Written Answers Nos. 631-655
631. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason that an error made by her Department should impact on a person (details supplied); if this claim will be fully investigated; the reason that the many emails submitted by the claimant were not acted upon; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37751/22]
View answerThe person concerned made an application for Illness Benefit in respect of an absence that commenced on 17th January 2022. The initial medical certificate submitted by her GP to support her claim certified her as being unfit to attend work until 17th July 2022. Two further certificates, covering the periods to 7th and 10th February 2022, were subsequently submitted, however, neither of these were marked as a final certificate. Because of this, the end date of the original certificate i.e. 17th July 2022 remained active which meant that her claim remained open and in payment.
As the Deputy will appreciate the Department has been dealing with an unprecedented level of claims and correspondence across the course of the pandemic and this has unfortunately given rise to delays in responding to some customers, which falls short of expected standards.
The error that occurred in this case was not one made by the Department and taking account of all the circumstances involved, the Department does not propose to write off the overpayment, that has arisen. The Department will of course seek to agree a repayment plan with the person concerned that is reasonable and takes account of the financial circumstances of the person concerned.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
632. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if with regard to Covid 19 enhanced illness benefit a positive Covid-19 test is still sufficient to prove that a person has been diagnosed with Covid-19; if not, if a doctor’s note is now required in all cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37752/22]
View answerClaims for Illness Benefit must be accompanied by a Certificate of Incapacity for Work from the claimant's GP. This specifies the nature of the illness and the duration of the incapacity for work.
In respect of Enhanced Illness Benefit (EIB), given the high rate of Covid 19 infections in the community and the strain on the health service, my Department on a temporary basis during this period of exceptional demand, expanded the range of documentation customers could use to apply for EIB. This included confirmation from the HSE of a positive diagnosis for Covid 19 either through a PCR test or having registered a positive antigen test. In addition, in respect of people who were identified as a close contact, by a positive COVID-19 contact, could submit a copy of the acknowledgement text for a PCR booking or the HSE acknowledgement of antigen test kit request.
The use of this additional documentation as an acceptable form of medical evidence to support claims for Enhanced Illness Benefit was introduced as an exceptional measure. The objective was to assist people who had tested positive with Covid-19, or who had been identified as a potential source of infection with Covid-19, to promptly comply with medical advice in line with pubic health objectives.
With effect from 28th February 2022, following the further changes to the public health advice, the Department reviewed their impact on the processing of EIB and, in consultation with the HSE, introduced changes to the documentation required to support an application namely:
- for individuals who had a positive COVID diagnosis they could continue to upload evidence of the positive PCR test or the SMS acknowledgment received by persons who logged a positive antigen test on the HSE portal, with their Enhanced Illness Benefit on-line application and
- for those who were symptomatic and had to self isolate were required to provide an eCert from their GP for the period of their self isolation.
With effect from 30 May 2022, in light of the current public health guidance, the Department discontinued all the temporary exceptional arrangements and re-introduced the requirement for medical certification (a Certificate of Incapacity for Work) to be submitted in respect of all illness benefit applications, standard or EIB.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
633. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of fuel allowance applicants in 2020, 2021 and 2022, who were €100 or less over the qualifying means test threshold, who were €250 or less over the qualifying means test threshold, who were €500 or less over the qualifying means test threshold or who were €1,000 or less over the qualifying means test threshold in 2021 and 2022, in tabular form by threshold and for each respective year [37753/22]
View answerMy Department does not hold the information requested by the Deputy.
The fuel allowance payment is typically added to the usual weekly social welfare payment as an additional payment component. This means that the fuel allowance is different to other social welfare payments in that it is operated across a variety of the Department’s payment systems, rather than one centralised system. Accordingly, the detail requested by the Deputy in relation to fuel allowance is not available across all of the schemes eligible for payment under the scheme.
635. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will advise with regard to the forthcoming changes to national employment services how and when the termination of existing contracts will be communicated to clients accessing current services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37765/22]
View answer636. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will advise with regard to the forthcoming changes to national employment services the advice or supports that are in place to support existing providers with forecasting expected expenditure in advance of the termination of current contracts on 31 August 2022; if an extension can be put in place until end of year for partnerships to close off all financial matters; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37766/22]
View answer637. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if there is a process in place with regard to the forthcoming changes to national employment services for Local Employment Service clients wishing to avail of training funding for courses which are not completed before the end of August 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37767/22]
View answer638. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will confirm with regard to the forthcoming changes to national employment services if INTREO staff will process back to education allowance applications for Local Employment Service and Job Club clients from August and September 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37768/22]
View answer639. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the way that her Department intends to support the transfer clients from Local Employment Service and Job Club caseloads to INTREO; if she will advise the resources that are currently in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37769/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 635 to 639, inclusive, together.
In 2022 my Department contracted with 22 Local Employment Services and 27 Job Clubs for the provision of employment services, originally up to 30 June and then further extended until 31 August 2022.
My Department has engaged extensively with existing providers of services in regard to the restructuring of services. Interactions have taken place at local contract management level along with more broader engagement at a central level through the Contracted Public Employment Services Unit of the Department. The specific administrative requirements of contract closure are covered in the agreed contract for services and associated guidelines. My Department will as a matter of course honour all agreements made.
Costs relevant to the provision of LES and Job Clubs service up to the 31 August 2022 will be paid. Relevant costs will be processed provided they relate directly to the period of the contract and have been included in the calculation of the final claim. The final claim can be processed in the month following the end of the contracted term, but may be processed at a later date, depending on the individual circumstances.
The Mediator Fund is designed to assist LES Mediators implement a range of responses to meet the needs of clients who are experiencing barriers in progressing from unemployment to the workforce.
All LES clients, who are engaged with a LES Mediator and are following a Personal Progression Plan, are eligible to apply for support through the Mediator Fund. My Department informed Local Employment Service contractors in January of this year, that all training supported by the Mediator Fund must be availed of and completed within the 6-month contracted term 1 Jan to 30 June 2022. With the extension of contracts to 31st August a further notification issued to contractors that all payments for Mediator Fund supported training must be processed and completed within the contracted term from 1 Jan to 31 August 2022.
The Back to Education Allowance scheme (BTEA) is an educational opportunities scheme for customers in receipt of certain social welfare payments wishing to pursue second or third level courses of education, subject to meeting the qualifying conditions. My Department’s Employment Personal Advisers process all allocations for this scheme and this will remain the case. Any decision in relation to BTEA is not based on attendance nor does it require attendance at a Local Employment Service or Job Club. Any customer wishing to avail of the scheme should contact their local Intreo Centre.
As the Public Employment Service, Intreo offers support to all individuals who require advice and access to employment services. This remains the case whether the person is availing of other services of my Department or not. There are sufficient resources in Intreo and other Intreo Partner services to deliver services to any person who requires them.
641. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite a decision on an application for the carer's benefit for a person (details supplied) given that the carer has serious health issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37794/22]
View answerCarer's benefit (CARB) is a PRSI based payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care.
An application for CARB was received from the person concerned on 30 June 2022. The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
642. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if children over the age of 16 years who are in receipt of a disability allowance payment and still attending second level education, are entitled to a back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance; if they will also benefit from the waiving of school bus fares for the 2022/2023 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37799/22]
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 in respect of eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid and eligible children 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.
To qualify for the allowance a person must meet a number of conditions namely:
* The child must meet the age criteria.
* The applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and getting an increase in that payment for the qualified child (except in certain circumstances) in the period 1 June to 30 September.
* The assessable income for the household must be within prescribed limits.
* The applicant and the child (or children) in respect of whom the allowance is claimed must be resident in the State.
Children who are in receipt of social protection payments in their own right, for example Disability Allowance, will not qualify for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment.
Applications which fall outside the normal rules of the scheme may be considered for an additional needs payment under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme by the Community Welfare Service.
Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an additional needs payment is encouraged to contact their local Community Welfare Service. There is a National CWS Contact Centre in place – 0818-607080 – which will direct callers to the appropriate office.
The Minister for Education has announced the School Transport Scheme will be free of charge for all ticket holders for the academic year 2022/2023. Any questions in relation to the operation of the scheme should be directed to that Department.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
643. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if the charges for a mains water connection to the home of a pensioner (details supplied) in County Kerry are eligible for an exceptional needs or additional needs payment under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37898/22]
View answerThe purpose of the Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) is to assist people with essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The ENP is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme considering the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.
ENPs are not intended to cover circumstances where another Government Department or Agency has a primary responsibility. The person concerned should be advised to engage with her Local Authority and Irish Water and if necessary, the Commissions for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). Under the Rural Water programme, there are grants available to improve a person’s private water supply in rural areas where they cannot access the public water supply. A private water supply provides water to one house and is often a well.
If the person concerned has exhausted all other options for resolving the matter and can confirm that there is no financial assistance available from another Government Department or Agency, it is open to her to make an ENP application.
An application for assistance can be made by completing a SWA1 form, which is widely available. This form can be downloaded at www.gov.ie and is available at all Intreo Centres and Branch Offices. It can also now be requested by emailing cwsforms@welfare.ie or by calling the CWS national phoneline at 0818 60 70 80. The completed application form and supporting documentation can be posted or dropped into the Intreo Centre where it will be processed promptly.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
644. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the revised additional cost of providing hot meals free of charge to all children attending DEIS primary schools for a full-year and for the first-year in view of the recent announcement of 60,000 children receiving meals under the school meals programme. [37930/22]
View answer645. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the details in relation to the announcement recently that 60,000 additional children will receive school meals; and if these will be hot or cold school meals; and the number of children who will receive hot school meals under this new measure. [37931/22]
View answer646. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of the measure announced recently to provide school meals to 60,000 additional children. [37932/22]
View answer647. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the total cost of the school meals programme taking into account the recently announced expansion of the programme to 60,000 additional children. [37933/22]
View answer648. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the total cost of the hot school meals programme taking into account the recently announced expansion of the school meals programme to 60,000 additional children. [37934/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 644 to 648, inclusive, together.
The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,800 schools and organisations benefitting 290,000 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.
In recent years entry to the school meals programme has been confined to DEIS schools in addition to schools identified as having levels of concentrated disadvantage that would benefit from access to the programme.
Budget 2022 provided for the hot school meals to be extended from January 2022 to the remaining 81 DEIS schools that had expressed an interest in the programme but which were not yet participating. As a result, the number of children in receipt of the hot school meal in June 2022 was 54,266. The full year cost for hot school meals for 54,266 children is €28m.
In March 2022, the Minister for Education announced an extension of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in School to an additional 273 primary and 37 post-primary schools from September 2022.
I have recently announced that the provision of the hot school meal option will be extended to all new DEIS primary schools and the cold lunch option to all new DEIS secondary schools at a full year cost of €26m and benefitting some 60,000 children. However, as 31 of these schools are already in receipt of some funding, the additional cost of providing these options is €23.5m in a full year, with the first-year cost from September to December of €9.5m.
There are 444 DEIS schools not receiving the hot school meal. The full year cost to provide a hot school meal to these 63,260 remaining DEIS children is €33m. However, as 402 of these schools are already receiving the cold lunch, the additional cost of providing a hot school meal is €20m, with the first-year cost from September to December of €8m.
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. 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.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
649. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection when an application for the supplementary welfare allowance will be processed for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37937/22]
View answerA basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) is a weekly allowance paid to people who do not have enough income to meet their needs and those of their families. Amongst other reasons a person may qualify for a basic SWA if they have no other income and are awaiting the outcome of an application for a payment from my Department that has not yet been finalised.
According to the records of my Department, the person concerned applied for a basic SWA on 17/06/2022 whilst awaiting the outcome of an application for Disability Allowance (DA). Further information was sought from the person concerned in support of her claim on 24/06/2022 and this information was received on 06/07/2022.
I am pleased to advise the person's basic SWA claim was awarded with effect from 23/05/2022. Her first payment, inclusive of arrears, is available for collection at the Farranfore post office on 12/07/2022 and a weekly payment for the period 14/07/2022 to 20/07/2022 will be available on 14/07/2022.
The person has since been awarded DA with effect from 25/05/2022 and so her basic SWA payment has been closed following her payment of the 14/07/2022.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
650. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection when a disability allowance payment will be processed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37939/22]
View answerI can confirm that my department received an application for disability allowance (DA) from the person concerned on 23 May 2022.
On 16 June 2022 the person concerned was requested to supply supporting documentation required by the deciding officer in order to make a decision on their eligibility.
The person concerned has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 25 May 2022. The first payment will be made by their chosen payment method on 27 July 2022.
Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments (if applicable).
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
652. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has given consideration to allowing a sliding scale back-to-school allowance to allow families that are just above the household income threshold to receive a portion of the allowance to assist with the rising cost-of-living; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38093/22]
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.
This year, the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment has been increased by €100 for the 2022 scheme year, building on the previously announced increase of €10. The rates of payment for the 2022 scheme year are €260 for children aged between 4 and 11 years and €385 for children aged 12 and over.
In order to target those families most in need of assistance, the allowance is payable in respect of eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid and eligible children 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.
To qualify for the allowance a person must meet a number of conditions namely:
- The child must meet the age criteria,
- The applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and getting an increase in that payment for the qualified child (except in certain circumstances) in the period 1 June to 30 September,
- The assessable income for the household must be within prescribed limits,
- The applicant and the child (or children) in respect of whom the allowance is claimed must be resident in the State.
This year, the income thresholds for one parent families were increased to bring them in line with the income thresholds for two parent families, widening the eligibility for that cohort of customers. The income thresholds were also increased to ensure that the increases in weekly social protection payments rates introduced in Budget 2022 will not negatively impact on an individual’s entitlement to the allowance.
Any further changes to the scheme would have to be considered in a budgetary and operational context and within the scope of the overall resources available for welfare improvements.
Applications which fall outside the normal rules of the scheme may be considered for an additional needs payment under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme by the Community Welfare Service (CWS).
Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an additional needs payment is encouraged to contact their local Community Welfare Service. There is a National CWS Contact Centre in place – 0818-607080 – which will direct callers to the appropriate office.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
653. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing each social welfare payment by €1 disaggregated by payment type from 27 September to 31 December 2022 and from 1 January to 31 December 2023. [38099/22]
View answerThe estimated cost of increasing core social protection payments by €1, disaggregated by payment type for the period 27 September to 31 December 2022 and from 1 January 2023 to December 2023 are shown in the table below:
|
Payment |
Full year |
14 weeks (27/09/22 - 31/12/22) |
|
|
Social Insurance Schemes |
€m |
€m |
|
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
25.6 |
6.9 |
|
|
Widow/er's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Con) Pension |
Under 66yrs |
1.5 |
0.4 |
|
Over 66Yrs |
4.7 |
1.3 |
|
|
Deserted Wife's Benefit |
Under 66yrs |
0.1 |
0.0 |
|
Over 66Yrs |
0.1 |
0.0 |
|
|
Invalidity Pension |
3.2 |
0.9 |
|
|
Partial Capacity Benefit |
0.1 |
0.0 |
|
|
Guardian's Payment (Contributory) |
0.1 |
0.0 |
|
|
Death Benefit Pension |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Disablement Pension |
0.2 |
0.1 |
|
|
Illness Benefit |
2.6 |
0.7 |
|
|
Injury Benefit |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Incapacity Supplement |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
2.2 |
0.6 |
|
|
Jobseeker's Benefit (Self-Employed) |
0.1 |
0.0 |
|
|
Carer's Benefit |
0.2 |
0.1 |
|
|
Health and Safety Benefit |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Maternity & Adoptive Benefit |
1.1 |
0.3 |
|
|
Paternity & Parent's Benefit |
0.3 |
0.1 |
|
|
Social Assistance Schemes |
|||
|
State Pension (Non Con) |
5.0 |
1.4 |
|
|
Blind Person's Pension |
0.1 |
0.0 |
|
|
Widow/ers or Surviving Civil Partner's (Non-Con) Pension |
0.1 |
0.0 |
|
|
Deserted Wife's Allowance |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
One-Parent Family Payment |
2.1 |
0.6 |
|
|
Carer's Allowance |
Under 66yrs |
2.7 |
0.7 |
|
66yrs or Over |
0.1 |
0.0 |
|
|
Half Rate Carer's Allowance |
Under 66yrs |
0.7 |
0.2 |
|
66yrs or Over |
0.4 |
0.1 |
|
|
Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
|
|
Jobseeker's Allowance Max Rate |
7.6 |
2.1 |
|
|
JA age 18 to 24 |
0.7 |
0.2 |
|
|
Disability Allowance |
8.8 |
2.4 |
|
|
Farm Assist |
0.3 |
0.1 |
|
|
Employment Support Schemes (BTWA & BTEA) |
0.8 |
0.2 |
|
|
Employment/Internship Schemes (CE, Tús, RSS etc.) |
2.0 |
0.5 |
|
|
Work Placement Experience Programme |
0.2 |
0.0 |
|
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
0.8 |
0.2 |
|
|
TOTAL |
74.5 |
20.1 |
These costings are based on the estimated number of recipients in 2022 and are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients
654. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing core social protection payments to meet the minimum essential standard of living disaggregated by payment type for the period 27 September to 31 December 2022 and for the period from 21 January to 31 December 2023. [38100/22]
View answerThe Minimum Essential Standard of Living (MESL) is an assessment, developed by the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice, of the minimum income needed to live and partake in the social and economic norms of everyday life for various household types. My Department has partly funded the excellent, detailed work of the Vincentian Partnership for a number of years, and I find it extremely useful.
One of the benefits of the work of the Vincentians is that it produces data on various household types, including the different costs that arise for households in rural and urban locations. In that way, it complements data produced from other analyses such as the Survey on Income and Living Conditions produced by the Central Statistics Office.
The work of the Vincentians also highlights issues that may be addressed with improvements in services. In this regard, improved services, such as the extension of GP visit cards for children and the affordable childcare scheme can result in significant reductions in the minimum income standards needed by households.
Bringing weekly social welfare rates in line with the MESL would entail:
- increasing the maximum personal working age rate to €260. There would be no proportionate increase in the current rate for Qualified Adults in order to meet the MESL. This increase would cost €1,745.8m in a full year;
- raising the Qualified Child Increase to €86 for children under 12, and €133 for children aged 12 and over. These increases would cost €480.1m and €493.2m respectively in a full year.
Older couple household type generally show income adequacy, as do single pensioners in urban areas. While it is not possible at this time to provide an estimate of providing an increase for single pensioners living in rural areas only, the estimated cost of an increase to bring the rates in line with the MESL for all pensioners in receipt of the Living Alone Allowance is €154m for recipients of non-contributory pensions and €668m for contributory pensions.
The total cost of these measures is €3.5 billion in a full year.
The estimated cost for 14 weeks is €953.4m.
The estimated cost of increasing working age payments to €260 is set out in the table below:
|
Scheme |
Full year cost |
14 week cost (27 September to 31 December 2022) |
|
Social Insurance Schemes |
||
|
Widow/er's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Con) Pension |
69.2 |
18.6 |
|
Deserted Wife's Benefit |
5.4 |
1.4 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
141.3 |
38.0 |
|
Partial Capacity Benefit |
5.0 |
1.3 |
|
Guardian's Payment (Contributory) |
4.3 |
1.2 |
|
Death Benefit Pension |
0.2 |
0.1 |
|
Disablement Pension |
5.2 |
1.4 |
|
Illness Benefit |
131.2 |
35.3 |
|
Injury Benefit |
1.9 |
0.5 |
|
Incapacity Supplement |
2.1 |
0.6 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
112.7 |
30.3 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit (Self-Employed) |
4.1 |
1.1 |
|
Carer's Benefit |
6.6 |
1.8 |
|
Health and Safety Benefit |
0.1 |
0.0 |
|
Maternity & Adoptive Benefit |
10.6 |
2.8 |
|
Paternity & Parent's Benefit |
3.0 |
0.8 |
|
Social Assistance Schemes |
||
|
Blind Person's Pension |
2.8 |
0.8 |
|
Widow/ers or Surviving Civil Partner's (Non-Con) Pension |
3.2 |
0.9 |
|
Deserted Wife's Allowance |
0.2 |
0.0 |
|
One-Parent Family Payment |
107.1 |
28.8 |
|
Carer's Allowance |
96.4 |
26.0 |
|
Half Rate Carer's Allowance |
24.3 |
6.6 |
|
Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) |
2.0 |
0.5 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance Max Rate |
346.2 |
93.2 |
|
JA age 18 to 24 |
99.5 |
26.8 |
|
Disability Allowance |
424.9 |
114.4 |
|
Farm Assist |
12.7 |
3.4 |
|
Employment Support Schemes (BTWA & BTEA) |
35.7 |
9.6 |
|
Employment/Internship Schemes (CE, Tús, RSS etc.) |
50.1 |
13.5 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
37.9 |
10.2 |
|
TOTAL |
1,745.8 |
470.0 |
*Rounding may affect totals
These costings are based on the estimated number of recipients in 2022 and are subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.
655. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the qualified child increase payment rate by €1 for children under 12 years of age and over 12 years of age respectively for the period 27 September to 31 December 2022 and for the period from 21 January to 31 December 2023. [38101/22]
View answerThe estimated costs of increasing the Qualified Child Increase payment rate by €1 per week for the period 27 September to 31 December 2022 and, as clarified with the Deputy, from 1 January to 31 December 2023 are shown in the table below:
|
Full year |
14 weeks (27/09/22 - 31/12/22) |
|
|
€m |
€m |
|
|
Cost for children aged under 12 (€m) |
10.4 |
2.8 |
|
Cost for children aged 12 and over (€m) |
5.8 |
1.6 |
|
Overall Cost (€m) |
16.2 |
4.4 |
These costings are based on the estimated number of recipients in 2022 and are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
