Written Answers Nos. 331-346
331. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer's allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14792/16]
View answerI confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 7 March 2016. Unfortunately, there are currently delays in the processing of new applications. 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.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
332. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection to expedite an application for a person (details supplied) under the domiciliary carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14803/16]
View answerA review of the decision to disallow Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) was requested on 16 December 2015 and the person concerned was notified on 12 April 2016 that following an examination of the file the original decision was upheld.
The person concerned lodged an appeal on the 12th May 2016. The application together with additional information supplied with the appeal 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.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
333. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason he no longer provides back to education allowance payments for students studying outside of the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14805/16]
View answerThe Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is designed primarily to support second chance education. It an educational opportunities scheme for persons in receipt of certain qualifying social welfare payments wishing to pursue second or third level courses of education in order to improve their employment prospects.
Entitlement to BTEA is conditional on having on-going entitlement to the qualifying scheme payment. The BTEA scheme has been amended in recent years to ensure that the conditions are in line with the qualifying payment. These amendments include no longer approving courses commencing abroad from 2016. This is in line with the rules of social assistance payments which are not payable abroad. However, approval will continue to be granted for courses undertaken in Northern Ireland.
I hope that this clarifies this matter for the Deputy.
334. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when he will pay maternity benefit to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14807/16]
View answerAn application for maternity benefit from the person concerned was refused on the grounds that she was not in insurable employment at the time of her application and did not satisfy the PRSI contribution conditions in the tax years relevant to her application. She was notified of this decision on 17 July 2014.
The person concerned appealed the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 11 January 2015, who carried out a full and independent review of the decision. The appeal was disallowed and she was informed of this decision by letter on 17 June 2015.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
335. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the status in determination of an application for fuel allowance by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14810/16]
View answerFuel allowance may be payable to certain applicants in receipt of long-term social welfare payments, who are unable to provide for their household heating needs. The allowance is subject to a means test and is paid only to those who live alone or with certain exempted persons.
Full details of the qualifying criteria are available on the Department’s website at www.welfare.ie.
An application for fuel allowance was received from the person concerned on 16 February 2016. As the person’s weekly household means exceeded the current income limit for fuel allowance, the application was disallowed and the person concerned was notified of the decision on 20 April 2016. Following a telephone call from the person concerned, the fuel allowance application was reviewed. A decision notification letter issued to the person concerned on 25 April 2016, followed by a further letter dated 31 May 2016, explaining that the eligibility conditions for fuel allowance are not satisfied as the household income is in excess of the applicable weekly limit.
If the person’s financial circumstances change at a future date, it is open to them to re-apply for fuel allowance.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
336. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will instruct his officials to clearly include the post office network as an option for payments from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14811/16]
View answerIn the vast majority of my department’s schemes there is clear customer choice on payment method. My department will make payment directly to a bank account or make available a cash payment at a Post Office in line with customer choice. Payment options are set out on scheme application forms with no emphasis or preference on either payment method.
For some schemes, mainly those which are means tested, my department, as a control measure, requires payment to be made in cash at Post Offices. Customers must present with appropriate identification to receive their payment.
For other schemes, mainly where customers are in work such as Jobseeker Casual customers who work on a part time basis or Back to Work family dividend, my department recognises that these customers already have a payment method through their employer and it would be unfair and an inconvenience to these customers to provide a different method of payment from the one they already have by requiring them to attend at a Post Office on a weekly basis.
I can assure the Deputy that my department is not undertaking any measures which seek to actively influence customer choice in the manner of payment away from cash payments at the Post Office. However I must reiterate that where customer choice is available the vast majority of customers are choosing to have their payments made direct to bank accounts and my department will respect this choice.
339. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection to immediately review provisions of community employment scheme workers. [15009/16]
View answerCommunity Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other specific disadvantaged groups with an opportunity to engage in part-time work and training within their communities on a temporary, fixed-term basis.
The pattern of participation on the Community Employment (CE) programme is dependent on the individual circumstance of each person and the length of time she has been in receipt of a CE-qualifying social welfare payment.
The current participation patterns have been in place since CE commenced in 1994. In general a person must be 12 months or more in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment to be eligible for 1 year on CE. If a person is 3 years or more in receipt of a qualifying payment social welfare payment, and over 35 years, they are eligible for 3 consecutive years participation on CE.
Participants who are eligible for 1 year on CE may have their participation extended into a second consecutive year under certain circumstances but this extension is limited to a maximum of 10% of these places on a particular scheme.
An individual's cumulative lifetime participation on CE is limited to 3 years (156 weeks) for persons under 55 years of age, or 6 years (312 weeks) for persons of 55 years of age up to State Pension age.
The Department keeps the eligibility criteria for Community Employment (CE) places under on-going review to ensure that they are effective in targeting long-term unemployed jobseekers and other specific disadvantaged groups. The eligibility rules and maximum durations allowed for participants are strictly enforced to ensure the benefit of CE is available to the widest possible number of jobseekers.
With the ongoing welcome reductions in the live register I will be considering how best all work programmes, including CE, meet the needs of people remaining on the live register and others dependent on social welfare, in particular the long term unemployed and those most distant from the labour market. In any consideration of the scheme, it will be important also to be cognisant of the valuable community and voluntary services delivered to local communities.
340. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of representations he has received from Members of the Oireachtas and the number of these to which he had not issued a substantive reply by 31 May 2016, by month of initial receipt from 1 January 2015 to 30 April 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15043/16]
View answerUp to 2,553 representations were recorded by the Department during the period January 2015 to 31 May 2016 as requiring a reply from the Minister. This includes representations from Councillors and individuals the Minister would reply to directly. A monthly breakdown of this data is not available.
There are 99 replies outstanding at 31 May 2016.
341. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer's allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15046/16]
View answerI confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 12 April 2016. Unfortunately, there are currently delays in the processing of new applications. 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 spouse of the person concerned is in receipt of a weekly social welfare support for both of them.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
342. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the recent changes to the community employment schemes as a result of outcomes; for example, a married man with a dependent spouse and three children qualifies for the equivalent of jobseeker's allowance of €402.20 plus €20.00 totalling €422.20 per week gross, PRSI of €16.89 deducted, resulting in net income of €405.31 per week, an increase of only €3.11 per week for 19.5 hours worked; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15062/16]
View answerParticipants in certain employment schemes, including community employment schemes (CE), receive a weekly payment which is equal to the social welfare payment appropriate to their family size, plus a top up of €22.50. This income has been for many years treated in the same manner as earnings from employment for PRSI purposes, and accordingly is subject to Class A PRSI. Therefore participants on CE schemes, similar to other private sector employees who pay Class A, can establish entitlement to the full range of short term benefits including jobseeker’s benefit, illness benefit, and maternity benefit and to long term benefits including State pension (contributory).
Budget 2016 introduced the tapered PRSI Credit to address a significant issue with the manner in which charging PRSI impacts those on lower weekly earnings.
Previously Class A employees became liable to pay PRSI on all earnings, once weekly earnings exceeded €352.01. This created a “step effect” as net income reduced immediately by the full 4% PRSI charge applied to all earnings. This meant that a €0.01 increase in weekly earnings of €352 attracted a weekly PRSI charge of €14.08.
The introduction of the PRSI Credit addressed the “step effect” by reducing the actual amount of PRSI charged, for those earning between €352.01 and €424 in a week. At weekly earnings of €352.01 the maximum PRSI Credit of €12 reduces the PRSI charge payable from €14.08 to €2.08.
As gross earnings increase, the PRSI Credit is withdrawn on a tapered basis. This ensures that the amount of PRSI actually charged will increase in a progressive manner as gross earnings increase. At gross weekly earnings of €424.00, the tapering of the Credit has exhausted and the PRSI charge at 4% applies.
It is estimated that the introduction of the PRSI Credit will benefit 88,369 employments, including those on CE schemes. The benefit for individual employees depends on the level of their weekly earnings. The following table details the extent of weekly gains, at different income bands:
|
Weekly Income band |
Range of Weekly Gains |
|
352-<355 |
€11.50 - €12.00 |
|
355-<360 |
€10.67 - €11.50 |
|
360-<365 |
€9.84 - €10.67 |
|
365-<370 |
€9.00 - €9.84 |
|
370-<375 |
€8.17 - €9.00 |
|
375-<380 |
€7.34 - €8.17 |
|
380-<385 |
€6.50 - €7.34 |
|
385-<390 |
€5.67 - €6.50 |
|
390-<395 |
€4.84 - €5.67 |
|
395-<400 |
€4.00 - €4.84 |
|
400-<405 |
€3.17 - €4.00 |
|
405-<410 |
€2.34 - €3.17 |
|
410-<415 |
€1.50 - €2.34 |
|
415-<420 |
€0.67 - €1.50 |
|
420-<424 |
0.00 - €0.67 |
The potential advantage to the CE participant outside of the financial impact as outlined above in taking up a CE place is access to funding for education and training and the opportunity to pursue a major award on the National Framework of Qualifications. This combined with the work experience will greatly enhance the opportunity to gain employment and exit the Live Register.
343. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the agenda for the North-South Ministerial Council meeting on 10 June 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14492/16]
View answer344. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his preparatory work for the North-South Ministerial Council meeting on 10 June 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14491/16]
View answer345. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress, especially in respect of the infrastructure goals that were agreed, since the last North-South Ministerial Council meeting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14493/16]
View answer346. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline a schedule for proposals concerning the expansion of cross-Border co-operation on service provision and joint executive bodies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14512/16]
View answer349. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when the next meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council is planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14462/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 343 to 346, inclusive, and 349 together.
While a date for the next meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in Plenary format has not yet been agreed with the Northern Ireland Executive, I would hope that the meeting, to be held in Dublin, will take place shortly. This will be the first Plenary meeting of the Council since the elections on both sides of the border. I would expect that, in addition to providing an opportunity for the Government and the new Northern Ireland Executive to discuss North/South co-operation in the months ahead, the agenda will include the usual discussions on economic and financial matters, co-operation on EU matters, review of existing NSMC work programmes and a range of other issues.
Considerable preparatory work is done in advance of NSMC meetings including preparation of meeting papers and following up on decisions of previous NSMC meetings. Following the Plenary meeting which took place in Armagh on 11 December 2015, much work has been done in regard to the implementation of the commitments for targeted investment in cross-border economic infrastructure which are set out in Section E of the November 2015 Fresh Start Agreement.
As agreed under the Fresh Start Agreement, a report on those commitments including the A5, reviews of the Narrow Water Bridge and Ulster Canal projects, the North West Gateway Initiative and on opportunities to source further investment for all-island infrastructure projects for mutual benefit has been prepared for consideration at the next NSMC Plenary meeting. Preparation of the report has involved Senior Officials from relevant Departments, North and South, meeting on a number of occasions since November 2015 to review and to maintain a strategic overview of economic and infrastructural investment, with particular regard to the projects and commitments set out in the Fresh Start Agreement.
This Agreement also contained a commitment to establish a North West Development Fund to support the North West Gateway Initiative work of Donegal County Council and Derry City and Strabane District Council. Through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Government has allocated €2.5 million towards the establishment of the Fund. The Northern Ireland Executive is working on the modalities of its matching funding.
At the NSMC meetings that I have attended the focus of Ministers has been on identifying priorities for North South co-operation in their respective areas of responsibility, particularly as regards assisting economic recovery, job creation, the best use of public funds and the most effective delivery of services for citizens across the island. The Government is committed in the Programme for a Partnership Government to continue to advance North South cooperation, particularly through cross-border bodies and the North South Ministerial Council and to harness the potential of the Stormont House Agreement to develop new areas of cooperation in areas such as trade, health, and tourism. I expect therefore that the forthcoming NSMC Plenary will provide a very useful opportunity for the Government to engage with the new Northern Ireland Executive on these matters.
