Written Answers Nos. 101-120
101. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection the way it is proposed to promote the new income limit for the fuel allowance scheme to ensure that those who are eligible take it up and have the opportunity to also get a home heating upgrade free of charge. [5362/22]
View answerThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 over a full fuel season) from October to April, to 375,000 low-income households, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household.
My colleague, Minister Ryan, the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications has the role of reducing energy poverty by implementing measures to improve the energy efficiencies of Irish homes under a number of schemes and I'm certain the Minister, his Department and relevant agencies under its aegis will be able to provide a range of information resources on these initiatives.
In Budget 2022 the Government increased the weekly means threshold for the fuel allowance scheme by €20 to €120 above the appropriate rate of contributory State pension representing a 20% increase in the threshold which enables more people to qualify for this support. This measure, along with other Budget measures, was widely promoted at Budget time by many media outlets, as well as on Gov.ie and Citizensinformation.ie. Detailed guidelines on the qualifying criteria for fuel allowance are, of course, available online on the Gov.ie website. My Department also issued press releases at Budget time which included details of the increased means threshold for fuel allowance.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
102. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of paternity benefit applications received since introduction; the number approved; and the number rejected by county in tabular form. [59977/21]
View answerA total of 140,906 applications have been received for Paternity Benefit since its introduction as of the end of December 2021, of which 133,868 have been approved and 3,645 have been rejected. The remaining 3,393 cases refer to withdrawn applications.
The number of paternity benefit applications, along with the number of applications approved and rejected at county level is presented in the following table noting that county figures for applications and rejections are estimated.
|
County |
Paternity Benefit Applications |
Paternity Benefit Approvals |
Paternity Benefit Rejections |
|
Carlow |
1,678 |
1,594 |
43 |
|
Cavan |
2,370 |
2,252 |
61 |
|
Clare |
3,082 |
2,928 |
80 |
|
Cork |
17,910 |
17,015 |
463 |
|
Donegal |
3,932 |
3,736 |
102 |
|
Dublin |
39,902 |
37,909 |
1,032 |
|
Galway |
7,940 |
7,543 |
205 |
|
Kerry |
3,675 |
3,491 |
95 |
|
Kildare |
7,361 |
6,993 |
190 |
|
Kilkenny |
2,555 |
2,427 |
66 |
|
Laois |
2,189 |
2,080 |
57 |
|
Leitrim |
1,009 |
959 |
26 |
|
Limerick |
5,592 |
5,313 |
145 |
|
Longford |
1,104 |
1,049 |
29 |
|
Louth |
3,646 |
3,464 |
94 |
|
Mayo |
3,686 |
3,502 |
95 |
|
Meath |
6,031 |
5,730 |
156 |
|
Monaghan |
2,010 |
1,910 |
52 |
|
Offaly |
2,173 |
2,064 |
56 |
|
Others |
1,397 |
1,327 |
36 |
|
Roscommon |
1,800 |
1,710 |
47 |
|
Sligo |
2,909 |
2,764 |
75 |
|
Tipperary |
3,883 |
3,689 |
100 |
|
Waterford |
3,052 |
2,900 |
79 |
|
Westmeath |
3,302 |
3,137 |
85 |
|
Wexford |
4,033 |
3,832 |
104 |
|
Wicklow |
2,684 |
2,550 |
69 |
|
Total |
140,906 |
133,868 |
3,645 |
103. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans for the resumption of in-person meetings with local community welfare officers in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5423/22]
View answerThe Community Welfare Service of my Department delivers the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme which is the safety net within the overall social welfare system. This scheme provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents.
Intreo Centres and Social Welfare Branch Offices in Cork City and County are open five days per week. Business hours are reverting to pre-Covid hours in the coming weeks and by end of February will be 9.15am to 5pm Monday to Wednesday, 10.30am to 5pm on Thursdays (to allow for staff training) and 9.15 to 4.30pm on Fridays. Any person who needs to contact or access the Community Welfare Service can do so by telephone, email or by attending at an office to speak directly to a Community Welfare Officer (CWO). It is important to note that as part of my continued commitment to improve the Community Welfare Service in County Cork and across the country, customers no longer have to meet in person with a CWO to make a claim. Consultations with a CWO are available via phone, at our offices and if the need arises a direct home visit appointment can be arranged depending on the customer’s need and public health restrictions. All applications for assistance are dealt with promptly by my officials.
This change is a significant enhancement to the service offered to customers as it means that those who require community welfare assistance no longer need to visit an outreach location or wait to make a claim or wait to access the service. These initiatives that I have put in place continue to ensure that the service is easily accessible and responsive to customer needs, particularly in a time of crisis or emergency.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
104. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection the further targeted interventions that she is planning to support social welfare recipients facing serious increases in energy bills. [5093/22]
View answerMy Department provides a range of schemes to assist low-income households with energy costs. These include regular payments like fuel allowance and discretionary payments made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.
An Electricity or Gas allowance is available under the Household Benefits scheme at an estimated cost in 2022 of €203 million. This will benefit over 476,000 households.
The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks paid to 375,000 low-income households at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, discretionary payments can be made to help people with the cost of heating their homes. A Heating Supplement may also be paid to assist people with exceptional heating costs due to ill health who cannot meet those costs. There are over 970 persons receiving this supplement.
My Department provides discretionary Exceptional Needs Payments to people who face difficulties in meeting fuel bills. In 2021, over 2,300 exceptional needs payments of almost €735,000 were made to assist with electricity, heating, and gas costs.
The recently announced Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Payment is a key measure developed by the Government to mitigate the effects of rising electricity prices. The scheme, supported by the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications, will be paid to approximately 2.1m households at a rate of €100 each.
The provision of income supports is only one aspect of addressing energy costs. It is also important to improve energy
efficiency through proper building and household insulation. This is the combined responsibility of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
105. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Social Protection the way that her Department is assisting those with a disability to avail of employment opportunities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5286/22]
View answerMy Department provides a wide range of income and employment supports which have been designed to assist both jobseekers and existing employees with disabilities, and employers seeking to hire a person or support an existing employee with a disability.
Both Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are structured to support recipients to avail of opportunities to pursue their own employment ambitions, be that self-employment or 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. This upper limit will increase to €375 from June 2022.
The Department's Intreo Service is a single point of contact for all employment and income supports in the State. Intreo provides supports and services to both jobseekers and employers. Jobseekers, including jobseekers with disabilities, will gain assistance from case officers in accessing work and training.
The contracted Local Employment Services (LES) also deliver a case-managed employment service for all jobseekers, including those with disabilities, who avail of the services.
The Department recognises the additional challenges some jobseekers with disabilities may experience in securing and maintaining employment, and so contracts for the provision of services to help address these. Access to the service providers Employability is through referral from an Intreo Case Officer or LES Mediator. Jobseekers work with a job coach who provides pre-employment and in-employment support and assistance.
The Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) scheme allows a person who has been in receipt of Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit and who may not have full capacity for work, to enter or return to employment and continue to receive a partial or full payment. PCB has been designed so there are no restrictions or limits on earnings from employment or on the number of hours a person can work under the scheme.
The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance scheme, allows recipients to retain a percentage of their social welfare payment for up to 2 years. Persons in receipt of a wide range of income supports, including Disability Allowance and Blind Pension, are eligible for the scheme.
The Department contracts the Association for Higher Education Access and Disability to deliver the Willing Able Mentoring and GetAhead Programmes on its behalf. These programmes provide paid work experience and other supports for graduates with disabilities seeking to enter or re-enter employment.
The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a financial incentive targeted at private sector employers and is aimed at encouraging the employment of people with disabilities through the provision of a wage subsidy. The rate of subsidy starts at €6.30 per hour and the amount of the subsidy is based on the number of hours worked.
My Department also provides the Reasonable Accommodation Fund. The fund is comprised of four individual grants. The grants are available towards costs associated with retaining or attracting people with disabilities into the workplace. They cover a number of items such as workplace and equipment adaptation, occupational capacity and workplace job assessments, training, sign language interpreter or other interpreters and personal readers. There is also funding available for disability awareness training in the private sector.
Finally in addition to the increase in the earnings disregards, I introduced a suite of measures designed to support people with disabilities as follows:
- An increase to the general weekly means disregard entry point for Disability Allowance from €2.50 to €7.60. The effect of this measure will be to increase the weekly rate of payment by up to €5.10 per week for Disability Allowance recipients who have means.
- An increase to the WSS base subsidy, from €5.30 to €6.30 per hour. The new rate is a substantial contribution to the employer’s wage costs. In situations where an employer employs between 3 and 6 employees, a 10% top-up is applied to the hourly rate increasing the payment rate to €6.93 for each employee. In the case of an employer who has more than 23 employees the payment rate will be €9.45 per hour for each employee.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
106. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether the rising cost of living will further worsen child poverty; and the measures she will take to address same. [5404/22]
View answerThe cost of living, having remained relatively flat for a number of years, has seen an increase in recent months. The Government's Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is the national policy for poverty reduction and improved social inclusion. Its key aim is to reduce the level of consistent poverty to 2% or less with an associated goal to reduce child poverty in Ireland and to ensure that all families have the opportunity to participate fully in society. It recognises the importance of child related services working in conjunction with income supports in reducing child poverty.
The most recent data from the 2020 Survey on Income and Living Conditions was published on 17 December 2021. It shows the consistent poverty rate for children was 8.0%, which is in line with trends in recent years, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 sets out a number of key measures to reduce this figure significantly.
The Government will continue to focus on measures aimed at reducing the number of children experiencing poverty. The Department of Social Protection offers a range of supports to children and families to alleviate poverty. Recent Budgets have consistently targeted supports on reducing the number of children in poverty and deprivation. This reflects the Roadmap commitment to continue to target a reduction in poverty among children and families on low incomes as part of the annual budget process. In line with this approach, Budget 2022 included:
- an increase of €5 per week to all Working Age payments with proportionate increases for qualified adults
- an increase to the weekly qualified child payment by €2 to €40 for children up to age 12, and by €3 to €48 for children aged over 12
- an increase of €10 per week in the Working Family Payment thresholds for families of all sizes
- an increase of €10 in the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) for older and younger children, accompanied by an increase in the weekly income limit for receipt of BSCFA for a one parent household to match that of a two-parent household.
This has occurred alongside measures under the Department’s remit to support children and families, such as the extension of the Parent’s Benefit; the provision of the School Meals programme; and the development and rollout of the Hot School Meals Programme.The above-mentioned supports are accompanied by a range of measures delivered across Government, including:
- prevention and early intervention initiatives and supports for parents through the work of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, including implementation of the First 5 Strategy.
- the rollout of free GP care to children and the provision of medical cards to families on low incomes under the Department of Health.
- the continuing delivery of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme by the Department of Education.
The social impact assessment of Budget 2022, produced by the Department using the ESRI's tax-benefit model, SWITCH, found that the tax and welfare measures in Budget 2022 most positively impacted non-earning parents (both single and couples). These families would be vulnerable to child poverty. This research briefing is available under the Social Inclusion publications available on gov.ie.
Official poverty data from the 2021 Survey on Income and Living Conditions is expected to be released by the CSO in April 2022 and will provide a more up-to-date picture of poverty levels, including child poverty, in Ireland.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
107. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has provided funding to help carers in accessing education and employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5022/22]
View answerThe main income supports to carers provided by my Department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending on these payments to carers in 2022 is expected to exceed €1.5 billion.
In order to support a carer’s continued attachment to the workforce and broader social inclusion, carers may engage in some limited employment, education or training, of up to 18.5 hours per week.
In addition to income supports, my Department has utilised the Dormant Accounts Fund to support projects that promote training and supports for family carers. These projects include the provision of structured training, information and support networks including the development of support groups to assist with transition at the end of the caring role. The projects are selected as part of a competitive process organised by Pobal.
In December 2020, I approved funding of €577,890 to provide a range of training and supports for family carers for projects under the Dormant Accounts Action Plan 2020. These projects run to the end of June. The purpose of the measure is to increase the employment, including self-employment, and education and training opportunities for carers and young carers.
Furthermore, in October I announced additional funding of €480,153 to Care Alliance Ireland and Family Carers Ireland under the Dormant Accounts Fund. This supplementary funding sought will allow both organisations to build on existing work.
I can assure the Deputy that I am very aware of the commitment and the key role family carers play in society and I will continue to keep the range of supports available to carers under review.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
108. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection the engagement she or officials from her Department have had with the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group with regard the implementation of the Cost of Disability in Ireland research report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5471/22]
View answerThe Government has referred the Cost of Disability in Ireland report to the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group, chaired by the Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Anne Rabbitte.
This Group has oversight of monitoring the key frameworks for policy and action to address the needs of persons with disabilities in Ireland and it is in this regard that the Government saw it fitting that this group would be the appropriate monitoring vehicle. It will consider and monitor actions required by the various Government Departments on foot of this report on a bi-annual basis.
The Group has started its work and had an in-depth briefing by the authors of the report, Indecon International Economic Consultants at its meeting on 15 December 2021. I attended this meeting along with my colleagues Minister O’ Gorman and Minister of State Rabbitte.
Officials from both my Department and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth attend the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group meetings and report to the various stakeholders on commitments under the various frameworks.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
109. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of pension entitlements in place for community employment scheme supervisors and assistant supervisors including plans to integrate with the future system of auto-enrolment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5397/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, Community Employment (CE) supervisors and CE assistant supervisors have been seeking for several years, through their union representatives, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme.
At the outset, I wish to acknowledge the valuable and dedicated service that CE supervisors provide in running CE schemes in delivering local based community services while providing a valuable training and development opportunity to the long-term unemployed and to those often furthest removed from the labour market.
I am pleased that agreement was recently reached between the Department of Social Protection and unions representing CE supervisors and assistant supervisors that resolves this long standing issue through the payment of an once off ex-gratia payment to eligible CE supervisors and assistant supervisors. On the 23rd December, both unions involved confirmed acceptance of this settlement which will benefit over 2,200 people employed by CE schemes going back to 2008. It is estimated to have a total cost of over €24 million.
Under the terms of this settlement, on reaching retirement age, eligible CE supervisors and assistant supervisors will receive a once off ex-gratia payment in respect of time employed by CE schemes since 2008. People who retired since 2008 and who have reached retirement age will be able to apply for payments immediately when the scheme is in place. The ex-gratia payment provides for 2 weeks pay per year of service or part thereof in the qualifying period. The calculation will be based on the salary point of the CE supervisor or assistant supervisor on the date of retirement, subject to a cap of €600 per week.
The qualifying period for the scheme is from 1 July 2008 to 31 December 2023 and will apply to all periods of employment as a CE supervisor or assistant supervisor during that period.
The end date of the scheme as set out in the agreement is aligned with the start date of an auto enrolment (AE) pension system, currently in design. However, any future integration of this scheme with AE will be subject of further discussion with the unions concerned and these discussions will be undertaken when the operation of AE is in place.
The Department of Social Protection will now work to put in place the administrative arrangements to implement the agreed settlement so that payments will issue to qualified CE workers in 2022. The intention is to develop an online application facility for this purpose.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
112. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection the strategy in place to ensure that all foster parents in receipt of a foster care allowance can include time spent caring as part of their social insurance record for the State pension (contributory); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5387/22]
View answerSubject to the standard qualifying conditions for State Pension (Contributory) also being satisfied, the State pension system already provides significant recognition to those whose work history includes an extended period of time outside the paid workplace, often to raise families or in a full-time caring role.
This is provided through the award of credits and/or the application of the Homemaker’s Scheme (under the Yearly Average method for payment calculation) and/or the application of HomeCaring Periods (under the Aggregated Contribution Method, also known as the interim Total Contributions Approach).
Details of these are –
- Credits – PRSI Credits are awarded to recipients of Carer’s Allowance (and Carer’s Benefit) where they have an underlying entitlement to credits. Credits are also awarded to workers who take unpaid Carer’s Leave from work.
- The Homemaker’s Scheme - The scheme, which was introduced with effect from 1994, is designed to help homemakers and carers qualify for State Pension (Contributory). The Scheme, which allows periods caring for children or people with a caring need to be disregarded (from 1994), can have the effect of increasing a person's Yearly Average.
- HomeCaring Periods – HomeCaring Periods may be awarded for each week not already covered by a paid or credited social insurance contribution (regardless of when they occurred) to a maximum of 20 years. HomeCaring Periods can only be used under the Aggregated Contribution Method (also known as the Interim Total Contributions Approach) of pension calculation.
Since April 2019, all new State (Contributory) Pension applications are assessed under all possible rate calculation methods, including the Yearly Average and the interim Total Contributions Approach, with the most beneficial rate paid to the pensioner. The elements which make up each method are set out in legislation.
Foster parents are entitled to the benefits of the Homemakers Scheme or HomeCaring Periods, on the same basis as other homemakers, and will qualify if the carer is in receipt of Child Benefit. If the foster parent is not in receipt of Child Benefit s/he can still qualify for the Homemaker’s scheme or HomeCaring Periods provided the caring periods are confirmed by TUSLA (these are cases where caring is for a short period of time).
It should be noted that if a person does not satisfy the conditionality to qualify for State Pension (Contributory), s/he may qualify for the means-tested State Pension (Non-Contributory), the maximum rate of which is over 95% that of the maximum rate of the State Pension (Contributory). Alternatively, if his/her spouse is a State pensioner and has significant household means, his/her most beneficial payment may be an Increase for a Qualified Adult, based on his/her personal means, and amounting to up to 90% of a full contributory pension.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
