Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 July 2014
398. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the highest weekly payment from all payments from her Department to any one family and person; the highest annual monetary value from all payments from her Department in 2013 that was received by any one family and person; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29494/14]
View answerIt is not possible to extract the data requested in respect of the actual weekly amount paid to persons with unique PPS numbers or the highest annual monetary amount paid to an individual PPS number by my Department in 2013 under one or more different payment headings. This is because the Department delivers a wide range of payments at weekly, monthly, annual and other intervals across a range of claim processing systems which support the delivery of entitlements to people under individual social welfare schemes.
While the average payment varies across the various schemes operated by the Department, the most typical rate paid to people of working age is €188 per week, while the most typical rate paid to people aged 66 years or more is €230.30 per week. Additional allowances for dependent adults and children are also payable in most schemes.
In addition to their primary weekly payment, some people may also receive secondary benefits, such as Rent Supplement or Fuel Allowance if they also satisfy the conditions for receipt of those payments. The most typical rate of Rent Supplement is €100 per week, while Fuel Allowance is €20 per week from October to April.
The following table sets out the average weekly value of the most common social welfare payments paid in 2013.
Average values for weekly social welfare payments, Annual Averages - Provisional Outturn 2013
|
Scheme |
Average value (€weekly) |
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
241.37 |
|
State Pension (Transition) |
232.24 |
|
Widow(er)s Contributory Pension |
227.54 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
237.41 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
221.62 |
|
State Pension (Non-Contributory) |
211.46 |
|
Illness Benefit |
205.44 |
|
Jobseeker’s Allowance |
200.24 |
|
Disability Allowance |
203.92 |
|
Carer’s Allowance |
189.67 |
|
Jobseeker’s Benefit |
175.59 |
Note: The values presented above are scheme specific and do not take into account the fact that some individual recipients may be in receipt of more than one personal rate of a primary payment e.g. State Pension Contributory and a Half-Rate Carer’s Allowance (over 40% of all Carer’s Allowance recipients receive more than one primary personal payment per week). The weekly averages include arrears and increases/allowances other than fuel allowance.
Questions Nos. 399 to 401, inclusive, withdrawn.
