Written Answers Nos. 272-284
272. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full cost of increasing the funding for the free travel scheme by €5 million to make it more attractive for operators to join and ensure that the scheme continues to address passenger needs. [28440/18]
View answerThe free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approx. 914,000 customers with direct eligibility. The scheme is available to all people aged over 66 living permanently in the State. To qualify for the scheme, applicants who are under age 66 must be in receipt of a qualifying payment. These are invalidity pension, blind pension, disability allowance, carer’s allowance or an equivalent social security payment from a country covered by EC Regulations or one with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement.
In order to maintain service at existing levels, and to facilitate new entrants/services to the scheme, funding to the free travel scheme was increased by €10 million in Budget 2018, an increase of 12.5%. Accordingly, the estimated expenditure on free travel in 2018 is €90 million. To increase the funding by an additional €5 million would bring the total expenditure for the scheme up to €95 million.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
273. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a carer's allowance will be granted to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28453/18]
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 12 January 2018.
It is a condition for receipt of a CA that the person being cared for must have a disability whose effect is that they require full-time care and attention.
This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continual supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself and likely to require that level of care for at least twelve months.
The evidence submitted in support of this application was examined and the deciding officer decided that this evidence did not indicate that the requirement for full-time care and attention was satisfied.
The person concerned was notified on 3 May 2018 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.
The person concerned requested a review of this decision. The outcome of the review is that the original decision is confirmed. On 23 May 2018 the person concerned was notified of this outcome and of their right of appeal.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
274. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason there are delays of up to 11 weeks for applications to be processed by the carer's benefit section (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28479/18]
View answerMy Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. Carer'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.
At the end of May 2018 the average waiting time for new carer's benefit (CARB) applications was 9 weeks.
To qualify a person has to show that they have the required level of PRSI contributions, that they have left full-time employment, that they are providing full-time care and attention and that the person being cared for has such a disability that they require full-time care and attention.
Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of disability and caring schemes, can take longer to process.
In some cases the documentary evidence provided at initial application stage is incomplete or insufficient and this can lead to delays in processing.
The Department is beginning a redesign of the CARB application form. It is expected that this new form will allow carers to provide more information on the type and level of care they provide, and more relevant information on their previous employment, which would provide Deciding Officers with the information they need to expedite decisions on entitlement.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
275. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a social insurance contribution review in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork has been completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28509/18]
View answerA review of a social insurance record will be carried out for any person who makes such a request. In this case, the Department has no record of having received a request from the person concerned to have their social insurance record reviewed. Therefore, as a starting point, the person concerned should forward any information they may have in relation to any concern that their record is incomplete or missing contributions.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
276. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an application for an invalidity pension by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28513/18]
View answerInvalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.
To qualify for IP a claimant must, inter-alia, have at least 260 (5 years) paid PRSI contributions since entering social insurance and 48 contributions paid or credited in the last complete contribution year before the date of their claim. Only PRSI classes A, E or H contributions were reckonable for IP purposes up to 30 November 2017.
The department received a claim for IP for the gentleman concerned on the 08 November 2017. His application was refused on the 27 February 2018 on the grounds that the contribution and medical conditions for the scheme are not satisfied. He was notified on the 27 February 2018 of this decision, the reasons for it and of his right of review and appeal.
The gentleman concerned requested a review of this decision and submitted further medical evidence in support of his request. Self-employed contributors have been eligible for the invalidity pension from the 01 December 2017. As the gentleman concerned has class S (self-employed) PRSI contributions paid, he fulfils the contribution criteria for IP from 01 December 2017. Following a review of all the information available the deciding officer is satisfied that the medical conditions for the scheme are satisfied and the gentleman has been awarded IP with effect from the 07 December 2017. Payment will issue to his nominated bank account on the 05 July 2018. Any arrears due from the 07 December 2017 to 04 July 2018 (less any overlapping social welfare payment) will issue in due course. The gentleman in question was notified of this decision on the 27 June 2018.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
277. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an invalidity pension application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28516/18]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the 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.
278. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will request the disability allowance section to complete a rate review requested in April 2017 in respect of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28528/18]
View answerI can confirm this gentleman has been in receipt of disability allowance (DA) since 2 April 2014. A review of his means is currently taking place.
His file has been referred to a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) for a report on his means. Once the SWI has submitted his/her report to DA section, the review will be completed and this gentleman will be notified directly of the outcome.
I trust this clarifies the situation for the deputy.
279. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if and when a domiciliary care allowance payment will be approved in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28570/18]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received in respect of this child on the 18th April 2018. The application was not allowed as it was considered that the child did not meet the eligibility criteria for the allowance. A letter issued on the 25th June 2018 outlining the decision in this case.
In the case of an application which is refused, the applicant may submit additional information and ask to have the decision reviewed, and/or they may appeal the decision directly to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. The options available have been advised in the decision letter.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
280. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department will issue updated tax credit certificates to the Revenue Commissioners in respect of social welfare recipients when rates of payments change during a calendar year; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that this is causing underpayments of income tax due to inaccurate information being provided to the Revenue Commissioners; the steps being taken to rectify the situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28583/18]
View answerThis matter relates to the information provided annually by my Department to the Revenue Commissioners in respect of expected payment for the forthcoming tax year under various schemes which are considered as taxable income. Currently, Revenue makes the necessary adjustment in future tax years to address any underpayment of tax due to increases in the rates of payments.
From the information provided, I note that recipients of state pensions, in particular, can find that additional income tax may accrue when the rate at which the state pensions is paid increases during the course of the year. The Deputy will know that the Government has been able to increase the rate of State Pension in recent years.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
281. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason persons who have completed their participation on a community employment scheme are not permitted to transfer immediately to a Tús scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28596/18]
View answerCommunity Employment (CE) and Tús are active labour market programmes with the emphasis on progression into employment and/or further education and training. They are designed to break the cycle of unemployment and maintain work readiness, thereby improving a person’s opportunities of returning to the open labour market. Tús places are reserved for those who are in danger of becoming distant from the labour market. A person cannot go directly from CE to Tús. Eligibility for the Tús scheme is confined to those on the Live Register for 12 months and currently in receipt of a jobseekers allowance payment. Selection is by way of random selection of those eligible by the Department. A maximum of 30% of the places can also be filled by assisted referral. Time spent on CE does not count towards Tús eligibility. If the person concerned is unsuccessful in finding full-time work after their engagement on their CE scheme, it is open to them to contact their local Intreo Office to discuss other activation options that may be available to them.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
282. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if a matter will be addressed regarding a conference (details supplied). [28422/18]
View answerNeither I nor my Department have had any involvement with the organisation of the INBO Europe Conference 2017 which took place in Malahide in September 2017. My Department were contacted with a request for funding by the Conference organisers, but due to other funding priorities in 2017, we were not able to agree to the request. The Department did however assist by providing two speakers for the event.
283. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if funding will be provided for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to carry out the repairs necessary to Dún Laoghaire harbour to bring it up to a taking-in-charge standard as outlined by the recent due diligence and risk management reports received by the council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28451/18]
View answerThe National Ports Policy 2013 recommends that designated Ports of Regional Significance which are currently State-owned should be transferred to more appropriate local authority led governance structures. This policy, and associated issues arising, including any issues in relation to funding, are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.
284. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if the refusal of compensation for the turbary rights holders at a bog (details supplied) will be reviewed. [28409/18]
View answerThe cessation of turf cutting compensation scheme was established in 2011 for active turf cutters arising from the cessation of turf cutting on raised bog special areas of conservation. This scheme is comprised of a payment of €1,500 per annum, index-linked, for 15 years, or relocation, where feasible, to a non-designated bog, together with a once-off incentive payment of €500. In 2014, the scheme was extended to active turf cutters from 36 raised bog natural heritage areas.
The bog referred to in the Deputy's Question is one of the 36 raised bog natural heritage areas. With respect to these sites, the qualifying criteria of the scheme are that:
- The applicant must have had a legal interest (ownership or a turbary right (right to cut turf)) in one of these sites on 25 May 2010 and must have had the right to cut and remove turf from the property on that date;
- The applicant must have been cutting turf on the land in question during the relevant five year period up to 14 January 2014;
- The turf resource on the site has not been exhausted; and
- No turf cutting or associated activity is ongoing on the property.
My Department assesses each application received on its individual merits and within the parameters of the qualifying criteria for the scheme.
