Written Answers Nos. 35-41
35. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on her Department's administration of the water conservation grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33031/15]
View answerThe Department of Social Protection, on behalf of the Department of Environment, Community, and Local Government (DECLG), is paying the €100 per annum Water Conservation Grant to households (primary dwellings) which registered their principal private residence with Irish Water by 30th June 2015. 1.3 million registrations were made by the deadline and Irish Water has transferred a file of registered households to this Department.
All of those registered households on that file will receive a letter by the end of September 2015, inviting them to apply for the Water Conservation Grant. The Water Conservation Grant application systems facilitate both online and phone applications from eligible persons. The 2015 application period opened on 19th August 2015. The closing date for applications is 8th October 2015. As of 25 September 2015, just under 480,000 grant applications had been made.
Water Conservation Grant payments of €100 were made to 156,249 householders on 16 September 2015 to a value of €15,624,900. A second tranche of over 240,000 Water Conservation Grant payments are due to be made by 1 October 2015. Further payments will be made during October.
36. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will urgently increase rent supplement to enable persons remain in their current rented properties and to stem rising homelessness. [33024/15]
View answerRent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 65,000 people at a cost of €298 million in 2015.
Over 13,700 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year, of which almost 4,300 are in Dublin, showing that landlords are accommodating significant numbers under the scheme.
A review of the rent limits undertaken earlier this year found that the impact of increasing limits at a time of constrained supply will increase costs disproportionately for the Exchequer with little or no new housing available to recipients.
Rather than increasing limits at this time rent supplement policy will continue to allow for flexibility where landlords seek rents in excess of current limits. Flexibility is provided under the National Framework for Tenancy Sustainment for both existing customers of the scheme and new applicants. Under this measure tenant’s circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis, and rents are being increased above prescribed limits as appropriate. This flexible approach has already assisted approximately 4,000 households throughout the country to retain their rented accommodation. In addition, the Department, in conjunction with Threshold, operates a special Protocol in the Dublin and Cork areas where supply issues are particularly acute, with plans to extend this arrangement to Galway City.
I can assure the Deputy that where Departmental staff are notified of a threat of tenancy loss these measures are implemented as appropriate. Persons in receipt of rent supplement at risk of losing their tenancy are advised to contact the Department’s Community Welfare Service or Threshold’s Tenancy Protection Service without delay.
I am keeping the matter under review.
37. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the current terms of employment that are in place for persons who are employed as Foras Áiseanna Saothair – the Irish National Training and Employment Authority supervisors; the pension and severance package, if any, that they are entitled to, upon their retirement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33087/15]
View answerThe terms of employment for persons employed as Supervisors on DSP-funded Community Employment (CE) schemes are a contractual matter between the employer (CE Sponsor) and the employee (Supervisor).
Employers (including CE Sponsoring Organisations) are legally obliged to offer access to at least one Standard Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) under the Pension (Amendment) Act 2002. All CE sponsoring organisations were informed of their responsibilities under this Act at that time.
CE Supervisors may also qualify for the State Pension at 66 years of age. If they have accrued sufficient PRSI contributions (520 contributions at full rate, equivalent to 10 years contributions) they will qualify for the State Pension (Contributory), which is not means-tested. In the event that there are insufficient contributions, the person may qualify for the State Pension (Non-Contributory), provided they satisfy the means test.
There is no legal obligation on employers to provide occupational pension schemes for employees.
The Deputy will be aware that Community Employment (CE) Supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector. In the circumstances, it is not possible for the State to take over responsibility for funding pension arrangements for employees of private companies, even where those companies are reliant on State funding. The Department of Public Expenditure & Reform confirmed this position to this Department in March 2015.
38. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will consider allowing discretion on the 15-hour week employment exemption under the carer's allowance scheme, where it has no impact on the level of care provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33020/15]
View answerA key qualifying condition for the payment of carer’s allowance is that the person receiving care is medically assessed as needing care on a full-time basis, while a person in receipt of carer’s allowance can engage in employment, self-employment, training or education outside the home for up to 15 hours per week and still qualify for the payment.
I am satisfied that this strikes a reasonable balance which allows the carer to engage in activity outside the caring environment while still satisfying the need to provide care and attention on a full time basis, and so I have no plans to make any changes in this area.
39. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the measures she is taking to reduce pension costs that are charged on members of pension schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33021/15]
View answerThe Report on Pension Charges, undertaken by my Department, working with the Central Bank and the Pensions Authority, was completed and published in October 2012 and was the first comprehensive Government report on this subject. The report culminated in recommendations which involve measures to introduce clarity and consistency across the various pension products, increase consumer understanding and provide a better result for the consumer. Since publication, a range of measures have been taken to deliver on the report’s recommendations and work is ongoing in this regard.
For example, as recommended in the report, the Central Bank has undertaken a number of themed reviews aimed at ensuring implementation of the requirements of the Consumer Protection Code. This includes a review of annual pension statements to confirm that information on charges is being 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.
The report also recommended that specific actions should be taken to improve trustees’ knowledge and awareness of pension charges. In this regard, the Pension’s Authority has updated its trustee training material and information on its website on pension charges for scheme trustees and consumers. The Authority has also recently released a new edition of the Trustee Handbook which includes dedicated information of fees and charges and trustee obligations in this regard.
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.
Under the Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 the Pensions Board was restructured into the Pensions Authority and the Pensions Council. 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.
40. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her Department's plans to increase rent supplement limits to deal with the continuous rise in rent prices; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33036/15]
View answerRent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 65,000 people at a cost of €298 million in 2015.
Over 13,700 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year showing that landlords are accommodating significant numbers under the scheme.
A review of the rent limits undertaken earlier this year found that the impact of increasing limits at a time of constrained supply will increase costs disproportionately for the Exchequer with little or no new housing available to recipients.
Rather than increasing limits at this time rent supplement policy will continue to allow for flexibility where landlords seek rents in excess of current limits. Flexibility is provided under the National Framework for Tenancy Sustainment for both existing customers of the scheme and new applicants. Under this measure tenants circumstances are considered on a case-by-case basis, and rents are being increased above prescribed limits as appropriate. This flexible approach has already assisted approximately 4,000 households throughout the country to retain their rented accommodation. In addition, the Department, in conjunction with Threshold, operates a special Protocol in the Dublin and Cork areas where supply issues are particularly acute, with plans to extend this arrangement to Galway City.
I can assure the Deputy that where Departmental staff are notified of a threat of tenancy loss these measures are implemented as appropriate. Persons in receipt of rent supplement at risk of losing their tenancy are advised to contact the Department’s Community Welfare Service without delay.
I am keeping the matter under review.
41. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the way in which she will assist persons with disabilities to enter the workforce. [33146/15]
View answerThe Government is anxious to facilitate increasing participation in employment for persons with a disability. The Department provides a wide range of work related supports for people with disabilities which play an important role in supporting participation by people with disabilities in the labour force. These include the wage subsidy scheme, the EmployAbility (supported employment) programme and the employment support programme for people with disabilities.
The wage subsidy scheme (WSS) is an employment support to the private sector for the employment of people with disabilities. The purpose of this demand-led programme is to increase the numbers of people with disabilities participating in the open labour market. The WSS provides financial incentives to private sector employers to hire people with a disability for between 21 and 39 hours per week under a contract of employment. In 2014, some 1,550 employees were being supported through this programme at a cost of €12.6 million.
The EmployAbility programme is a national employment service dedicated to improving employment outcomes for job seekers with a disability. EmployAbility participants are people with a disability who are able to work a minimum of 8 hours per week and who need the support of a job coach to obtain employment in the open labour market. In December 2014, some 2,936 people were availing of the service, and the cost of the service in 2014 was €8.5 million.
The employment support programme for people with disabilities provides various labour market supports for people with disabilities, assisting them with finding paid employment or preparing them for employment through a training or employment programme. The employment support programme is a demand-led grant scheme, with an expenditure of €0.34 million in 2014.
In addition to these work related supports, a person on disability allowance may voluntarily take up rehabilitative work and earn up to €120 per week without their payment being affected while their earnings of between €121 and €350 per week are assessed at 50% for means test purposes. Furthermore, the partial capacity benefit (PCB) is available to recipients of illness benefit (who have been in receipt of the payment for at least six months) or invalidity pension and who feel they have some capacity for work and wish to avail of employment opportunities. If awarded, PCB will allow them to continue to receive a percentage of their illness benefit or invalidity pension payment while working.
