Written Answers Nos. 484-502
485. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention been drawn to an anomaly with the living alone allowance that means some single persons are not entitled to this allowance and that this is discrimination based on their civil status given that they are not in receipt of a social welfare allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7469/22]
View answerPrimary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. In addition, my Department also provides a range of other payments, both cash and non-cash, on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary in nature.
The Living Alone Increase (LAI) is one of those secondary payments. It is not a scheme or a stand-alone payment in itself, but rather it is a supplement to a social welfare payment of €22 per week made to people aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. For those aged 66 or over, these payments include State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, Widow's/Widower's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme, Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme and Deserted Wife's Benefit.
Accordingly, there are no circumstances where the Living Alone Increase can be paid to people who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment from my Department. Any decision to allow those who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment to receive the Living Alone Increase - and thereby establish it as a scheme - would have budgetary and administrative consequences and would have to be considered in the context of Budget negotiations.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, Exceptional Needs payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet from their own resources. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
486. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for a disability allowance for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7517/22]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 18 November 2021. 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 December 2021 and the case was referred to an Appeals Officer on 5 January 2022.
The Appeals Officer will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, 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.
487. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) was refused a pension; if an appeal process is available in this case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7518/22]
View answerSocial welfare legislation stipulates that a minimum of 520 full-rate paid contributions are required to qualify for standard 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 concerned reached pension age on 1 September 2021. They applied for State pension (contributory) on 12 July 2021. According to the records of my Department, they have a total of 471 paid full-rate social insurance contributions. Since their contributions fall short of the requisite 520 paid full-rate contributions, they do not qualify for State pension (contributory). They were notified in writing of this decision on 24 August 2021, and afforded the right to request a review and/or appeal this decision. They were also provided with a copy of the social insurance record on which their pension decision was based. The person concerned was also advised that they may wish to consider applying for a State Pension (non contributory) which is based on financial means and not social insurance contributions.
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.
It is open to the person concerned to appeal the decision regarding their pension entitlement, either before or after seeking a review, by writing to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office, D’Olier House, D’Olier Street, Dublin 2, or swappeals@welfare.ie. However, since more than 21 days have elapsed since the decision of 24 August 2021, acceptance of an appeal of that decision will be a matter for the Chief Appeals Officer.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
488. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of providing hot school meals free of charge to all DEIS primary school pupils.; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7541/22]
View answer489. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of providing a hot school meal free of charge every school day to every primary school student, secondary student and every student attending a special school. [7542/22]
View answer490. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of providing a cold school meal free of charge every school day to every primary school student, secondary student and every student attending a special school. [7543/22]
View answer491. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of children benefitting from the school meals programme, the hot school meals programme during 2016 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7585/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 488 to 491, inclusive, together.
The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.
A budget of €68.1 million has been provided for the scheme in 2022.
The programme provides funding towards food services for disadvantaged school children through two schemes: The urban school meals scheme and the school meals (local projects) scheme. The urban school meals scheme, for primary schools, is operated and administered by local authorities and is part-financed by my department. The school meals (local projects) scheme provides funding towards the provision of food to schools and organisations.
Funding under the school meals (local projects) scheme can be provided for breakfast, snack, lunch, dinner, hot meals and afterschool clubs and is based on a maximum rate per child per day, depending on the type of meal being provided.
As part of Budget 2019, funding was provided for a pilot scheme from September 2019, providing hot school meals in primary schools at a cost of €1m for 2019 and €2.5m in 2020. The pilot involved 37 schools benefitting 6,744 students for the 2019/2020 academic year and was aimed primarily at schools with no onsite cooking facilities.
In Budget 2021, I announced that an additional €5.5m to extend the provision of hot school meals to an additional 35,000 primary school children, currently receiving the cold lunch option. Invitations for expressions of interest were issued to 705 primary schools (612 DEIS and 93 non-DEIS) in November 2020. A total of 281 (256 DEIS and 25 non-DEIS) expressions of interest were received in respect of 52,148 children.
The 35,000 places were allocated to each local authority area based on the number of children applied by local authority as a percentage of the total number. A minimum of one school for each Local Authority area was selected. Thereafter, a process of random selection was used for each area.
Budget 2022 is providing for the hot school meals to be extended from January 2022 to the 81 DEIS schools that submitted an expression of interest but were not selected in the extension to 35,000 children as referred to earlier.
The estimated cost of providing hot school meals free of charge to all DEIS primary school pupils is €54,810,000. There are no secondary school students in receipt of hot school meals as it is aimed at primary schools with no onsite cooking facilities.
The estimated cost of providing a cold meal and a hot school meal free of charge every school day to every primary school student, secondary student and every student attending a special school is contained in Table 1 of the below tabular statement.
The number of children benefitting from the school meals programme and the hot school meals scheme during 2016 to 2021 is contained in Table 2 of the below tabular statement.
I am committed to continuing to grow the hot school meals element of the school meals programme for DEIS schools and building further on the significant extension announced as part of Budget 2022. In this regard, I have commissioned an evaluation of the school meals programme to be undertaken in 2022 to inform future policy decisions on the scheme.
Any extension of the school meals programme or the hot school meals beyond 2022 will need to be considered as part of the budgetary process.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
Table 1 – The estimated cost of providing a cold meal and a hot school meal to every primary, secondary and special school student
|
School Type |
Cold Lunch |
Hot Meal |
|
Primary |
€139.4m |
€288.7m |
|
Secondary |
€87.6m |
€181.4m |
|
Special Schools |
€2.1m |
€4.4m |
|
Total Cost |
€229.1m |
€474.5m |
Table 2 – The number of children benefitting from the school meals local projects programme and the hot school meals programme during 2016 to 2021.
Number of Children
|
Academic Year |
School Meals (Local Projects) |
Hot School Meal |
|
2016-2017 |
165,141 |
- |
|
2017-2018 |
201,370 |
- |
|
2018-2019 |
207,594 |
- |
|
2019-2020 |
214,999 |
7,012 |
|
2020-2021 |
218,209 |
23,250 |
492. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of active pandemic unemployment payment claims and value by month in Dublin from 2020 to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7587/22]
View answerHeadline weekly statistics on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) are published at gov.ie/dsp/statistics. Detailed weekly statistics, including county breakdowns by PUP rate, are published through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie. The statistics requested by the Deputy in respect of Dublin are set out in the table below.
|
week |
People |
Estimated Expenditure (€m) |
|
24/03/2020 |
69,573 |
14.1 |
|
31/03/2020 |
117,640 |
41.2 |
|
07/04/2020 |
161,966 |
56.7 |
|
14/04/2020 |
166,088 |
58.1 |
|
21/04/2020 |
169,870 |
59.5 |
|
28/04/2020 |
171,123 |
59.9 |
|
05/05/2020 |
174,127 |
60.9 |
|
12/05/2020 |
170,325 |
59.6 |
|
19/05/2020 |
169,408 |
59.3 |
|
26/05/2020 |
168,457 |
59.0 |
|
02/06/2020 |
162,635 |
56.9 |
|
09/06/2020 |
156,966 |
54.9 |
|
16/06/2020 |
151,940 |
53.2 |
|
23/06/2020 |
144,123 |
50.4 |
|
30/06/2020 |
137,172 |
48.0 |
|
07/07/2020 |
130,749 |
42.5 |
|
14/07/2020 |
114,155 |
36.9 |
|
21/07/2020 |
105,703 |
34.1 |
|
28/07/2020 |
97,811 |
31.7 |
|
04/08/2020 |
95,026 |
30.8 |
|
11/08/2020 |
91,522 |
29.6 |
|
18/08/2020 |
80,660 |
26.1 |
|
25/08/2020 |
80,318 |
26.0 |
|
01/09/2020 |
78,982 |
25.6 |
|
08/09/2020 |
78,286 |
25.4 |
|
15/09/2020 |
76,851 |
24.9 |
|
22/09/2020 |
77,391 |
21.2 |
|
29/09/2020 |
86,421 |
23.8 |
|
06/10/2020 |
85,911 |
23.6 |
|
13/10/2020 |
86,978 |
24.0 |
|
20/10/2020 |
88,821 |
24.5 |
|
27/10/2020 |
105,608 |
31.6 |
|
03/11/2020 |
112,162 |
33.6 |
|
10/11/2020 |
114,412 |
34.3 |
|
17/11/2020 |
115,575 |
34.7 |
|
24/11/2020 |
115,532 |
34.7 |
|
01/12/2020 |
115,036 |
34.5 |
|
08/12/2020 |
114,329 |
34.3 |
|
15/12/2020 |
103,724 |
31.0 |
|
22/12/2020 |
97,223 |
29.1 |
|
29/12/2020 |
109,161 |
32.7 |
|
05/01/2021 |
121,613 |
36.5 |
|
12/01/2021 |
133,926 |
40.3 |
|
19/01/2021 |
147,270 |
44.6 |
|
26/01/2021 |
149,287 |
45.3 |
|
02/02/2021 |
149,695 |
45.4 |
|
09/02/2021 |
150,319 |
45.6 |
|
16/02/2021 |
149,227 |
45.2 |
|
23/02/2021 |
148,337 |
44.9 |
|
02/03/2021 |
147,222 |
44.5 |
|
09/03/2021 |
146,530 |
44.3 |
|
16/03/2021 |
144,611 |
43.7 |
|
23/03/2021 |
143,077 |
43.2 |
|
30/03/2021 |
141,529 |
42.7 |
|
06/04/2021 |
140,669 |
42.5 |
|
13/04/2021 |
136,901 |
41.3 |
|
20/04/2021 |
135,679 |
40.9 |
|
27/04/2021 |
131,174 |
39.5 |
|
04/05/2021 |
124,933 |
37.5 |
|
11/05/2021 |
122,535 |
36.8 |
|
18/05/2021 |
118,632 |
35.5 |
|
25/05/2021 |
111,285 |
33.3 |
|
01/06/2021 |
104,611 |
31.3 |
|
08/06/2021 |
97,316 |
29.3 |
|
15/06/2021 |
92,948 |
27.9 |
|
22/06/2021 |
87,293 |
26.2 |
|
29/06/2021 |
82,494 |
24.8 |
|
06/07/2021 |
80,712 |
24.2 |
|
13/07/2021 |
77,661 |
23.3 |
|
20/07/2021 |
74,867 |
22.5 |
|
27/07/2021 |
71,657 |
21.5 |
|
03/08/2021 |
60,575 |
18.2 |
|
10/08/2021 |
59,325 |
17.8 |
|
17/08/2021 |
57,965 |
17.4 |
|
24/08/2021 |
56,606 |
17.0 |
|
31/08/2021 |
54,338 |
16.3 |
|
07/09/2021 |
53,122 |
15.9 |
|
14/09/2021 |
42,810 |
11.2 |
|
21/09/2021 |
41,533 |
10.9 |
|
28/09/2021 |
39,947 |
10.5 |
|
05/10/2021 |
38,279 |
10.0 |
|
12/10/2021 |
36,685 |
9.6 |
|
19/10/2021 |
35,365 |
9.3 |
|
26/10/2021 |
34,359 |
9.0 |
|
02/11/2021 |
29,910 |
8.0 |
|
09/11/2021 |
28,727 |
7.7 |
|
16/11/2021 |
23,408 |
5.5 |
|
23/11/2021 |
21,946 |
5.2 |
|
30/11/2021 |
20,932 |
4.9 |
|
07/12/2021 |
20,318 |
4.8 |
|
14/12/2021 |
21,097 |
5.1 |
|
21/12/2021 |
22,078 |
5.3 |
|
28/12/2021 |
23,999 |
5.9 |
|
04/01/2022 |
25,100 |
6.3 |
|
11/01/2022 |
26,796 |
6.8 |
|
18/01/2022 |
27,869 |
7.1 |
|
25/01/2022 |
27,968 |
7.1 |
|
01/02/2022 |
26,575 |
6.7 |
|
08/02/2022 |
24,277 |
6.1 |
|
15/02/2022 |
22,240 |
5.6 |
493. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of rent supplement payments being made at present. [7627/22]
View answerRent supplement continues to play a key role in supporting families and individuals in private rented accommodation, with the scheme supporting 12,975 active recipients at the end of January 2022.
The scheme provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The scheme ensures that those who were renting, but whose circumstances have changed due to temporary loss of employment or income, can continue to meet their rental commitments.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
494. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who are in receipt of a State pension (non-contributory); the number of these who are in employment; the number who are in self-employment; and the number who have an occupational pension in tabular form. [7628/22]
View answerThe State Pension (Non-Contributory) Pension (SPNC) is a means-tested payment which takes into account income from employment and self-employment. The number of SPNC recipients at the end of 2020 was 95,465. Based on 2020 PRSI contribution data, 5,056 of these made at least one paid PRSI contribution in 2020 of which 23 made self-employed class contributions, 5,039 made non-self-employed class contributions and 6 made both self-employed and non self-employed class contributions. Under social welfare legislation any payments received by way of occupational, personal and public pensions, regardless of the person’s age, are not regarded as reckonable emoluments for PRSI purposes (i.e. no PRSI is charged on this income), and therefore the requested data on numbers who have an occupational pension and in receipt of SPNC is not available.
495. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of fuel allowance in 2021 that were recipients of the State pension; the number that were 60 years of age or older; the number of additional recipients of fuel allowance in each case following the expansion of eligibility in Budget 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7649/22]
View answerIn Budget 2022, I was pleased to announce a number of reforms to the Fuel Allowance scheme including an increase in the weekly rate by €5 to €33, and a €20 increase in the weekly income means threshold with both measures implemented with effect from budget night. It is estimated that around 400,000 households will benefit from the Fuel Allowance payment in 2022.
The Government is acutely aware of the increase in consumer prices in recent months, especially the increase in fuel and other energy prices. To help mitigate the effects of these rising costs, the Government has announced additional expenditure of €505 million to assist householders. As part of these measures, I have announced an additional lump sum payment of €125 payable to fuel allowance recipients. It is expected that this additional lump sum will be paid in early March at an estimated cost of €49 million.
In 2021, 78,378 state pension (contributory) customers received Fuel Allowance and 56,640 state pension (non-contributory) customers received the payment. The number of recipients of Fuel Allowance in 2021 aged 60 years and older was 214,568.
When the change in means threshold for the scheme was introduced, it was estimated that up to 7,800 additional households may qualify for Fuel Allowance. Officials are continuing to process applications for the Fuel Allowance and therefore the data on the number who have qualified under the expanded criteria is not available.
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 or infirmity who cannot meet those costs. There are over 960 persons currently receiving this supplement. My Department also 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.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
496. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of claims submitted and the number of persons that have received enhanced illness benefit for Covid-19; the number of persons that were in payment for two, four, six, eight, and ten weeks, respectively; the number of persons that transferred over to illness benefit after the ten week payment period had expired; the number of these claims that were in payment for more than two weeks; the number that was transferred over to disability allowance after the ten week payment period had expired; the number of these claims that were in payment for more than two weeks; the number of such claims that were rejected or pending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7661/22]
View answerEnhanced Illness Benefit (EIB) is a form of Illness Benefit that is payable to self-employed persons or an employee who is told to self-isolate or has been diagnosed with Covid-19. It is important to note that a person may have received Enhanced Illness Benefit on more than one occasion since the payment was introduced, and thus have more than one claim for Enhanced illness Benefit. The number of claims received and the individuals claiming EIB up to February 14th 2022 are provided in Table 1.
Table 1: Number of EIB Claims and EIB Recipients
|
Claims |
Individual Recipients |
|
|
Enhanced Illness Benefit |
463,016 |
355,754 |
EIB is payable for up to 10 weeks where a person is diagnosed with Covid-19. In a case where a person continues to be ill beyond 10 weeks, standard Illness Benefit may be paid for an extended period, based on the person’s continued eligibility. Details on the duration of EIB claims are set out in Table 2. The data in Table 2 refers to the claim duration, based on the certification dates.
Table 2: EIB claim durations
|
Weeks |
Claims |
|
0 - 2 |
368,140 |
|
2 - 4 |
68,291 |
|
4 - 6 |
13,433 |
|
6 - 8 |
5,130 |
|
8 - 10 |
2,570 |
|
10+ |
5,452 |
4,314 people had Enhanced Illness Benefit claims with a total certification period of 10 or more weeks, of which 3,018 transferred to Illness Benefit payments, and were certified for 2 or more weeks. 69 persons who had at least one EIB claim of more than 10 weeks duration are now in receipt of Disability Allowance. A total of 9 people had a Disability Allowance claim rejected, while 10 people had Disability Allowance claims pending as of mid-February 2022.
497. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Social Protection the qualification mechanism for the living alone allowance; her proposals to allow single persons to claim this allowance or part thereof such as in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7715/22]
View answerPrimary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. In addition, my Department also provides a range of other payments, both cash and non-cash, on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary in nature.
The Living Alone Increase (LAI) is one of those secondary payments. It is not a scheme or a stand-alone payment in itself, but rather it is a supplement to a social welfare payment of €22 per week made to people aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. For those aged 66 or over, these payments include State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, Widow's/Widower's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme, Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme and Deserted Wife's Benefit.
Accordingly, there are no circumstances where the Living Alone Increase can be paid to people who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment from my Department. Any decision to allow those who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment to receive the Living Alone Increase - and thereby establish it as a scheme in its own right - would have budgetary and administrative consequences and would have to be considered in the context of overall Budget negotiations.
As the person in question is not in receipt of a qualifying payment as detailed above, they are not eligible to receive the additional Living Alone Allowance.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, Exceptional Needs payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet from their own resources. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
498. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when a social welfare payment will issue to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7742/22]
View answerMy Department received an application for Illness Benefit from the person concerned on the 30th November 2021.
In order to qualify for a payment under the terms of the Illness Benefit scheme, a person must have paid a prescribed number of reckonable PRSI contributions in the relevant tax years prior to their claim. The person concerned has been paying class S contributions, paid by those who are self employed, in the relevant tax years. Class S contributions are not considered reckonable contributions for Illness Benefit and as such the person concerned does not satisfy the conditions for an Illness Benefit payment.
If the person concerned feels that he is permanently incapable of attending work or expects to be unable to do so for at least a further year, it is open to him to make an application for the long-term illness schemes of Invalidity Pension or Disability Allowance.
If the person concerned is experiencing difficulties meeting his financial commitments he should contact the Department's representative, formerly known as a Community Welfare Officer, at his local Intreo Centre so that an assessment of his circumstances can be carried out to determine whether he might qualify for assistance under the terms of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
499. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if recipients of jobseeker’s payments will be afforded flexibility regarding their payments being made to bank accounts in circumstances in which recipients have direct debits and bills set up with their banks which would cause significant inconvenience should they be required to collect their payment in person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7753/22]
View answerWhen public health restrictions were introduced in 2020, people in receipt of Social Welfare payments were given the option of being paid into a bank account. This was an exceptional measure to help reduce the spread of the virus and ensure people could comply with social distancing guidelines.
Due to the current easing of restrictions and following consultation with An Post and the Irish Postmaster’s Union (IPU), it has been decided that jobseeker payments will now return to being paid by the Post Office Network. This move will bring additional footfall to post offices as well as helping to combat social welfare fraud.
The changes will apply initially to all new jobseeker applicants before being extended to other jobseekers in due course.
500. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has considered increasing the household benefits package given the recent rise in the cost of electricity bills; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7872/22]
View answerThe Household Benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. The package is generally available to people living in the State aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test. The package is also available to some people under the age of 66, who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments. My Department will spend approximately €273 million this year on HHB.
In 2022 the estimated cost of the gas and electricity element of the package is €203 million and will benefit over 476,000 households. The gas and electricity element is paid at a rate of €35 per month, 12 months of the year.
Any decision to increase the electricity and gas aspect of the package would have budgetary consequences and would have to be considered in the context of overall budget negotiations.
The Government is acutely aware of the increase in consumer prices in recent months, especially the increase in fuel and other energy prices. To help mitigate the effects of these rising costs, the Government has announced additional expenditure measures to a total of €505 million which will make a positive impact on the incomes of all households in our country.
As part of these measures, I was delighted to announce an additional lump sum payment of €125 that will be paid to all households in receipt of the fuel allowance payment. It is expected that this additional lump sum will be paid in early March at an estimated cost of €49 million.
Other significant measures announced by the Government include the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Payment which is a key measure being developed by the Government to help mitigate the effects of the recent rise in electricity prices. The scheme, under the auspices of the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications and supervised by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities, will be paid in addition to the gas and electricity element of the HHB package to qualifying households. Approximately 2.1m households will benefit by €200 each from the new scheme.
The combined worth of the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Payment and the additional fuel lump sum payment is €325 or the equivalent of over 9 weeks of additional fuel allowance or 9 months of additional HHB payments. I have also announced that the Working Family Payment budget increase announced on Budget Day will be brought forward from the first of June to the first of April.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department also provides Exceptional Needs Payments which may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet out of their own resources, and this may include exceptional heating costs. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
501. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection if social welfare payments can now only be collected at post offices; the rationale behind the decision; the measures put in place to ensure that disabled persons can access their payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7890/22]
View answerMy Department provides two payment options for its customers: payment in cash at post offices or payment directly into customer accounts by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). Last month, 72% of all Social Welfare payments were made by EFT and 27% were by cash collection at post offices. A small number of ad hoc payments were also made by cheque, which represented less than one per cent of all payments.
Customers are offered a choice of payment method for most Social Welfare schemes.
Before the introduction of temporary public health measures in March 2020, the default payment method for jobseeker payments was cash collection at a post office.
When health restrictions were introduced in 2020, all jobseekers were given the option of being paid into a bank account. This was a temporary measure introduced to help reduce the spread of the virus and to ensure that people could comply with social distancing guidelines.
In line with the general easing of restrictions, I have asked my Department to revert to the normal payment rules for jobseeker payments. I believe this is the right approach to take in terms of supporting the post office network and in ensuring that, with the removal of restrictions, we return to the pre-pandemic position.
This change will initially apply to new claims. Over the coming months, my Department will work to extend the post office requirement to other categories of Jobseeker claims.
I acknowledge that some people who are immuno-compromised may want to avoid crowded settings. If a person is in this situation, the advice is to contact the nearest Department of Social Protection office. My officials there will offer help so that these people may still be able to receive their payment online in exceptional circumstances.
The return to pre-pandemic jobseeker payment rules does not affect any other Social Welfare scheme. People with disabilities will continue to have a choice of payment method, including the option of being paid by EFT.
Those categories of jobseekers who were paid by EFT prior to March 2020, such as those in part-time work, for example, will also be unaffected by this decision. It should be noted that one in four jobseeker payments were paid into customers’ bank accounts by EFT before March 2020.
As far as possible, the Department remains committed to providing Social Welfare recipients a choice of payment method. Its consistent position has been that it will respect customer choice as appropriate and make payments in line with customer preference where choice is available.
502. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Social Protection if she intends to include the carer's allowance in the list of qualifying social assistance payments for fuel allowance given the inflationary pressure there presently is on the cost of heating a home and the service that home carers provide on a consistent basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7985/22]
View answerThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from October to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The purpose of this payment is to assist qualifying 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.
The Government values the role of carers very much and it is for this reason that they receive significant income supports from the Department. In addition to Carer’s Allowance, carers receive additional support in the form of free travel and household benefits (for those who live with the person for whom they care) and the annual Carer's Support Grant (€1,850) in respect of each person for whom they care.
While Carer's Allowance is not a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance, a person in receipt of Carer's Allowance may avail of the fuel allowance payment in certain circumstances. Fuel Allowance is a household-based payment, and a carer will very often live with and care for a person in receipt of a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance. Income from full rate Carer's Allowance is disregarded from the fuel means test, if the carer is providing full time care and attention to the Fuel Allowance applicant, his/her qualified spouse/civil partner or cohabitant or qualified child(ren).
If a person is getting certain qualifying social welfare payments and also providing full time care and attention to another person, s/he can keep his/her main social protection payment in addition to receiving the half-rate Carer's Allowance. S/he can also receive an extra half-rate Carer’s Allowance if s/he cares for more than one person. The payment of half-rate Carer’s Allowance does not preclude a person from qualifying for Fuel Allowance. If a person is in receipt of a non-contributory social welfare payment and a half-rate Carer’s Allowance, then s/he is deemed to have satisfied the means test and Fuel Allowance is payable, subject to all remaining criteria being satisfied. If a person is in receipt of a contributory social welfare payment and a half-rate Carer’s Allowance then s/he will have to satisfy a means test in order to qualify for Fuel Allowance.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, Exceptional Needs Payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet out of their own resources, and this may include exceptional heating costs. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.
The Government is acutely aware of the increase in consumer prices in recent months, especially the increase in fuel and other energy prices. To help mitigate the effects of these rising costs, the Government has announced additional expenditure measures to a total of €505 million which will make a positive impact on the incomes of all households in our country. Included in these measures is the Electricity Costs Emergency Benefit Payment of €200 which will be paid in addition to the gas and electricity element of the Household Benefits package to qualifying households.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
