Written Answers Nos. 54-59
54. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Donegal will receive disability allowance arrears; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15951/15]
View answerDisability allowance arrears issued to the person concerned by cheque on 8 April 2015.
56. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if respite grant entitlement continues to exist in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15987/15]
View answerThe Respite Care Grant forms part of a range of illness, disability and carer supports provided by my department to people with disabilities and those who care for them. The due date of the grant is the 1 Thursday in June of the year in question.
The grant is paid automatically to people in receipt of Carers Allowance, Carers Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance. The person concerned was recently awarded Carers Allowance from September 2014. He will receive payment of the 2015 Grant on 4 June 2015, once he is in receipt of Carers Allowance on that date.
His possible entitlement to the 2014 Grant is also under consideration and in this regard my department was recently in contact with him seeking some additional information. A decision will be sent to him, as soon as his reply is received.
57. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the funding of programmes under the disability activation project, which is due to cease shortly; the options she is considering for the continuation of funding for programmes such as this, particularly in view of the soon-to-be-published comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities; if she will consider a proposal (details supplied) from a funded organisation that has helped many persons with disabilities into mainstream education and employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15992/15]
View answerThe Disability Activation Project is (DACT) is jointly funded (more than €7 million) by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Department, and a total of 14 projects (including WALK PEER) are being funded under this programme in the Border, Midlands & West region. The projects commenced at the end of 2012 and will end on 30 April 2015 (the ESF portion of the funding that was provided under the Human Capital Investment Operational Programme 2007- 2013 will terminate at the end of April.)
I very much welcomed and supported the setting up of these projects as they set out to explore a variety of routes towards ensuring that people with disabilities are enabled to avail of progression, education and development opportunities within the world of work - to help inform future policy on activation/engagement measures for people with disabilities. When the projects were set up, the Department gave a commitment that it would carry out an independent evaluation of the projects to assess the outcomes achieved and to identify “best practice” in terms of the methodologies and processes used that could, where appropriate, be “mainstreamed” and delivered by existing services.
However, I must clarify that the basis on which the projects were awarded funding was that they would terminate at the end of April 2015 - there was never any question that the projects could turn into ongoing service delivery operation in their own right.
The independent evaluation referenced above – which is being undertaken on behalf of the Department by Indecon International Consultants – is underway and, pending its completion, there is no objective basis for identifying how successful any project was and what practices/processes from the projects worked best and so might could be considered for incorporating into existing service delivery structures.
When the evaluation is completed at the end of June, the Department will set up and chair a working group, comprising the relevant Departments with responsibilities under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy, to consider the findings.
I am conscious that there will still be people participating in the WALK PEER project (and a number of others) at the end of April so I have decided that funding for these projects will be made available from the Department for a short period beyond April i.e. to end-July 2015, to facilitate those projects in ensuring that participants finish their involvement in an orderly manner.
58. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider extending tax relief on dental expenses to include routine dental work, in view of the reduction in benefits under the treatment benefit scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15876/15]
View answer59. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the estimated cost of extending tax relief on dental expenses to include routine dental work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15877/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 59 together.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the cost of the claims for tax relief on health expenses, which includes medical and dental expenses, in 2012 (the most recent tax year for which data are currently available), is estimated to be in the order of €134 million. Figures in relation to previous tax years are available on the Revenue Commissioners' statistics webpage at www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/index.html. This information can be found under the heading "Income Tax and Corporation Tax - Costs of Credits, Allowances and Reliefs", at http://www.revenue.ie/en/about/statistics/credits-allowences-reliefs.pdf. Updates will be published on Commissioners' website in due course.
I am advised that a breakdown of the estimated cost of tax relief for dental expenses alone is not available. As the Deputy notes, routine dental treatment such as the extraction, scaling and filling of teeth and the provision and repairing of artificial teeth or dentures is currently excluded from the relief. As a result, information on expenses in relation to routine dental treatment is not required to be returned to Revenue. I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that, as they have no data on the additional potential treatments costs or number of claims for tax relief if the scheme were extended to include routine dental treatment, it is not possible to provide the estimated cost the Deputy requested.
The State already provides some support to those who require dental treatment through the schemes detailed below:
(i) Treatment Benefits from the Department of Social Protection . It is my understanding that this scheme is available to insured workers and retired people who have the required number of PRSI contributions. The benefit under this scheme is that the Department of Social Protection pays for an oral examination for a qualifying individual once a calendar year.
(ii) The Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provides access to dental treatment for adult medical card holders (over 16 years of age). A free oral examination every calendar year and free emergency dental treatment for relief of pain and sepsis are available to all eligible patients. This includes 2 fillings per annum and all extractions.
Most other treatments require prior approval and patients with special needs, high risk patients and those who have greater clinical needs receive priority. The National Oral Health Office issued Standard Operating Procedures to dentists in November 2011 to provide clearer guidance on the application of DTSS prior approval requests (for example, for dentures).
The DTSS provides treatment for periodontal/gum disease in cases where care is especially warranted. This includes clients who are pregnant, have diabetes or immuno-compromising conditions, or require relevant surgical procedures such as cardiac surgery and joint replacements. Approval for periodontal treatment may be given by the local Principal Dental Surgeon for these and other high risk or special needs groups.
The restriction of the Treatment Benefit scheme as it relates to dental treatment in 2010 was expected to lead to savings of €37.5 million. To provide tax relief for routine dental treatment would serve to negate some of the savings achieved from that policy change. Given the existing supports available, particularly for those on low incomes through their access via the medical card, I am not predisposed to expanding the tax relief available for health expenses to include expenses associated with routine dental treatment. However, I will have the Deputy's suggestion examined for my consideration as part of my deliberations for the next Budget.
