Written Answers Nos. 50-59
51. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if a person who is in receipt of a jobseeker's allowance and has an adult dependant and a child becomes ineligible for rent supplement if the person transfers from this payment to take up an apprenticeship; the reason for this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9740/15]
View answerThe 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 2015.
Rent supplement is not generally payable where a person or their spouse/partner is in full time employment i.e. 30 hours or more per week. A person on rent supplement who is deemed by a local authority to be Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) eligible may engage in full-time employment and retain their entitlement subject to the means test. Family income supplement may also be payable for periods of employment.
The Department’s strategic policy direction is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of being a short term income support by transferring responsibility for persons with long term housing needs to the local authorities under the new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). One of the key benefits HAP brings is the removal of barriers for people currently in receipt of rent supplement in returning to employment which is consistent with the Governments commitments under the Pathways to Work programme. HAP is currently being administered in seven local authority areas and will be expanded shortly to include additional local authorities.
52. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will consider creating a status analogous to being on the live register for previously self-employed persons who, following the financial crash, are now de facto long-term unemployed, enabling them to apply for positions or employment schemes, often with State agencies on a part-time or a temporary basis, where there is a stipulation that the applicant must be long-term unemployed and on the live register; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9747/15]
View answerGiven the scale of the unemployment crisis, the key objective of activation policy and labour market initiatives is to offer assistance to those 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.
People 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 jobseeker's allowance recipients. Access to employment or work-experience-based programmes, involving the payment of a supplement to participants’ basic jobseekers’ payments, continues to be confined to unemployed persons who are in receipt of such payments.
Unemployed persons (including those previously self-employed) not in receipt of payments – generally because they have means in excess of the allowable limits – may be eligible to avail of up-skilling opportunities, for example through ETB training or through further or higher education courses, but will not be eligible to receive a training allowance while undertaking such training. Springboard and Skillnets courses for unemployed people, funded through the Department of Education and Skills, are also open to people regardless of their social welfare status.
Many other services are also available to people 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.
There are no plans to create a new live register status for jobseekers (including previously self-employed persons) who are not in receipt of jobseekers’ payments.
53. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she is satisfied with the support available to families who through no fault of their own have become homeless and have difficulty accessing social protection payments thereafter on the basis of having no home address; if a procedure will be put in place to address this issue as a matter of urgency notwithstanding the existence of provisions already in place which do not seem to work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9761/15]
View answer62. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she proposes to extend supports currently available through the Dublin local authorities to local authority housing applicants in the adjoining counties, with particular reference to County Kildare, where private rent increases have caused many families to become homeless; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9770/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 62 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 2015.
I am acutely aware of the difficulties people are experiencing in maintaining affordable rented accommodation in areas of high demand in the current market, including areas in Kildare. The Department has put measures in place to ensure that the housing needs of rent supplement customers who are at risk of homelessness are addressed by providing for increased flexibility within the administration of the rent supplement scheme. Notices were circulated to all Community Welfare Service staff reminding them of their discretionary power to award, on a case by case basis, a supplement for rental purposes in such circumstances in July and December 2014. A National Framework has also been developed to ensure that appropriate supports are provided throughout the country in a consistent manner.
The Department’s response to the current difficulties in the private rented market remains under close review, including the use of the Interim Tenancy Sustainment Protocol. The Protocol has been recently extended to Cork city and non-family households in the Dublin area and I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to keep this matter under review.
The Department’s role with regard to persons who are homeless is mainly income maintenance. Under the social welfare system, homeless people have entitlements to the full range of social welfare schemes, including supplementary welfare allowance (SWA), subject to the normal qualifying conditions.
Where a person is residing in homeless accommodation, such as a bed and breakfast or long term hostel, steps are taken to verify their address in order to facilitate continued payment of a social welfare payment such as job seekers allowance. Where a person is homeless and has no fixed abode or has night by night accommodation then he/she is referred to the Community Welfare Service for support under the SWA scheme. The SWA scheme is considered the "safety net" within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes.
If the Deputy is aware of a particular case where a homeless family’s social welfare payment has been discontinued, he should forward details to the Department for immediate follow up.
54. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for mortgage support refused in each of the past three years and to date in 2015; the extent to which such cases have been reviewed or appealed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9762/15]
View answer56. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if a mortgage support was refused on the grounds of its unsustainability, and the mortgage was subsequently proven to be sustainable, thereby raising the question of the extent of fair treatment afforded in such cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9764/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 56 together.
The Government’s strategy to assist those in mortgage difficulty is built around the following measures, as recommended in the 2011 Interdepartmental Mortgage Arrears Working Group (Keane Group), in four main distinct areas:
- Lenders providing sustainable and durable resolution options to their borrower;
- A social housing response sponsored by local authorities;
- Comprehensive advice to borrowers; and
- Personal Insolvency Reform.
In the context of the overall strategy, the continued payment of mortgage interest supplement, the purpose of which was to provide short-term support to meet mortgage interest repayments, does little to assist recipients in improving the long term difficulty in addressing their mortgage problem.
Discontinuation of entitlement to the mortgage interest supplement scheme came into effect for new applicants from 1 January 2014. Customers availing of this support prior to 1st January 2014 have been able to retain entitlement to the scheme up to 1st January 2018. There are currently approximately 5,600 mortgage interest supplement recipients for which the Government has provided almost €12 million for in 2015. It is expected that during this four year period, the existing customers will exit the scheme through: sustainable solutions being put in place with their lenders; securing employment; or exit strategies sponsored by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.
Statistics are not available on the number of mortgage interest supplement applications which were refused during the past three years. Similar to most social welfare schemes, there is an independent appeals process available under the Social Welfare Appeals Office in respect of decisions made under the mortgage interest supplement scheme. Statistical information on the mortgage interest supplement cases reviewed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office for each of the last three years is provided in the attached tabular statement.
I am satisfied that the most appropriate way in which customers experiencing mortgage difficulties can be supported is through engagement with their lender.
Tabular Statement – Social Welfare Appeals Office and Mortgage Interest Supplement
|
- |
- |
- |
- |
Mortgage Interest Supplement Appeal Outcomes Appeals Officer decisions |
|
- |
Allowed |
Part Allowed |
Disallowed |
Total |
|
2012 |
199 |
26 |
828 |
1053 |
|
2013 |
131 |
19 |
660 |
810 |
|
2014 |
98 |
14 |
275 |
387 |
|
Total |
428 |
59 |
1763 |
2250 |
55. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she remains satisfied that hardship is alleviated in respect of non-European Union nationals in this country who, in most cases, have been employed and paid relevant taxes in this jurisdiction for up to ten years, but who may not qualify for social welfare payments in the event of their employers being forced to dismiss them on residency grounds; if she will examine these cases on humanitarian grounds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9763/15]
View answerQuestions relating to the residence of non-Irish nationals are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality.
However, it is understood that any non EEA national who has worked here legally and consistently for a period of five years or more, is entitled to seek a letter from the Department of Justice and Equality granting permanent residence. Where a person is granted the right of permanent residence, entitlement to social assistance payments is on the same basis as that of Irish citizens.
The International Organisation for Migration (Ireland) provides a voluntary return programme that is open to non-EEA migrants wishing to return home voluntarily, without the means, including the necessary documentation, to do so.
In terms of services offered by the Department of Social Protection the supplementary welfare allowance scheme provides a "safety net" within the overall social welfare system and provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes.
Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The Government has provided €27.9 million for the scheme in 2015.
An exceptional needs payment is a means tested payment payable at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance. Unlike other social assistance schemes operated by the Department, exceptional needs payments are not subject to the habitual residence condition.
57. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she expects lone parents to be in a position to maintain their level of income in the aftermath of a reduction in entitlements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9765/15]
View answerThe final phase of the one-parent family payment (OFP) reforms will take place on 2 July, 2015, when the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient’s payment ceases will be reduced to 7 years for all recipients.
Approximately 30,200 OFP recipients will transition out of the OFP scheme on that day. These customers will be supported by my Department to transition to another income support payment.
Approximately 20,000 lone parents will access a jobseeker’s payment, including the jobseeker’s allowance (JA) transitional arrangement, through which they will have access to my Department’s Intreo services and to a range of education, training, and employment supports that will assist them in securing sustainable employment.
Another approximately 9,600 lone parents are expected to move to the family income supplement (FIS) and, therefore, will also qualify for the back to work family dividend (BTWFD), which provides a further incentive for customers to avail of work opportunities by allowing them to retain their increase for a qualified child (IQC) payment when they leave income support for employment/self-employment.
In the last two years, the Department has seen an increase in applications for the FIS payment from customers who have transitioned out of the OFP payment as a result of the on-going reforms to the scheme. This is evidence of the positive impact that these reforms are having on customers who are increasing their employment, becoming new FIS recipients, and seeing their income increase when they transition out of the OFP payment.
Approximately 1,650 lone parents who are in receipt of the domiciliary care allowance (DCA) on behalf of a disabled child will not be affected by the July changes.
Subject to the necessary legislative amendments being enacted, I will be extending eligibility for OFP to lone parents who are also eligible for the half-rate carer’s allowance (CA), until their youngest child is aged 16 years. This will impact positively on approximately 1,800 individuals, including the 800 customers who were due to transition from the OFP payment to a full-rate CA payment on 2 July, 2015.
58. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons in receipt of jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker's assistance in each of the past four years and to date in 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9766/15]
View answerThe total number of persons in receipt of jobseeker’s assistance (JA) and jobseeker’s benefit (JB) is collated on a monthly basis.
I therefore attach for the Deputy’s information a tabular statement of the number of recipients of JA & JB at the end of each month during the period January 2011 to February 2015.
|
Jobseeker’s Allowance Recipients January 2011 to February 2015 |
|||||
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
|
January |
266,799 |
283,137 |
291,960 |
291,657 |
265,184 |
|
February |
271,195 |
284,681 |
292,296 |
290,881 |
262,469 |
|
March |
273,792 |
282,573 |
287,508 |
289,517 |
|
|
April |
275,126 |
282,663 |
289,328 |
284,042 |
|
|
May |
280,833 |
289,615 |
293,981 |
288,268 |
|
|
June |
289,983 |
297,822 |
300,782 |
295,594 |
|
|
July |
296,233 |
303,244 |
304,182 |
298,608 |
|
|
August |
300,067 |
304,224 |
307,115 |
295,244 |
|
|
September |
283,556 |
286,161 |
291,764 |
276,040 |
|
|
October |
279,156 |
281,927 |
286,667 |
265,705 |
|
|
November |
280,003 |
283,021 |
286,418 |
263,294 |
|
|
December |
283,313 |
291,640 |
295,077 |
269,951 |
|
Jobseeker’s Benefit Recipients January 2011 to February 2015 |
|||||
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
|
January |
131,349 |
96,860 |
80,057 |
54,257 |
46,895 |
|
February |
121,185 |
96,983 |
80,151 |
54,522 |
46,285 |
|
March |
118,105 |
92,780 |
73,939 |
51,450 |
|
|
April |
112,753 |
89,539 |
73,147 |
49,333 |
|
|
May |
109,209 |
88,591 |
70,085 |
46,528 |
|
|
June |
107,910 |
87,546 |
69,497 |
47,707 |
|
|
July |
112,052 |
92,160 |
73,900 |
54,092 |
|
|
August |
110,492 |
85,845 |
66,275 |
49,349 |
|
|
September |
95,681 |
74,898 |
53,990 |
41,407 |
|
|
October |
93,671 |
73,842 |
53,101 |
40,426 |
|
|
November |
94,036 |
74,694 |
51,465 |
42,259 |
|
|
December |
97,052 |
78,459 |
55,068 |
46,335 |
59. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the extent to which waiting lists apply in respect of applications for the various means-tested social welfare payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9767/15]
View answerMy Department does not operate waiting lists in respect of applications for means-tested social welfare payments. However, as of the end of January 2015, decisions were pending on 28,561 applications for means-tested social welfare payments. Details of these numbers of pending decisions, by scheme, are given in the tabular statement attached.
Claims pending decisions for a means-tested scheme 31 January 2015
|
Scheme |
Claims Pending |
|
Jobseeker’s Allowance |
9,017 |
|
One-parent Family Payment |
1,587 |
|
State Pension Non-contributory |
1,918 |
|
Blind Person Pension |
N/a |
|
Guardian Payment (Non Contributory) |
N/a |
|
Widow/Widower’s and Surviving Civil Partner’s Non-Contributory Pension |
N/a |
|
Family Income Supplement (New) |
1,713 |
|
Family Income Supplement (Renewal) |
769 |
|
Carer’s Allowance |
4,290 |
|
Disability Allowance |
5,383 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
3,884 |
|
Totals |
28,561 |
