Thursday, 12 Feb 2015

Written Answers Nos. 50-59

Employment Support Services

Questions (50)

Clare Daly

Question:

50. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will review the Gateway scheme in view of the fact that participants with children and other dependants, earning an extra €20 per week, are subject to income tax and pay-related social insurance, so that taking part in the scheme actually reduces their net income, when the end of the fuel allowance season is taken into account (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6476/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

Gateway is a Local Authority initiative which aims to provide short-term quality and suitable work opportunities to improve the employability and maintain the work readiness of those who have been unemployed for 24 months or more.

All employees who have income over €352 per week are liable for Class A PRSI contribution at a rate of 4% on the total earnings. Employees are also subject to normal income tax and payroll deductions if their level of earnings brings them into the tax net. This also applies to employees in the private and public sector and those engaged in other work placements initiatives such as Tús, community employment and the rural social scheme.

Participants on employment schemes, who pay Class A, can establish entitlement to the full range of short term benefits including jobseeker’s benefit, illness benefit, and maternity benefit and to long term benefits including state pension (contributory).

The experience gained on work placements can greatly enhance a person’s ability to identify other work and development opportunities to access the jobs market. Additional benefits that must be considered in this context are the provision of participants with paid annual leave and the opportunity to engage in paid work in the hours they are not working on the scheme. The Department continues to work with the Local Authorities to highlight the benefits of work placements to allow the person affected to remain on the scheme or to identify other activation opportunities.

Rent Supplement Scheme Payments

Questions (51, 52)

John O'Mahony

Question:

51. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason rent allowance in not paid directly to the landlord for a tenant who is in receipt of rent allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6482/15]

John O'Mahony

Question:

52. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that certain persons who are in receipt of rent allowance are not paying their rent allowance to their landlords; that these persons are ending up in rent arrears with landlords, despite the fact the rent allowance is being paid by her Department to cover the rent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6484/15]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 51 and 52 together.

The rent supplement scheme provides 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 70,700 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €298 million for in 2015.

Under the legislative provisions governing rent supplement, the Department’s relationship is with the tenant; the tenant makes the application for rent supplement and payment is made to the tenant to assist them with their accommodation needs. There is no direct contractual relationship between the landlord and the Department in the administration of the scheme. However, social welfare legislation provides for the payment of a rent supplement payment to a nominated payee such as a landlord on behalf of the tenant. This arrangement is entered at the tenant’s request and subject to the consent of the Department. The efficiency of the rent supplement scheme would be significantly affected if all payments were to be made directly to landlords for the provision of short term support.

It is open to the landlord to bring to the attention of the Department any instance where they suspect that a tenant is receiving rent supplement and is not paying their rent. Where the Department becomes aware that a person is not using rent supplement to meet the accommodation costs, payment of the supplement is suspended and the matter investigated. Where a landlord has a grievance in relation to the non-payment of rent by a tenant, s/he may apply to the Private Residential Tenancies Board to have the dispute resolved through the Board’s dispute resolution process.

Under the new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from this Department to housing authorities. Under this scheme, HAP payments will be made directly to landlords by the housing authorities. HAP is currently being rolled out to selected housing authorities, with some 790 HAP recipients currently. There is a target to achieve 8,400 HAP cases in 2015 as set out in the “Social Housing Strategy 2020: Support, Supply and Reform”. The Department continues to support the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, and housing authorities to ensure the success of the HAP scheme.

Social Insurance

Questions (53)

John O'Mahony

Question:

53. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to allow self-employed persons pay extra voluntary contributions in order that they would be allowed access to social welfare entitlements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6485/15]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Self-employed persons who earn €5,000 or more in a contribution year are liable for PRSI at the class S rate of 4%, subject to a minimum payment of €500, and are entitled to access long-term social insurance benefits such as State pension (contributory) and widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension (contributory) as well as guardians payment (contributory), maternity benefit and adoptive benefit.

If income from self-employment falls below €5,000 in a contribution year or a person is unable to work, he or she may opt to pay voluntary contributions. To become a voluntary contributor a person must:

- have paid at least 468 weeks PRSI (since 6 April 2014) in either employment or self-employment,

- apply within 12 months of the end of the tax year during which he/she last paid compulsory insurance or were last awarded a credited contribution,

- agree to pay voluntary contributions from the start of the contribution week that follows the week in which he/she leaves compulsory insurance.

To become a voluntary contributor on or after 6 April 2015 a person must have previously paid 520 weeks PRSI.

The annual voluntary contribution charge for the self-employed is a special flat rate payment of €500. The payment of voluntary contributions allows the self-employed to maintain their PRSI record and qualify for State pension (contributory), widow’s, widower’s or surviving civil partner’s contributory pension and guardian’s payment (contributory).

In addition self-employed persons who have lost their business and become unemployed or suffer from an illness, may access social welfare supports by establishing eligibility to assistance-based payments such as jobseeker’s allowance and disability allowance. In the case of jobseeker’s allowance they can apply for the means-tested jobseeker’s allowance if their business ceases or if they are on low income as a result of a downturn in demand for their services. As in the case of a non-self-employed claimant for jobseeker’s allowance or disability allowance, the means of husband/wife, civil partner or co-habitant will be taken into account in deciding on entitlement to a payment.

Social Welfare Fraud Data

Questions (54)

Terence Flanagan

Question:

54. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reform that has taken place of social welfare since 2011; the targets set in tackling social welfare fraud in 2014 and 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6513/15]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The vast majority of people on social welfare are claiming the correct entitlement due to them. However, a small minority is not and a range of measures are employed by the Department to ensure that social welfare fraud and abuse is minimised and that its control activity is appropriately focused.

Since 2011 there has been a number of significant measures undertaken which have enhanced the prevention and detection of social welfare fraud. These measures commenced as part of the Fraud Initiative (2011 – 2013) and are being further progressed under the Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy 2014 – 2018, which I launched in April 2014. The Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy builds on the approaches that have been successfully rolled out over the past couple of years. These include the continued roll-out of the Public Services Card, enhanced data sharing with other Government Departments and Agencies and a number of significant legislative measures.

The emphasis continues to be on preventing fraud and error from entering the system in the first place. However, where fraud is discovered it is important that there are appropriate sanctions in place. In this regard, the Department is proactively targeting persons with overpayments to ensure all persons who have a social welfare overpayment are making a contribution towards the repayment of the debt outstanding. A number of legislative provisions have been introduced to strengthen the Department’s capacity to recover debt and, in addition, a new debt management system went live in November 2014. It is also the Department's policy to consider for prosecution cases of fraud against the social welfare system.

The Department recognises that fraud investigation and control can be assisted through the application of a range of new technologies. In this context, the Department has recently commenced a project utilising analytics technology to predict which claims are more likely to be fraudulent. When this technology is in place, it will enable the Department to target higher risk cases for investigation and to do so faster.

A number of other measures should also be noted. From the beginning of Dec 2014, 20 Gardaí have been seconded to the Department’s Special Investigation Unit. These officers will ensure a greater presence on the ground and will increase the investigative capacity of the Department to prevent, detect and deter social welfare fraud.

The Department’s control work is measured in terms of control savings. Control savings are used as a performance indicator for year-on-year activities and are an estimate of the value of the various control activities across the schemes in payment. They refer to future expenditure that would have been incurred but for this control work. Without this control work the social welfare expenditure would increase by this amount over time. The control savings target for 2014 was €510 million and it will be maintained at this level for 2015.

Fraud detection and control systems have been refined and enhanced in recent years and are subject to continuing review. Overall, this is resulting in less opportunity to commit fraud and less chance of claims being in payment at an incorrect rate through fraud or error.

Child Benefit Eligibility

Questions (55)

Terence Flanagan

Question:

55. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason children's allowance is not paid for children beyond their 18th birthday, in respect of children who are still attending secondary school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6514/15]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Child benefit is a monthly payment to assist with the costs associated with raising children. It is paid to more than 600,000 families in respect of almost 1.2 million children, with an estimated expenditure of around €1.9 billion in 2014. It is paid in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years in line with the statutory school attendance age.

It is important to emphasise that the payment continues to be paid for children up to their 18th birthday who are in full-time education or who have a disability.

Budget 2009 provided for the reduction of the age for which child benefit is paid from 19 years to 18 years. A Value for Money Review of Child Income Support Programmes found that the participation pattern in second-level education supports the 18-year age limit for child benefit. For families on low incomes there are a number of provisions to social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:

- qualified child increases (QCIs) with primary social welfare payments

- family income supplement (FIS) for low-paid employees with children

- The back to school clothing and footwear allowance for low income families.

Therefore, I have no plans to make any changes to the age threshold for child benefit.

Budget 2015 increased child benefit by €5, from €130 to €135 per month or €60 per annum. In addition, the new Back to Work Family Dividend for long-term unemployed jobseekers with children and One Parent Family Payment recipients will enable these families to retain the child-related portion of their social welfare payment on a tapered basis over two years.

These measures recognise the sacrifices that families made during the economic crisis and their continuing difficulties. They are in line with the commitment in the Statement of Government Priorities for a new deal on living standards for hard-pressed families. Strategically, the measures will increase the pace of the progress in helping people back to work, boost the recovery, reduce welfare expenditure in the long-run, and, most importantly, help the families in question to build a better financial future for themselves.

Child Benefit Administration

Questions (56)

Terence Flanagan

Question:

56. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding children's allowance (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6516/15]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Child benefit is a monthly payment paid to all families to assist with the costs associated with raising children. In 2014, it was paid to almost 1.2 million children in more than 600,000 families, with a total estimated expenditure of around €1.9 billion.

In 2014, child benefit was paid to an average 7,577 non-resident children in 4,728 families, at an estimated cost of €11.82 million. The cost represents less than 1% of the total child benefit expenditure. The 2013 figures are similar: an average 7,707 non-resident children in 4,819 families, at a cost of €12 million.

The social security rights of people living and working in the EU are governed by EU Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009. These regulations are designed to co-ordinate the social security systems of the various Member States so that people and their families are not disadvantaged when they move within the EU. A key principle of the coordination system is that persons moving to different Member States are subject to the same obligations and enjoy the same benefits as the nationals of those Member States.

The Irish child benefit payment is classified as a family benefit for the purposes of these coordination rules and the payment of these benefits are governed by specific rules set out in the regulations. EU nationals who come to work in Ireland, and who pay social insurance contributions, are entitled to receive child benefit in respect of their children, even if the children reside in another EU Member State. The equality provisions of the regulations require that these payments are made at the same rate and under the same conditions as apply to a person whose family is resident in Ireland. As in many areas of EU legislation, national legislation is effectively constrained in how it treats Irish nationals or residents against those from other member states.

Changes to EU legislation to modify child benefit entitlements in respect of non-resident children requires the agreement of the EU Commission, as any proposals for amendments must be tabled by the Commission itself.

Back to Work Allowance

Questions (57)

Michael McGrath

Question:

57. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back-to-work family dividend; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6517/15]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

As announced in Budget 2015, the Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) scheme aims to help families to move from social welfare into employment. It will give financial support to people with children who were getting jobseeker and one-parent family payments and who take up employment, increase their hours of employment or become self-employed.

The BTWFD provides support for up to two years after a person moves from social welfare into employment. If a person qualifies for the dividend they will get a weekly payment equivalent of any increases for qualified children that were being paid on their jobseeker or one-parent family payment, up to a maximum of 4 children, for the first year in employment. Half that amount will be paid weekly for their second year in employment. Where payable the dividend will be additional to any entitlement the family may have under the family income supplement (FIS) scheme.

The BTWFD scheme will commence when the necessary legislation, to be advanced under the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015, is in place. However applications are currently being accepted. These will be processed following the progression of the legislation and all eligible claims will be backdated to their date of application. This means that eligible applicants from the 5th of January, 2015 to the date of commencement of the scheme will receive arrears of BTWFD and their 2 year period of entitlement, subject to scheme criteria, will run from their date of application.

Carer's Allowance Applications

Questions (58)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

58. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when a carer's allowance will be awarded in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6566/15]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 26 January 2015, 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.

Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility

Questions (59)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

59. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to restoring rent support in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6567/15]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The client concerned provided documentation confirming his wife is currently in full-time employment and therefore does not qualify for Rent Supplement. The client has been advised to provide up to date payslips should their circumstances change.