Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 September 2021
481. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to establish a welfare payment for those who have been forced to work reduced hours due to medical reasons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43852/21]
View answerMy Department provides a suite of income supports for those who are unable to work due to an illness or disability. It is important to note that entitlement to these supports is generally not contingent on the nature of the illness or disability but on the extent to which a particular illness or disability impairs or restricts a person’s capacity to work. My Department spent a total of €4.7 billion on illness, disability and caring payments in 2020.
Illness Benefit is the primary income support payment for people who are unable to attend work due to illness of any type. Additional payments may also be made in respect of a qualified adult and qualifying children. It is payable for up to two years, based on the person’s continued eligibility.
Invalidity Pension is a pension paid to people who are “permanently incapable of work” because of illness or disability. It is based on a claimant's social insurance contributions and medical conditions and is not means tested.
People in receipt of Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit (the latter for a minimum of 26 weeks) who wish to return to work are eligible to apply for Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) for a period if their capacity for work is reduced as a result of their medical condition. Disability Allowance (DA) is a means-tested payment for people with a specified disability who are aged between 16 and 66. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and a habitual residency test.
DA is structured to support recipients to avail of opportunities to pursue their own employment ambitions, be that self-employment or in insurable employment. When an individual commences employment, they can avail of an income disregard of €140 per week. In addition, a 50% taper on earnings between €140 and €350 is also applied (disregarded), for the purpose of the means test.
My Department also provides a range of income supports for people who are unemployed. The two main income supports for people who are unable to find full time employment are Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance. Both schemes require that a person must be available for and genuinely seeking work as well as satisfying the other qualifying conditions. A person must be unemployed for 4 in 7 consecutive days to be eligible for a Jobseeker payment which means that a person can work part time and still be eligible for a payment as long as they satisfy the scheme conditions.
Jobseeker's Benefit is a social insurance contribution based income support for people who have sufficient contributions paid. It is paid for up to 9 months (or 234 days) for people with 260 or more PRSI contributions paid or up to 6 months (or 156 days) for people with fewer than 260 PRSI contributions paid.
Jobseeker's Allowance is a means-tested payment made to people who are unemployed and seeking full-time work, who do not qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit. There is an earnings disregard of €20 per day subject to a maximum of €60 per week (3 days). The balance is then assessed at 60%.
A person who is in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance for at least 390 days may be eligible to apply for the Part Time Job Incentive Scheme which allows a person to take up part time employment of up to 24 hours per week and receive a payment of €128.60, with an increase for a qualified adult. Participants on the scheme are expected to continue to seek full time employment and there is no limit on the employment income that they can earn under the scheme.
My Department also provides a number of income supports for low income families who are working, including those working part-time. The Working Family Payment provides support for employees with families who have low earnings in relation to their family size. The payment is provided tax-free and is paid weekly. Once awarded, Working Family Payment is paid for 52 weeks at the same rate.
To qualify for payment of Working Family Payment, a person must be engaged in paid employment as an employee which is expected to last for at least 3 months and be working for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight. A couple may combine their hours of employment to meet the qualification criteria. The applicant must also have at least one qualified child who normally resides with him/her or is part of a family supported by him/her.
A comprehensive set of income support payments are in place for those experiencing illness and disability, for those who are unemployed, or who work part-time, subject to conditions, and those who are working and have low incomes. Therefore I do not intend to introduce a new welfare payment at this time.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
