Written Answers Nos. 882-899
882. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of lone parent households and two parent family households availing of the working family payment over the past 18-month period in tabular form. [32875/20]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is reported annually in my Department's Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services report which is published on https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/02f594-annual-sws-statistical-information-report/.
The most up to date information available is set out in the following tabular statement.
Tabular statement
The number of lone parent households and two parent family households availing of the working family payment at 25 December 2019 and 28 October 2020
|
25 December 2019 |
28 October 2020 |
|
|
1 Parent |
26,240 |
24,475 |
|
2 Parent |
26,864 |
23,587 |
883. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection if social welfare sanctions for jobseeker’s payments ceased during the pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32879/20]
View answerAs the Deputy will know, activation penalty rates can be imposed in circumstances where a Jobseeker has failed to engage without good cause in the activation process. A penalty rate can be applied followed by a nine week disqualification of a Jobseeker’s payment. The disqualification may only be imposed in circumstances where a person, who has already had his or her rate reduced by way of a penalty rate for a period of not less than 21 calendar days (3 weeks) and continues to refuse or fail, without good cause, to engage with the Department’s activation service. The legislation underpinning the application of penalty rates is provided for in the Social Welfare Act, 2010.
The Department is committed, under Pathways to Work, to incentivise the take-up of activation opportunities, including implementing sanctions for failure to engage without good cause.
However, in the context of restrictions introduced by Government on public health grounds, and as part of the Department’s response to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, the application of activation penalty rate sanctions was suspended from 13th March 2020. All existing penalty rates were lifted and payments reinstated.
As a consequence no jobseeker customers have been placed on an activation penalty rate since 13th March 2020. This matter will be kept under review by my Department in the context of the Government's Resilience and Recovery Plan; Living with COVID 19.
885. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will receive their PPSN; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32935/20]
View answerI can confirm that my Department has allocated a Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) to the individual referred to by the Deputy. A letter issued to the person concerned on 30th October 2020 with details of the PPSN.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
886. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to expand the scheme for self-employed workers to earn up to €480 a month and retain the PUP to PAYE workers. [32941/20]
View answer887. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Social Protection if there is a scheme in place for PAYE workers to work part-time while receiving the PUP. [32942/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 886 and 887 together.
The Pandemic Unemployment Payment is available to PAYE employees who have lost their employment due to the pandemic, are not being paid by their employer and who satisfy the qualifying conditions of the scheme. A self-employed person must have suffered a reduction in their trading income to the extent that they are available for other full time work to be eligible to apply for the scheme.
Income supports are available to employees who take up limited PAYE employment and are no longer eligible for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. They may opt to transfer to a jobseeker's payment which allows a person to take up employment where they are unemployed for at least 4 days out of 7 consecutive days. Jobseeker's Benefit is available to people who have sufficient social insurance contributions paid and satisfy the other qualifying conditions of the scheme. Short-Time Work Support is a form of Jobseeker's Benefit and is an income support payment for people who have been temporarily placed on a shorter working week by their employer.
Where a person doesn’t qualify for jobseeker's benefit they may be eligible for the means tested jobseeker's allowance.
Increased allowances may also be paid on jobseeker claims for qualifying adults and children.
I trust that this clarifies the position for you.
888. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps self-employed persons need to take to notify her Department following her announcement that self-employed persons can earn up €480 and remain on PUP; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32945/20]
View answer929. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will address a matter in relation applications for the pandemic unemployment payment (details supplied). [33571/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 888 and 929 together.
In order to address concerns expressed by self-employed people relating to the difficulties they face in resuming activity, the uncertainty of income streams given the ongoing economic disruption and the fact that in many cases work will be of an occasional or intermittent nature during the initial period of a return to work, the Government introduced changes to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment as part of Budget 2021.
These changes included formal provision to enable self-employed people on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (including arts/entertainment sector workers and taxi drivers) recommencing employment to earn up to €480 per rolling four week period while retaining entitlement to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The changes are effective from 13 October 2020.
In effect an earnings threshold of €480 per rolling 4 week period will be used to assess whether or not a self-employed person is substantively employed/unemployed. Any self-employed person earning below this amount will be considered to be unemployed for the purposes of assessing entitlement to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The earnings threshold is aligned with the income disregard currently in place for people in receipt of Disability Allowance. A self-employed person availing of this does not need to seek approval from the Department and they do not need to report these earnings to the Department on a regular basis. They do need to keep a record of all income for the period.
The Earnings Threshold approach is being implemented in the first instance by means of self-assessment with spot checks of a sample of claims by Social Welfare inspectors and ultimately reconciliation with Revenue earnings returns.
Staff in the Department, including those in Intreo Centres and Branch Offices, have been briefed on the changes.
I hope that this clarifies matters for the Deputies.
889. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the reform of the child maintenance system; if she will address key issues such as calculation, facilitation and enforcement guided by international best practice and in view of the findings of the Murphy review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32987/20]
View answerThe Government has established a Child Maintenance Review Group to examine certain issues in relation to child maintenance in Ireland. The Group is being chaired by former Circuit Court Judge Catherine Murphy and includes legal, policy and academic professionals as well as officials from my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality.
The Group is focusing on the current treatment of child maintenance payments and the current provisions regarding liable relatives managed by my Department and will also examine the case for the establishment of a Child Maintenance Agency. The work of the Group is still underway and it is not expected to issue its findings until next year.
890. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the actions she is taking to prioritise and protect supports for lone parents, having regard to the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection’s Report on the Position of Lone Parents in Ireland in 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32988/20]
View answerThe Joint Oireachtas Committee’s report of 2017 on the Position of Lone Parents in Ireland (the "2017 report"), helps to inform policy in relation to child poverty and assisting lone parent households.
Social transfers are very effective in reducing poverty, and Eurostat data show that Ireland performs well in this regard. As part of Budget 2021, I increased the rates for a qualified child under 12 by €2 to €38 per week, and for qualified children of 12 or older by €5 to €45 per week (from January 2021).
However, reducing poverty for lone parents is not just about income support. The latest CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) for 2018 shows that being at work reduces the consistent poverty rate for lone parents by nearly two-thirds. This highlights that the best way to tackle poverty among lone parents is to assist them into employment.
In Budget 2021 I removed the gross income limit of €425 per week from the one-parent family payment. This will enable lone parents earning over that amount to claim or retain the payment from April 2021. The one-parent family payment weekly income disregard amount remains at €165, which exceeds the €146.50 amount recommended in the 2017 report. The Working Family Payment thresholds for parents with up to 3 children will also increase by an additional €10 per week from January 2021.
The activation service provided by my Department focuses on supporting lone parents to make the transition into employment. At a cross-governmental level, the focus is on assisting these families through the provision of quality services in areas including education, training and employment supports, and childcare. All of these services are crucial to assisting lone parents into employment, and to lifting both them and their children out of poverty.
I trust that clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
891. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps she is taking to address food poverty in children and to ensure that no child goes hungry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32989/20]
View answerTackling child poverty is a key priority for the Government. In Budget 2021 and in recent years, Governments have provided for a number of measures specifically targeted at alleviating child poverty and assisting low income families, particularly lone parents, including;
- An increase of €5 per week in the weekly rate for children aged 12 and over to €45 per week and a €2 per week increase for children under 12 to €38 per week in Budget 2021. (Increases in qualified child payments were also introduced in Budget 2018, 2019, 2020 while Budget 2019 also introduced a higher qualified child rate for children aged 12 and over).
- Increases in the weekly income disregards for the One Parent Family and Jobseeker Transition payments – from €90 in Budget 2016 to €165 in Budget 2020 and the removal of the earnings limit of €425 for One-Parent Family Payment in Budget 2021.
- Increase in the Working Family Payment earnings thresholds by €10 per week for families with up to three children in Budget 2020 and Budget 2021.
Child Poverty cannot, however, be alleviated by income supports alone. A whole of Government approach is needed which ensures access to a range of services and supports for children and their families. Across Government, we must strive to ensure that these households do not get left further behind as a result of the pandemic.
Following the closure of schools due to the Covid-19 pandemic in March, 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.
My Department confirmed that funding to schools would continue to enable schools provide food until the end of the school year in line with the parameters of the school meals scheme. This resulted in food parcels being delivered to or collected by families. Funding was extended to cover the summer months to ensure that children could continue to receive food.
As part of Budget 2021 and following the success of the hot school meals pilot, I have announced the provision of hot school meals to an additional 35,000 primary school children from January 2021.
My Department also administers the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), which provides food and basic consumer products to people most at risk. In 2019, my Department spent €5.3m on the FEAD programme through the ongoing distribution of food and the distribution of material assistance. Though a network of 150 charitable partnership organisations, the Department distributed over 1,323 tonnes of food to just over 195,000 people in communities throughout the country, either in the form of food parcels or as meals prepared by a charitable organisation. To date in 2020, €4.8m has been spent on the FEAD programme.
Difficulty in meeting food and other regular ongoing needs may result from a family encountering exceptional once-off expenditures. In this regard, under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may 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. Any persons who consider that they have an entitlement to an exceptional needs payment should contact my Department’s Community Welfare Service at their local office.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the deputy.
892. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department will continue to support the annual Social Inclusion Forum as an important means of promoting engagement between persons experiencing poverty and exclusion, the community and voluntary sector and Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32990/20]
View answerThe Social Inclusion Forum (SIF) was established by the Government in 2002, as part of the National Anti-Poverty Strategy institutional structures, and has continued to be part of the monitoring and evaluation structure of successive strategies, including the recently published Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025: Ambition, Goals, Commitments. The aim of the Forum is to give people who are directly affected by poverty and social exclusion, and those who work with them, a voice in the development of the policies that directly affect them, and in the ways that policies are implemented.
The new Programme for Government contains a clear statement that the Government will continue to support the annual Social Inclusion Forum as an important means of promoting engagement between people experiencing poverty and exclusion, the community and voluntary sector and Government. I fully support this commitment and understand the continued importance and relevance of the forum, most particularly during difficult times such as those we are facing now.
The next Social Inclusion Forum will be organised jointly by the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Rural and Community Development, for the first time, reflecting the strong working relationship between the two Departments and the complementary nature of their policies. Planning for this event is underway and it is intended to hold this forum early in 2021. Depending on the level of public health restrictions arising from COVID 19 pandemic in place at the time the Forum is held, this Forum will be held remotely if necessary.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
893. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has considered supporting the introduction of returnships in partnership with employers to support women that have taken time out of work to raise their families or care for loved ones to re-enter the labour market through new education, training, and personal development programmes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32991/20]
View answerIn recognition of the importance of providing support to those who have been out of the workforce for a period, Budget 2020 made provision for new initiatives to support returners. The first reflection of this commitment was in the convening of coordinated dedicated events across the country as part of Jobs Week in March 2020. The first "Career Pathways for Returners" flagship event was hosted by my Department in Trinity College on Friday 6th March 2020, just before the Covid pandemic emergency. The event provided those who were considering re-joining the workforce with information on work placements, opportunities to upskill or retrain and offered them the opportunity to take the next step in their careers. Speakers presented on subjects such as motivation and reaching one's potential while others provided testimonials and personal stories on re-launching their careers. The event included opportunities to meet and speak with employers, some of whom had Returners Initiatives or "returnship" programmes. The aim of the event was to support potential returners by helping them to consider the opportunities available to them to map their route back to work into roles aligned to their needs, interests and personal potential. It was one of more than 20 such events convened on the day across the country.
The Government recognises the importance of continuing to access this pool of talent in order to provide employment opportunities and increase labour market participation levels for groups that are currently inactive or underrepresented in the labour force. We will continue to promote the supports available for workforce returners, be they men or women, including measures that assist people to upskill with a view to returning to work.
Once the immediate emergency demands of Covid-19 stabilise, my officers will resume work on planning initiatives to support returners. Building on our engagement with employers will be an important element of this process.
894. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider equalising the income thresholds for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance for one and two parent households and introduce tapering for the allowance to provide greater access to support with school costs for working poor households and to reduce poverty traps; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32992/20]
View answerThe back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The scheme operates from June to September each year. The allowance is payable for eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child increase is being paid. It is also payable to those between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid.
The allowance paid for each eligible child aged from 4 to 11 years on or before 30 September 2020 is €150 while an allowance of €275 is paid for each eligible child aged over 12 on or before 30 September 2020.
The rationale for the different income limits for lone parents and couples is to take account of the fact that there is an extra adult in the couple household who has to be provided for and the income limit for couples reflects this.
The allowance is not intended to meet the full costs for returning to school but to provide assistance towards the clothing and footwear costs. The 2020 Barnardos' back to school survey findings show that the 2020 back to school clothing and footwear allowance payment rates, of €150 for children aged 4-11 and 275 for children aged 12-22, meet the average cost of clothing and footwear for school children. The survey provided a snapshot of basic school costs indicating that the average cost of uniform and shoes for a senior infant pupil was €120, for a fourth-class pupil was €130, and for a first-year student in secondary school was €235.
Any increase in the back to school clothing and footwear allowance income limits would be subject to the budgetary process and Government approval.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
895. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider making child benefit payable to families with children over the age of 18 enrolled in secondary school in recognition of the higher cost of education in the senior cycle and as a measure to prevent early school leaving; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32993/20]
View answerChild benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of sixteen years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their eighteenth birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Child benefit is currently paid to over 638,800 families in respect of over 1.2 million children with an estimated expenditure of more than €2 billion in 2019.
There are no current plans to extend the payment in respect of students over the age of eighteen in second level education. Families on low incomes may be able to avail of a number of social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of twenty two, including:
- Increase for a Qualified Child (IQCs) with primary social welfare payments;
- the Working Family Payment for low-paid employees with children;
- the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
These schemes provide targeted assistance that is directly linked to household income and thereby support low-income families with older children participating in full-time education.
As part of Budget 2021, I increased the rates for a qualified child under 12 by €2 to €38 per week, and for qualified children of 12 or older by €5 to €45 per week (from January 2021). This was in recognition of the higher costs associated with older children.
Extending child benefit in respect of full time students in second level education who are over eighteen years of age would have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.
897. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to backdating arrears of carer’s allowance six months prior to date of application in the case of a person (details supplied) in view of Covid-19 and delay in submitting an application arising from same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33006/20]
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.
I confirm that my Department received an application for CA from the person concerned on 16 September 2020.
Additional information in relation to the person’s financial information was requested by a Deciding Officer (DO) on 22 September 2020. A response to this information request was received on 29 September 2020. Subsequent to this, further information was requested in relation to the person’s financial information on 6 October 2020. A response to this information request was received on 13 October 2020.
Following receipt of this information the application was awarded to the person concerned on 15 October 2020 with effect from 17 September 2020. The first payment issued to her nominated bank account on 22 October 2020.
Arrears of allowance due from 17 September 2020 to 21 October 2020 issued on 15 October 2020.
The person concerned was notified on 15 October 2020 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.
On 20 October 2020 the person concerned requested that the award date of her CA be backdated by six months.
Following a review, the award date was backdated by six months to 19 March 2020.
The person concerned was notified on 27 October 2020 of this decision and of her right of review and appeal.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy
899. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeline for the proposed universal basic income pilot that was set out in the programme for Government; and if there is further information on this pilot. [33038/20]
View answerThe Programme for Government states that the Low Pay Commission is to examine Universal Basic Income, informed by a review of previous international pilots, and resulting in a universal basic income pilot in the lifetime of the Government. Responsibility for the Low Pay Commission has recently transferred from my Department to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation..
