Written Answers Nos. 1646-1667
1646. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a jobseeker's allowance will be issued in the case of a person (details supplied); if payment will be made in the near future due to the hardship being experienced by this family; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1319/18]
View answerThere is no record of an application for a Jobseeker's payment having been received by the Department from the person concerned.
In order to make an application for a Jobseeker's payment, either Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker Allowance, the person concerned should be advised to present to their local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office and complete the required application forms, after which a Deciding Officer will be in a position to make a decision on their claim.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy
1647. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if disability allowance will be approved for a person (details supplied). [1350/18]
View answerI can confirm that my department received an application for disability allowance (DA) from this gentleman on 23 October 2017.
On 3 January 2018 the person concerned was requested to supply supporting documentation required by the deciding officer in order to make a decision on his eligibility for DA. On receipt of this information a decision will be made on his DA application and the person concerned will be notified of the outcome.
This gentleman was disallowed a supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) while awaiting his DA decision because the family's income was deemed to be in excess of the SWA rate. This was due to his Spouse’s income from employment. A refusal letter was issued to him on the 19th December 2017.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1649. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a carer's allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1372/18]
View answerCarer's allowance is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care.
An application for carers allowance was received from the person concerned on 21 August 2017.
The application was awarded on 10 January 2018 and first payment will issue to their nominated bank account on 18 January 2018.
Arrears of allowance due from 4 February 2016 to 17 January 2018 will issue shortly.
The person concerned was notified on 10 January 2018 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1651. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to examine a scheme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1479/18]
View answerThere is an increasing awareness and evidence of abuse of the elderly and research has shown that one of the areas of significant abuse can be financial abuse. I believe, however, that the majority of persons acting as agents collecting social welfare payments for customers unable to do so themselves, do so out of a genuine caring disposition and act in good faith.
The existing legislative provisions in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 empower the Minister to make regulations to appoint a person to act on behalf of a recipient or beneficiary of social welfare payments in circumstances where the recipient/beneficiary is certified by a registered medical practitioner to be a person who is, or is likely soon to become, unable for the time being to manage his or her own financial affairs.
There is a legal obligation on those already acting as agent, for the purposes of collecting a customer’s pension, to advise the Department if the circumstances of that customer change including if the customer no longer has the capacity to deal with their own financial affairs.
My Department has established a working group to examine and make recommendations on the adequacy of the current procedures and processes for:
- appointing agents for social welfare payments;
- reviewing existing agent arrangements;
- dealing with specific complaints regarding named agents when they arise (with the involvement of relevant external agencies as necessary); and
- continuing to raise the awareness of staff on safeguarding and protection of vulnerable adults, with a particular emphasis on financial abuse.
The group is also assessing the implications for its agent arrangements in the context of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 when it is commenced and the codes of practice being developed by the National Disability Authority under the Act, and will make recommendations for any changes necessary in order for the Department to comply with that legislation.
I would ask the Deputy if he has specific concerns regarding individual customers to bring those matters directly to the attention of the relevant scheme area of my Department and this will be investigated without delay.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1652. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average length of time it takes social welfare inspectors to process cases in each county or district, in tabular form. [1488/18]
View answerMy Department administers over 70 schemes and services. It processes in excess of 1.7 million applications per annum and issues 81 million payments per year to 2.1 million customers and their families.
It is not possible to give a definitive breakdown of the average length of time it takes social welfare inspectors to process cases in each county, given the range of services and activities carried out by social welfare inspectors across the schemes.
The approach taken in each investigation is determined by the social welfare inspector and the nature of the case. Investigations may involve desk assessments, written and verbal enquiries, site and employer visits, office interviews and home visits. The length of time taken to process a case will vary depending on the scheme involved and the specific circumstances of each case.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1653. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when payment to a person (details supplied) will begin, if it will be backdated to include the Christmas bonus and living alone allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1497/18]
View answerFollowing a decision by an Appeals Officer appeal, this gentleman has been awarded disability allowance (DA) with effect from 01 March 2017. He has also been awarded living alone allowance (LAA) and free fuel allowance (FFA) from that date. The first payment will be made by his chosen payment method on 31 January 2018.
Arrears of payment due, including the Christmas Bonus, will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment are calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments or in respect of outstanding overpayments (if applicable).
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1654. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the projects undertaken to consolidate or amalgamate existing legislation, including the cost, the duration and the number of staff required, and if this process was carried out by her Department or outsourced in each of the years 2007 to 2017 and to date in 2018, in tabular form. [1564/18]
View answerMy Department is responsible for the legislation underpinning the social welfare code and for a number of other areas of legislation, as follows:
- Occupational and Private Pensions
- Civil Registration and Gender Recognition
- Redundancy and Employer’s Insolvency
- Citizens Information Board (Comhairle)
- Employment and Labour Law
The main provisions of the Social Welfare code are contained in the various Social Welfare Acts that are enacted each year. The provisions of these Acts were consolidated in 2005 as the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005.
In 2007 the Social Welfare (Consolidated Occupational Injuries) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 102 of 2007), the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 142 of 2007) and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 412 of 2007) were published.
These consolidations were conducted by staff of my Department as part of their normal duties. There was no requirement to outsource any of the work associated with these consolidations. There were no additional costs incurred by my Department as a result of the work undertaken.
No other projects to consolidate or amalgamate existing legislation have been undertaken by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection within the relevant timeframe. However, some preliminary scoping work is currently under way with a view to preparing a new consolidation of the Social Welfare Acts.
1655. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1601/18]
View answerAn application for increase for qualified adult in respect of the person concerned has been received and is currently being processed. As increase for qualified adult payment is a means-tested payment, further information has been requested to facilitate the Deciding Officer to determine entitlement.
On receipt of the requested information, the application will be considered and written notification of the decision will issue without delay.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1656. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way in which social welfare payments (details supplied) are paid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1669/18]
View answerThis Government continues to be committed to maintaining the post office network and for An Post to remain a strong and viable company in a position to provide a high quality postal service and maintain a nationwide customer focussed network of post offices in the community. My Department’s support for An Post is equally apparent. We have again renewed the contract for cash payment services with the company for another year. This contract is worth approximately €50m per annum to An Post.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection provides two main options for payment methods for its customers: payments in cash at post offices or payments direct to customer accounts in financial institutions. The Department intends, where possible, to continue to offer its many clients the choice of being paid in cash at the post office or directly into an account in a financial institution.
Persons under 65 years of age, who are in receipt of a Jobseeker’s payment, are required to be available for full-time employment and genuinely seeking work. In addition, they must comply, when requested to do so, with the Department’s activation measures. Certain compulsory criteria in these measures are relaxed for persons aged 62 and over, for example they are placed on yearly signing and they are given the option of being paid directly into their bank account where this option has not been available for them heretofore. This has been the Department’s policy since 1 January 2014.
Accordingly, those in receipt of a Jobseeker’s payment who are fully unemployed are contacted when they reach the age of 62 and offered the option of being paid directly into their bank account or continuing to be paid at the post office.
Customer wishes are facilitated where they choose to receive their social welfare payment at their local post office. It is not proposed to limit the freedom of social welfare customers to be paid directly into a financial institution if they so choose. This is in line with wider Departmental policy where the focus is on ensuring that social welfare customers are paid by the most convenient method possible.
1657. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the Back to Education Allowance, BTEA, criteria will be reviewed again with regard to the progress in educational qualifications (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1671/18]
View answerThe Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is a scheme that allows persons in receipt of certain social welfare payments the opportunity to pursue a course of study, while still maintaining their income support, subject to satisfying a number of conditions. The conditions include progressing in the level of education held by the client with reference to the national framework of qualifications.
The student universal support Ireland (SUSI) grant payable by the Department of Education and Skills represents the primary support for persons pursuing education. The BTEA was never intended to be an alternative form of funding for people entering or re-entering the third level education system.
Applicants holding a qualification at tertiary education level (certificate, diploma, primary degree or post graduate qualification) are not approved under the BTEA to pursue a course at a similar or lower qualification level. However, the BTEA may be approved if a person holds a HETAC level 8 Honours degree and wishes to pursue a Higher Diploma at HETAC Level 8 as this is considered progression.
There are a small number of situations where the progression rule is not applied. For instance, as you reference, where a person only holds a FETAC Level 5 or FETAC Level 6, the progression rule can be waived if their previous qualification was obtained three years prior to re-entry into education and provided the person was in employment for a period of at least three years since commencement of employment. The course must also be deemed to enhance a person’s job prospects and the participant must satisfy all other eligibility criteria.
Additionally, Springboard is an initiative to enable jobseekers to upskill or reskill in areas where there are employment opportunities. The BTEA can be approved for a person who holds a qualification equivalent to or higher than the qualification for which the BTEA application has been received for Springboard full-time courses. For example, if a participant already holds a level 8 qualification, they may pursue a level 8 Springboard course.
Overall, it is important to note that the purpose of the BTEA is to raise educational and skill levels so as to improve a welfare recipient’s employment prospects. Progression in education is an important condition of the support provided. I have no plans to change these provisions.
I hope this clarified the matter for the Deputy.
1658. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an application for carer's benefit by a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1673/18]
View answerCarer's benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for a person(s) in need of full-time care and attention.
An application for CARB was received from the person concerned on 29 September 2017.
In order to qualify for CARB both the applicant and the care recipient must have a Personal Public Service (PPS) Number. As the care recipient, who lives in Poland did not have a PPS Number, the CARB claim could not be processed until an application had been made and a PPS Number allocated to her.
The processing of the application for CARB will now proceed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1659. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to allow flexibility for employees on community employment schemes who have reached 65 years of age to remain in employment in those schemes even though they may have completed six years of employment in order that they can continue in employment until they become eligible for pension. [1693/18]
View answerAt present, there is an initiative in place which allows Community Employment (CE) participants aged 62 or over to apply to extend their participation on CE beyond the standard lifetime participation limits, providing the CE eligibility conditions are met. Participants are allowed to participate on a continuous basis up to the State Pension age, subject to satisfactory performance on the scheme and to annual approval by my Department. The places allocated for these participants, within each individual CE scheme, are limited to 7% of each scheme’s overall budgeted places. This initiative is available nationwide.
I am currently reviewing the rules governing this initiative and I expect this review to be completed shortly.
If a particular participant wants to avail of this initiative, they should contact their local DEASP Intreo office for more information.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1660. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a retired person under 66 years of age in receipt of income from an approved retirement fund must pay PRSI on this income whereas a person under 66 years of age in receipt of a pension annuity is not subject to PRSI on same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1696/18]
View answerPolicy in respect of treatment of annuities and approved retirement funds for tax and social insurance is a matter for the Minister for Finance.
The current position is that approved retirement funds or ARFs are funds managed by a qualifying fund manager into which an individual may invest the proceeds of their pension fund when they retire. The income and gains of such funds are exempt from tax within the fund. Any amounts withdrawn from an ARF are referred to as a distribution. A distribution is treated as income from an employment. It is subject to income tax and the fund manager must operate the PAYE system on it.
Under social welfare legislation any payments received by way of pension are not regarded as reckonable emoluments for the purposes of self-employed pay related social insurance (PRSI). However, unlike annuity products, ARFs are not pensions but are treated as assets. As such distributions from ARFs fall within the charge to Class S self-employed PRSI, or if the recipient of the distribution is a modified class contributor, Class K. Class K PRSI contributions do not give entitlements to any social insurance benefits.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1661. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of backdating to 1973 social insurance coverage for members of religious orders who were excluded prior to the introduction of the Social Welfare (Insurance Inclusions and Exclusions) Regulations, 1988; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1704/18]
View answerClergy and other religious were excluded from Social Insurance on its introduction. In 1974, however, the Social Welfare Act made provision that ministers of religion engaged solely on pastoral works for which remuneration was received, could be admitted to social insurance on the application of the appropriate representative body or authority. This access was subject to an application to (and the agreement of) the then Minister for Social Welfare by an appropriate authority or body acting on behalf of the relevant ministers representing to him or her that the services performed and conditions of appointment were analogous to other occupations which were already covered for social insurance purposes. The provisions of the 1974 Act meant that all religious authorities or bodies had, if they so wished, the opportunity to apply for social insurance access for their employed members and, therefore, did not discriminate in any way against or in favour of any particular congregations.
Only the Church of Ireland availed of this provision. The position for other Ministers of Religion, including those employed as teachers or nurses and remunerated as such, were not covered by social insurance.
In 1986, the Commission on Social Welfare published a range of proposals aimed at developing and enhancing the structure and operation of the social insurance system.
The exclusion of clergy and other religious denominations from social insurance coverage was examined and in this context, it was not considered appropriate to continue to exclude from the system those who are employed in what might be termed secular employment as employees under a contract of service. The categories involved were religious who are mainly employed in schools, hospitals and other institutions. They came within the social protection system as employees, insurable at the ordinary or modified rate, as appropriate to their particular circumstances from 1988. The effect of this is that clergy and people of other religious denominations who are employed in public or private sector employment – i.e. in schools, hospitals and other public/social institutions – are afforded the same level of coverage as other employees in those sectors and generally insurable at PRSI Class A or D, as appropriate. Those involved in pastoral care only are generally insured as self-employed workers provided they meet the minimum income threshold.
Social insurance contributions (Class S PRSI) were introduced for self-employed people on 6th April 1988. These contributions currently provide cover for self-employed people for benefits such as State pension (contributory), widows/widowers or surviving civil partner’s pension (contributory), guardian’s payment (contributory), maternity benefit, adoptive benefit, paternity benefit, and treatment benefit. Entitlement to invalidity pension was extended to the self-employed from December 2017.
It is not possible to cost the backdating of social insurance to the members of religious orders because of various unknown factors, for example, the various contingencies that could have arisen for those members in the intervening period, the question of whether any such backdating should be at the higher or lower rates of payment and the recoupment of contributions for the period in question.
The PRSI system is based on “weeks of insurable employment” - in terms of both the calculation of PRSI contributions and the award of social insurance contributions. These contributions are recorded to determine future entitlements to social welfare benefits. This link between contributions awarded and entitlement to benefit is referred to as the contributory principle. In order to qualify for a social insurance benefit the insured person must have built up an entitlement through the payment of social insurance contributions. As such, there are no plans to backdate social insurance benefits to those who were excluded from social insurance in the past.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1662. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a carer's allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1708/18]
View answerI confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on the 24 November 2017.
Carer's allowance is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care.
The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1663. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the carer's allowance application of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1742/18]
View answerCarer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care.
I confirm that my department received an application for CA from the person concerned on the 29 September 2017.
Additional information was requested from the person concerned on 11 January 2018. Once the information is received the application will be processed without delay and she will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1664. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the carer’s allowance application of a person (details supplied). [1743/18]
View answerCarer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care.
I confirm that my department received an application for CA from the person concerned on the 8 November 2017.
Additional information was requested from the person concerned on 12 January 2018. Once the information is received the application will be processed without delay and he will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1665. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1744/18]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 2 October 2017. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. These papers have been received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 19 December 2017 and the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and 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.
1666. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the issue of persons who transfer from homeless payments to jobseeker's payments after being housed and who do not technically fit the criteria to qualify for fuel allowance will be examined (details supplied). [1778/18]
View answerIn order to be eligible for fuel allowance, a person in receipt of jobseeker's allowance must be in receipt of payment for 390 days, satisfy a household means test and live alone or only with certain other qualified people. Where a person does not satisfy these conditions they will not be entitled to the fuel allowance. Unfortunately, the person referred to by the Deputy does not have the required 390 days in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance. He had previously been in receipt of Supplementary Welfare Allowance but the period of time spent on that payment does not count towards the 390 day requirement.
The fuel allowance is a means tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments to provide for their heating needs. The payment is not intended to meet those costs in full but rather subsidise a person’s fuel costs and only one allowance is paid per household.
The jobseeker’s schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment.
In addition to the jobseeker’s allowance and jobseeker's benefit schemes my Department offers other supports including the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme which provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes.
Supports provided under the SWA scheme can consist of a basic weekly payment and/or a weekly/monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, including rent, fuel as well as single exceptional needs payments (ENP) and urgent needs payments (UNP).
I have no plans to change the qualifying conditions for the fuel allowance scheme at present.
