Written Answers Nos. 24 - 34
24. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views that, in view of the housing crisis and the spiralling rents in many parts of Dublin, she should postpone the planned changes to the one-parent family payment scheme and engage further with concerned groups representing parents, many of whom are facing poverty in the wake of these changes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24834/15]
View answerDespite considerable investment, the one-parent family payment scheme has not succeeded in preventing lone parents from being significantly more at risk of consistent poverty than the population as a whole. The reforms seek to address the long-term social welfare dependency and poverty experienced by many lone parents by providing them with improved access to the Department’s range of education, training, and employment supports. Access to these services and supports is imperative for lone parents, in order to ensure that their prospects of securing employment and financial independence are improved. Any reversal of these reforms would delay this critical interaction between lone parents and the Department’s Intreo services and would potentially increase the barriers they face to entering employment in the future.
I therefore have no plans to reverse the forthcoming changes to the one parent family payment.
The primary responsibility for provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with local authorities.
However, in response to the supply difficulties, the Department has put in place preventative measures to ensure that people at risk of homelessness or loss of their tenancy are supported under the rent supplement scheme where increased rental payments are required.
These measures allow for flexibility in assessing customers’ individual accommodation needs through the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework on a case by case basis. Staff in the Community Welfare Service of the Department have a statutory discretionary power to award or increase a supplement for rental purposes, for example, when dealing with applicants who are in danger of homelessness.
25. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection in view of the rising numbers entering the private rented sector and the continued increasing of rents, if she will revise the cap on rent supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24835/15]
View answerRent supplement continues to play a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 68,000 people this year at a cost of €298 million. Over 5,600 claims have been awarded in 2015, of which almost 1,600 are in Dublin.
The Department carried out a review of the maximum rent limits which found that increasing rent limits could potentially add to further rental inflation in an already distressed market, affecting not alone rent supplement recipients, but lower-income workers and students. Between rent supplement and the Rental Accommodation Scheme administered by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the State accounts for a third of the private rented market and is, therefore, a very significant player in the sector.
The Department has implemented preventative measures under rent supplement to provide for flexibility in assessing customers’ individual accommodation needs through the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework. Under this approach, each tenant’s circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis and rents are being increased above prescribed limits. The Department is also working with Threshold’s Tenancy Sustainment service in the Dublin and Cork city areas where supply is most acute. This flexible approach has already assisted over 2,100 rent supplement households nationwide, of which some 1,400 are in Dublin, to retain their rented accommodation through increased rent payments.
The Department has also undertaken a communications campaign to encourage people at risk to make contact with the Department or the Threshold Tenancy Protection service. I can assure the Deputy that I am keeping this matter under review to ensure that the necessary supports continue to be provided.
Finally, it should be noted that my colleague Alan Kelly T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, intends to bring proposals in relation to rent certainty to Government before the summer recess.
26. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection in view of reports (details supplied) of rising numbers entering the private rented sector, if she will revise the cap on rent supplement. [24827/15]
View answerRent supplement continues to play a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 68,000 people this year at a cost of €298 million. Over 5,600 claims have been awarded in 2015, of which almost 1,600 are in Dublin.
As outlined in the report referred to by the Deputy, the main cause of rising rents is a lack of supply in the market and the implementation of the range of actions under the Construction 2020 Strategy and the Social Housing Strategy will support increased housing supply. My colleague, Alan Kelly T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, intends to bring proposals in relation to rent certainty to Government before the summer recess.
The Department carried out a review of the maximum rent limits with found that increasing rent limits at this time could potentially add to further rental inflation in an already distressed market, affecting not alone rent supplement recipients, but lower-income workers and students.
The Department has, instead, implemented preventative measures to provide for flexibility in assessing customers’ individual accommodation needs through the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework. Under this approach, each tenant’s circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis and rents are being increased above prescribed limits. The Department is also working with Threshold’s Tenancy Sustainment service in the Dublin and Cork city areas where supply is most acute. This flexible approach has already assisted over 2,100 rent supplement households nationwide, of which some 1,400 are in Dublin, through increased rent payments.
The Department has also undertaken a communications campaign to encourage people at risk to contact the Department or the Threshold Tenancy Protection service.
27. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she has identified the problems of the school meals programme which has resulted in some schools being unable to avail of it; and her plans to address these concerns. [24784/15]
View answerThe school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations and benefits over 207,000 children. Despite pressure on the social protection budget, the Government allocated an additional €2 million for the programme in 2015, providing a total allocation of €39 million.
The scheme provides support to disadvantaged children and priority is given to schools to schools which are part of the Department of Education and Skills’ initiative for disadvantaged schools, ‘Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools’ (DEIS). DEIS schools which were not participating in the scheme were invited by the Department to join during 2013 and 2014. Applications from DEIS schools not currently participating in the scheme continue to be accepted.
In line with the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, Better Outcomes Brighter Futures, the additional €2 million allocated to the school meals programme will be used to provide payments to schools which are part of DEIS. There is a particular focus on the provision of breakfast clubs within the programme which provide very positive outcomes for vulnerable children in terms of their school attendance, punctuality and energy levels.
The Department is currently receiving applications for the forthcoming academic year and is considering options regarding the allocation of the additional funding.
28. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will revise her plans to progress with the changes to the one-parent family payment scheme which is affecting lone parents with children over seven years of age and which will impact negatively on the income of single parent families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24836/15]
View answerExpenditure on the One Parent Family Payment (OFP) scheme is estimated to be €607 million in 2015 with almost 70,000 recipients. However, despite considerable investment, the scheme has not succeeded in preventing lone parents from being significantly more at risk of consistent poverty than the population as a whole.
In 2004, at the height of the economic boom, lone parents were more than four and a half times at risk of consistent poverty than the population as a whole. Before the reforms to the scheme, lone parents could have been on the scheme until their youngest child turned 18, or 22 if they were in full-time education.
This is why I believe that the reforms I have introduced are much needed as they are moving us away from providing passive income support over a long period towards an active, engagement approach.
The reforms seek to address the long-term social welfare dependency and poverty experienced by many lone parents by providing them with improved access to the Department’s range of education, training, and employment supports. Access to these services and supports is imperative for lone parents, in order to ensure that their prospects of securing employment and financial independence are improved.
Any reversal of these reforms would delay this critical interaction between lone parents and the Department’s Intreo services and would potentially increase the barriers they face to entering employment in the future.
I therefore have no plans to reverse the forthcoming changes to the one parent family payment.
29. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection in view of the fact that the threshold for the ending of the one-parent family payment is being reduced to seven for the youngest child and is to take effect from 2 July 2015, the immediate plans to invest in proper child care provision. [24781/15]
View answerChild care policy, including the delivery and/or expansion of child care services, is the responsibility of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (D/CYA).
The reforms to the one-parent family payment have highlighted the need for child care supports to be available for lone parents who make the transition into employment. My Department in conjunction with the D/CYA, introduced the after-school child care scheme and the community employment childcare programme in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Both of these schemes were funded by my Department from savings from the child benefit scheme and build on the 25,000 subsidised childcare places provided by the D/CYA each year. In Budget 2015, I introduced increases to the child benefit rate, the partial restoration of the Christmas bonus, as well as the back to work family dividend (BTWFD), all of which provide additional financial assistance to parents.
The Government’s Spring Economic Statement acknowledged that a successful childcare policy helps people to transition from welfare to employment. The interdepartmental group’s report will be a key input in determining the future of childcare provision in Ireland. I look forward to reviewing the group’s report and considering it with my Cabinet colleagues.
30. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the measures she has introduced to provide greater clarity and transparency on pension charges; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24675/15]
View answerThe 2012 Report on Pension Charges undertaken by my Department, working with the Central Bank and the Pensions Authority, was the first comprehensive Government report on this subject. Since publication, a range of measures have been taken to deliver on the report’s recommendations and work in this regard continues. For example, in line with the recommendation that the implementation of the Consumer Protection Code should be monitored, the Central Bank has undertaken a number of themed reviews aimed at ensuring this is the case. This includes a review of new requirements for annual pension statements introduced in 2012 which requires that information on charges be provided in a way that seeks to inform the customer. The review found that the vast majority of firms were in compliance with the code. Where the Bank identified a small number of firms where the format of annual statements was not as required, those concerned were required to submit implementation timelines for full compliance.
In parallel, my Department is involved in complementary EU negotiations on a review of the IORPs (Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision) Directive which lays down basic requirements for occupational pensions. It is anticipated that final provisions will result in improved consistency of information to scheme members in pension benefit statements including transparency of charges.
In terms of support to trustees of occupational pension schemes, the Pension’s Authority is in the process of enhancing its e-learning website for trustee training which will include material on pension charges. It is also updating the Trustee Handbook and expects to publish the new handbook, which will contain a chapter on pension charges, in the near future.
Finally, the role of the new Pensions Council is to provide advice on pensions and to give a much stronger prominence to consumer concerns. I have previously highlighted that there a number of specific matters which I want the Council to focus on and this includes the area of pension charges which, following its recent establishment, the Council has now begun to consider.
31. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to ensure that persons are financially better off in employment than they are on welfare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24628/15]
View answerMy Department is actively engaged in supporting job seekers of working age to avail of opportunities to get back to work.
The ESRI Report “Making Work Pay More: Recent Initiatives” published this week, finds that the majority of jobseekers have a strong financial incentive to take up employment. The analysis shows that almost 80% of jobseekers would see their income increase by at least 40% on taking up employment and six out of ten would double their income. In addition they find that, of the small number of people who would be better off on welfare than in work, close to five out of six still chose to work.
The back to work family dividend (BTWFD), which I introduced in Budget 2015, improves the work incentives of unemployed jobseekers with children. The scheme allows unemployed jobseekers with children, as well as one-parent family payment recipients, to keep the increases for qualified children they were receiving on their payment for up to a year when they take up employment. They can keep half of that amount for their second year in employment. This means that during the first year of employment a former jobseeker or one-parent family payment recipient can receive €1,550 per child.
The ESRI report finds that in the first year of the BTWFD the proportion of families with children facing a replacement rate of over 70% fell from 39% to 32%. They also find that the BTWFD results in the proportion of jobseekers that would be financially better off not working decreases from 1 in 15 to 1 in 20.
As the BTWFD is paid on top of an individual’s entitlement to the family income supplement it is very effective in further improving the work incentives for people with children.
It is therefore clear that work pays with more than 100,000 additional people now at work and unemployment has fallen by over a third since the peak of the crisis.
32. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of tenancies that have been deemed terminated, where rent arrears of at least 28 days existed under section 37 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004, in each of the past three years and to date in 2015; if she will provide this information in tabular form, broken down by county; if she is aware that such tenancy terminations have been occurring more frequently in areas where market rent prices are at such levels as to be beyond the reach of struggling families trying to find accommodation within rent supplement levels; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24636/15]
View answerThere are approximately 68,000 rent supplement recipients for which Government has provided over €298 million for the scheme in 2015.
The Department does not maintain statistics in relation to tenancies terminated where rent arrears of at least 28 days existed. However, I fully acknowledge the difficulties that people are experiencing, including rent supplement recipients, in maintaining suitable affordable accommodation in the current market.
Fundamentally, the main cause of rising rents is a lack of supply in the market and the implementation of the range of actions under the Construction 2020 Strategy and the Social Housing Strategy will support increased housing supply. It should also be noted that my colleague, Alan Kelly T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, intends to bring proposals in relation to rent certainty to Government before the summer recess.
In response to the current difficulties, the Department has implemented preventative measures to provide for flexibility in assessing customers’ individual accommodation needs through the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework. Under this approach, each tenant’s circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis, and rents are being increased above prescribed limits throughout the country, as appropriate, including those in Kildare.
The Department is also working with Threshold’s Tenancy Sustainment service in the Dublin and Cork city areas where supply is most acute. This flexible approach has already assisted over 2,100 rent supplement households nationwide to retain their rented accommodation through the payment of increased rent payments.
In addition, the Department has also undertaken a communications campaign which seeks to encourage people at risk to contact the Department or the Threshold Tenancy Protection service as early as possible to prevent an unnecessary episode of homelessness.
33. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if all of her Department's costs in relation to the set up and administration of the water conservation grant will be recouped from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government; if not, the cost to her Department for 2015 and 2016, including costs such as secondment of senior staff and management; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24814/15]
View answerThe administration and payment of this grant is a significant project for the Department and requires the development and implementation of ICT systems, ICT infrastructure and various customer support and communications services. The start-up costs to develop and set up the ICT solutions, and put in place comprehensive customer support services, will be incurred in 2015. It is estimated, on the basis of the scoping work done to date, that the once-off costs, together with the operational costs for 2015, will amount in total to approximately €6 million. All costs in relation to the set-up and administration of the Water Conservation Grant will be recouped from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in line with existing procedures in this regard. Every effort is being made to maximise efficiencies and keep costs to the absolute minimum.
34. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to respond to the family carers’ scorecard report from the Carers Association regarding the national carers strategy, particularly the key areas which fall under the remit of her Department, where there has been no progress reported or where there has been regression in terms of the measures proposed. [24782/15]
View answerThe government recognises the significant contribution that carers make to society and provide a range of income supports to assist with the financial burden of caring. These include carer's allowance, carer's benefit, domiciliary care allowance and respite care grant. In excess of €822 million is provided for these payments in 2015.
In relation to the scorecard report from the carers’ association to which the deputy refers, I am pleased to say that the report acknowledges that the engagement by the department with the national carers’ strategy (NCS) monitoring group has been good and that this open communication has led to practical outcomes – for example, the department amending the standard written communication to those refused carer’s allowance on the grounds of means, to point out that they may still have an entitlement to the respite care grant.
The report also acknowledges the improvements made by the department in reducing the waiting periods for carers allowance applications and appeals, and considers that the department’s major service delivery modernisation project represents a concerted effort to improve the service provided to family carers.
The report also points to the annual carers’ forum run by the department (as part of its NCS commitments) as a good template for open and transparent engagement. This is a very useful event which affords an opportunity for carers’ group to interact and raise issues with service providers, and this year, the department reshaped the format of the forum, in consultation with the carers association, so that it might be even more effective.
In addition to the annual forum referenced above, the department engages with the carers’ groups on an ongoing basis. For example, the department in conjunction with carers groups is currently exploring options in relation to increasing awareness of the possibility of care sharing, transitional arrangements for carers following the conclusion of their caring role, improvements to the application process and promoting the respite care grant.
This engagement is very positive and helpful from the department’s point of view and I would like to acknowledge the positive and constructive approach which the carers groups bring to this process.
