Written Answers Nos. 1-16
1. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the cost of providing an additional 1,000 community employment scheme places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9205/16]
View answerThe estimated total costs of 1,000 additional CE places, for a full year’s participation, would be approximately €14.8m.
2. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the disability allowance scheme. [9224/16]
View answerI can confirm that the Department is in receipt of an application for disability allowance (DA) from the above named person on 2 December 2015. This application for DA, based upon the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds and the person in question was notified in writing of this decision on 11 February 2016.
The person in question requested a review of the decision by a deciding officer (DO) and submitted additional evidence for consideration. The person concerned has been requested to supply supporting documentation required by the DO in order to review her eligibility for DA. On receipt of this information, the review will be completed and the person concerned will be notified of the outcome.
3. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of households in receipt of rent supplement, for each month since January 2015. [9244/16]
View answerRent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 56,800 people for which the Government has provided approximately €267 million for 2016.
A monthly breakdown of rent supplement recipients from January 2015 to April 2016 is provided in the following tabular statement.
The number of rent supplement recipients has reduced during this period which can be attributed to a number of factors including the improving economy and the change in rent supplement policy following the introduction of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). Under HAP responsibility for the provision of rental assistance to those with a long-term housing need transfers to local authorities. Where HAP is in operation this Department will continue to provide rental support, under the rent supplement scheme, to those with a short term need, generally because of a temporary loss of employment. HAP is now operational in 19 local authority areas and officials continue to work with those in the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and the local authorities to support its further roll out.
Rent Supplement Recipients – January 2015 to date
|
Month |
2015 |
2016 |
|
January |
70,761 |
60,073 |
|
February |
70,183 |
59,006 |
|
March |
69,793 |
57,605 |
|
April |
68,673 |
56,811 |
|
May |
67,887 |
|
|
June |
67,016 |
|
|
July |
65,997 |
|
|
August |
65,042 |
|
|
September |
63,826 |
|
|
October |
62,876 |
|
|
November |
62,009 |
|
|
December |
61,247 |
4. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the domiciliary care allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9258/16]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on the 5th August 2015. This application satisfied the qualifying conditions for the allowance and a letter issued on 3rd November 2016 advising of the decision to award the allowance from 1st September 2015. A review of the date of award was requested on 27th November 2015 and the person concerned was notified on 8th January 2016 that following an examination of the file, the original decision date was upheld.
An appeal of this decision was registered on the 8th February 2016 and additional information has been supplied. 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.
5. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if and when she will pay basic supplementary welfare allowance to a person (details supplied) while an appeal is pending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9268/16]
View answerFollowing two visits from both the social welfare inspector and the community welfare officer the person concerned was requested to provide information from his landlord confirming his residency. This information has not been provided to date. Further correspondence has issued to the person concerned today outlining in detail the information required to allow the community welfare officer process his application for supplementary welfare allowance. Upon receipt of the requested information his entitlement to supplementary welfare allowance will be assessed and the outcome notified to the person concerned forthwith.
6. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the invalidity pension scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9271/16]
View answerInvalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.
To qualify for IP a claimant must, inter-alia, have at least 260 (5 years) paid PRSI contributions since entering social insurance and 48 contributions paid or credited in the last complete contribution year before the date of their claim. Only PRSI classes A, E or H contributions are reckonable for IP purposes.
The Department received a claim for IP for the person concerned on the 13 April 2016. The person concerned was refused IP on the grounds that the contribution conditions for the scheme are not satisfied. He was notified on 4 May 2015 of this decision, the reason for it and of his right of review and appeal.
7. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) is entitled to a carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9274/16]
View answerI confirm that the Department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 14 April 2016. Unfortunately, the average time taken at present to decide a new application is running at 19 weeks. Additional resources have been provided to the CA section in order to improve the waiting times for new applications and they are working hard to make this happen.
Frequently, delays are outside the control of the Department and are caused by the customer failing to fully complete the claim form or failing to attach the supporting documentation that is requested on the application form.
This application will be processed as quickly as possible and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. In the meantime, the person concerned is in receipt of a weekly social welfare support.
8. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the extent to which unemployment alleviation measures continue to make a positive impact on long-term and youth unemployment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9296/16]
View answerThe Government’s primary strategy to tackle both youth and long-term unemployment is through policies to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity.
Reflecting the impact of Government policy, and the overall improvement in the labour market, youth unemployment continues to fall with a rate of 19% in March 2016 (as estimated by CSO, compared to 21.5% in March 2015 and with a peak of over 31% in 2012). The long-term unemployment rate peaked at 9.5% in Q1 2012 before falling to 4.7% in Q4 2015. At the latter date, the long-term unemployed accounted for 57.8% of all those unemployed, down from almost 65% in early 2012.
Although the labour market situation is improving considerably as the recovery continues, the Government recognises the importance of a continued focus on measures to facilitate the young unemployed and long-term unemployed back into work. This is the rationale behind the Government’s Pathways to Work 2016-2020 strategy (published January 2016) and the Youth Guarantee plan (published January 2014).
As under services such as Intreo, Youthreach, VTOS, PLC programmes and JobBridge, Ireland already had many of the recommended component parts of a Youth Guarantee, the main approach in Ireland is to prioritise access to these existing supports for young people, who become unemployed, with the objective of ensuring that they have an opportunity for employment, further education or work experience within the recommended period of four months as per the EU Council recommendation.
The key objective is to help newly unemployed young people find and secure sustainable jobs. In this regard there is monthly engagement with young people by case officers to assist young people to prepare, review and, if appropriate, revise personal progression plans. As part of this process additional supports may be provided, both through existing schemes and through youth-specific measures. Most such offers (over 70%) are in existing further education or training programmes. Others are in existing community-based employment programmes such as CE, Gateway and Tús. Overall, over 19,100 opportunities were taken up on the relevant programmes in 2015.
Pathways to Work 2016-2020 continues to prioritise these measures for the young unemployed and additionally commits to: increasing the share of workplace-based interventions for youth unemployed; ensuring that monthly engagement, at a minimum, is consistently applied and maintained; restructuring the First Steps programme; and implementing the Defence Forces Skills for Life programme.
A range of measures were introduced under previous Pathways to Work strategies for the long-term unemployed. This included a structured process of engagement with long-term unemployed people being referred to the activation process (Group Engagement followed by regular one-to-one case officer contact); wage subsidies in JobsPlus; the roll-out of a payment-by-results contracted employment services in JobPath to provide additional capacity in order to engage more systematically with long-term unemployed jobseekers; and reserved places for the long-term unemployed on a range of Further Education and Training (FET) and public employment programmes. A core focus of Pathways to Work 2016-2020 is on consolidating and improving the quality and consistency of reforms undertaken in previous strategies, with continued prioritisation of those long-term unemployed.
9. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she continues to monitor the age profile of those on the live register with a view to making necessary adjustments to assist those most in need; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9297/16]
View answerThe Live Register, which captures those registering for unemployment benefits (including those working part-time and in casual work who draw partial unemployment payments), is an administrative record. It is not the official measure of unemployment, but can give indicative trends. The official measure of unemployment is sourced from the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS). Measures of unemployment from the QNHS are based on International Labour Office (ILO) definitions. To be ‘ILO unemployed’ a person must in the week before the survey be without work but available for work and have recently taken specific job-search steps.
My Department uses both Live Register and QNHS data for reporting and monitoring trends and adjusting policies accordingly at national level. This includes providing data and trends broken down by age categories. The QNHS data, being prepared as part of the EU-wide Labour Force Survey, also allow Irish trends to be compared with international developments.
The Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan and the Pathways to Work strategies, key policy documents to facilitate the young unemployed and the long-term unemployed, respectively, back into work, are underpinned by analyses of the labour market situation based on the statistical sources mentioned above.
By allocating activation resources to persons on the Live Register, the Government’s policy tends to focus on those areas and age-groups in which unemployment is most concentrated. The focus on those most in need is further reinforced by the use of profiling to identify, among the newly unemployed, those most likely to face severe difficulties in re-entering employment. People identified as having a low PEX (probability of exit from unemployment) score are prioritised for intensive engagement and support from the Intreo employment service.
10. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to support a matter (details supplied) regarding homemakers, pre-1994 and the State pension (contributory); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9321/16]
View answerThe State pension contributory is a very valuable benefit and is the bedrock of the Irish pension system. Therefore, it is important to ensure that those qualifying have made a sustained contribution to the Social Insurance Fund over their working lives. To ensure that the individual can maximise their entitlement to a State pension, all contributions paid or credited over their working life from when they first enter insurable employment until pension age are taken into account when assessing their entitlement and the level of that entitlement. Since 1961, when contributory pensions were introduced, the average contributions test has been used in calculating pension entitlement. Once over 16 years of age, the date a person enters into insurable employment is the date used for averaging purposes.
The yearly average test has been in existence since 1961 when contributory pensions were first introduced. The scheme was designed with a view to ensuring that some people could qualify for contributory pensions immediately and to suit a system where social insurance coverage was limited. The rate of payment depends upon which band a yearly average falls into. Those with a yearly average of 48 or more contributions may receive a 100% pension, whereas, for example, those with a yearly average of 20 contributions are in a lower band, and receive a pension at 85% of the maximum rate (plus allowances where applicable).
As provided for in Budget 2012, from September 2012, new rate bands for State pension (contributory) were introduced, with six bands replacing the four which were in place up to then. These new bands more accurately reflect the social insurance history of a person and ensure that, generally, those who contribute more during a working life benefit more in retirement than those with lesser contributions.
The homemaker’s scheme makes qualification for a higher rate of State pension (contributory) easier for those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties. The scheme, which was introduced in and took effect from 1994, allows up to 20 years spent caring for children under 12 years of age (or caring for incapacitated people over that age) to be disregarded when a person’s social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes, subject to the standard qualifying conditions for State pension (contributory) also being satisfied. This has the effect of increasing the yearly average of the pensioner. The scheme does not involve the award of credits. There are no proposals to backdate the scheme to cover periods of homemaking prior to 1994, due to the very significant costs which would be involved.
Work has commenced to replace the ‘yearly average’ system with a ‘total contributions approach’ where 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 legislative, administrative, and technical aspects to be addressed in its implementation. When proposals are agreed, legislation will be brought forward to underpin the necessary changes. The changes will be announced well in advance of introduction, to enable those workers affected to include the new factors into their retirement planning.
It is worth noting that the most recent Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund (2012) confirmed that the Fund provides better value to female rather than male contributors. This is due to the distributive nature of the Fund. For example, those with a yearly average of only 38% of the maximum may qualify for 85% of the maximum rate.
It should also be noted that, where people cannot qualify for a full rate contributory pension as a result of an intermittent PRSI record, the social protection system provides alternative methods of supporting such people in old age. For example, if their spouse has a contributory pension, they may qualify for an Increase for a Qualified Adult amounting up to 90% of a full rate pension, which by default is paid directly to them. Alternatively, they may qualify for a means-tested State pension (non-contributory), amounting up to 95% of the maximum contributory pension rate.
11. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason for the delay in processing an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer’s allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9345/16]
View answerThe application for carer’s allowance in respect of the person concerned was awarded on 27 April 2016 and the first payment is due to issue to the person’s bank or nominated post office on 19 May 2016.
Arrears of allowance due, less supplementary welfare allowance paid in the interim, will issue shortly. The person concerned was notified of the award on 27 April 2016.
12. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Finance why psychotherapy fees for persons suffering from mental health issues are not subject to tax relief in the same way as other medical expenses. [9246/16]
View answerTax relief in respect of health expenses is provided for in section 469 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. Section 469 defines "health expenses" to mean "expenses in respect of the provision of health care [including] the services of a practitioner".
A practitioner is defined in the section as "any person who is
(a) registered in the register established under section 43 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007,
(b) registered in the register established under section 26 of the Dentists Act 1985, or,
(c) in relation to health care provided outside the State, entitled under the laws of the country in which the care is provided to practice medicine or dentistry there".
Where psychotherapy is provided by a "practitioner", within the meaning of section 469 of the Act, the individual is entitled to tax relief in respect of the expenditure incurred.
Psychotherapy treatment is dealt with in the same way as other treatments in that to obtain relief the treatment must come within the terms of the section. Further details in relation to relief for health expenses is set out in leaflet IT6 which is available on the Revenue website at http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/it/leaflets/it6.html.
13. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance his views on private household debt being very heavily concentrated among the poorest households, given recent analysis by the Think-tank for Action on Social Change which shows that in 2013 37% of the value of debt was concentrated in the poorest net wealth decile (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9194/16]
View answerFirstly, I would highlight that people in debt or in danger of getting into debt can avail of the services of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS). This is a national, free, confidential and independent service. MABS has offices throughout the State. I would strongly suggest that anyone with debt or budgeting difficulties should approach their local MABS Office with a view to securing a confidential consultation with a money adviser to consider their particular circumstances and to seek advice if they wish to procure credit from a reputable lender or credit provider.
A Personal Micro Credit Scheme has been developed under the auspices of the Citizens Information Board and the Social Finance Foundation, supported by the Department of Social Protection, and is currently being piloted in a number of Credit Unions. The scheme involves offering people receiving social welfare payments small affordable loans from credit unions as an alternative to moneylenders. A Personal Microcredit Implementation Group under the Department of Social Protection is progressing this initiative and 30 credit unions from around the country are participating. The Department of Finance is represented on this group. Loans range from €100 - €2,000 in value and are repayable over 6-24 months with loan repayments deducted automatically from the household budget scheme operated by the Department of Social Protection in conjunction with An Post. The interest rate is a maximum of 12% a year. The pilot is expected to be completed by the end of May 2016. I understand that a draft evaluation report on this scheme is currently being prepared by the Department of Social Protection and is nearing completion.
In addition, the Central Bank has informed me that consumers of licensed moneylenders are protected by a range of provisions that moneylenders must adhere to including, but not limited to, the Consumer Protection Code for Licensed Moneylenders, the European Communities Consumer Credit Agreements Regulations 2010 and the Consumer Credit Act, 1995.
Currently, there are 40 moneylenders licensed to operate in the Republic of Ireland. Since the Central Bank assumed responsibility for the licensed moneylending sector in 2003, the number of licensed moneylenders has decreased and the Central Bank has not permitted an increase to the maximum APR. Details of the APRs and costs of credit permitted for each moneylender are disclosed on the Central Bank's public Register of Licensed Moneylenders, which is available on its website. Furthermore, in November 2013, the Central Bank published a Report on the Licensed Moneylending Industry.
The Central Bank has confirmed that it has not licensed any moneylender to provide a 'pay-day loan' service such as exists in the UK (and were the subject of a recent price cap by the Financial Conduct Authority - FCA). The maximum costs of credit of Irish licensed moneylenders are significantly below the FCA cap, both in terms of total cost and on a daily interest rate basis (for those loans that would be comparable to the FCA's "included" loans).
Nonetheless, any consumer who has concerns in relation to how they have been treated by a licensed moneylender is encouraged to make a complaint to the licensed moneylender and, if not satisfied with the firm's response, to the Financial Services Ombudsman. The Financial Services Ombudsman investigates, in an impartial and independent manner, complaints from individual customers and small businesses who have unresolved disputes with financial service providers which are regulated by the Central Bank. Investigations by the Financial Services Ombudsman are free of charge to the customer. In addition, licensed moneylenders must treat complaints received from consumers in compliance with the provisions of the Consumer Protection Code for Licensed Moneylenders.
14. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance his views on the Central Bank's private debt figure, households and corporations combined, coming to 258% of gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2015, given economic commentators noting that this is dangerously high considering that economic activity is bound to slow down some time in the not too distant future; to provide an update on the overall debt position for Irish small and medium enterprises; his policy on dealing with their non-performing legacy debt; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9195/16]
View answerFirstly, the Deputy should note that the figures he has quoted refer to loans outstanding for Households and Non-Financial Corporations (NFCs). It does not include assets held by these groups and so does not cover their net financial position. The most recent Central Bank Quarterly Bulletin reports on this (https://www.centralbank.ie/publications/Documents/Quarterly%20Bulletin%20No.%202%202016.pdf). It notes that Household debt at end September 2015 stood at its lowest level in almost ten years and that overall household debt has fallen by 26 per cent since its peak in the third quarter of 2008. The Bulletin also notes that debt sustainability also continued to improve in 2015. Debt as a proportion of total assets has been declining since the second quarter of 2012 and stood at 19.4 per cent at end-September 2015. Furthermore, over the past year, Irish households have reduced debt as a proportion of disposable income by 24 percentage points, to 160 per cent. The decline in these indicators reflects falling debt levels, as well as the increase in household total assets and disposable income. Meanwhile, the cost of servicing outstanding household debt remained broadly stable throughout 2015, as the interest rate on total outstanding loans to households averaged 3.33 per cent over the year. The equivalent rate for the euro area as a whole was 3.54 per cent over the same period. Household net worth, calculated as the sum of housing and financial assets minus liabilities, rose to €618 billion, or €133,225 per capita at end-September 2015.
In the case of Non-Financial Corporations (NFCs) the bulletin notes that NFC debt as a percentage of GDP continued to decline in the third quarter of 2015 (184 per cent). It also notes that when analysing Irish NFC debt trends, it is important to note that Ireland has substantial multinational corporation (MNC) activities, which have little interaction with the domestic financial system. Though NFC debt as a percentage of GDP is currently at its lowest level since Q2 2009, it remains high in an international context. Ireland ranks third highest among European countries in terms of NFC debt to GDP, behind Luxembourg (328 per cent) and Cyprus (231 per cent), both countries that also have relatively large MNC sectors.
Notwithstanding this, the overall level is high and this is explicitly recognised in the risk table of the recently published Stability Programme Update (http://www.finance.gov.ie/sites/default/files/DRAFT_SPU_FINAL_Oireachtas.pdf).
As regards SME legacy debt, Chapter 7 (Finance for Growth) of this year's Action Plan for Jobs (APJ) sets out a range of commitments to ensure viable SMEs can access appropriate finance at a reasonable cost from both bank and non-bank sources. In line with Action 144 of the APJ, officials from my Department continue to collate and examine data from AIB and Bank of Ireland on a monthly basis, including data pertaining to SME legacy debt. Furthermore, my officials meet the banks on a quarterly basis to ensure an informed understanding of the wider SME bank lending environment which assists the development and implementation of policies aimed at ensuring SME access to finance and increased competition in the SME lending sector. In addition, I am informed by the Central Bank of Ireland that, as part of their on-going supervision, the Central Bank, working in conjunction with the European Cental Bank (ECB) as part of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), continues to challenge the banks on their strategies, management, measurement and reporting of the resolution and restructuring of all non-performing loans (NPLs) including SME NPLs. Relevant actions taken by the Central Bank in recent years have been extensive and include, inter alia, capital assessment reviews, stress tests, distressed credit operation reviews, balance sheet assessment exercises, SME loan resolution bank specific targets, on-site inspections and ongoing, intensive supervisory engagement with the banks regarding distressed debt. In 2013 non-public institution specific SME distressed loan resolution targets were set for a number of banks. The targets required the banks to develop strategies, at borrower level, to resolve their non-performing loans. The targets ended in Q1 2015 with lenders reporting that they satisfied the requirements set out. Progress has been made by the relevant institutions in resolving SME NPLs in recent years and NPL trends continue to move in a positive trajectory. Bank of Ireland has indicated that it has reached resolution in 90% of distressed SME cases and more than 9 out of 10 restructured business banking borrowers continue to meet their agreed arrangements. AIB has also made significant progress in reducing distressed loan balances with the process of restructuring the group's SME book reaching its latter stages with the majority of offered SME restructures either complete or at the final stages of completion. Recognising these developments, alongside changes in the supervision of the banks following the introduction of the SSM, the Central Bank's approach to commercial NPL resolution utilises a bank specific approach taking into consideration a number of factors including, inter alia, the institution's NPL resolution strategy and operational capability. The sustainable resolution of distressed SME loans remains a significant priority for the Central Bank and will therefore continue to be central to their supervisory focus throughout 2016 and beyond. Supervision will continue to be intrusive, supplemented by targeted inspections and enhanced monitoring of performance of the banks in delivery of supervisory objectives.
15. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance given the Central Bank of Ireland's private debt figure, households and corporations combined, which came to 258% of gross domestic product in the third quarter of 2015, the details of the monetary value of private debt, households and corporations combined, by households, by small and medium enterprises, by multinational corporations, by foreign multinational corporations, by banking and by foreign banking including foreign businesses in the Irish Financial Services Centre, in tabular form. [9199/16]
View answerPlease find data provided by the Central Bank of Ireland as follows.
|
€ millions |
Q3 2015 Total Loan Liabilities |
|
1. Non-financial corporations |
366,018 |
|
2. Households and NPISHs |
151,179 |
|
Total Private Sector [1+2] |
517,197 |
*NPISH refers to non-profit institutions serving households
Data on the stock of private sector credit outstanding firm size (SMEs) on a quarterly basis is available here http://www.centralbank.ie/polstats/stats/cmab/Pages/BusinessCredit.aspx). Data by residency (resident versus non resident) is available in the Locational Banking Statistics published by the Central Bank (http://www.centralbank.ie/polstats/stats/locational/Pages/data.aspx) showing the net position (liabilities less deposits) of domestic versus IFSC banks, but figures are not reported to the same level of disaggregation as that reported in the table.
16. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 91 of 14 April 2016 and 99 of 26 April 2016, if officials in his Department have or had knowledge of a bank's involvement with a firm of contractors (details supplied). [9217/16]
View answerI can confirm for the Deputy that, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 91 of 14 April 2016 and 99 of 26 April 2016, I have no knowledge that any of my officials were aware of a bank's involvement with a firm of contractors, the details of which were supplied by the Deputy.
