Written Answers Nos. 135 - 143
135. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has established an information officer, if this person is in charge of developing and implementing data protection in his Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8750/14]
View answerMy Department has a designated Head of Information at Principal Officer level. This person oversees the Business Information and Security Unit which is responsible for developing and implementing data protection and information security policies in my Department.
136. Deputy Nicky McFadden asked the Minister for Social Protection the current options available to formerly self-employed persons in relation to accessing the State's re-training and job activation measures; if a more inclusive system could be introduced to ensure that persons are not excluded from job activation programmes when they do not qualify for jobseeker's allowance or jobseeker's credits; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8759/14]
View answerPeople who were previously self-employed and are now in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance have access to the full range of activation measures available to other job-seeker’s allowance recipients.
Many services are available to the formerly self-employed who are not in receipt of a social welfare payment. For example employment services, such as advice on job-search activities and the use of online job search tools, are available to people if they register with the Department’s employment services offices, regardless of their social welfare status.
Further, unemployed persons not in receipt of payments, including the previously self-employed, may also be eligible to avail of up-skilling opportunities, for example through ETB (formerly FÁS) training for unemployed people, but are not eligible to receive a training allowance while undertaking the course. Springboard and Skillnets courses for unemployed people, funded through the Department of Education and Skills, are also open to people who were previously self-employed, regardless of their social welfare status.
The Work Placement Programme is also open to persons not in receipt of a social welfare payment, although the participant will not receive a payment while on the programme.
Given the scale of unemployment levels, the key objective of activation policy and labour market initiatives is to offer assistance to those most in need of support in securing work and achieving financial self-sufficiency. This policy objective prioritises scarce resources to those in receipt of qualifying welfare payments. Accordingly the employment services and schemes provided by the Department are focused in the first instance on this cohort of unemployed people.
137. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will introduce legislative provisions to put the proposed living wage on a statutory basis. [8760/14]
View answerA primary function of the social welfare system in relation to persons of working age is to support those persons and their families where they have lost or are unable to attain employment. Consistent with this role the system, most notably via jobseeker’s schemes supports to part-time work under the family income supplement scheme, the system also helps persons to attain and maintain a foothold in the labour market, subject to income tests and other criteria.
Supports of this nature help to ensure that people are better off in work and help them to build a more secure future for their families but are delivered at a considerable cost to the Exchequer.
In the context of current fiscal pressures and the urgent need to help more people back to work, I have advocated further debate on the potential role of a living wage as part of the suite of measures designed to support persons with low work income. Conceptually a living wage would be higher than the national minimum wage and would provide the income necessary to meet basic needs without the need for substantial recourse to the welfare system.
The statutory responsibility in relation to the terms and conditions of employment are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
138. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding entitlement to jobseeker's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who has been available for work on a full-time basis since November last if the person has previously received an overpayment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8793/14]
View answerThe person concerned is not entitled to jobseeker’s allowance as she is currently engaged in a full-time course of study and so not available for or seeking full time employment. An overpayment in the amount of €4752.00 has been assessed for the period 15 November 2013 to 11 February 2014 during which the person concerned was in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance and also engaged in full time education.
139. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the current entitlement to rent support in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15 who has part-time employment which varies substantially; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8794/14]
View answerFollowing a review of the rent allowance claim for the person concerned in December 2013, she was asked by her Rents Unit to provide further details from her employer of the hours she is working. The Rents Unit have written to her again this week requesting that she furnish more detailed information from her employer in order that a new assessment of entitlement can be made, and she should furnish this information without delay.
140. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the correct level of jobseeker's allowance payable in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who has a dependent spouse and child; if they qualify for separate payments and if so to what extent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8795/14]
View answerThe correct level of jobseeker’s allowance payable in the case of the person concerned is €342.60 per week. This includes a personal rate with an increase in respect of a qualified adult and one qualified child. It is open to the person concerned to call to his local office in Maynooth to submit an application for separate payments which will be processed accordingly.
141. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the homelessness policy of her Department (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8860/14]
View answerThe Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government is responsible for the policy in relation to homelessness. However, this Department has a role in providing income support to persons who are homeless and also engages through its work in the Homeless Persons Unit to facilitate persons to access private rented accommodation.
Under the social welfare system, homeless people have entitlements to the full range of social welfare schemes, including supplementary welfare allowance and associated supplements, subject to the normal qualifying conditions. There is no requirement on persons presenting as homeless to provide two nights’ hostel receipts in order to receive a payment under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.
142. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection in a situation where an overpayment to a person has occurred and is agreed, if her Department can force a person to pay more than 15% of his or her weekly payment towards the overpayment or to make a lump sum payment to her Department out of any resources the person may have; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8866/14]
View answer143. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection in a situation where an overpayment to a person has occurred and is agreed, if her Department is open to an offer of a one off payment of a sum less than the total amount owed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8867/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 142 and 143 together.
People who have incurred an overpayment from the Department of Social Protection have a liability under law to refund the amounts involved. (Section 338 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 (as amended) refers). They have received monies to which they were not entitled and every effort will be made to recover the amounts due through all available means.
Debt holders should be aware that a debt to the Department will remain on their records until fully recovered and will result in a reduction of all future entitlements up to and including state pension. Following the death of a customer who owes a debt, the Department will have a claim on any estate remaining. Currently my Department does not apply interest or penalties on the amounts owing.
Overpayments may be recovered by:
- payment of a lump sum;
- regular payments by the person to the Department;
- withholding arrears due to the person;
- deduction from ongoing social welfare payments due to the person;
- recovery from the person’s estate
The acceptable method and rate at which a debt is recovered differs from case to case. In the first instance, where there is evidence of sufficient funds available to repay the debt, the Department seeks to recover the debt in full. If a person who owes a debt to the Department offers to make a one off payment of a sum less than the total amount owed, the payment will be accepted, however, the outstanding balance will remain on the debt holder’s record to be recovered from future entitlement or the estate of the debtor. In general a debt is not written off while the debt holder is still alive.
The Social Welfare Act 2012 provides for recovery levels of up to 15% from the personal rate of a person’s social welfare payment without their consent. This amendment means that the Department is now in a position to ensure that all debt-holders in receipt of a payment from the Department, are repaying their debt.
In order to improve the capacity to recover overpayments from persons no longer dependent on social welfare, the Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 provides for the introduction of Notice of Attachment powers for the recovery of overpayments directly from a person’s earnings or from monies held by them in financial institutions. The Department will only contemplate using these powers in cases where a person who owes a debt to the Department does not make a genuine attempt to discharge their debt and continues to ignore their obligations to repay what is due. Recourse to civil action to recover debts will also be undertaken where appropriate.
