to the person concerned was disallowed by a Deciding Officer following an assessment by a Medical Assessor of the Department who expressed the opinion that the person being cared for is not so invalided or disabled as to require full-time care and attention as laid down in carer’s allowance legislation.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 27th November 2013. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these have been received from the Department, the case in question 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 appeal 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
172. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite and award a family income supplement appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry. [51559/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 25th November 2013. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these have been received from the Department, the case in question 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 appeal 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
173. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Social Protection if an appeal for domiciliary care allowance will be expedited in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51561/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 26th November 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
174. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Social Protection the action her Department is taking to reduce the delay in social welfare appeals being heard through an oral appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51587/13]
View answerThere has been a rapid and sustained increase in the number of appeals received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2009 which has placed extraordinary pressure on the office. Up to 2009, the average number of appeals received was 15,000 per annum whereas in 2012, the office received 35,484 appeals. In order to manage this increasing workload, significant resources and efforts have been put into reducing backlogs and improving appeals processing times for appellants, including the assignment of 15 additional Appeals Officers, in addition to 10 former Community Welfare Service Appeals Officers who joined the appeals office in 2011, bringing the total number of serving Appeals Officers to 41; reviewing and improving business processes; and implementing a new operating model within the appeals office.
In addition, a major programme of process redesign and modernisation is underway in the Department in relation to many of its scheme areas, aimed at reducing backlogs and reducing the time taken by the Department to respond to requests from the appeals office for submissions in relation to appeals.
These measures have led to improvements in processing times and a significant increase in the number of appeals finalised from 17,787 in 2009 to 32,558 in 2012. The Chief Appeals Officer expects to finalise 6,000 more cases in 2013 than in 2012. Good progress is also now being made in reducing the number of appeals on hand from 20,414 at 1 January 2013 to 16,264 currently.
The average processing time for appeals peaked in 2011 when the average time for an oral hearing was 52.5 weeks and for a summary decision was 25.1 weeks. In 2012 processing times improved by 10.3 weeks when the average time for an oral hearing dropped to 39.5 weeks while the time for a summary decision increased slightly to 27.8 weeks. This improvement has continued with the average processing time up to October 2013 reducing to 34.9 weeks for an oral hearing and 26.3 weeks for a summary decision.
Appeal processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation. They include all activities during this period including time spent awaiting any clarification from the appellant, time in the Department for comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal put forward by the appellant, and any further investigation, examination or assessment by the Department’s Inspectors and Medical Assessors that is deemed necessary. A considerable period of time is added to the process when an oral hearing is required because of the logistics involved in this process. While this process carries an inherent delay in terms of finalising an appeal, it also crystalises the flexibility and accessibility of the appeals system. By its nature and because it is a quasi-judicial function, the processing of appeals takes time.
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.
175. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite and award a domiciliary care allowance appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51597/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 16th September 2013. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 22nd November 2013 and the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
177. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Social Protection the current policy regarding the payment of the occupational injuries scheme, the injury allowance and the personal injury compensation scheme; if she will detail changes made to the administration of these schemes in the past six months; if it is now the case that workers must exhaust sick leave before receiving social welfare only; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51603/13]
View answerInjury Benefit is a benefit available under the Occupational Injuries Scheme, and is a weekly payment made to an insured person if s/he is unfit for work either due to an accident arising out of and in the course of employment or due to the contraction of a prescribed disease due to the type of work s/he does. No changes have been introduced to the conditions governing entitlement to Injury Benefit or to the administration of the scheme in the past six months. Provided that the qualifying conditions for the scheme are satisfied, my Department will award Injury Benefit (or any other welfare benefit) on receipt of a claim.
From January 2014, the number of waiting days for Injury Benefit (and for Illness Benefit) will increase from three to six days.
In 2014, my Department will also be introducing a scheme for the recovery from compensators of certain social welfare benefits in cases where an insured person has been compensated for the same loss of earnings through a settlement. This measure will not, however, have any impact on entitlement to Injury Benefit or any other welfare benefit.
My Department has no responsibility in relation to the terms and conditions of employees insofar as it relates to sick pay or other arrangements.
178. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount being spent on rent supplement and the numbers of households being supported by this payment, on a county basis, in tabular form. [51609/13]
View answerThe purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. There are approximately 81,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €403 million for 2013. A breakdown of rent supplement recipients by county is provided in the following tabular statement. A breakdown of rent supplement expenditure by county is not available.
Rent Supplement recipients, as of end October 2013
|
County |
Recipients |
|
DUBLIN |
29,892 |
|
CORK |
9,088 |
|
KILDARE |
4,323 |
|
GALWAY |
3,998 |
|
WEXFORD |
3,240 |
|
LIMERICK |
3,030 |
|
WICKLOW |
2,470 |
|
LOUTH |
2,427 |
|
TIPPERARY |
2,098 |
|
DONEGAL |
2,077 |
|
MAYO |
2,008 |
|
MEATH |
1,981 |
|
KERRY |
1,849 |
|
WESTMEATH |
1,586 |
|
CLARE |
1,560 |
|
WATERFORD |
1,531 |
|
KILKENNY |
1,256 |
|
OFFALY |
1,131 |
|
CARLOW |
1,087 |
|
LAOIS |
1,086 |
|
ROSCOMMON |
813 |
|
SLIGO |
533 |
|
LONGFORD |
527 |
|
CAVAN |
443 |
|
MONAGHAN |
402 |
|
LEITRIM |
360 |
|
Total |
80,796 |
