Written Answers Nos. 1281-1295
1281. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing children’s allowance by 10% and extending payment until children are finished in full-time education or become 18 whichever is the later; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41435/22]
View answer1297. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated number of students in secondary school aged 18 or 19; the estimated cost of extending eligibility to child benefit for all those young people still in full-time second-level education, including those in Youthreach programmes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41662/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1281 and 1297 together.
The estimated full-year cost of increasing Child Benefit (formerly Children's Allowance) by 10% and extending the payment to children aged 18 or 19 in second level education is in the region of €285m.
The number of students in secondary school who are 18 or 19 years old at some point in the academic year is estimated to be about 60,000. On that basis, the estimated cost of extending eligibility for Child Benefit for students aged 18 and 19 while they remain in second level education is in the region of €73m at the current rate of payment.
These costings 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 Deputies.
1282. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing the respite care grant to €2,500; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41436/22]
View answerThe estimated full-year cost of increasing the Carer's Support Grant (formerly called the Respite Care Grant) from €1,850 to €2,500 is €92.2m.
This costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients. Any changes to the Carer's Support Grant would have to be considered in an over all budgetary context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1283. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing the domiciliary care allowance to €350; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41437/22]
View answerThe estimated full-year cost of increasing the Domiciliary Care Allowance by €40.50 to €350 per month is €22.7m
This costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
Any increases to the Domiciliary Care Allowance would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1286. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending eligibility for the fuel allowance to all pensioners, to all in receipt of the working family payment and or a medical card; the estimated full-year cost of abolishing the waiting period of a year for those on jobseeker’s allowance and by increasing the rate by €20 per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41440/22]
View answerThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, which is supporting over 370,000 households in 2022, at an estimated cost of €366 million. 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.
My Department does not hold data on persons in receipt of a medical card and are therefore unable to provide a costing for the extension of fuel allowance to this cohort.
There are approximately 671,396 pensioners in receipt of qualifying payments for fuel allowance. Of these, 166,272 are already in receipt of fuel allowance. This would give an additional 505,124 fuel allowance claims if the fuel payment was awarded to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment for fuel allowance. My Department does not hold data on household composition of all pensioner households and, therefore, fuel allowance may already be payable to another member of the household. Taking this into consideration, the estimated cost of extending eligibility for the fuel allowance to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment is as follows:
|
Weekly Rate of Fuel Allowance |
Number of weeks payable |
Number of additional Claims |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
|
€33 |
28 |
505,124 |
€466.7m |
|
€53 |
28 |
505,124 |
€749.6m |
Based on 40,300 additional recipients of the working family payment (WFP) qualifying for the fuel allowance, the estimate cost of extending the fuel allowance payment to all those in receipt of WFP is as follows:
|
Weekly Rate of Fuel Allowance |
Number of weeks payable |
Number of additional Claims |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
|
€33 |
28 |
40,300 |
€37.2m |
|
€53 |
28 |
40,300 |
€59.8m |
Because of the household and seasonal nature of the fuel allowance payment, it is difficult to provide an accurate estimate of the full-year cost of abolishing the 12 month waiting period for eligibility for the scheme for those in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance. Fuel allowance is paid to people on long term payments as they are unlikely to have additional resources of their own and are more vulnerable to poverty, including energy poverty. It is for this reason that the Department allocates additional payments, supports and resources to help this cohort of claimants.
However, based on an assumption of 21,261 additional recipients of jobseeker’s allowance qualifying for the fuel allowance if the waiting period of 12 months was abolished, the estimate cost of the measure is as follows:
|
Weekly Rate of Fuel Allowance |
Number of weeks payable |
Number of additional Claims |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
|
€33 |
28 |
21,261 |
€19.6m |
|
€53 |
28 |
21,261 |
€31.5m |
If the rate of fuel allowance payable was increased by €20 a week, the estimated yearly cost of the measure, including the increased numbers who would qualify if fuel allowance was extended to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment for fuel allowance, WFP and Jobseeker allowance claimants without a waiting period, is as follows:
|
Increase in Weekly Rate of Fuel Allowance |
Number of Weeks Payable |
Number of Claims |
Estimated Yearly Cost |
|
€20 |
28 |
936,685 |
€525.5m |
Any decision to extend the eligibility criteria for Fuel Allowance or to increase the weekly rate payable would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.This year, funds raised through the carbon tax will again support targeted social welfare and other initiatives to alleviate fuel poverty and ensure a just transition. In this regard, in the forthcoming budget, the Government will consider how it can support people on low incomes and those on social welfare payments who are at risk of fuel poverty. Finally, my Department provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have an urgent need, which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1287. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending free travel to those in receipt of the domiciliary care allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41441/22]
View answerThe Free Travel Scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approximately 1,034,000 customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2022 is €95 million.
Providing an accurate projection of the cost of extending the Free Travel Scheme to all children in respect of whom a domiciliary care allowance is being paid is very difficult as the cost is determined by the usage of the extra passes provided and not by the number of newly qualified people. The fact that many operators have reduced fares for children and that in some cases children under five years of age can travel for free would also have to be taken into account. Taking all of this into consideration, I am advised that the yearly cost of the measure suggested by the Deputy could be as high as an estimated €6.15 million.
Any decision to extend the free travel scheme to all children in respect of whom a domiciliary care allowance is being paid would require additional funding for the Free Travel Scheme and would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA), the Department of Social Protection may award a travel supplement in any case where the circumstances of the case so warrant. The supplement is intended to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the person's own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Every decision is based on consideration of the circumstances of the case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and of the resources of the person concerned.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1288. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending eligibility for the household benefits package to all pensioners and to all in receipt of the working family payment and or a medical card; and by increasing the rates from €35 to €50; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41442/22]
View answerThe Household Benefits Package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €273 million this year on HHB for over 492,000 customers. People over the age of 70 receive the Household Benefits Package, with one package provided per household. The package is also available to people living in the State aged 66-69 years who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments or who satisfy a means test. The package is available to some people under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments.
My Department does not hold data on persons in receipt of a medical card and are therefore unable to provide a costing for the extension of these measures to this cohort.
There are approximately 671,396 pensioners in receipt of qualifying payments for HHB. Of these, 384,178 are already in receipt of HHB package. This would give an additional 287,218 HHB claims if HHB was awarded to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment for HHB. My Department does not hold data on household composition of pensioner households and, therefore, HHB may already be payable to another member of the household. Taking this into consideration, the estimated cost of extending eligibility for the HHB to all pensioners in receipt of a qualifying payment is as follows:
|
Yearly cost per claim |
Number of Recipients |
Additional Yearly Cost |
|
€580 (€35 a month electricity/gas rate + €160 TV licence) |
287,218 |
€166.6m |
|
€760 (€50 a month electricity/gas rate + €160 TV licence) |
287,218 |
€218.3m |
Based on 47,000 recipients of the working family payment (WFP) and a yearly cost of €580 per HHB claim, extending the HHB to all those in receipt of WFP would cost an estimated €27.3 million. If also increasing the monthly rate to €50, the cost would be an estimated €35.7m for WFP recipients.
|
Yearly cost per claim |
Number of Recipients |
Additional Yearly Cost |
|
€580 (€35 a month electricity/gas rate + €160 TV licence) |
47,000 |
€27.3m |
|
€760 (€50 a month electricity/gas rate + €160 TV licence) |
47,000 |
€35.7m |
If the increases to the electricity/gas element outlined in the question were introduced in 2023, the estimated average number of recipients (including additional claims if the measure in relation to pensioners and WFP was implemented) would be 829,218 and the additional yearly cost of the measures would be as follows:
|
Proposed Monthly Rate Increase |
New Monthly Rate |
Number of Recipients |
Additional Yearly Cost |
|
€15 |
€50 |
829,218 |
€149.3m |
Any decision to change the qualifying criteria for the HHB package payment or to increase the electricity/gas element of the package would have budgetary consequences and would have to be considered in the context of budget negotiations.
Finally, the Department of Social Protection provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have an urgent need, which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1289. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the budget amount for the exceptional needs payment; the details of the rules surrounding this payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41443/22]
View answerUnder the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department can make additional needs payments to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. It provides supports and services to help support people on low incomes and facing financial hardship.
The additional needs payment is an overarching term for exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements paid under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme. This scheme is administered by the Community Welfare Service of the Department of Social Protection.
The Government has provided funding of €45.75 million for the provision of exceptional and urgent needs that are provided for as Additional Needs Payments in 2022. A further provision of €5.3 million has been provided for SWA Supplements in 2022 (excluding rent supplement). The scheme is demand led and is funded accordingly. The payment is available to anyone who needs it and qualifies, whether the person is currently receiving a social welfare payment or working on a low income.
Payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account 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.
Under the additional needs payments, the amount paid will depend on a person’s weekly household income, their outgoings and the type of assistance needed.
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 Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1290. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the full year cost of restoring the pension age to 65; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41448/22]
View answerIt is important to note that the State Pension age was never 65 years of age. The State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Non-Contributory) were never paid at 65 years of age.
Reducing the State Pension age to 65 years would increase pension related expenditure significantly. My Department had previously prepared estimates in relation to changing the pension age to 65 with effect from 1/1/2021. These estimates were prepared before the legislative changes in relation to the State Pension Age introduced in the Social Welfare Act 2020. In order to provide a more accurate and up to date estimate, a detailed analysis would need to be carried out by my Department. However, a high level estimate of the cost of introducing State Pension payments at the age of 65, based on current pension rates from 1/1/2023, is €350 million for one year only.
This figure is based on net costs for future State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Non-Contributory) qualifiers but does not include estimates for any changes to household benefits, free travel or fuel allowance costs. In addition, the figure takes no account of any additional costs to public sector pensions.
As set out above, the estimate is for the year 2023 only and a more accurate estimate would set out the net present value of the future cost increase.
Demographic projections indicate significant increases in the number of future State Pension recipients which will impact on State Pension related expenditure. Clearly, reducing the State Pension age to 65 years of age would be very expensive and would require either considerable additional revenues, or, if introduced on a cost-neutral basis, very significant diversion of funds from elsewhere.
In February 2021, I introduced the "Benefit Payment for 65 year olds" in line with the Programme for Government commitment, to provide a benefit payment for people who are aged 65 and who are required to retire, or who chose to retire, without a requirement to sign on, engage in activation measures or be available for and genuinely seeking work. This new payment was designed specifically to bridge the gap for people who retire from employment or self-employment at 65 years of age but who do not qualify for the State Pension until age 66.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1291. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year cost of increasing all headline social welfare payments to €350 per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41449/22]
View answerThe estimated full year cost of increasing all weekly social welfare payments to €350 per week is €8,814.8m. This includes a proportionate increase for Qualified Adults and those on reduced rates of payment.
These costings 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.
1292. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year cost of increasing all headline social protection payment to €300 per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41450/22]
View answerThe estimated full year cost of increasing all weekly social welfare payments to €300 per week is €5,113.7m. This includes a proportionate increase for Qualified Adults and those on reduced rates of payment.
These costings 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.
1293. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of increasing children’s allowance by 10% per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41451/22]
View answerChild Benefit (formerly known as Children’s Allowance) is paid monthly.
The estimated full-year cost of increasing Child Benefit by 10%, or €14 per month, is €204.8m.
This costing is 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.
1294. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the social protection payments that will be available to post-2013 entrants to An Garda Síochána in respect of bridging a gap between retirement age and eligibility to draw down the State pension [41541/22]
View answerThere are a range of statutory social welfare supports which are available to people of working age in respect of different contingencies, such as unemployment or illness. A person must satisfy the relevant statutory conditions to qualify for a support. For example, a person who was previously in employment may qualify for Jobseeker's Benefit where they are unemployed and are genuinely seeking employment.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform determines central public service pensions policy.
I hope that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
1295. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if the rule where jointly held savings are 50% assessed against the dependent spouse could be disapplied in cases in which savings of the claimant have been put in joint names solely because of the diminishing capacity of the claimant similar to a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41589/22]
View answerRecipients of certain social welfare payments can claim an increase in their payment in respect of a Qualified Adult, subject to a means assessment. A Qualified Adult is the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the recipient who is being wholly or mainly maintained by that claimant.
The means test in respect of the increase for a Qualified Adult applies to both contribution-based social insurance payments (where only the means of the Qualified Adult is assessed), and contingency based social assistance payments (where the means of both the main claimant and the Qualified Adult are assessed).
The means assessed include income from employment or self-employment, non-social welfare pensions, and the capital value of savings, investments and property other than the family home. It should be noted that the value of the family home, regardless of who is the legal owner, is never taken into account in this assessment.
For social assistance schemes, the total household income is always assessed as part of the means test, and as such, the issue of whether savings are held solely by one member of a couple or jointly between them does not arise.
When calculating the weekly means from savings or other capital, an assessment formula is used. In general, the first €20,000 of capital is fully disregarded; the next €10,000 assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand.
For social insurance schemes, where savings, property or other assets are held jointly, the spouse or partner's means is taken to be half of the total amount. In addition, for social insurance schemes such as the State Pension (Contributory), an increase for a Qualified Adult is payable at the maximum rate of payment where the means of the spouse or partner are €100 a week or less, while reduced rates are payable where the means are over €100 and less than €310 per week. No increase is payable where the means of the spouse or partner are in excess of €310 per week.
The current means testing arrangements are based on the actual means of the spouse or partner at any given time.Any proposals to change the means assessment formula for an Increase for a Qualified Adult would have to be considered in an overall budgetary and policy context.
Further to this general issue, I thank the Deputy for supplying the details of a particular case. Officials in the Department are in communication with the customer in relation to the specifics of this case and will write to the customer in the coming days.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
