Alan Farrell
Question:104. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection the turnaround time for working family payment applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34871/22]
View answerThursday, 14 July 2022
Questions (104)
Written answers
Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly tax-free payment for employees with children which supports people in low paid employment. This payment is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependents and to offer a financial incentive to take up employment.
Working Family Payment is a targeted measure that is directly linked to household income and therefore directly supports low-income working families. There are approximately 46,000 families with 103,000 children who are currently in receipt of this payment. As part of Budget 2022 measures, I introduced an increase in the income thresholds by €10 irrespective of the family size. While this measure was originally due to take effect from June 2022, it was brought forward to April 2022 to assist families with the rising cost of living.
My Department understands the many pressures faced by customers and always seeks to ensure that applications are handled quickly and efficiently. The average time to award a new Working Family Payment application is currently 3 weeks. The target is to process 90% of claims within 6 weeks.
WFP is paid at a fixed amount for a 52 week period, even if earnings increase during that period to give low paid workers assurance of their income. Customers are invited to reapply for the next 52 week period 12 weeks before the payment is due to end. I am pleased to report that all renewal applications submitted on time are processed before the existing payment ends, so there is no lapse in customers payment.
During 2021 my Department implemented improvements to the administration of Working Family Payment. This included the extension of the Department's online services through MyWelfare to include this payment. People can now submit both new and renewal applications online and where all information is provided at the time of application, claims can be awarded immediately. These enhancements mean that my officials can proactively deal with claims and deal with them quickly and efficiently.
I am very proud that my Department continues to provide and maintained a high level of customer service to WFP claimants through the extension of online services and timely processing of claims.