Written Answers Nos. 1305-1324
1305. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the proposed changes to the pension system in 2020; the nature of these changes; the proposals for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36629/18]
View answerAs a general policy, the Government intends to introduce a Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to establishing level of entitlement for all new state pension contributory claims from 2020 onwards. I launched a public consultation on this proposal earlier this year in May. This closed last Monday, the 3rd of September. My Department has now started studying the submissions.
The consultation (which is still available for viewing on the Consultations Section of my Department's website) sought input on a range of relevant factors which included the amount of contributions needed for a full rate contributory state pension, the amount of credited contribution a person could avail of, and whether there would be a "phase-in period" for the changes.
Following examination and consideration of the submissions to the consultation, my officials will prepare proposals for the design of the new approach for consideration by the Government in due course.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
1306. Deputy Pat Breen 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. [36633/18]
View answerThe applicant in this case applied for an Exceptional Needs Payment to cover the cost of private dental care. This application was refused by the Designated Person as private dental care is not considered an exceptional need. Following a review, the original decision of the Designated Person to refuse the application was upheld.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1307. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of invalidity pension applications from July 2017 to date by month in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36655/18]
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.
The following table shows the number of IP claims received for each of the months requested.
|
Month |
No. of Applications |
|
Jul 2017 |
777 |
|
Aug 2017 |
982 |
|
Sep 2017 |
821 |
|
Oct 2017 |
801 |
|
Nov 2017 |
952 |
|
Dec 2017 |
827 |
|
Jan 2018 |
1,180 |
|
Feb 2018 |
1,067 |
|
Mar 2018 |
876 |
|
Apr 2018 |
815 |
|
May 2018 |
986 |
|
Jun 2018 |
805 |
|
Jul 2018 |
764 |
There was an increase of almost 7% in the number of applications for IP received for the year to end of July 2018 compared to the same period last year, following the extension of IP to self-employed contributors in December 2017.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1308. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the current waiting times for the processing of applications for invalidity pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36656/18]
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.
The average time taken to award a new IP claim in August was ten weeks. The Department is committed to ensuring that claims and reviews are processed as expeditiously as possible.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1309. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if additional staff have been hired or allocated to the invalidity pension section due to a change in provisions (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36657/18]
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.
IP was extended to self-employed contributors from 1 December 2017. Since the introduction of this budgetary measure to end of August 2018 there has been an increase of 9% in the number of applications received compared to the period from 1 December 2016 to end of August 2017.
Over this period, there has been no significant increase in the length time taken to process IP claims which would warrant the assignment of additional staff to the IP area.
The Department will continue to keep this situation under review to ensure that claims and reviews are processed as expeditiously as possible.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1310. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a carer's benefit application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36712/18]
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.
I confirm that my department received an application for CARB from the person concerned on the 3 August 2018.
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.
1311. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an application for a domiciliary care allowance by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36716/18]
View answerAn application for Domiciliary Care Allowance was received from the person concerned on the 20th March 2018. The application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 30th May 2018 setting out the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance.
A review of this decision was requested on the 15th June 2018 and an appeal was also submitted on the 5th July 2018. The application will be re-examined by a deciding officer and a revised decision will be made if warranted. Alternatively, the case will be referred for consideration by the Social Welfare Appeals Office. The person concerned will be notified of the outcome of the deciding officer's review as soon as it is completed.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1312. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has not been facilitated with a redundancy package from a Tús supervisor position in view of the fact that such a package was first offered in April 2018; the reason for the protracted and ongoing delays in relation to same; when the person can avail of the redundancy package; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36756/18]
View answerMy Department provides a range of activation supports and programmes catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. These supports include the Tús programme which is a work placement scheme that aims to provide short-term quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed while also assisting in providing certain services of benefit to communities.
If a Tús supervisor is made redundant by their employer and qualifies for a payment under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2007, the supervisor would be entitled to statutory redundancy at a rate of two weeks’ pay per year of service, plus a further week’s pay (subject to an earnings limit of €600.00 per week).
My Department is very conscious of the valuable contribution the Tús scheme is making in the provision of services to individuals and communities across Ireland and will be doing all it can to ensure that any adjustment in supervisor and participant numbers will be implemented in an orderly manner to minimise disruption to all stakeholders.
1313. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if persons with pulmonary hypertension will be facilitated when applying for assistance under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to assist with high electricity costs associated with the use of oxygen to support breathing. [36775/18]
View answerThe Department currently provides an electricity allowance, payable at the rate of €35 per month, as part of the household benefits package. 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.
The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme is considered the "safety net" within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. Under the SWA scheme, my Department may award a supplement to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. In addition, the Department can make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case.
Any person who consider they may have an entitlement under the SWA scheme should contact the Department's Community Welfare System at their local INTREO centre.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1314. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the legislation to implement changes to the State pension system regarding the previous changes made in 2012 will be introduced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36800/18]
View answerOn 23 January last, this Government agreed to a proposal that will allow pensioners affected by the 2012 changes in rate bands to have their pension entitlement calculated on a Total Contributions basis, including provision for up to 20 years of a new home caring credit.
Legislation has to be enacted to enable implementation of these arrangements, and a number of options regarding the best approach to passing that legislation are being considered. In addition, an information technology system has to be developed in line with the legislation. My Department is currently working on both of these projects.
As I have stated previously, it is still planned to commence the reviews before the end of this year, with the first payments being made in the first quarter of 2019, backdated, where relevant, to the end of March 2018.
It is not necessary for people to contact the Department on this matter. Once the legislation is enacted and the systems and processes are ready, my Department will write to the people impacted and provide them with the opportunity to have their pension calculation reviewed.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1315. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a person who has been made contractually redundant at 66 years of age will be automatically entitled to receive jobseeker's benefit until they reach 67 years of age in view of the fact that the State pension age is due to rise to 67 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36829/18]
View answerThe Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 provided that State pension age will be increased gradually to 68 years. This began in January 2014 with the abolition of State pension (transition) which was available to people aged 65 who satisfied the qualifying conditions. This measure standardised the State pension age for all at 66 years. This will increase to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028.
There is no statutory retirement age in the State and the age at which employees retire is a matter for the contract of employment between them and their employers. Where individuals exit the workforce prior to pension age they may apply for either jobseeker’s benefit (JB) or jobseeker’s allowance (JA).
JB is payable subject to the person satisfying the general scheme conditions. This entitlement is normally paid for 9 months (234 days) for people with 260 or more PRSI contributions paid and for 6 months (156 days) for people with fewer than 260 PRSI contributions paid. Arrangements are in place to provide that jobseekers whose benefit expires in their 65th year can generally continue to be paid benefit up until pensionable age (66 years) provided they satisfy the necessary contribution conditions. The Deputy is also advised that the disqualification period for people who receive a redundancy payment of more than €50,000 does not apply to those who are aged 55 and over.
The jobseekers schemes are kept under review and any further changes, including entitlement beyond the 66th year, will be considered in that context.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy at this time.
1316. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a person (details supplied) that applied for carer's allowance on 9 March 2018 will receive a decision on their claim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36836/18]
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 9 March 2018.
A person can be considered to be providing full-time care and attention where they are engaged in employment, self-employment or on training courses outside the home for a maximum of 15 hours per week, provided that they can show to the satisfaction of a deciding officer that adequate care has been provided for the care recipient in their absence.
As the applicant is a self-employed farmer, the matter was referred to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) on 26 June 2018 to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied.
Once the SWI has reported, a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1317. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount of money paid out under the humanitarian assistance scheme per annum from 2010 to 2017 and to date in 2018, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36894/18]
View answer1318. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average waiting times for payment under the humanitarian assistance scheme in 2016, 2017 and to date in 2018, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36895/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1317 and 1318 together.
The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government is the lead Department for severe weather emergencies and the Office of Public Works (OPW) has responsibility for capital flood relief activities. However, my Department has an important role to play in assisting households in the immediate aftermath of emergency events such as flooding.
The purpose of the humanitarian assistance scheme is to prevent hardship by providing income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and severe weather events and who are not in a position to meet costs for essential needs, household items and in some instances structural repair.
Expenditure under the scheme for the period from 2010 to 2017 is some €5.6 million and a yearly breakdown of this expenditure is provided in the following tabular statement. Expenditure at end July 2018 is €321,000.
Following a severe weather event, staff in the Department’s Community Welfare Service, closely monitor the situation on the ground and engage with the relevant local authorities and other agencies to ensure supports are provided to those affected as swiftly as possible. Emergency income support payments to cover essential items such as food, clothing and personal items are quickly issued in the immediate aftermath of the event. Financial supports towards the replacement of white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items may take longer as it is not until the flood water abates and houses dry out that the full extent of the damage to homes will become known. The longer term financial support covers necessary remedial works and can include plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, electrical re-wiring and painting. It could take several months before this stage of the response is completed and final payments issue. Statistics are not maintained on the average waiting times for payment.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Expenditure under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme 2010 – 2018
|
Year |
Outturn |
|
|
€OOO |
|
2010 |
1,045 |
|
2011 |
1 |
|
2012 |
714 |
|
2013 |
118 |
|
2014 |
1,189 |
|
2015 |
233 |
|
2016 |
1,682 |
|
2017 |
613 |
|
2018 (July) |
321 |
1319. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason childcare fees are not considered as an expense in the eligibility for the one parent family payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36908/18]
View answerMy Department in general does not allow expenses to be considered in the context of means assessment. In this regard childcare costs are not considered in the means assessment of One-Parent Family payment (OFP), or any other social welfare payment.
In Budget 2018 I introduced a range of measures that would benefit lone parent families. Firstly from 29 March 2018 the weekly rates of payment increased by €5 and the qualified child payment increased by €2 per week.
The earnings disregard on the OFP increased from €110 per week to €130 per week allowing a lone parent on One-Parent Family payment to earn an additional €20 per week before it affects their payment.
Government policy is to provide additional supports for parents and their children through increased services rather than increased cash transfers. This includes such services as free early-years education through the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme, and enhanced provision of affordable childcare. These areas are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.
1320. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on the findings of a report (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36909/18]
View answerI note the report referred to by the Deputy.
Government policy is to provide additional supports for parents and their children through increased services rather than increased cash transfers. This includes such services as free early-years education through the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme, and enhanced provision of affordable childcare. These areas are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.
However, it should be noted that in Budget 2018 I introduced a range of measures that would benefit lone parent families. Firstly from 29 March 2018 the weekly rates of payment increased by €5 and the qualified child payment increased by €2 per week.
The earnings disregard on the lone parent schemes increased from €110 per week to €130 per week allowing a lone parent on One-Parent Family payment or Jobseeker's Transitional payment to earn an additional €20 per week before it affects their payment.
1321. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the representations her Department has made to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment in respect of proposed post office closures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36973/18]
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. I understand that An Post and the Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) have agreed a plan for the future of the post office network that paves the way for a modernisation programme which should facilitate the development and renewal of the post office network.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection is an important customer of the company. The Department makes approximately 80 million Social Welfare payments per annum of which nearly 42% are by cash via the post office network. My Department’s support and commitment to An Post is very apparent. Earlier this year we renewed the contract for cash payment services with the company. This contract is worth approximately €50m per annum to An Post.
Under the terms of the Department’s contract with An Post for cash payment services, the company is obliged to maintain a network of outlets so as to ensure that 95% of welfare clients are within 15km of a post office in a rural area and within 3km of an outlet in an urban area.
The cash payment services contract is not a matter for the Department of Communications, Climate action and Environment but is the responsibility of my Department and An Post. My officials meet with An Post each month to monitor the terms of the contract and they have been assured by the company that the current voluntary closures do not affect this contractual obligation.
1322. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the full-year pay cost of senior positions (details supplied) in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35419/18]
View answerMy Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of local government sector employment levels. To this end, my Department gathers quarterly data on staff numbers in local authorities; however, the data gathered does not provide details in terms of the number of Senior Executive Building Surveyors, Senior Executive Engineers, Executive Building Surveyors, Executive Engineers, Assistant Building Surveyors and Assistant Engineers in each local authority. Accordingly the information requested is not available in my Department, but may be obtained directly from individual local authorities.
A summary of the salary scales of the relevant grades is outlined in the following table.
|
Grades |
Salary Scale |
|
Senior Executive Building Surveyor |
€63,909 – €79,286 (LSI2) |
|
Executive Building Surveyor |
€48,209 – €67,014 (LSI2) |
|
Assistant Building Surveyor |
€37,704 – €59,259(LSI2) |
|
Senior Executive Engineer |
€63,909– €79,286(LSI2) |
|
Executive Engineer |
€48,209 – €67,014 (LSI2) |
|
Assistant Engineer |
€37,704 – €59,259 (LSI2) |
1323. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if there is a scheme available via the HSE to assist homeowners financially towards remedial works to their house for a family member who requires such alterations due to health circumstances; if so, the process for application through such a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35623/18]
View answerMy Department provides funding to local authorities under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability to assist people in private houses to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. The suite of grants includes the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People, which are 80% funded by the Department, with a 20% contribution from the resources of each local authority.
The Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability assists people with a disability to have necessary adaptations, repairs or improvement works carried out in order to make their accommodation more suitable for their needs. Grants of up to €30,000 are available for works including the provision of access ramps, stair lifts, accessible toilet and shower facilities, wheelchair access and extensions.
The Mobility Aids Grant is available to fast track grants of up to €6,000 to cover a basic suite of works to address the mobility problems of a member of a household. Qualifying works include the provision of stair lifts, level access showers, access ramps, grab rails and some minor adaptation works.
The Housing Aid for Older People scheme provides grants of up to €8,000 to assist older people living in poor housing conditions to have necessary repairs or improvements carried out. Grant eligible works include structural repairs or improvements, re-wiring, repairs to or replacement of windows and doors, provision of water supply and sanitary facilities, provision of heating etc.
The detailed administration of these schemes, including the application, assessment, approval and payment of grants to applicants under the various measures, is the responsibility of the relevant local authority.
1324. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the reason Leap cards are only being given to homeless families during school terms despite the fact that many of the families in emergency accommodation are placed in hotels and hubs far from their family and support networks and have the same travel requirements during school holidays as during term time; and if he will reconsider this policy. [35632/18]
View answerArising from the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, my Department is funding an initiative to provide homeless families residing in hotel accommodation and family hubs in the Dublin Region with access to free public transport for essential school journeys.
The Dublin Region Homeless Executive is overseeing implementation of this initiative and, working in partnership with the National Transport Authority, has put arrangements in place for the provision of Leap cards to homeless families under this initiative. Given that Leap cards have an inbuilt value limit, the cards are being made available to homeless families on an on-going basis throughout the academic year, via Focus Ireland’s State-funded Family Homelessness Action Teams. Outside of this arrangement, the Community Welfare Service of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection considers, on a case-by-case basis, providing for costs associated with the transport needs of homeless families under the Exceptional Needs Payments scheme.
