Written Answers Nos. 1-34
15. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Social Protection to elaborate on plans to extend social protection benefits to local councillors who are currently not entitled to claim social protection benefits despite the fact that they pay pay related social insurance contributions. [18559/16]
View answerSince January 2011, public office holders pay PRSI at the Class K rate of 4% on their income as an office holder, provided that income exceeds €5,200 a year.
All public office holders are liable to pay the contribution regardless of age. Payment of Class K PRSI does not establish any social insurance entitlements.
Prior to the introduction of the Class K charge, all public office holders were exempt from PRSI on their income as a public office holder. Then, as now, they could establish and protect their social insurance entitlements based on their non-office holder activities or through the payment of Voluntary Contributions.
The Class K PRSI charge for public office holders was introduced on the basis that public office holders were a group who unlike most self-employed and employees did not pay a 4% contribution and so has a lower marginal rate of income tax/USC and PRSI.
I am currently examining whether changes are required to the basis on which class K is charged for councillors. There are a number of possible approaches including removing the Class K charge from councillor or bringing them into cover under Class S in line with the self-employed generally.
There are pros and cons to each approach. In particular, any changes to the current Class K arrangements will need to take into account the social insurance and occupational pension position of office holders generally.
I will be consulting with relevant Ministers on this issue. I also intend meeting with the representative body for councillors to discuss the options available.
16. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to tackle youth unemployment in 2016 given that this group is experiencing approximately 15% unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16125/16]
View answerThe Government’s primary strategy to tackle youth 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 has fallen substantially to 15% in May 2016. This compares with a figure of almost 21% just one year ago, in May 2015, and with a peak level of over 31% in May 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 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).
The key objective of Ireland’s policy response to the EU Recommendation on a Youth Guarantee is to help newly unemployed young people find and secure sustainable jobs. In this regard there is monthly engagement by case officers with young people to assist them to prepare, review and, if appropriate, revise personal progression plans. Where young people do not find work relatively quickly, additional supports may be offered, both through reserved places on existing employment and training 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 further commits to a number of additional measures. These include 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.
I am confident these measures, and continuing economic recovery, will support further reductions in youth unemployment to add to the substantial improvements that have already been seen over the last few years.
17. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider further rolling out the Gateway scheme in a non-compulsory capacity to offer placements to unemployed persons in schools, hospitals and other public buildings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18703/16]
View answerPathways to Work includes a wide range of programmes and services - such as the Gateway initiative - to help jobseekers back to employment. Gateway provides work placements in local authorities for a period of 22 months for those who are unemployed for more than two years. While the majority of participants are selected on a random basis by my Department, the opportunity for voluntary or self-selection is also available for 20% of places.
When the initiative was set up in 2013, long-term unemployment remained unacceptably high. While the economy recovered, the need for additional activation measures was recognised to assist the personal and social development of the long-term unemployed by providing short-term quality work opportunities.
Work schemes placements are not available in schools or hospitals. As the Deputy is aware, these public service bodies receive funding directly from their respective Departments. For example, work in areas such as caretaking, teaching or other classroom duties are funded directly by the Department of Education and Skills. I have no plans to extend the Gateway scheme outside of the local government sector.
With the ongoing welcome reductions in the live register, I believe that a review of work schemes, including Gateway, will be necessary to ensure that the number and nature of schemes and the conditions governing participation continue to be appropriate. I will be considering all of these issues over the coming months.
18. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on whether it is appropriate for his Department to insist persons who are unemployed are sent on training courses to an organisation (details supplied) that professes itself to operate with a Christian ethos; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18772/16]
View answer20. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if he funds in any way an organisation (details supplied); and if so, if he is monitoring the success it has in helping persons currently unemployed achieve employment. [18771/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 20 together.
Job Clubs assist “job-ready” jobseekers to secure paid employment in the open labour market. Job Clubs provide formal workshops, one-to-one engagements, CV preparation and a ‘drop-in’ facility where jobseekers can get advice and share experiences with other jobseekers.
Community Employment is an employment programme which helps long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine. The programme assists them to enhance and develop both their technical and personal skills which can then be used in the workplace.
Job Clubs and CE schemes are operated by a variety of organisations from the not for profit and voluntary sector including community organisations and trade unions and in the case raised by the Deputy a church based group. The Department contracts with these organisations for a specific purpose and monitors their delivery of services.
For Jobs Clubs, the achievement of key performance indicators, as set out in the contract, are monitored on a regular basis. The key performance indicators are:
- Throughput, which is the number of job seekers who avail of the service, both formal workshops and ‘one to one’ sessions
- A target of 40% of jobseekers placed into employment from formal workshops
- A target of 40% of jobseekers placed into employment from One-to-One engagement
In addition, each Job Club is subject to an annual review.
The organisation in question has operated a Job Club and CE scheme successfully for many years. It is meeting its targets and the Department is not aware of any complaints regarding the approach it takes to providing services.
21. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to address the adequacy of social protection rates given that a recent report by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice which found that in 2016 social protection did not provide an adequate income for 183 of the 214 urban household cases examined; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18692/16]
View answerI welcome the recent publication of the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice’s (VPSJ) report on the 2016 update of the expenditure and income required for a minimum essential standard of living.
After a series of challenging years, improvements for people in receipt of social welfare payments began in Budget 2015 and continued in Budget 2016. These improvements are reflected in the VPSJ report in that households with pre-school children moved into income adequacy (as defined in the report) as a result of increases in child benefit and the introduction of free GP care for children under the age of six. In addition, the increase in the weekly rate of payment for pensioners aged 66 and over moved pensioners living alone in receipt of the State pension contributory into income adequacy while pensioner couples on welfare payments have, per the research, levels of income in excess of the minimum standard for many years.
The analysis in the VPSJ report is a valuable contribution to our future consideration of appropriate levels of income supports and services. I note the importance of better services such a free GP care for younger children outlined in the report.
Analysis in the Social Inclusion Monitor, 2014, published by my Department shows the crucial role that Ireland’s social protection system plays in alleviating poverty, cushioning people from the worst effects of unemployment and ensuring an adequate standard of living.
Using Eurostat data for 2014, social transfers (excluding pensions) reduced the at-risk-of-poverty rate in Ireland from 37.2% to 15.6%, thereby lifting over a fifth of the population out of income poverty. Ireland is the best performing EU member state in reducing poverty through social transfers. The poverty reduction effect at 58.9% is the highest in Europe, almost twice the EU average.
The latest poverty data are for 2014 and do not fully reflect the impact of the recovery in economic growth and employment. The unemployment rate in 2014 was 11.3%, down from a peak of 15% in 2012. Since then, the unemployment rate has fallen further, to 7.8% in May 2016. As unemployment is strongly linked to poverty, we can expect to see further decreases in basic deprivation and consistent poverty.
The Pathways to Work Strategy 2016-2020 sets out comprehensive plans to increase labour market participation and make work pay. It continues to prioritise the activation of the long-term and young unemployed people, with supports provided through the network of Intreo offices.
A range of welfare and income tax measures were introduced in Budget 2016 to further incentivise work and improve living standards. The social impact assessment of the Budget shows greater rewards for working, with over 80% of the unemployed substantially better-off in work.
Looking ahead, the new Programme for a Partnership Government contains a number of significant commitments to enhance the welfare system in the years ahead. This includes increasing rent supplement limits by up to 15% and I note the impact of housing costs included in the VPSJ report. I hope to announce changes to the rent supplement scheme operated by my Department very shortly.
I want to make progress on the welfare commitments contained in the Programme for Government in the forthcoming Budget and will seek to do this within the additional resources which will be available.
I also look forward to engagement and input from my colleagues in the Oireachtas in the matter. In addition, I will be holding a Pre-Budget forum on July 22 next to which I have invited forty welfare representative organisations. I will listen carefully to the views of the organisations attending which will include the VPSJ.
22. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to expand and improve the rural social scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18705/16]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the purpose of the rural social scheme (RSS) is to provide income support aimed at low-income farmers and fishermen in receipt of certain social welfare payments who are underemployed in their primary occupation. Persons are engaged for 19½ hours per week to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. The scheme currently provides work opportunities for around 2,600 participants and 130 supervisory staff. My Department has engaged 35 local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta to deliver the scheme.
The operation of the rural social scheme is governed by a comprehensive set of rules which are reviewed on an on-going basis. These may be modified in response to changes in the operating environment and the introduction of, or changes to, other schemes or other conditions that impact on the scheme’s operations. The funds allocated for the scheme in 2016 amount to €44.3m. This level of funding does not allow for recruitment above the numbers stated above.
With the ongoing welcome economic recovery, the eligibility criteria for RSS will be kept under review to ensure that it remains fit for purpose and that the numbers on the scheme continue to be appropriate.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
23. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will reverse the changes made to farm assist with respect to income disregards given that it has had a serious negative affect on the income levels of already struggling farming families; if he will carry out an analysis to assess the impact that the changes have made on those families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18688/16]
View answerThe farm assist scheme provides support for farmers on low incomes and is similar to jobseeker’s allowance. Farm assist recipients retain the advantages of the jobseeker’s allowance scheme such as the retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes. The 2016 Revised Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure of almost €85 million on the farm assist scheme.
Changes introduced in Budgets 2012 and 2013 brought farm assist into closer alignment with the jobseeker’s allowance scheme’s treatment of self-employed people. Farm families with the lowest income were least impacted by these changes as the headline rates of farm assist were maintained.
Farm assist customers continue to receive more beneficial treatment than other self-employed persons as payments received under the Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS), Green Low-Carbon Agri-Environment Scheme (GLAS) or Special Area of Conservation (SAC) schemes are assessed separately from other farm income. Farm Assist remains a flexible payment and any farmer experiencing lower levels of income or cash-flow issues, due for example to bad weather, can ask his local INTREO office to review the level of means applying to his claim.
The Programme for Government contains the commitment to undertake a "Review of the Farm Assist Scheme, recognising the challenges facing farmers on low incomes". I have asked my officials to review the farm assist scheme from a policy and an administrative point of view.
Any changes to the farm assist scheme will have to be considered in a budgetary context.
24. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is satisfied that the one-parent family payment scheme is adequate to meet the needs of recipients, particularly given recent figures from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul indicating that 59% of one-parent families experience material deprivation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18685/16]
View answerMy Department estimates spending €500 million on the one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme in 2016. The scheme supports over 41,000 recipients and almost 74,300 children.
The figure quoted by St. Vincent de Paul is based on SILC data for 2014 indicating a basic deprivation rate for lone parents of 58.7%. This was a decrease of 4.5% on 2013. Research shows that being at work reduces the at-risk-of-poverty rate for lone parents by three-quarters, highlighting that the best way to tackle poverty among lone parents is to assist them into employment. The One Parent Family Payment (OFP) scheme is designed to support this.
The OFP means test is more generous than that of the jobseeker’s allowance, with an income disregard of €90 per week and the balance assessed at 50%. In addition OFP can be paid concurrently with the family income supplement (FIS). These supports encourage lone parents to take up employment thereby helping to tackle poverty rates among these customers.
In Budget 2016 OFP recipients gained a 75% Christmas bonus, a €5 increase in Child Benefit and an increase of €2.50 per week in fuel allowance. Those in receipt of FIS also benefited from the increases to the FIS thresholds. Lone parents on JST also gained as a result of the closer alignment of the JST means test with the more generous OFP means test.
The social impact assessment of Budget 2016 showed an increase in average household incomes for working lone parents of 2%. Non-earning lone parents also fared above average, gaining 1.8%.
25. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Social Protection when he will implement the fit-to-work scheme contained in the programme for Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18794/16]
View answer43. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeframe for the introduction of the fit-to-work programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18799/16]
View answer47. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans for the fit-to-work programme for persons with illnesses or a disability as mentioned in the programme for Government; the assessment process he will use to determine if persons are fit for work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18707/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 25, 43 and 47 together.
The recently agreed programme for a partnership government provides for a range of actions that are designed to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. One of these actions is a proposal for the Departments of Health and Social Protection to work together to pursue a “Fit for Work” programme to support more people with an illness or disability to get back to work through early intervention.
The “Fit for Work” proposal is based on the findings of a pan European study, which examined the impact of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) on an individual’s ability to work. The Irish module of this study was progressed by a coalition of key stakeholders and was led by Arthritis Ireland. The Irish College of General Practitioners, ICTU, IBEC and the Health & Safety Authority also contributed to the study.
Early interventions and developing return-to-work practices in the case of people with musculoskeletal incapacities is consistent with my Department’s approach to illness/disability income support, which aims to reduce the number of people progressing to chronic disability and long-term social welfare dependency. To this end, my Department issued, in 2015, a set of certification guidelines for GPs, which sets out defined periods of recovery for common medical conditions, including MSDs.
The certification guidelines build on the “Renaissance” project which is an initiative of my Department since 2003. This has shown that early intervention reduced the incidence of progression from acute simple low back pain to chronic disability in 64% of claimants.
No decisions have been made as to how a “Fit for Work Programme” might be delivered and any specific proposals for such a programme requires further development and scoping out. I would like to assure the Deputy that any such proposals will be in line with the wealth of evidence which shows that generally employment is good for one’s mental and physical health and wellbeing and that, conversely, unemployment is damaging.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
26. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the fact that persons applying for carer’s allowance are waiting 19 weeks before their application is examined; the measures he is taking to deal with this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18762/16]
View answerUnfortunately, there are currently delays in the processing of new carer's allowance (CA) applications. The Department is working hard to improve the processing times for CA applications. Additional resources have been applied to assist with these increases and overtime is being applied where appropriate. The continuing increase in the number of applications being received is a key factor in the Department’s ability to improve these times. The issue of resources for the processing of CA applications is kept under constant review to ensure the number of applications pending and the processing times are reduced significantly over the coming months. While additional staff have been assigned to help deal with the increased volumes, due to the complexity of the decision-making process for the scheme, it takes some time for new staff to be fully trained and develop expertise.
It would be my hope that with the additional staff fully trained and in place the delays should decrease in the coming months. It is also important to note that, frequently, additional 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.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.
27. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which he might be in a position in the context of the programme for Government or otherwise, to examine the extent to which women for one reason or another are deprived of contributory pensions having retired from the workplace while raising their families or due to the marriage ban and who have made a major contribution to society in the course of their working lives; if he will re-examine their cases with a view to crediting them with sufficient contributions to qualify for the State or retirement pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18757/16]
View answerThe State pension contributory (SPC) is an old-age benefit, payable from age 66. Eligibility is not dependent upon the recipient retiring from employment, and there is no retirement pension.
The SPC 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. In this context, even if someone has only 10 years (520 weeks) of paid reckonable contributions between their 16th and 66th birthdays, they may qualify for a State pension (contributory), although the rate payable would vary depending on their circumstances.
The home-makers 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, which is used to set the rate of their pension. The scheme does not involve the award of credits. The 2007 Green Paper on Pensions estimated an annual cost of backdating the Home-maker's scheme, at that time, as €150 million (if to 1973) or €160 million (if to 1953). However it described those estimates as “extremely tentative” and the passage of time means that the potential cost now could be significantly higher.
It is worth noting that the Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund in 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 20 contributions (38% of the maximum) may qualify for 85% of the maximum rate. The Review also examined the changes in the contribution rules and the associated rates of payment which were to be introduced in September 2012. The Review found that those with lower earnings and those with shorter contribution histories still obtain the best value from their contributions.
The Deputy should also note that the ‘marriage bar’ describes a rule that existed in most of the public service and some private sector employments, where women were required to leave their employment upon marriage. This practice was abolished in 1973 when Ireland joined the EEC. As employees in the public service generally paid a reduced rate of PRSI, which provided no cover for the State pension (contributory), the marriage bar would not generally have impacted on State pension entitlement, as they would not have qualified for that payment had they remained in public sector employment. Instead, by impacting upon their continuing public service employment, the marriage bar’s pension implications, where they exist, more generally relate to a person’s eventual entitlement to a Public Service pension. Any questions regarding this issue are a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
Where people who were unattached to the labour market during most of their adult lives may not qualify for a contributory pension in their own right as they have paid few or no contributions, or cannot qualify for a full rate as a result of an intermittent PRSI record, the social protection system provides alternative methods of supporting such pensioners in old age. Therefore, 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.
Work is underway to replace the ‘yearly average’ system with a ‘total contributions approach’. Under this approach, the number of contributions recorded over a working life will be more closely reflected in 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 components to be put in place prior its implementation. The position of women who were home-makers will be considered very carefully in developing this reform.
Any significant measures that would increase the cost of the State pension would have to be considered in the context of Budget discussions.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
28. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to accept new proposals to the community services programme; the criteria that would be used to select new proposals; if he has a preference for particular types of programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18798/16]
View answerThe community services programme (CSP) is designed to address gaps in the delivery of key local services, to tackle disadvantage and to ensure that community facilities are utilised. It provides valuable resourcing for service delivery undertaken by not-for-profit companies and co-operatives in communities around the country. Service providers must operate community or social enterprises that deliver tangible services and are capable of generating non-public revenues from their operations by way of charging fees, sales and/or fundraising. The programme is not intended to represent full funding for any operation.
At the end of 2015, 398 companies were directly supported by the CSP and received a contribution towards the wage costs of just over 1,700 employees. Funding of over €45m has been provided for the programme in 2016 which will maintain the current level of activity.
Given the level of resources available and the number of companies currently supported, the Department has been unable to make an open call for new proposals to the programme for a number of years. However, from time to time and as resources allow, the Department does process new applications received from organisations that have expressed an interest in and are considered eligible under the programme. Any not-for-profit company wishing to be considered for the programme can send an expression of interest to the Department by email to cspinfo@welfare.ie.
29. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will provide a breakdown of live register figures for persons living in the Castleisland area in respect of his Department's Office in Tralee as both towns and hinterlands are currently grouped together; and if he agrees that by doing this local efforts to reduce the live register figures can be better targeted and measured; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18686/16]
View answerThe provision of live register statistics is primarily the responsibility of the Central Statistics Office. It is not possible for the Department of Social Protection to accurately segregate Castleisland based customers from other customers served from our Tralee office for statistical purposes.
Services for the unemployed in Kerry are provided from a network of 7 offices in the county. These are Tralee, Killarney, Listowel, Cahirciveen, Kenmare, Dingle and Killorglin.
The people of Castleisland are served from our offices in Tralee, where they make their claims and sign on every 3 months. The department has an office at Tonnaghy House, Killarney Road, Castleisland from which activation services, community welfare services and meetings with inspectors are provided to Castleisland based customers.
30. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection his priorities regarding pension payments for the remaining six months of 2016; if he is reviewing pension entitlements for women who worked in the home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18695/16]
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. In this context, even if someone has only 10 years (520 weeks) of paid reckonable contributions between their 16th and 66th birthdays, they may qualify for a State pension (contributory), although the rate payable would vary depending on their circumstances.
The home-makers 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, which is used to set the rate of their pension. The scheme does not involve the award of credits. The 2007 Green Paper on Pensions estimated an annual cost of backdating the home-maker's scheme, at that time, as €150 million (if to 1973) or €160 million (if to 1953). However it described those estimates as “extremely tentative” and the passage of time means that the potential cost now could be significantly higher.
It is worth noting that the Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund in 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 20 contributions (38% of the maximum) may qualify for 85% of the maximum rate. The review also examined the changes in the contribution rules and the associated rates of payment which were to be introduced in September 2012. The review found that those with lower earnings and those with shorter contribution histories still obtain the best value from their contributions, amounting up to 95% of the maximum contributory pension rate.
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 working life will be more closely reflected in 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 components to be put in place prior its implementation. The position of women who were home-makers will be considered very carefully in developing this reform.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to “increase the State Pension and the Living Alone Allowance above the rate of inflation”. Improvements to welfare weekly rates of payment, and any other significant measures that would increase the cost of the State pension, will be considered in the context of the next budget.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
31. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is concerned that the administration, consultancy and actuarial services to the Central Remedial Clinic plan were all provided by the same organisation (details supplied) and that this organisation also owned the trustee of the plan, given the abrupt wind-up of a plan that the actuary had said in 2014 was on track to meet the minimum funding standard by 21 December 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18699/16]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate that it is not appropriate for me to comment on matters relating to an individual pension scheme. In the first instance it is the responsibility of the trustees of a pension scheme to ensure compliance with the funding standard and other obligations set out in the Pensions Act 1990, as amended. The Pensions Authority is the regulatory body charged with the supervision of pension schemes and has the necessary powers under statute to investigate the conduct of a pension scheme should it become aware that the trustees of a scheme are not in compliance with the provisions of the Pensions Act. As the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC) is funded by the Health Service Executive under Section 38 of the Health Act 2004, the specific issues raised in relation to the administration, consultancy and actuarial services to the Central Remedial Clinic Pension Plan may be more appropriate for my colleague, the Minister for Health.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
32. Deputy Gino Kenny asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will reverse the lower social protection payment discrimination against young adults under 25 years of age given that those under 25 years of age often have exactly the same expenses for food, rent and other needs as those over 25 years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18805/16]
View answerIn line with other EU and OECD jurisdictions where such measures feature in their social welfare systems, reduced rates for younger jobseeker’s allowance recipients were first introduced in 2009. These were further extended in subsequent budgets and now apply to jobseeker’s allowance recipients under 26 years of age.
This is a targeted, non-discriminatory, measure aimed at protecting young people from welfare dependency by incentivising them to avail of education and training opportunities. If a jobseeker in receipt of the reduced jobseeker’s allowance rate participates on an education or training programme they will receive a higher weekly payment of €160.
To guard against the development of welfare dependency I believe it is necessary to provide young jobseekers with a strong financial incentive to engage in education or training or to take up employment. If they do not improve their skills, it will be much more difficult for them to avail of job opportunities as the economy recovers and they are at risk of becoming long term unemployed from a young age.
Any change to the reduced rates of JA for people under 26 is a matter for Government to consider in a budgetary context.
33. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will introduce a payment to cover the additional costs for families in emergency accommodation such as travel and food; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18774/16]
View answerUnder SWA, the Department of Social Protection can make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.
An urgent needs payment (UNP) is a once-off payment made to persons who would not normally qualify for SWA but who have an urgent need which they cannot meet from their own resources or an alternative is not available at that time.
The Government has provided €30.3 million for the exceptional and urgent needs schemes in 2016. Where the need is of a recurring nature, a weekly or monthly supplement under the SWA scheme may be awarded, for example, to assist with the costs of additional travel arising for families in emergency accommodation.
I am satisfied with the range of discretionary supports available under the SWA schemes, and do not plan to introduce a specific payment for the additional costs for families in emergency accommodation. Families in these circumstances who are experiencing difficulties meeting additional costs should contact the Department’s Community Welfare Service who may be able to offer assistance.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
34. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the status issue of determination orders which were not catered for in the jobseeker's transition legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18693/16]
View answerMy Department previously indicated its intention to review the current maintenance and liable relative procedures since the introduction of the one-parent family payment reforms. Officials in my Department are actively working on the detailed review required to progress this issue. This is a complex area that is not limited to the potential extension of these provisions to the jobseeker’s transitional payment and as a result the review will take time to complete. Any resultant changes would also require legislation.
The issue of maintenance payments is first and foremost a private matter for the persons concerned, and if they cannot resolve the problem, for the Courts through family law provisions.
The liability to maintain family provisions, contained in social welfare legislation, are separate to family law legislation. In every case where a one parent family payment is awarded, the Department seeks to trace the other parent (liable relative) to ascertain whether he/she is in a financial position to contribute towards the cost of this payment. This does not alter an individual’s obligation to pay maintenance pursuant to a Court Order.
Currently, once the one-parent family payment recipient’s youngest child reaches age 7, and their entitlement to the one-parent family payment ceases, the liability assessed under the liable relative provisions no longer applies. My Department advises the liable relative accordingly. It is important to note that this does not affect any other maintenance arrangements that may be in place.
