Written Answers Nos. 864-881
864. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of and position regarding the new PUP arrangements; the number of persons in receipt of the payment by band in an area (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32676/20]
View answerOn Tuesday, 27th October, Pandemic Unemployment Payments were issued at four rates. Individuals whose prior earnings were €400 or over per week received a €350 payment; individuals who earned between €300 and €400 per week received a €300 payment; individuals who earned between €200 and €300 per week received a €250 payment, and individuals who earned less than €200 per week received €203.
My Department does not hold data at constituency level. Figures for PUP recipients by band rate in the county of Dublin for the week ending 1st November 2020 are provided in the table below.
|
- |
203 |
250 |
300 |
350 |
|
Dublin |
19,105 |
17,759 |
17,629 |
44,664 |
865. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied); if the case will be reviewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32677/20]
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 child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.
A fuel allowance is a payment under the National Fuel Scheme to help with the cost of heating a home during the winter months. It is paid to people who are in receipt of certain qualifying social welfare payments and who also satisfy certain other conditions. CA is not a qualifying payment for receipt of fuel allowance.
However, carers may qualify for fuel allowance if they are in receipt of half-rate carer's allowance and another qualifying social welfare payment. Alternatively, if the carer resides with their care recipient, that care recipient may be in receipt of a qualifying payment and entitled to apply for the fuel allowance in their own right.
I can confirm that the person concerned was in receipt of CA at half-rate from 27 June 2016 to 19 December 2018 as she was also in receipt of One Parent Family payment (OPF). OPF is a qualifying payment for fuel allowance.
Her OPF ceased on 19 December 2018 and she was re-rated from half-rate to full-rate CA from 20 December 2018 due to her being in receipt of no other Social Welfare payment.
The person concerned was entitled to fuel allowance while in receipt of OPF and half-rate CA. When her OPF payment ceased, she was no longer entitled to fuel allowance because she was no longer in receipt of a qualifying payment.
It is therefore not possible to review the person’s claim as she has no entitlement to fuel allowance.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, a weekly or monthly supplement may be paid to assist people whose means are insufficient to meet their needs in certain circumstances.
A special heating supplement may be paid to assist people who have special heating needs. A person may qualify for a heating supplement, if they can show that they have extra heating needs because of their age, medical condition or disability, are living alone or only with a dependent adult or dependent children and satisfy a means test.
In addition, exceptional needs payments (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which an applicant is unable to meet out of his or her own resources. There is no automatic entitlement to this payment. Each application is decided on the particular circumstances of the case. The person concerned could apply for these payments from her local community welfare service.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
866. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) who was a carer for their parent until 19 September 2019 has been issued with a letter from her Department stating they owe €2,628 in carer’s allowance overpayment. [32706/20]
View answer867. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has been given a bill from her Department for overpayment for their carer’s allowance based on information that states their parent was in a nursing home from April 2020. [32707/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 866 and 867 together.
Carer'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 child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.
I can confirm that the person concerned was in receipt of CA in respect of her mother from 25 October 2018 to 22 April 2020.
It came to the departments attention that the care recipient was residing in a Nursing Home on a permanent basis since 23 April 2019.
A letter issued to the person concerned on 27 February 2020 to advise that her CA payment was under review, the reason for it and the information available to the Deciding Officer (DO). The person concerned was offered the opportunity to furnish any statement of evidence on the matter within 7 days of the date of this correspondence. No response has been received to date.
On 7 April 2020 further correspondence issued to the person concerned to advise that her payment was suspended from 22 April 2020. The person concerned was also advised that her CA and Carers Support Grant (CSG) payments which were in payment since 17 July 2019 to 22 April 2020 were also being reconsidered.
In the correspondence which issued to the person concerned on 7 April 2020, the person concerned was offered the opportunity to furnish any statement of evidence on the matter. Following this a letter from the Nursing Home was received, confirming a long term residence admission date of 19 September 2019. This was then taken into consideration by the DO when reaching their decision on 16 April 2020.
Correspondence issued to the person concerned on 16 April 2020 advising that her payment was terminated with effect from 21 April 2020. It also advised the person concerned that she had no entitlement to CA payments from the period 19 December 2019 to 5 March 2020.
This correspondence detailed the decision and the reasons for it. The person concerned was further advised of the amount she was overpaid, that she is liable to refund this sum to the department and that the department will be in contact with her in relation to the overpayment.
The person concerned was also advised of her right of review and appeal.
To date no request for review or appeal has been received from the person concerned
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
868. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a fuel allowance application by a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32734/20]
View answerFuel allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments towards the cost of their heating needs.
The main eligibility conditions that apply to the fuel allowance scheme are that a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, must satisfy a means test and must either be living alone or with other qualifying persons. The fuel allowance means test is linked to the maximum rate of the State pension (contributory). The applicant can have a weekly household income of €100.00 above the maximum rate of State pension (contributory) and still be eligible for fuel allowance.
The person concerned applied for this allowance on 7 October 2020. Since it is a means-tested payment, additional information regarding their means was requested on 17 October 2020. Once this information is received, their eligibility for fuel allowance can be determined and they will be notified of a decision as soon as possible.
Without the requested information the fuel allowance application cannot be processed. According to the records of my Department, the person concerned previously applied for fuel allowance on 4 December 2019. Their application was disallowed on 5 March 2020 as they did not reply to the request for further information which was required to decide their claim.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
869. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a fuel allowance application by a person (details supplied). [32757/20]
View answerThe Department holds no record of an application for Fuel Allowance for the customer. It is advisable in this instance for the person concerned to consult the qualifying conditions for the payment which can be found under Fuel Allowance on www.gov.ie .
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
870. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an invalidity pension appeal by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32766/20]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 21 August 2020. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 8 October 2020. The case was referred on 15 October 2020 to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required and if Covid-19 restrictions allow, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
871. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently in receipt of a €300 pandemic universal payment but that will now be moved to a higher rate of €350 due to prior earnings greater than €400. [32789/20]
View answer872. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently in receipt of a €300 pandemic universal payment but will not be moved to a higher rate of €350 due to prior earnings greater than €300 to €400. [32790/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 871 and 872 together.
In the week ending 1st November 2020, some 174,049 people received a Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €300 or more.
Of these, 122,193 people had earnings of over €400 per week, and received a payment of €350, while 51,856 people had earnings between €300 and €399 per week, and continued to receive a payment of €300.
The breakdown of the recipients of the pandemic unemployment payment by payment rate are published on my Departments website every week.
https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/1b0ce-social-protection-statistics/
873. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of the pandemic unemployment payment scheme from 3 November 2020 until 31 December 2020 and additionally the first quarter cost for 2021. [32791/20]
View answer875. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the weekly estimated numbers in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment from now until 31 December 2020. [32793/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 873 and 875 together.
Expenditure of €3,994 million was incurred on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) up to week ending Friday, 6th November 2020.
Further expenditure of circa €1.1 billion could be incurred between now and end of year. Level 5 restrictions have given rise to an increase in the weekly numbers receiving PUP. A total of 329,991 will receive a PUP payment this week, at a cost of €95.5 million, up from 295,860 recipients last week at a cost of €85.7 million. The precise amount will be dependent on the impact of Level 5 restrictions continues to have on numbers of people receiving PUP.
The 2021 Budget estimate published on Budget Day provided for €697.1 million in 2021.
874. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the breakdown of PUP recipients across each of the current payment rates disaggregated by previous earnings in increments of €50. [32792/20]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is provided for recipients of the pandemic unemployment payment (week ending 1st November 2020) in the tabular statement below.
|
PUP amount |
€203 |
€250 |
€300 |
€350 |
Total |
|
Wage Bands € |
|||||
|
0-50 |
15,984 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
15,984 |
|
50-99 |
7,313 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7,313 |
|
100-149 |
18,615 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18,615 |
|
150-199 |
25,114 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
25,114 |
|
200-249 |
0 |
29,100 |
0 |
0 |
29,100 |
|
250-299 |
0 |
25,685 |
0 |
0 |
25,685 |
|
300-349 |
0 |
0 |
26,019 |
0 |
26,019 |
|
350-399 |
0 |
0 |
25837 |
0 |
25,837 |
|
400-449 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
27,755 |
27,755 |
|
450-499 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
20,133 |
20,133 |
|
500-549 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
14,929 |
14,929 |
|
550-599 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11,396 |
11,396 |
|
600 or more |
0 |
0 |
0 |
47,980 |
47,980 |
|
Total |
67,026 |
54,785 |
51,856 |
122,193 |
295,860 |
876. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to reviewing the rules around maternity benefit in order that persons that have been on jobseeker’s benefit payment since before the beginning of the Covid-19 emergency period can have the same rules applied to them as applies to recipients of Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment and the Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme, in that time spent on PUP and TWSS is treated as if such recipients are continuing to make insurance contributions at their normal social insurance class; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32835/20]
View answerMaternity benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed women who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions while on maternity leave from employment.
To qualify for maternity benefit, a person must generally be in employment immediately before the first day of her maternity leave. The last day of insurable employment must be within 16 weeks of the end of the week in which her baby is due. If a woman satisfies these conditions and ceases employment within this 16 week timeframe, payment of maternity benefit can commence from the following day.
Where an individual is not in employment within the 16 week timeframe or has insufficient social insurance contributions to qualify for maternity benefit, they may be eligible for another social welfare payment, such as a jobseeker payment, provided they meet the relevant conditions.
A special arrangement has been made for those who have lost their employment as a direct consequence of the Pandemic. Recipients of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) or a jobseekers claim where a person had a underlying entitlement to PUP, shall be deemed to have made an employment contribution for the period for which they are receiving these payments.
There are no plans to extend this arrangement to jobseekers outside this particular category.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
877. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if there is a delay in issuing PPS numbers to persons returning here; and the steps being taken to deal with this delay. [32853/20]
View answerThe SAFE registration process, which my Department uses to authenticate a person's identity when they apply for a PPSN is a face-to-face process, carried out in PPSN Centres across the country.
At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, my Department temporarily postponed the SAFE registration process. This decision was taken to comply with HSE and WHO guidelines in respect of social distancing.
To help ensure that those who required a PPSN could get one, my Department introduced an email and postal service through which applications could be made.
My Department has received, and continues to receive, significant volumes of email and post in relation to PPSN applications from people living in and outside the State. Data on the processing times of these applications are not currently available.
The Level 5 restrictions currently in place mean a full resumption of the PPSN allocation service in local offices is not possible at this time.
The Deputy will appreciate that my Department has had to re-allocate significant resources to dealing with the huge volume of claims for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment over the past months and that this priority work will have had an effect on other areas of work. Nonetheless, additional resources are also being assigned to deal with the PPSN applications on hands and I expect this will result in an improved service for PPSN applicants.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
878. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection the options available for a person (details supplied) who has been told they do not have enough stamps for a contributory pension. [32864/20]
View answerThe person concerned reached pension age on 24 April 2012. They applied for State pension (contributory) on 10 November 2011. For persons who reach pension age on or after 6 April 2012, social welfare legislation stipulates that a minimum of 520 full-rate paid contributions are required to qualify for State pension (contributory). Credits cannot be used to satisfy this condition. 520 full-rate contributions equate to 10 years of full-rate insurable employment.
The person’s social insurance record has been fully investigated. According to the records of my Department, they have 458 paid full-rate social insurance contributions. Their self-employment contributions were paid after the person reached 66 and therefore under social welfare legislation are not reckonable for pension purposes. A Social Welfare Inspector did not find proof of employment in 1963 to recommend the award of contributions for any part of that year. Since the person’s contributions fall short of the required 520 paid full-rate contributions to qualify for State pension (contributory), their claim was disallowed.
According to the records of my Department, the person concerned was in receipt of Carer's Allowance from 1 November 1990 to 29 July 2002. Under social welfare legislation, credits shall not be awarded where there is a two-year gap between these credits and the person’s last paid full-rate contribution. Since the person concerned does not have a record of paid contributions from insurable employment prior to 1990, there is no entitlement to credits.
Where credits are reckonable, they can only be included in calculation of a person’s pension entitlement once the minimum requirement of 520 full-rate paid contributions is satisfied. If the person concerned considers they have additional contributions from employment that have not been recorded, it is open to them to forward documentary evidence of the missing periods of employment to my Department and their pension entitlement will be reviewed.
The person concerned may wish to consider applying for the State pension (non-contributory). This is a means-tested, residency-based payment for people of pension age. Social welfare legislation provides that the means test takes account of the income and assets of the applicant (and spouse/civil partner/cohabitant as applicable). Income and assets include income from employment, self-employment, occupational pensions, maintenance payments as well as property owned (other than the family home) and capital such as savings, shares and other investments.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
879. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide information on the planned membership of the Commission on Pensions; if the Commission will be independent and reflect all sections of society; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32872/20]
View answerThe public policy and social issues in relation to funding a sustainable and adequate State pension system are complex. The Programme for Government commits that a Commission on Pensions will be established to examine a range of issues including contributions, calculation methods, sustainability, eligibility and intergenerational fairness.
I am pleased to announce that the Government today approved the establishment of this Commission. Its Terms of Reference and membership have been published on the Department's website at www.gov.ie/dsp. It is imperative that the Commission has the required expertise to progress its work and is independent in its deliberations and this is reflected in its membership with subject matter experts and stakeholder representatives.
As part of its work and deliberations, the Commission will seek views from other recognised experts and representative/advocacy groups by inviting submissions and/or presentations.
As set out in the Programme for Government, the Commission will report to Government by June of next year and the Government will take action having regard to the recommendations of the Commission within 6 months of receiving that report.
In the meantime, I was pleased to announce on Budget Day that the planned increase in the State pension age next year will be deferred, in line with our Programme for Government commitment, and it will remain at 66 years pending the report of the Commission on Pensions. I will introduce legislation later this year to do that.
While this Government is acutely conscious of the need to consider the sustainability of the State’s finances, this is not the only consideration when thinking of the State pension age. The State Pension is the bedrock of the pension system in Ireland. It is extremely effective at ensuring that our pensioners do not experience poverty. The Government is committed to ensuring that this remains the case.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
880. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection if household social welfare inspections are permitted to take place under level 5 [32873/20]
View answerMy Department is considered to be an essential service and will continue to provide customers with access to it's services, as appropriate, during the course of the current Level 5 restrictions. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring that all claims and applications for payment are processed in as timely a manner as possible.
As part of my Department's obligations to ensure proper delivery of its service and compliance with the various scheme conditions, Social Welfare Inspectors are required to carry out a range of inspections including desk-based assessments of customer claims, face-to-face interviews with customers, home visits, and audits of employers’ PRSI records.
In accordance with Level 5 restrictions, public health advice and in the interest of the health and safety of both customers and staff, the Department will seek to fully meet its obligations while limiting, to the greatest possible extent, any face-to-face interviews with customers, including routine inspections, while the current restrictions apply.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
881. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will enact a review for social welfare inspections; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32874/20]
View answerSocial Welfare Inspectors operate under a code of practice which sets out the manner in which they are required to deal with customers. They are required to carry out a range of inspections and reviews including desk-based assessments of customer claims, face-to-face interviews with customers, home visits, and audits of employers’ PRSI records.
My Department also has a Customer Charter in place which sets out what a customer should expect when they contact, or are contacted by, the Department. Customer complaints in relation to Social Welfare Inspectors or any other staff, are dealt with by local management and disciplinary action if deemed to be warranted may be activated by the central Human Resources Division.
I should emphasise that where a customer is unhappy about any aspect of their dealings with the Department, they can make a formal complaint at any time through the Department's website Gov.ie using the Customer feedback form .
Alternatively, any customer can make contact by phone, letter, or email a member of staff who will record the complaint on their behalf. All complaints are dealt with promptly, fairly, impartially, and in confidence. The outcome of the investigation of any complaint will be reflected in the final response.
If the response is not satisfactory, a review of the complaint can be requested, with an explanation as to why the customer is unhappy with the original response.
If this further review does not resolve the issue, the complainant is advised that they can contact the Office of the Ombudsman to seek to have the matter examined by that office.
My Department has no plans to enact a review for social welfare inspections given the existing Code of Conduct and Customer Charter already in place to deal with any issues which may arise.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
