Written Answers Nos. 537 - 554
537. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year additional cost of an additional 4,000, 5,000 and 10,000 community employment scheme places respectively, net of qualifying social welfare payments. [19580/17]
View answerCommunity Employment (CE) schemes provide part-time temporary work in local communities, including opportunities for training and development as a stepping-stone back to employment, for people in receipt of a qualifying of social welfare payments. These schemes help to break the cycle of unemployment and improve a person’s chances of returning to the labour market. My Department is also conscious of the valuable contribution the schemes are making in the provision of services to individuals and communities across Ireland. At the end of December 2016, there were 22,356 participants employed on CE schemes.
The estimated full-year cost (net of social welfare payments) of an additional 4,000, 5,000 and 10,000 CE places, based on 2016 overall cost figures, would be as follows:
|
Number |
Net Additional Cost of CE Placement |
|
4,000 |
€21.8m approx. |
|
5,000 |
€27.3m approx. |
|
10,000 |
€54.5m approx. |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
538. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated net cost in respect of social welfare spending of reinstating the State pension transition payment in 2018 to 2022 respectively, assuming the scheme will be extended to cover persons aged 66 from 2021 should the pension age increase to 67 years of age. [19581/17]
View answer539. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated net cost in respect of social welfare spending of reinstating the State pension transition payment in 2018 to 2022 respectively, assuming no change in pension age to 67 years of age in 2021. [19582/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 538 and 539 together.
The Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 provided that State pension age would be increased gradually (over a 14 year period) to 68 years. This process began in January 2014 with the abolition of the State pension transition (SPT) which was available at age 65 for those who satisfied the qualifying conditions. This change standardised State pension age for all at 66 years. This will increase to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028.
The cost of the SPT in 2013 (the last full year of its operation) was €137 million. A detailed estimate was carried out last year by my Department of the net cost of re-introducing the SPT. This cost was based on the costs involved at the time of the abolition of the SPT and used population projection data for the coming years. Based on those estimates but adjusting for the costs of the increases in the weekly rates of pensions in 2016 and 2017, these costs have been revised as follows:
|
Year |
Estimated full year cost |
|
2018 |
€84 million |
|
2019 |
€84 million |
|
2020 |
€87 million |
This revised costing do not take account of:
- The costs of any potential increases in the weekly rates of pensions or payment of a Christmas Bonus over the period;
- The incidence, if any, of higher labour force participation by 65 year olds in the years in question.
- The impact of increases in State pension age, scheduled for 2021 and 2028
Social welfare legislation requires that an Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) be carried out every five years. Such a Review is currently underway with the Report required to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in mid-August next. The Review will examine the “health” of the SIF including projecting income and expenditure of the SIF over the period out to 2071. An important component of this work will be quantifying the impact of the changes in the pension age in 2021 and 2028 based on the most up to date demographic and economic projections. This information, when available, will assist the Department to estimate (1) the cost of extending entitlement to the SPT to age 66 in 2021 and 2022 and (2) to estimate the cost of SPT in 2021 and 2022 if there was no change in the pension age in 2021 as requested by the Deputy. It should be noted that both such approaches would involve very significant costs to the SIF.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
541. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the suggestion that foster carers should be granted some acknowledgement under the social welfare benefit system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19661/17]
View answerFoster care allowances are payable by the Child and Family Agency, Túsla, which falls under the remit of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. However, it is the case that my Department provides a number of supports for foster carers subject to satisfying the usual conditions for receipt of these payments. These include:
- Monthly child benefit in respect of the foster child,
- A weekly increase - €29.80 - for a qualified child (which can include a foster child) where the foster parent or his or her spouse/partner is in receipt of a weekly income support from my Department and
- Family Income Supplement where the foster child is a qualified child for the purposes of the scheme and the foster family qualify for a payment.
In addition, social welfare legislation provides that foster care allowances paid by Túsla are not taken into account in assessing the means of any weekly social assistance payments.
I also understand that Foster Care Allowances are not liable to income tax.
I hope that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
542. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a disability allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19679/17]
View answerI confirm that an application from this lady for disability allowance (DA) was received by my Department on 27 January 2017.
The application has been referred to a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) for a report on the person’s means and circumstances. Once the SWI has submitted his/her report to DA section, a decision will be made on the application and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
543. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a domiciliary care allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19682/17]
View answer544. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal for domiciliary care by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19683/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 543 and 544 together.
I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an oral hearing of the appeal of the person concerned took place on 13 April 2017 and that the Appeals Officer is now considering the appeal in the light of all of the evidence submitted, including that adduced at the oral hearing. The person concerned will be notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision when the appeal has been determined.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
545. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason community employment supervisors were treated differently from CDP workers who were employed by community projects in relation to their pension entitlements. [19686/17]
View answerCommunity Employment (CE) supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector. In the circumstances, the State is not responsible for funding pension arrangements for such employees even where the companies in question are reliant on State funding. It is open to individuals to make provision for a pension by way of PRSA which all employers are obliged to facilitate.
Nevertheless, the Deputy should note that the issue of CE supervisors’ pension provision is currently being examined by a Community Sector High Level Forum, under the auspices and chairmanship of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. My Department is represented on this group, as are IMPACT and SIPTU, the Department of Environment and Pobal. The provision of State funding for a pension scheme could impact on employees of other companies in the community and voluntary sector who are funded to a greater or lesser extent by the State and this is part of the ongoing considerations. The Forum last met on 7 April, 2017 and I understand their work is ongoing.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
546. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of the new special investigation unit for welfare fraud; if it will ultimately yield a cost savings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19696/17]
View answerThe Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has been an integral part of my Department’s overall strategy to investigate and combat social welfare fraud for a number of years and, in its current form, since 2010. The exclusive function of the SIU is to investigate and report on social welfare fraud. The total number of staff, including management, is currently 106 of which 15 are seconded officers from An Garda Síochána. The administrative costs associated with the SIU’s operations are offset by savings achieved from the prevention and detection of fraud through investigations undertaken.
The table summarises the costs of the SIU’s operation and the savings and overpayments recorded over the period 2013 to 2016. The staffing and other costs are based on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s framework to estimate civil service staffing and associated costs of operations and they include the costs of the seconded personnel.
If you require any further details on this please do not hesitate to contact my office.
TABLE: SIU costs and savings achieved 2013-2016
|
Year |
Staff, overheads and associated costs |
Savings and overpayments from investigations* |
|
2017 |
€7.6 million (estimate for year) |
€75.0 million (target for year) |
|
2016 |
€7.6 million |
€70.6 million |
|
2015 |
€7.5 million |
€69.4 million |
|
2014 |
€6.0 million |
€68.1 million |
|
2013 |
€6.4 million |
€73.5 million |
* Arising from reductions in the rate of future payments made and terminations of scheme payments following investigations.
547. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of control related reviews undertaken in 2016; and the number of cases in which an overpayment was identified. [19750/17]
View answer548. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection if the figure of €468 million in control savings published by his Department in November 2016 includes savings which arose due to error by his Department, due to error by the claimant and due to fraud; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19751/17]
View answer549. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the total value of overpayments in 2016 as a percentage of total departmental expenditure. [19752/17]
View answer550. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of cases in which an overpayment arose due to error by his Department, due to error by the claimant, in estate cases and due to fraud in each of the years 2014 to 2016; and the value of each. [19753/17]
View answer551. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the total value of overpayments recovered as a result of error by his Department, due to error by the claimant, in estate cases and due to fraud for each of the years 2011 to 2016. [19754/17]
View answer557. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection the total savings arising from the detection of social welfare fraud as opposed to control measures in each of the past three years; the basis upon which these savings are calculated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19773/17]
View answer565. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of cases of suspected fraud uncovered by his Department in each of the past five years; the number of cases of suspected fraud referred to the Garda; the number of overpayments due to departmental error; the number of overpayments due to other reasons; the amount of money involved in each relevant category, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19840/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 547 to 551, inclusive, 557 and 565 together.
Nearly 950,000 entitlement reviews and investigations were conducted across the Department’s schemes in 2016. These reviews yielded €506 million in control savings for the year. Reviews and investigations of entitlements are conducted by social welfare staff, social welfare inspectors and inspectors assigned to the Special Investigations Unit and a combination of desk-based assessment of entitlements, direct enquiries with recipients of social welfare payments, site and employer visits and face-to-face interviews are used.
The value of savings recorded by staff for the year 2016 was €506m. Savings are calculated when a social welfare claim is reduced in value or terminated following a review or investigation initiated by the Department. Control savings do not include any element where the customer voluntarily told the Department of changes in their means or circumstances which resulted in a reduction in the rate of payment or termination of the claim. Departmental error cases are also excluded from the savings figure.
The basis of the savings calculated is scheme specific. The nature of the scheme is taken into account - in particular whether it is short-term (e.g. jobseeker’s benefit or supplementary welfare allowance) or more long-term (e.g. State Pension Contributory/Non-Contributory). Also taken into account is the length of time a person who has a claim reduced or terminated is expected to remain off a particular scheme or at the reduced rate of payment.
A breakdown of the figure across social welfare schemes is set out in table 1.
Table 1: Savings recorded by social welfare scheme 2016
|
Scheme |
Savings Recorded |
Scheme |
Savings Recorded |
|
Jobseekers Allowance & Benefit |
€172m |
Disability, Invalidity and Illness |
€45m |
|
Pensions and household benefits |
€60m |
One parent family payments |
€77m |
|
Carer’s Allowance & Benefit |
€9m |
Child Benefit |
€69m |
|
Family Income Supplement |
€42m |
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
€26m |
|
Employer inspections/ reviews |
€6m |
TOTAL |
€506m |
The Department raised €110m in overpayments in 2016 of which €41m related to customer fraud – further information on this is set out in tables 2 and 3. Total expenditure on the Department’s programmes and schemes in 2016 was €19.2 billion. Overpayments as a percentage of total programmes expenditure was, therefore, of the order of 0.5%. The value of overpayment recovered from customers for the years 2011 to 2016 is set out in table 4.
Table 2: Value of overpayments recorded by category: 2011 to 2016
|
- |
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
2013 |
2012 |
2011 |
|
- |
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
|
Customer Fraud |
€41.0 |
€49.0 |
€52.5 |
€61.9 |
€41.0 |
€34.9 |
|
Departmental Error |
€ 2.3 |
€ 2.9 |
€ 5.0 |
€ 6.7 |
€ 7.6 |
€ 5.5 |
|
Customer error |
€46.7 |
€46.0 |
€49.8 |
€43.6 |
€35.8 |
€40.5 |
|
Estate cases |
€20.0 |
€17.4 |
€17.1 |
€15.0 |
€12.6 |
€11.5 |
|
Total |
€110.0 |
€115.3 |
€124.4 |
€127.2 |
€97.0 |
€92.4 |
Table 3: Number of overpayments recorded by category: 2011 to 2016
|
- |
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
2013 |
2012 |
2011 |
|
Customer Fraud |
16,225 |
21,407 |
27,437 |
27,489 |
20,700 |
20,585 |
|
Departmental Error |
4,965 |
4,157 |
6,044 |
7,056 |
5,000 |
6,062 |
|
Customer error |
54,674 |
55,536 |
56,975 |
49,693 |
40,800 |
36,292 |
|
Estate |
615 |
499 |
477 |
464 |
413 |
371 |
|
Total |
76,479 |
81,599 |
90,933 |
84,702 |
66,913 |
63,310 |
Table 4: Value of overpayments recovered: 2011 to 2016
|
- |
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
2013 |
2012 |
2011 |
|
- |
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
|
Sums Recovered |
82.0 |
82.5 |
86.3 |
70.7 |
53.4 |
51.5 |
The number of complaints referred to An Garda Síochána for prosecution under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001following consideration by the Department is set out in table 5.
Table 5: Cases referred to An Garda Síochána for prosecution: 2012 to 2016
|
2016 |
2015 |
2014 |
2013 |
2012 |
|
160 |
151 |
115 |
68 |
84 |
I hope this clarifies the matters for the Deputies.
552. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of appeals to the Social Welfare Appeals Office which concerned an overpayment in 2016; and the number of these which were successful. [19755/17]
View answer553. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of appeals to the Social Welfare Appeals Office which concerned an overpayment which arose due to fraud in 2016; and the number of these which were successful. [19756/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 552 and 553 together.
I am advised by the Chief Appeals Officer that statistics on the number of appeals received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office during 2016 which concerned an overpayment are not maintained on the appeals system. However, the following table provides details of the number of appeals concerning overpayments which were determined by Appeals Officers during 2016 and the outcome of those appeals.
It should be noted that the figures provided do not reflect decisions which were revised by Deciding Officers of the Department in favour of the appellant as part of the appeal process as a statistical breakdown of such revised decisions to this level of detail is not available.
When an appeal is registered in the Social Welfare Appeals Office it is recorded by scheme type. It is only at the end of the appeal process, when an Appeals Officer has determined the appeal and is recording the decision on the appeals system, that the particular issue code(s), for example that it relates to an overpayment, is recorded.
Similarly, I am advised by the Chief Appeals Officer that it is not possible to provide the requested statistics concerning appeals of overpayment decisions which arose due to fraud in 2016 as this level of detail is not maintained on the appeals system.
Table: Overpayments - Appeals finalised by Appeals Officers in 2016
|
Scheme |
Allowed |
Partially Allowed |
Disallowed |
Total |
|
Blind Pension |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Carer’s Allowance |
23 |
4 |
12 |
39 |
|
Disability Allowance |
31 |
26 |
41 |
98 |
|
Illness Benefit |
23 |
1 |
22 |
46 |
|
Deserted Wife’s Benefit |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
|
Farm Assist |
1 |
4 |
4 |
9 |
|
Family Income Supplement |
16 |
6 |
5 |
27 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
6 |
4 |
7 |
17 |
|
Jobseeker's Transitional |
2 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
7 |
7 |
11 |
25 |
|
State Pension (Non-Contributory) |
7 |
12 |
29 |
48 |
|
Injury Benefit |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
8 |
8 |
9 |
25 |
|
Jobseeker’s allowance (Means) |
23 |
12 |
16 |
51 |
|
Respite Care Grant |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Jobseeker’ Allowance |
95 |
31 |
74 |
200 |
|
Jobseeker’s Benefit |
20 |
2 |
13 |
35 |
|
Survivor's Pension (Contributory) |
4 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
|
Survivor's Pension (Non-Contributory) |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
TOTAL |
269 |
120 |
253 |
642 |
554. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for disability allowance by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19765/17]
View answerI confirm that my Department received an application for disability allowance from this lady on 12 April 2017. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
