Written Replies Nos. 43 to 49
43. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding entitlement to statutory redundancy in the case where somebody leaves the workplace due to illness or occupational injury; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32442/15]
View answer44. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding entitlement to statutory redundancy in the public service where an employee is retiring due to occupational injury or ill health; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32443/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 44 together.
The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate workers, under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 2011, for the loss of their jobs by reason of redundancy. Generally, a redundancy situation arises where an employee’s job ceases to exist, and he or she is not replaced for such reasons as rationalisation/reorganisation, not enough work available, the financial state of the firm and company closure. In such circumstances providing certain conditions are met, eligible employees may be entitled to a statutory redundancy payment.
Where an individual employee ceases employment due to illness or occupational injury this is not a redundancy situation. Therefore, there is no entitlement to statutory redundancy in such cases.
45. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason payment of carer's allowance has been reduced for a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32342/15]
View answerCarer's Allowance (CA) is a social assistance payment made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to people with disabilities who require full-time care and attention and whose income falls below certain limits.
When an applicant is getting certain social welfare payments and providing full-time care and attention to another person, they can keep their main social welfare payment and get a half-rate CA as well.
The person concerned was awarded a State Pension contributory from 21 August 2015 of €204.00 weekly and an increase for a qualified adult of €186.00 weekly. Accordingly, CA was reduced to half-rate of €119.50 weekly.
46. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal for illness benefit by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32382/15]
View answerThe person concerned was in receipt of illness benefit from December 2008 to August 2013 when he was found capable of work. He appealed the decision and in the meantime received Jobseeker's Allowance up to August 2015. As he did not attend an examination by a Medical Assessor as required as part of the appeal process, the appeal was withdrawn.
A new claim to illness benefit was received on 7 September 2015 in respect of work incapacity from 11 August 2015. It has been decided to award this claim and payment has been made to the date of the latest medical evidence received.
The appeal of the person concerned for the period from August 2013 has been re-opened and the relevant departmental papers have been requested. On receipt of same, the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
47. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason the year that a person turns 66 years of age is not included in the calculations for the yearly average contribution condition for the State pension; the reason a person is charged contributions during this year when they are not reckonable for the State pension; in the event that someone has paid contributions to their 66th birthday which cannot be taken into account, if they can be refunded; whether these contributions can be taken into account where a person requires them to qualify under the yearly average condition; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32383/15]
View answerState pension (contributory) entitlement is calculated by the ‘yearly average’ system, where the total number of contributions paid or credited are divided by the number of years of the person’s insurance record. The maximum rate of pension is payable where a person has a yearly average of at least 48, and there are banded entitlements below that.
In calculating the yearly average, the number of full-rate contributions paid and/or credited are counted up to the end of the tax year before reaching pension age (66), and this total is divided by the number of years in their record up to that point. For example, if someone’s record was from 1971, and they turned 66 on 1 July 2015, it would be the contributions they paid or were credited in the period to 31 December 2014, divided by 44 years (i.e. every year from 1971 to 2014). Taking the subsequent period into account to calculate the yearly average could only increase their contributions by a maximum of 26 contributions, and if their yearly average was already higher than that, this would have the effect of reducing their yearly average, rather than increase it, as the amended total would be divided by 45. Given the fact that in most cases, this would result in a lower rather than a higher yearly average, it is to most people’s advantage that the rule should apply as it does now. However, the contributions can still be used to satisfy other contribution conditions (notably the 'contributions paid' rule in State pension contributory).
It should be remembered that PRSI does not just fund the State pension contributory and enable people to qualify for that payment, but also working age benefits before they retire. The PRSI system does not make refunds in respect of contributions which do not end up being used to qualify for various payments. To do so would reduce the sustainability of the PRSI system, and require an increase in the rate of contributions, and/or a reduction in the level of payments it funds.
Work is under way to replace the ‘yearly average’ system with a ‘total contributions approach’. Under this approach, the number of contributions recorded over a work life will more closely reflect the rate of pension payment received. It is expected that the total contributions approach to pension qualification will replace the current average contributions test for State pension (contributory) for new pensioners from 2020, although that date is subject to change, as this is a very significant reform with considerable legal, administrative, and technical challenges to be overcome in its implementation. When proposals are agreed, legislation will be brought forward to underpin the necessary changes.
48. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will examine and expedite a disability allowance review in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry, as all relevant medical information has been submitted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32384/15]
View answerThe Department routinely reviews ongoing entitlement to all its schemes. The continued eligibility for disability allowance (DA) of the person concerned is currently under review.
In order to complete the medical review, a form will be issued to him within the next few days for completion by his doctor. Once completed by his doctor, the form should be returned to this department for consideration by a deciding officer. It is important that all relevant details and evidence in relation to the person’s medical condition and how it affects him is submitted for consideration at this point. It is open to the person in question to submit any evidence that he feels to be relevant. In the meantime, pending completion of the review, the person concerned will continue to receive payment of DA.
49. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the current waiting times for each social welfare payment for the processing of applications by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32385/15]
View answerA breakdown of the average time, where available, to award claims during August 2015 is detailed in the following tabular statement.
It should be noted that processing times vary by scheme reflecting the differing requirements to satisfy conditions such as income/means limits and medical eligibility. The processing times provided in the table also incorporate the impact of overall processing times of the appeals process.
Average Time to Award Claims August 2015
|
Scheme |
Average Time to Award Claims (Weeks) |
|
Jobseekers Benefit |
3 |
|
Jobseekers Allowance |
3 |
|
One-Parent Family Payment |
9 |
|
State Pension Contributory (Domestic) |
4 |
|
Widow, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension |
2 |
|
State Pension Non-Contributory |
20 |
|
Household Benefits |
3 |
|
Free Travel |
3 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
1 |
|
Family Income Supplement (New Claims) |
3 |
|
Child Benefit (Domestic and FRA) |
2 |
|
Child Benefit (EU regulation) |
29 |
|
Carer's Allowance* |
35 |
|
Disability Allowance* |
32 |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
15 |
|
Invalidity Pension* |
21 |
|
Illness Benefit |
1 |
* The average time to award state pension non-contributory, disability allowance, carers' allowance and invalidity pension applications at the end of August was 20, 32, 35 and 21 weeks respectively. New applications for state pension non-contributory are currently decided upon inside 14.5 weeks, disability allowance are currently decided upon inside 9.7 weeks, carer’s allowance are currently decided upon inside 16.5 weeks on average and invalidity pension claims are currently decided upon within 3.8 weeks of receipt. The overall average processing times reflect appeals in the system.
