Written Answers Nos. 556-572
556. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an application for a one-parent family payment by a person (details supplied); and when a decision will issue. [8498/18]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an oral hearing of the appeal of the person concerned took place on 3rd January 2018. At the oral hearing it was agreed that the person concerned would send in further documentation in support of their appeal. This documentation has been received and 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 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.
557. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a matter will be addressed regarding the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8519/18]
View answerThe person concerned has previously had their entitlement to state pension (contributory) examined. According to the records of my Department, the person concerned has a social insurance record of 1,133 reckonable paid and credited contributions, from 1965 to 2014 giving them a yearly average of 28. In arriving at this yearly average, disregards for homemaking periods were applied. This entitled the person concerned to a reduced rate pension entitlement.
However, the spouse of the person concerned qualified for an increase for qualified adult at a higher rate. As this was more financially advantageous, the increase for qualified adult in respect of the person concerned was awarded and paid.
The Deputy will be aware that the Government recently announced proposals that pensioners who qualified for state pension (contributory) since September 2012, and whose rate of entitlement was impacted by the 2012 rate band change, may apply for a review to have their entitlement considered under a new Total Contribution Approach (TCA). It will take some time to draft and pass the necessary legislation, and then develop the systems and procedures necessary to administer the new pension entitlement option. When this preparatory work is completed towards the end of 2018, the person concerned can apply for a review of their state pension (contributory) entitlement and the person will be notified of the outcome of that review.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
559. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications received by her Department from a person (details supplied) in respect of a disability allowance; and if the person's current application will be reviewed in view of medical evidence submitted. [8564/18]
View answerI confirm that the person concerned has submitted three applications for disability allowance (DA). The current application, which was received on 1 November 2017 was disallowed on medical grounds and the person in question was notified in writing of this decision on 29 January 2018. A review of all three claims has been carried out and it has been decided that the person now satisfies the medical conditions for receipt of disability allowance. On completion of the necessary investigations on the other qualifying conditions, the means test and the habitual residence condition, a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
560. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an appeal for a domiciliary carer's allowance by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8582/18]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that two appeals by the person concerned were registered in that office on 23rd November and 5th December 2017 respectively. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the cases in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeals based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral appeal 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.
561. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the position on an application for illness benefit by a person (details supplied); when payment will commence; if there was a delay in the processing of same; the reason a medical certificate signed by a doctor in the hospital was not acceptable; the reason the person was required to pay for a general practitioner to provide a medical certificate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8634/18]
View answerInjury Benefit is a weekly payment in respect of incapacity for work due to an accident arising out of and in the course of employment. For the purpose of the scheme, an accident while on an unbroken journey between one’s normal place of residence and one’s place of employment, is regarded as an accident at work. Benefit can be paid for up to 26 weeks from the date of the accident/injury/disease.
The person concerned made a claim for Occupational Injury Benefit which was registered in on 31 January 2018. There is no payment for the first 6 days of Injury Benefit and no payment for Sundays. Claims are dealt with in chronological order and, under normal circumstances, it takes approximately two weeks from the date of registration to receive payment on a claim. The person concerned received a payment to their bank account on 12 February 2018.
In the first instance, a letter from a hospital is required following a customer’s treatment there. However, a social welfare certificate is necessary in order to process a claim. The certificate can only be obtained from a G.P., who is reimbursed from my Department. There is no charge to the patient for the certificate. It is at discretion of the G.P. whether to charge for a consultation.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
562. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a situation relating to the State pension payment of a person (details supplied) will be investigated. [8646/18]
View answerAn agency arrangement has been in place, at the request of the person concerned, since 5 December 2008.
Details of any concerns arising from the pension payment arrangements of the person concerned should be submitted in writing directly to State pension (contributory), Department of Employment Affair and Social Protection, College Road, Sligo F91 T384.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
563. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans for a payment to persons with a disability for their television licence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8654/18]
View answerThe free television licence is received as part of the household benefits package (HHB) which also comprises the electricity or gas allowance. The package is generally available to people living in the State, aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments. Widows and widowers aged from 60 to 65 whose late spouses had been in receipt of the household benefits package retain that entitlement. My Department will spend approximately €237 million this year on the household benefits package for over 435,000 customers.
Disability related payments that are qualifying payments for HHB include:
- Invalidity Pension
- Disability Allowance
- Blind Person's Pension
- Incapacity Supplement or Workmen's Compensation, with Disablement Pension, for at least 12 months
- a Social Security Invalidity Pension/Benefit (from a foreign Social Security Agency) or equivalent payment for at least 12 months, from a country covered by EC Regulations, or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement.
- Disability Living Allowance with Severe Disablement Allowance (from the United Kingdom) for at least 12 month
My Department pays a bulk payment to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment for the free television licence element of the HHB package. Customers entitled to this element of the HHB package do not receive any cash payment.
I have no plans at this time to expand entitlement for receipt of HHB to include people with disabilities who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment from my Department or to introduce a scheme that will provide payment to persons with a disability to pay their TV licence. Any decision to do so would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
564. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of vacant habitable dwelling units and vacant derelict residential dwelling units in the ownership or part ownership of, or under the control of, her Department and the agencies under her remit; the county in which each unit is located; the length of time each unit has been vacant, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8664/18]
View answerThere are no vacant residential dwelling units under the remit of my Department or that of the statutory bodies operating under the aegis of my Department.
565. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps taken by Scope to ensure that much of the self-employment in the film industry is not bogus self-employment; and the investigations Scope has made in the past five years to ensure that those registered as self-employed are actually self-employed. [8674/18]
View answerBogus self-employment arises where an employer wrongly treats a worker as an independent contractor in order to avoid tax and social insurance contributions. There are robust arrangements in place for dealing with complaints of bogus self-employment. Social welfare inspectors inspect a wide range of businesses, as part of their on-going compliance operations. Inspections are also undertaken jointly with other agencies including the Revenue Commissioners and Workplace Relations Commission. Where evidence of non-compliance is detected, this will be pursued.
While there have been no targeted investigations of the film industry, officials investigate specific cases referred to my Department’s Scope section. This section determines employment status and the correct class of pay-related social insurance (PRSI). Where misclassification of workers as self-employed is detected, the correct status and class is determined and social insurance arrears are collected as required. Under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, there are specific offences in relation to employment contributions. On conviction, fines and or imprisonment can ultimately be imposed.
In 2009 the Revenue Commissioners issued a Guidance Note, “Taxation of individuals engaged in the Irish film industry” which provided advice on the issue of self-employment, including the type of occupations that could be considered to be self-employments in the context of that industry.
All employers, including those in the film industry, carry the same obligations in relation to compliance with employment and social welfare law. Any worker who has concerns about their employment and PRSI status should contact my Department and the matter will be investigated. This can only happen with the cooperation of the worker.
566. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the options open to a person (details supplied) in County Cork to continue to pay PRSI contributions or receive credits that would be reckonable for the State contributory pension. [8695/18]
View answerSelf-employed persons are liable for PRSI at the Class S rate of 4% which entitles them to access long-term benefits such as state pension (contributory) and widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension (contributory) as well as guardians payment (contributory), maternity benefit, paternity benefit and adoptive benefit. Ordinary employees who have access to the full range of social insurance benefits pay PRSI Class A at the rate of 4%. In addition, their employers make a PRSI contribution of 10.85% in respect of their employees, resulting in the payment of a combined 14.85% rate per employee under full-rate PRSI Class A. (For employees earning less than €376 per week, the rate of employer’s PRSI is 8.6%).
Self-employed workers who become ill may access social insurance supports by establishing eligibility to assistance-based payments such as disability allowance. In assessing means from self-employment, income from the previous twelve months is used as an indicator of likely future earnings.
Given the variety of self-employment situations, the means assessment procedures are applied in a flexible manner to ensure that any circumstances that would be likely to lead to a significant variation, either upward or downward, in the level of a person’s income from one year to the next are taken into consideration. As in the case of a non-self-employed claimant for disability allowance, the means of spouse, civil partner or co-habitant will be taken into account in deciding on entitlement to a payment.
There is also a Voluntary Contribution Scheme which allows those who are no longer working or who otherwise are not paying PRSI, to protect their PRSI entitlement to certain social insurance benefit, including state pension. A person can apply to join the scheme from 1 year to 5 years from the end of the year in which contributions were last paid, as an employee or as a self-employed worker.
Voluntary Contributions (VCs) are designed to facilitate employees and self-employed individuals, who are no longer paying PRSI, to pay contributions directly to the Department on a voluntary basis, to protect their future state pension contributory, widow(er)’s contributory pension and guardian’s contributory pension entitlements.
The scheme is most frequently used by employees who have retired early, or by self-employed individuals who are not required to pay PRSI Class S because their annual income falls below the annual €5,000 liability threshold. To become a voluntary contributor an individual must have paid at least 520 weeks of compulsory PRSI from either employment or self-employment prior to application.
Budget 2017 introduced a range of improvements for the self-employed. Since March 2017, self-employed people now have access to the Treatment Benefit scheme which includes free eye and dental exams, and contributions towards the cost of hearings aids. Treatment benefit entitlements was also extended in October 2017 so as to provide further Dental and Optical Benefits for both the self-employed and employees.
Self-employed workers are also eligible for the Invalidity Pension from December 2017. This is a major reform as, for the first time, self-employed people have access to the safety-net of State income supports, without having to go through a means test, if they become permanently incapable of work as a result of an illness or disability.
567. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason disability allowance appeals awarded in December 2017 have yet to be paid. [8727/18]
View answerI can confirm that all disability allowance appeals awarded up to and including week ending 4 February 2018 have been dealt with, other than a small number of cases where the Department is awaiting final details from an applicant before implementing the Appeals Officer’s decision.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
568. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 310 and 311 of 7 March 2017, the details in respect of community employment schemes for 2017 and to date in 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8786/18]
View answerFurther to parliamentary question numbers 310 and 311 of 7 March 2017 the number of Community Employment (CE) projects for 2017 is provided by county, in tabular form in table 1. In addition, the total number of participants and supervisors for 2017 is provided in table 2.
The details for 2018 is currently being compiled and will be forwarded directly to the Deputy, together with the number of projects supported through the CE programme which have been amalgamated for the period 2017 and to date in 2018.
Table 1: CE Projects by County (Year End Figures)
|
County |
2017 |
|
Carlow |
15 |
|
Cavan |
12 |
|
Clare |
25 |
|
Cork |
82 |
|
Donegal |
49 |
|
Dublin |
207 |
|
Galway |
63 |
|
Kerry |
45 |
|
Kildare |
30 |
|
Kilkenny |
18 |
|
Laois |
15 |
|
Leitrim |
8 |
|
Limerick |
50 |
|
Longford |
14 |
|
Louth |
27 |
|
Mayo |
33 |
|
Meath |
17 |
|
Monaghan |
10 |
|
Offaly |
18 |
|
Roscommon |
16 |
|
Sligo |
19 |
|
Tipperary |
45 |
|
Waterford |
35 |
|
Westmeath |
20 |
|
Wexford |
44 |
|
Wicklow |
23 |
|
Total |
940 |
Table 2: Number of CE Participants and Supervisors (Year End Figures)
|
|
2017 |
|
Participants |
21,832 |
|
Supervisors |
1,357 |
|
Total |
23,189 |
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
569. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will review the manner in which investigations into overpayments are carried out to ensure strict adherence to due process and natural justice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8803/18]
View answerOverpayments of social welfare assistance and benefit payments arise as a consequence of decisions made under the relevant sections of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005. As part of the process of finalising a decision and assessing an overpayment, the deciding officer or designated person (in the case of the administration of payments under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance provisions), is required to engage with the person concerned and offer them the opportunity to provide additional information in support of their claim. In addition, the customer may seek a review or an appeal any decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office.
I am satisfied that the current processes meet the needs of members of the public and the administration of the social welfare system and do not currently have plans to change them.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
570. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which provision continues to exist to allow credit in respect of employment in the context of the determination of eligibility for a State pension in respect of a period of employment in which contributions are omitted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8804/18]
View answerArticle 70(3)(a) of Statutory Instrument No. 312 of 1996 (Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) Regulations 1996 allows the award of employment contributions to a person which have not been paid, in circumstances where this has not occurred with their consent or connivance, or due to their negligence.
The Department will carry out a review of the record of any customer who makes contact, advising of the possibility that contributions may be missing from their social insurance record.
Such a review can take a number of forms, depending on the nature of the issues raised; and can include (but is not limited to) the following;
- Examination of any documentation provided by the customer
- A full check of the Department’s systems for the employment
- A check for Revenue returns relating to the period in question
- Referral to a social welfare inspector for a full investigation into the period concerned.
All cases where contributions may be missing are investigated in full; and in each case a decision as to the outcome for the customer’s social insurance record is made and communicated back to the customer.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
571. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which the various youth unemployment alleviation measures continue to result in successful full-time job placements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8805/18]
View answerGovernment policy to reduce unemployment is twofold. First, through policies set out in the Action Plan for Jobs, to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs; and second, through Pathways to Work, to ensure that as many as possible of these new jobs and other vacancies that arise in our economy are filled by people taken from the Live Register, including young people.
Under the Government’s policies to support the young unemployed, the first intervention is to provide case officer support to help newly unemployed young people find and secure sustainable jobs. There is monthly engagement with all young jobseekers by a case officer, and a Personal Progression Plan is developed to chart the steps to be taken to facilitate a return to employment, which may include further education and training or other opportunities.
For those who do not find employment, through the process just described, additional offers are provided for. Most such offers (over 70%) are in existing further education or training programmes. Others are in existing community-based employment programmes/workplace based interventions such as CE, Gateway and Tús and First Steps; or in subsidies to employers, through JobsPlus Youth. Long-term unemployed jobseekers under-25 are also referred to JobPath, a contracted, payment-by-results employment services that provides additional resources and supports to those long-term unemployed.
The strategy document Pathways to Work 2016 to 2020 includes some additional actions in relation to addressing youth unemployment:
1) increase the relative share of workplace-based interventions (Gateway, TÚS, Positive to Work etc.) for youth unemployed;
2) ensure the frequency of engagement with all young unemployed people is a minimum of one case officer meeting per month;
3) restructure the First Steps programme for young unemployed people to improve take-up by offering a higher level of support to jobseekers and employers
4) implement the Defence Forces Skills for Life employment support programme.
Each of these actions is either ongoing or has been completed.
Later this year I will be introducing a new work experience programme targeted specifically at young jobseekers who are long-term unemployed or who face significant barriers to gaining employment. The new Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS) will provide them with the opportunity to learn basic work and social skills in a supportive environment while on a work placement. Operational details are currently being finalised and I hope to launch the Scheme during Quarter 2 this year.
Reflecting the impact of government policy, and the overall improvement in the labour market, youth unemployment continues to fall with a rate of 13.7% (34,300 persons) in January 2018 estimated by CSO, as compared to 14.6% (42,100 persons) in January 2017 and a peak rate of almost 32% in 2012. (The actual number of young people unemployed is estimated to have peaked at 97,800 persons in late 2010.)
Eurostat figures indicate that the number of young people in full-time employment has grown from 84,000 in mid-2012 to 138,000 in mid-2017.
I am satisfied that the current policy approach, together with an improving labour market, will continue to address youth unemployment and support further improvements in the labour market situation for young people.
572. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which backlogs have been addressed in respect of various headings and payments operated by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8808/18]
View answerThe prompt processing of applications remains a priority for my Department. Each scheme area is continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure customers are responded to as quickly as possible, and their applications are processed as expeditiously as possible.
All applications are registered promptly. In some schemes, this is done through the scanning of claim documents onto the system while, in other schemes, this involves an officer inputting data. The time taken to carry out means tests and/or medical assessments where these are required is not measured separately, while a determination on habitual residence, where required, is an integral part of the decision-making process.
Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of illness-related schemes, can take longer to process. Similarly, means-tested payments can also require more detailed investigation and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision-making process. Delays can also arise where information is required from social security organisations in other jurisdictions and where additional information has been requested from the applicant but remains outstanding.
This means that processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing qualification criteria. For example, in January 2018, it took on average 1 week to award a jobseeker’s benefit payment, which is based on social insurance contributions, while it took 2 weeks to award a jobseeker’s allowance payment, which is means-tested.
In the same month, it took on average:
- 10 weeks to award an application for carer’s benefit, which is based on a medical assessment of care requirements, an assessment of the level of care being provided and social insurance contributions; while
- an application for carer’s allowance took 18 weeks to award, which has similar medical and care provision conditionality but it is also means-tested.
As part of the Department’s programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology, have been implemented in recent years. Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised.
The staffing needs for all areas within my Department are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, management priorities and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources. This is done with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department.
The table sets out the average time to award for the principal schemes operated by my Department in January 2018.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Average time to award for principal DEASP schemes, January 2018
|
Schemes |
Average time to award (weeks) |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
1 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance |
2 |
|
One-Parent Family Payment |
4 |
|
State Pension Contributory (Domestic) |
6 |
|
Widow, Widower’s and Surviving Civil Partners Contributory Pension |
4 |
|
Widowed Parent Grant |
1 |
|
State Pension Non-Contributory |
13 |
|
Household Benefits |
1 |
|
Free Travel |
3 |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
11 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
1 |
|
Child Benefit (Domestic & FRA) |
3 |
|
Child Benefit (Over 16) |
1 |
|
Child Benefit (Additional Child) |
1 |
|
Maternity Benefit |
6 |
|
Paternity Benefit |
6 |
|
Carer's Allowance |
18 |
|
Carer's Benefit |
10 |
|
Disability Allowance |
14 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
6 |
