Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 September 2018
206. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to remove means-testing for guardian's payments for children who are orphaned and cared for by family members; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39203/18]
View answerGuardians Payments scheme, first introduced in 1936, was originally called orphan’s payment. It was renamed guardian’s payment in July 2006, in recognition of the fact that the original remit of the scheme had been extended to include certain children who had not lost both parents through bereavement.
There are two Guardians Payment schemes: Guardian’s payment (contributory), based on the PRSI contributions of the orphans parents or step-parent; and guardian’s payment (non-contributory), which is based on the means of the orphan.
A Guardians payment is made to a person caring for a child who satisfies the definition of an “orphan” under social welfare legislation. A child is considered an orphan if they are under 18 (or 22 if in full time education) and both parents are deceased; or one parent is either dead or unknown or has abandoned and failed to provide for the child and the other parent is unknown or has abandoned and failed to provide for the child.
Currently, there are around 1,600 people receiving guardian’s payments in respect of approximately 2,300 children; approximately 1,100 are in receipt of guardians payment (contributory) and approximately 500 are in receipt of guardians payment (non-contributory). Expenditure on guardian’s payments schemes (contributory and non-contributory) was €19.7 million in 2017.
If either of the child’s parents or step parents paid 26 weeks social insurance contributions, the orphan is entitled to Guardian’s payment (contributory), provided they satisfy the other conditions. If no entitlement to guardian’s payment (contributory) exists, an assessment for entitlement to guardian’s payment (non-contributory) is made. Qualification for guardians payment (non-contributory) is determined based on the means of the orphan - not the person receiving the payment.
Means assessments for qualification for other services and supports are a matter for the relevant authority. For example, there no automatic entitlement to a medical card for a child in respect of whom a guardian’s payment is being made and any proposal to extend medical card eligibility to these children is a matter for consideration by the Minister for Health.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
