Written Answers Nos. 751-775
751. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons over 65 years of age in receipt of Covid-19 payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15411/20]
View answerThe Pandemic Unemployment Payment is available to people aged 18 up to 66 years, and is consistent with other jobseeker and social protection income supports paid to working age persons.
I am advised that of the 412,859 people who received a Pandemic Unemployment Payment on the week ending 11th July 2020 there were 4,026 recipients who were 65 years of age.
752. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications received for Covid-19 payments from persons over 65 years of age; the number of successful applicants; if payments made in error to some persons have been identified; her plans to recoup same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15412/20]
View answerThere were 11,539 applications submitted for the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment from people aged 65 or older.
A total of 6,690 people aged 65 or older have received at least one Pandemic Unemployment Payment and of those 4,026 received a payment this week.
In cases where persons are found to be ineligible for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment my Department will contact the person concerned and seek to recoup the money paid. If a person considers that they have inadvertently applied for the payment they should stop their payment online at www.MyWelfare.ie under the Covid-19 payment section or by contacting the Department's Income Support Helpline at 1 890 800 024.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
755. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the process involved and timeline for reapplying for the pandemic unemployment payment after a person comes off same to accept short-term employment for a day to several days; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15415/20]
View answer765. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the process involved and the timeline for reapplying for a pandemic unemployment payment in cases in which a person comes off the payment to avail of short-term employment for a day or several days in an arts production or similar. [15529/20]
View answer773. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the process involved and timeline for reapplying for the pandemic unemployment payment after a person came off it to accept short-term employment of a day or several days. [15619/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 755, 765 and 773 together.
Where a person closes their Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment in order to take up short-term employment and if that employment ceases as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic they may reapply for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment by using the online facility at www.mywelfare.ie. Currently, there are no backlogs in the processing of claims for the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
However, if their short term employment ended for reasons other than the Covid-19 pandemic they should apply for a jobseeker's payment by using the online facility at www.mywelfare.ie or by post to their nearest Intreo Centre or Branch Office.
A claim for a Pandemic Unemployment Payment or a Jobseeker's payment should be made as soon as a person becomes unemployed.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.
758. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason the delivery of the school meals programme for a school (details supplied) cannot be delivered during the summer months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15434/20]
View answerThe school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,580 schools and organisations benefitting 250,000 children. The objective of the scheme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.
The operation and administration of the scheme is the responsibility of the school; this includes the delivery model, choice of supplier to be used and food items to be provided. The scheme can be delivered in a variety of ways and depends on the needs, capabilities and resources, including infrastructure, of the schools or groups.
Following the announcement of the closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic on 12th March 2020, schools and organisations participating in the school meals programme expressed concerns about the impact of school closures on pupils who avail of school meals, and that the unavailability of school meals impacts in particular on the most disadvantaged in our society.
My Department confirmed that funding to schools would continue to enable schools to provide food until the end of the current school year - the end of May 2020 for post-primary schools and the end of June 2020 for primary schools, in line with the parameters of the school meals scheme. This funding was further extended to allow schools who choose to continue to provide food during the summer period until the start of the new academic year 2020/2021.
Any schools who wish to avail of additional funding to cover the provision of meals in July and August should contact the school meals section at school.meals@welfare.ie and funding will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
I trust that this clarifies the position.
760. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection his plans and guidelines in place to help employers get their staff back to work; if there is an option to bring staff back on a two- or three-day week while they remain on the pandemic unemployment payment; if there are guidelines for businesses to assist them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15519/20]
View answerWith Phase 3 of Re-opening Ireland Roadmap underway, an increasing number of businesses are reopening. Last week, some 63,000 people closed their claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment of which 54,300 reported that they were returning to work. This is the highest number returning to work in a single week since the crisis began.
One of the conditions for receipt of the emergency payment is that the person must have lost their employment as a consequence of the pandemic and they are not being paid by their employer. Where a person is returning to work even on a reduced working week they must close their claim for the pandemic unemployment payment. Alternative supports may be available to them under the jobseeker's schemes depending on the individual circumstances. Further information on the supports available is provided at www.gov.ie.
The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme is available to employers whose business activities are being adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is open to employers who retain staff on payroll, some of the staff may be temporarily not working or some may be on reduced hours and/or reduced pay. Further information on this scheme is available at www.revenue.ie.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy at this time.
761. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the details of each payment made by her Department to recipients of social welfare payments; the budget line of each payment operated by her Department; and the number of persons by county that receive each payment line in tabular form. [15521/20]
View answerThe 2020 Revised Estimates detailing the expenditure for all schemes of the Department as approved by the Dáil on 28th May 2020 is available on the Gov.ie website at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/36874-revised-estimate-for-the-department-of-employment-affairs-and-social-protection/.
Officials in my Department are currently compiling the 2019 Annual Statistics Report, which will be published at https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/1b0ce-social-protection-statistics/ by 31st July 2020. The report details expenditure, recipient and beneficiary breakdowns, and the operational activity of the Department.
The information requested (where available) by the Deputy in respect of the number of recipients of a social protection payment by scheme and county at the end of May 2020 is detailed in the attached tabular statements.
762. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the eligibility for a free hearing test in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15524/20]
View answerBased on the available information, the person concerned will qualify for treatment benefit as a dependant spouse on her husband's insurance record.
In order for a formal approval of eligibility to issue to her audiologist, she should complete and return a signed ME2 form to the Treatment Benefit Section of the Department in Letterkenny. The relevant form has issued to her home address for completion.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
763. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) was not paid the six week payment following the death of the person's spouse; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15527/20]
View answerWhere a person in receipt of disability allowance (DA) dies and he/she was claiming a qualified adult allowance then payment at both the personal and qualified adult rate continues to be made to the surviving spouse for six weeks after death. If a DA client dies and his/her surviving spouse is in receipt of a social welfare payment in their own right, then the surviving spouse is entitled to receive six weeks of their deceased spouse's payment in addition to their own.
Due to the current pandemic, DA is temporarily being paid in advance fortnightly. In this case the deceased person had received an additional week's payment prior to their date of death. The remaining five weeks after death payment has issued by cheque to the spouse of the person concerned on 8 July 2020.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
767. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will introduce automatic access to free travel for persons with epilepsy who are prohibited from driving due to their epilepsy diagnoses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15561/20]
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. 976,000 customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2020 is €95 million.
Persons resident in Ireland who are over 66 and persons in receipt of certain social welfare payments are eligible for the scheme. The social welfare payments that allow persons aged under 66 to a free travel pass include disability allowance, invalidity pension, carer’s allowance and partial capacity benefit. Disability allowance and invalidity pension are both long term illness payments, and so people in receipt of those payments will already have eligibility.
Any possible extension to the eligibility criteria for free travel, including to those who are not allowed to drive due to their epilepsy diagnosis, would have significant cost implications for the free travel scheme and would also require additional administrative processes to be put in place in order to adjudicate eligibility. Any decision to do so could only be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme (SWA), the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection may award a travel supplement, in any case where the circumstances of the case so warrant. The supplement is intended to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Every decision is based on consideration of the circumstances of the case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and of the resources of the person concerned.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
769. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of carer’s allowance reviews that have taken place in the past six months; the number of such decisions that were overturned on review; the number that were not overturned on review but subsequently overturned on appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15575/20]
View answerCarer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested payment, made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that they require that level of care. An increased payment can be made where full-time care is being provided to two people.
Before a decision can be made on entitlement to CA, evidence must be provided in respect of the carer’s habitual residence in the State, the level of care they provide, their means and also that the person being cared for has such a disability that they require full-time care and attention.
Carer's allowance reviews take place in a number of circumstances as follows:-
- If the decision on a new claim is negative the customer has the option of a review.
- Once claims are in payment, my Department undertakes periodic reviews as part of its control strategy to ensure that there is continued entitlement.
- A customer can at any stage request a review of their entitlement.
As outlined above, a wide range of reviews are carried out arising from customer requests, together with reviews undertaken by the Department. I am advised that numbers are not readily available with respect to the number of CA reviews of claims conducted at the request of customers or of the number of negative decisions overturned on review.
I can advise the Deputy that while the Department records the number of control reviews undertaken and the saving achieved, it does not keep a record of the number who receive increased or decreased payments or whose payment remain unchanged.
Carer's allowance appeals take place in the circumstances as follows:-
- If the decision on a new claim is negative the customer has the option of an appeal.
- If a revised decision is made on any existing claim in payment, the customer has an option of appeal.
As outlined above, a wide range of Appeals are carried out arising from customer requests. I am advised that numbers are not readily available with respect to CA claims which were not overturned on review but subsequently overturned on appeal.
However I can advise the Deputy that:
- 605 Appeals were allowed to the end of June 2020
- 57 Appeals were partially allowed to the end of June 2020
- 1,006 Appeals were disallowed to the end of June 2020
In the same period, 1899 requests for Appeal were received.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
770. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the process for carrying out a review of a decision in an application for carer’s allowance; the grade of the person responsible for making the decision on a review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15576/20]
View answerMy Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that reviews are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
Carer's Allowance reviews take place in a number of circumstances as follows:-
- If the decision on a new claim is negative the customer has the option of a review
- Once claims are in payment, my Department undertakes periodic reviews as part of its control strategy to ensure that there is continued entitlement
- A customer can at any stage request a review of their entitlement.
As outlined above, a wide range of reviews are carried out arising from customer requests, together with reviews undertaken by the Department. Where a customer requests a review of a decision, every effort is made to ensure that this request is progressed as quickly as possible.
Similar to new applications, a Deciding Officer (DO) makes the final decision on each review. A DO can be at a number of grades.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
771. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a pandemic unemployment payment will be reinstated to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15579/20]
View answerAny person that is not satisfied with a decision of the Department has the option of having this decision reviewed.
A review of this withdrawal payment will now take place and an officer of the Department will contact the person concerned shortly regarding this.
I trust that this clarifies the matter.
