Written Answers Nos. 1-12
1. Deputy John Brassil asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection why the rent caps for counties Cork and Limerick are 25% higher than those for County Kerry when there is the same demand, especially in Killarney, Tralee and Daingean Uí Chúis; if she will adjust the figures in County Kerry to match these higher rates with immediate effect; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8642/16]
View answerRent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 57,600 people for which the Government has provided approximately €267 million for 2016. There are currently over 1,600 rent supplement recipients in county Kerry. Properties are being secured under the scheme with over 20,100 rent supplement tenancies awarded during 2015, of which almost 800 were in the Kerry area.
Revised rent limits under the rent supplement scheme came into effect from June 2013. These rent limits were determined following an extensive review of the private rental market based on the most up-to-date data available at that time. The Department used information from rental tenancies registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board and other data sources to inform the review process, including the Central Statistics Office Rental Indices, leading property websites and views of stakeholders. Major population centres in each county were examined as part of this review process.
In view of the supply difficulties in the private rented market a key finding of the Department’s most recent rent limit review was that rent supplement policy must continue to allow for flexibility where landlords seek rents in excess of current limits. Copies of the Department’s rent review reports are available on www.welfare.ie.
The Department has implemented a policy approach that allows for flexibility where landlords seek rents in excess of the limits for both existing customers and new applicants to the rent supplement scheme. The circumstances of tenants are considered on a case-by-case basis and rents are being increased above prescribed limits, as appropriate. This targeted approach has assisted over 7,600 rent supplement households nationwide to retain or acquire rented accommodation through increased rent payments, of which 57 households are in Kerry. A county breakdown of these cases is provided in the following tabular statement. It should be noted that there is very limited availability of advertised properties for the private residential market in the areas referred to by the Deputy, notably Killarney and Daingean Uí Chúis.
I believe the targeted approach of the Department and the recent legislative reforms announced to the private rental sector provide a level of stability for those who require rent supplement support in what has become a highly volatile rental market. The matter remains under close review.
Total Increased Rental Payments by County as at 25/04/2016
|
County |
Awards under National Tenancy Sustainment Framework |
Awards under protocol with Threshold |
Total no. of increased payments by County |
|
CARLOW |
35 |
35 |
|
|
CAVAN |
24 |
24 |
|
|
CLARE |
60 |
60 |
|
|
CORK |
359 |
76 |
435 |
|
DONEGAL |
- |
- |
|
|
DUBLIN |
3,060 |
1,954 |
5,014 |
|
GALWAY |
166 |
166 |
|
|
KERRY |
57 |
57 |
|
|
KILDARE |
353 |
353 |
|
|
KILKENNY |
127 |
127 |
|
|
LAOIS |
113 |
113 |
|
|
LEITRIM |
64 |
64 |
|
|
LIMERICK |
7 |
7 |
|
|
LONGFORD |
128 |
128 |
|
|
LOUTH |
122 |
122 |
|
|
MAYO |
3 |
3 |
|
|
MEATH |
301 |
301 |
|
|
MONAGHAN |
1 |
1 |
|
|
OFFALY |
61 |
61 |
|
|
ROSCOMMON |
25 |
25 |
|
|
SLIGO |
- |
- |
|
|
TIPPERARY |
165 |
165 |
|
|
WATERFORD |
39 |
39 |
|
|
WESTMEATH |
178 |
178 |
|
|
WEXFORD |
15 |
15 |
|
|
WICKLOW |
177 |
177 |
|
|
Overall Total |
5,640 |
2,030 |
7,670 |
2. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when she will forward a file to the Social Welfare Appeals Office in respect of an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the domiciliary care allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8643/16]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on the 22nd October 2015. This application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 19th January 2016 outlining the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance.
An appeal of this decision was registered on 10th February 2016 and additional information on this child’s condition/care needs has been supplied. The application together with the new information supplied has been forwarded to a Medical Assessor for their professional opinion. Upon receipt of the Medical Assessor’s opinion, the case will be further examined by a deciding officer, who will revise the original decision if warranted or alternatively, forward the case for consideration by the Appeals Office. Such reviews can take up to 12 weeks to complete at present.
3. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer's allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8647/16]
View answerIt is a condition for receipt of a carer’s allowance (CA) that the persons being cared for must have a disability whose effect is that they require full-time care and attention. The assessment is based on the requirement for care arising from the disability(ies) and not on the diagnosis(es) of the person being cared for. The requirement for full-time care is further defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continuous supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself and likely to require that level of care for at least twelve months.
The person concerned is in receipt of CA in respect of her son since 11 September 2008. She applied for CA in respect of her daughter on 14 February 2014.
This application was refused on the grounds that the disability of the care recipient was not such there was a requirement for full-time care and attention as prescribed in regulations.
The person concerned was notified on 29 September 2014 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.
The person concerned appealed this decision and the case was submitted to the Social Welfare Appeals office for determination. An Appeals Officer (AO), having fully considered all of the available evidence, disallowed the appeal.
The person concerned was notified on 16 June 2015 of the AO’s decision and was provided at that time with an explanation of the basis for this decision to disallow the appeal.
The person concerned re-applied for CA in respect of her daughter on 13 October 2015.
All the evidence submitted in support of this application was examined and the deciding officer decided that this evidence did not indicate that the requirement for full-time care was satisfied.
The person concerned was notified on 11 January 2016 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.
4. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to support the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8651/16]
View answerThe person in question is in receipt of the maximum rate of disability allowance for his circumstances. The person in question owes a debt to the department which he is currently repaying at the rate of €10.00 per week. If he wishes to vary the amount that is currently being repaid, he should contact the department setting out his weekly income and expenditure. On receipt of this report, his rate of repayment will be reviewed. However, it should be noted that if the weekly rate of repayment is reduced, it will take longer for the debt to be repaid.
5. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection where she has found that a jobseeker who is one of a couple has no entitlement following an assessment of household means, if it is unfair that this person is not entitled to a basic income similar to that of a dependent jobseeker who is under 25 years of age, where legislation allows that young persons dependent on their parents are allowed a minimum of €40 per week; if she will allow for a basic minimum income for adults in households to allow them some level of financial independence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8656/16]
View answerJobseeker’s allowance is a means tested social protection scheme. In the case of a couple, account is taken of the means of both members of the couple and this reflects the fact that married couples, civil partners and cohabitants are financially interdependent on each other.
The jobseeker’s allowance scheme features a range of disregards and tapering arrangements where one or both members of the couple are working. Where, for example, the spouse, civil partner or cohabitee is in employment, the employed person can earn up to €31,410 per annum (gross) before entitlement is fully withdrawn from the jobseeker’s allowance claimant (assuming no other means). In the case of a couple with two children, the equivalent figure is €36,815 per annum. The introduction of a minimum level of entitlement where, ordinarily, there is no entitlement because of the level of means of one or both of the parties would represent a significant change to the provision of means-tested payments in Ireland and would target additional resources at households not currently entitled including some higher income households.
Where a jobseeker’s allowance claimant is aged under 25, the value of the benefit and privilege derived from living with a parent or step-parent is assessed for means test purposes. In practice, benefit and privilege is taken to mean the value of board and lodging to applicants residing in the home of parents and the value of same is assessed by reference to a formula (with a wide range of income disregards). The purpose of the assessment is to achieve a degree of equity as between applicants who have this benefit and those who have not, and between people living in relatively better-off households and those whose circumstances are less well off.
Where the claimant’s means are in excess of the statutory rate of jobseeker’s allowance, no payment is made. Where the claimant’s means result in an entitlement to jobseeker’s allowance of a rate of €1 per week or less than €40 per week, a minimum payment of €40 per week is paid. Accordingly, the current arrangements guarantee a minimum rate of payment where there is an underlying entitlement to jobseeker’s allowance in the first instance and does not apply where this is not the case. It should be noted, in this regard, that the assessment of the value of benefit and privilege does not imply that there is a direct financial transfer from a parent to the adult child and the current arrangements ensure that the jobseeker has access to some direct cash support. Such arrangements are not available to jobseekers who do not have an underlying entitlement to a payment because they reside in higher income parental households.
Changes to the means testing arrangements for jobseeker’s allowance will be a matter for the incoming Government.
6. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the measures she is taking to reduce the 19-week processing time for new applications under the carer's allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8698/16]
View answerThe Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
The average waiting time for new carer's allowance (CA) applications at the end of March was 19 weeks. At the end of March, there were 5,851 CA applications awaiting decision. The volume of CA claims on hand are a consequence of continued strong claim intake and the delays in processing are frequently caused or exacerbated by the customer failing to fully complete the claim form or failing to attach the supporting documentation that is requested on the application form.
A business process improvement (BPI) review has recently been completed for the CA scheme. This project focused on optimising output, improving customer service and the elimination of backlogs.
The recommendations arising from this BPI recently have been implemented. The Department has introduced a number of measures to address the efficiency of claim processing for CA in light of the current waiting times, including the assignment of temporary and full-time staff and the facility to assign overtime working where appropriate.
These measures will, lead to a reduction in the average waiting time. The position is being closely monitored and kept under review by the Department.
7. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of rural isolation schemes (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8699/16]
View answerThe Free Travel Scheme permits customers to travel for free on most CIE public transport services, LUAS and a range of services offered by up to 80 private operators in various parts of the country. Free travel is also available on cross border journeys to and from Northern Ireland. Additionally, customers aged 66 years and over can travel for free on journeys within Northern Ireland. There are currently approximately 848,000 customers with direct eligibility for Free Travel.
The Free Travel scheme is open to operators both in rural and urban areas who wish to apply to join it. Payments are calculated on the basis of estimated fares foregone, at a reduced rate to take account of travel generated by the free travel scheme. Operators are not reimbursed for individual journeys.
I have no plans to make any changes to the free travel scheme at this time. Any decision to extend the scheme to allow free travel pass holders to avail of local taxi services would have budgetary and operational consequences and would have to be considered in the context of budget negotiations.
8. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer's allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8702/16]
View answerI confirm that the department received applications for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 29 September 2015 in respect of two care recipients.
In order to qualify for CA the applicant, inter-alia, must be habitually resident in the State.
The person concerned was refused CA on the grounds that this condition was not satisfied. He was notified on 22 March 2016 of this decision, the reasons for it and of his right of review and appeal.
The person concerned has appealed this decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) on 21 April 2016. The department will prepare a submission, as required by the SWAO, as soon as possible and the file will be sent to the SWAO for determination.
9. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection why she applied a negative re-evaluation of deferred defined pensions; if she has assessed the impact this will have on pensions paid to deferred defined benefit pensioners; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8709/16]
View answerThe Pensions Act 1990 provides for all matters relating to occupational pensions, including the protection of members of pension schemes and providing for balance between the paying members, deferred members and drawing members (pensioners) of a pension scheme.
Under the provisions of the Pensions Act, the Minister for Social Protection must make Regulations specifying the percentage which will determine the amount by which preserved pension benefit is to be increased or decreased in the revaluation year. Making these Regulations is a legislative requirement and an obligation on the Minister and there is no discretion not to set the percentage where there has been a change in the level of consumer prices during the year. Under these provisions, the Occupational Pension Schemes (Revaluation) Regulations, 2016 were laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on the 8th of this month.
A person who leaves employment, and who has been a member of their former employer’s defined benefit pension scheme, may choose to either leave their accrued pension rights in the scheme of their former employer or transfer their rights to another vehicle which can accrue pension rights. Where the person chooses to leave their pension rights in the scheme of their former employer, they are regarded as “deferred” members of the scheme and legislation safeguards their rights in the scheme. Part of this protection is ensuring that their pension value is ‘preserved’ and revalued annually to keep pace with changes in the annual rate of Consumer Price Inflation. This maintains the spending power of these pension entitlements to a reasonable level. Deferred members are no longer contributing to the scheme and are not working for the employer. They may be in other employment and contributing to the scheme of the new employer.
The Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012 provided for a change to amend the imbalanced situation where static or decreasing wage rates impacted on employees’ potential pension benefits but not on the value of deferred members’ pensions. The anomaly had arisen because the annual revaluation for deferred scheme members was limited to a lower floor of 0%. This floor was removed, and the revaluation of deferred members’ benefits now tracks both negative and positive changes in the annual rate of the Consumer Price Index. 2015 is the first time the revaluation percentage has been negative, resulting in an adjustment of -0.3% to deferred member’s prospective pension benefits. However, it is worth noting that since 2009, the overall change in the revaluation percentage for deferred members has been positive at 4.5%.
The revaluation percentage does not remove funding from pension schemes but rather provides for a fair distribution of available resources. It is not a levy and no income is received by the State as a result of the revaluation percentage changing.
It may be noted that the regulations cater for minimum standards. Scheme trustees, should the scheme rules allow it, are not precluded from applying revaluation rates that would be more beneficial to members where the scheme has the capacity to do so. For example, trustees may decide not to apply the negative revaluation for 2015.
It should also be noted that these measures will not have any impact on former scheme members where the scheme has already wound up.
10. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when she will issue a decision on an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer's allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8721/16]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 4 November 2015.
The application is currently being examined by the department to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. A decision on the application will be made as quickly as possible and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
11. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the options for a person (details supplied) in having an application processed without delay under the jobseeker's allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8738/16]
View answerWhere a person is engaged in casual or part-time employment, the days worked each week can vary. Accordingly, to ensure that the correct weekly payment issues, customers are required to complete a form on a weekly basis setting out the days on which they worked and the days on which they were unemployed and have this form verified by their employer. This is normally a very quick process with the submitted dockets scanned onto the Department’s computer system and the relevant payment calculated and issued.
These arrangements can cause difficulties in a small number of cases and, in these circumstances, alternative arrangements can be put in place such as the acceptance of a signature from the employer’s local representative (e.g. a local supervisor or manager). Any customer experiencing such difficulties should contact their local Intreo centre where alternative arrangements can be discussed.
12. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of arrears on a payment to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8745/16]
View answerThe application for carer’s allowance in respect of the person concerned was awarded on 22 December 2015. Arrears of allowance due from 23 July 2015 to 16 December 2015 were issued by cheque on 23 December 2015.
That cheque was cashed so the department has obtained a copy of the cashed cheque in order to examine the signature. Having examined the cashed cheque and compared it to the samples of the signature of the person concerned, the department is satisfied that the signature is highly likely to be the signature of the person concerned.
On 26 April 2016, a copy of the cashed cheque was sent to the person concerned. If, having received and examined the copy and checking his/her bank statements etc, the person concerned still maintains that s/he did not cash the cheque, s/he should get back in touch with the department immediately.
