Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:1177. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year cost of measures (details supplied). [41249/21]
View answerTuesday, 27 July 2021
Questions (1177)
Written answers
1. The estimated cost of increasing the Fuel Allowance by two weeks, from 28 to 30 weeks is €21 million in a full year.
2. As the current weekly rates of payment are in excess of 2008 levels, no additional costs would arise.
3. No decision has been made in relation to paying the Christmas Bonus in 2021 and costings are not available at this time. Any costing would be dependent on the eligibility criteria and the anticipated number of recipients on the relevant schemes on the date that the Bonus is paid.
In 2020, a 100% Christmas Bonus was paid and the eligibility criteria was extended, on an exceptional one-off basis, to include all PUP recipients and equivalent recipients of jobseekers payments, who had been in receipt of those payments for four months or more. The cost in 2020 was €388 million and based on this, a 110% Bonus would cost €427 million.
4. The cost of increasing the Working Family Payment multiplier from 60% to 75% is estimated to be in the region of €83.6 million in a full year.
5. Child benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 18th birthday when they are in full-time education, or if they have a disability. Last year, it was estimated that the full year cost of extending the child benefit payment to 18 year olds in secondary level education would be an €58.3 million. An updated costing is not currently available.
6. The Department is not in a position to provide the cost of increasing the age of the youngest child to 18 years for receipt of One Parent Family Payment (OPF), without extensive analysis of the lone parent population which could potentially benefit from this provision. Firstly, this change could result in a cohort of lone parents that are currently not in receipt of a social welfare payment becoming eligible for a payment. Secondly, some customers could seek to move from alternative payments such as Jobseekers Allowance (JA), the Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment (JST) and the Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) back to the OFP. Again, it would be difficult to estimate the magnitude of this flow between schemes. Finally, such a change to the scheme would also increase the incidence of dual payments of OFP and the Working Family Payment (formerly FIS). It is not possible to predict the impact on payments as a result of the interaction between both schemes without having detailed knowledge of individuals’ working patterns and the degree to which these might change.
7. Based on 2020 recipient numbers, the annual cost of increasing the Back to School Clothing and Footwear rates by €50 per child, from €150 to €200 in respect of children aged 4 to 11 and from €275 to €325 for children aged 12 years and over in second level education, is estimated to be €13.2 million.
8. Based on current payment rates, increasing the number of weeks for which maternity benefit is payable from 26 weeks to 52 weeks would cost approximately €257 million in a full year. It should also be noted that there would be additional costs to the Exchequer as this estimate does not include the costs for substitution or salary top-ups in the civil or public sectors (which is a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform).
9. The estimated full year cost of increasing Jobseekers Allowance for recipients aged 18 to 24 from €112.70 per week to €203 per week is €64.8 million. This includes an increase for qualified adults and those on an age reduced rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance.
This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2021, and is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.