Written Answers Nos. 1176-1190
1176. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection the reasons that legislation relating to one member pension schemes was changed on 1 July 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41879/22]
View answer1177. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider allowing one member pension schemes with 20 members or less to be exempt from the new pension regulations which came into place on 1 July 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41881/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1176 and 1177 together.
At the outset, I can advise that Deputy that no legislative changes or new pension regulations were made or came into force on 1st July 2022 in relation to one member arrangements ('OMA') or pension schemes generally. I can also advise the Deputy that, as OMAs are established for one member only, such arrangements would not have up to 20 members.
Directive (EU) 2016/2341 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2016 on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) (‘IORP II’) became effective from 13 January 2019, and sets out minimum standards for the management and supervision of pension schemes, with the objective of ensuring the soundness of occupational pensions and better protections for scheme members and beneficiaries across the European Union.
IORP II requirements were transposed into Irish law by way of the European Union (Occupational Pension Schemes) Regulations 2021 (S.I. No. 128 of 2021) which came into force on 22nd April 2021. The general principle followed in respect of the transposition of IORP II, in keeping with the Government’s Roadmap for Pensions Reform, is that the requirements of IORP II apply to all schemes and trust RACs, including one-member arrangements (‘OMAs’). This is in order to ensure that all members and beneficiaries are afforded equal protection irrespective of the size of the pension arrangement. It should be noted that the decision to apply the requirements of IORP II to all schemes and trust RACs was announced by the Government in 2019 and it was expected that trustees and insurance providers would have been preparing for compliance with these requirements in advance of transposition.
In the case of OMAs established on or after S.I. No. 182 of 2021 came into force on 22nd April 2021, such arrangements are required to meet all new IORP II related requirements set out under the 1990 Act, where applicable, from the date on which they were established. From a supervision perspective, the Pensions Authority, which is the regulator for pensions in Ireland, has outlined that it was applying a deadline of 1st July 2022 in respect of OMA’s compliance with those new requirements.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
1178. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Social Protection if an exception will be made for a young person (details supplied) with dual Irish-Spanish heritage living in Ireland on a disability payment who wishes to visit the person's elderly grandparents in Spain for more than one week without losing the person's payment. [41894/22]
View answerDisability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions.
Except in certain exceptional circumstances, DA is not payable for any period in respect of which the claimant is resident outside of the state. On an administrative basis, DA allows for two weeks holiday entitlement in any twelve month period.
I can confirm that the person concerned notified the department regarding holiday from the state from 11 June 2022 to 18 June 2022.
The person concerned would be entitled to receive DA for the week out of the state from 11 June 2022 to 18 June 2022.
However, to avail of this holiday entitlement, he would need to provide a copy of his travel itinerary (boarding pass outbound and inbound).
A Deciding Officer (DO), has requested travel itinerary from the person concerned on the 04 July 2022 and 20 July 2022 in order to establish the person’s entitlement during that time.
To date the requested documents of his travel itinerary has not been received.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1179. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expand the school meal scheme to include the early childhood care and education scheme and special areas of conservation services located in DEIS areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41911/22]
View answerThe 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 was provided for the scheme in the 2022 Revised Estimates.
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.
Prior to the introduction of DEIS in 2005, all schools and organisations that were part of one of a number of Department of Education and Skills’ initiatives for disadvantaged schools were eligible to participate in the programme, which included Breaking the Cycle, Giving Children an Even Break, the Disadvantaged Area Scheme, Home School Community Liaison and the School Completion Programme. These schools and organisations, including community pre-schools, have continued to remain in the scheme.
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 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 for by each 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 provided for 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. This has brought the number of children currently benefitting from a hot school meal to 54,266. In March 2022, the Minister for Education announced an extension of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in School to an additional 284 primary and 38 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 funding, the additional cost of providing these options is €23.5m in a full year.
I am committed to continuing to grow the school meals programme (in particular, hot school meals 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.
Any extension of the school meals programme or hot school meals beyond 2022 will need to be considered as part of the budgetary process.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
1180. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the role that her Department is playing in promoting and informing the public of the payments and schemes that are available given the cost-of-living crisis and other pressures resulting from the refugee increase; and the level of collaboration that is taking place with the Citizens Information Board to ensure that persons are getting correct information and support. [39594/22]
View answerMy Department administers over 90 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. The Department is committed to ensuring that members of the public are fully aware of all the welfare supports and services that are available to them.
Public information campaigns and communications via our online platforms play an important part of this work.
In this context my Department has undertaken a series of paid public information campaigns to increase awareness of the payments and schemes which may be of assistance to those impacted by increases in the cost-of-living and further campaigns are in planning.
Public campaigns in relation to relevant available supports undertaken to date in 2022 include:
- Help with Heating Costs (February 2022)
- Additional Needs Payment (June/July 2022)
We monitor the effectiveness of all our public information campaigns. The public information campaign which promoted the availability of the Additional Needs Payment resulted in a significant increase in visits to the page – a total of 83,801 pageviews during the four weeks of the campaign.
Public information campaigns currently planned for 2022:
- Household Benefits Package (Planned July-August 2022)
- Additional Needs Payment (Planned Q3/Q4 2022)
As well as paid public information campaigns my Department also regularly informs the public about the range of supports available through targeted information posted on our own social media and online platforms – gov.ie, MyWelfare.ie, twitter, Instagram and LinkedIN.
We regularly promote the availability of a range of supports which will assist those impacted by an increase in the cost of living. Social media posts to date have promoted the following relevant schemes and payments: Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Additional Needs Payment, Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, and Fuel Allowance.
My Department also places a high priority on ensuring that those arriving in Ireland due to the war in Ukraine are aware of the Government services and supports available to them and that they are given clear information on how to access these public services
To this end, my Department has published a dedicated page which includes information on the social welfare supports available and how to access them. This dedicated social welfare supports page is part of the main information hub, published as part of Ireland's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This hub is available at gov.ie/Ukraine. The dedicated Ukraine hub also ensures that information on all aspects of the government services and supports available are easily accessed in one central location and this information is translated into the Ukrainian and Russian languages.
Collaboration with Citizens Information Board: The Department of Social Protection has a process in place to ensure collaboration with our colleagues in the Citizens Information Board. We provide the Citizens Information Board with details on all public information campaigns prior to commencement. We also actively share any content updates published on gov.ie to ensure that the most up to date information is available to our colleagues in CIB for use on their website and for in person engagement in the local Citizen Information Centres.
1181. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider extending the household benefits package to carers who do not live with the person they care for but for whom the carer’s allowance is their only income; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39596/22]
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. 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. The package is also available to those in receipt of the Carer's Allowance, where the recipient is providing full-time care and living with the person being carried for.
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 the annual carers support grant (€1,850) in respect of each person for whom they care.
At €224 per week, the maximum rate of Carer's Allowance for those aged under 66, where one person is being cared for, is significantly higher than that for most schemes administered by my Department. The rate is €262 per week for carers aged 66 or over.
The means test for Carer's Allowance has been significantly eased over the years and is now one of the most generous means tests in the social welfare system, most notably with regard to spouse’s earnings.
Carers can also engage in employment, self-employment, training or education courses outside the home for up to 18.5 hours a week.
Any decision to change the qualifying criteria for the HHB package payment would have to be considered in a policy and budgetary context.
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.
1182. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection if the income threshold for the carer’s allowance will be expanded in the context of budget 2023 negotiations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39597/22]
View answerMy Department provides a range of income supports for family carers including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending on all these payments to carers in 2022 is estimated to exceed €1.5 billion.
Carer’s Allowance is the primary income support through which the Department supports carers in the community. Carer’s Allowance is a payment to people on low incomes who are caring full-time for a person who needs support because of age, disability or illness, including mental illness. The two principal conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are that full time care and attention is required and being provided, and that the means test which applies is satisfied.
The conditions attached to payment of Carer’s Allowance are consistent with the overall conditions that apply to social assistance payments generally. This system of social assistance supports provides payments based on an income need with the means test playing the critical role in determining whether or not an income need arises as a consequence of a particular contingency, be that illness, disability, unemployment or caring.
In Budget 2022, I announced significant improvements to the means test for Carer's Allowance, in recognition of the vital role that carers play in society. These were the first changes to the means test in 14 years.
- The capital and savings disregard for the Carer’s Allowance means assessment was increased from €20,000 to €50,000, aligning it with that which applies for Disability Allowance.
- For carers who work, the weekly income disregard was increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.
The changes outlined came into effect on 2 June and many Carers who up to now did not qualify for a payment due to means will now be brought into the Carer's Allowance system for the first time.
The current Carer's Allowance disregards are the most generous income disregards in the social welfare system and mean that, in the case of a couple, earnings of up to €39,000 p.a. are disregarded. By comparison, the income disregard applied to Disability Allowance is €140 per week. For Jobseeker's Allowance, it is €20 per day up to a maximum of €60, and the balance is assessed at 60%. For Jobseeker's Transitional Payment, the weekly income disregard is €165 with 50% of the balance assessed as means.
In order to learn of and assess priorities within the sector, I and my Department officials actively engage with carer's representative groups on an ongoing basis. As the Deputy will be aware, as part of the annual budgetary process my Department invites pre-Budget submissions from carer representative bodies. As well as giving consideration to the submissions received, my Department will host the annual Pre-Budget Forum on 27 July which representative bodies attend. The Pre-Budget Forum is an opportunity for me to meet with groups from the community and voluntary sector, including carer’s representative groups. At this event I will gain a deeper insight into the issues they are most concerned about in the context of the upcoming budget.
Any further improvements to the Carer’s Allowance payment will be considered as part of Budget 2023 negotiations as well as an overall policy context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1183. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will address a payment arrears matter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39613/22]
View answerInvalidity Pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the contribution conditions. A person must not engage in paid employment while in receipt of IP.
The person in question was in receipt of IP from 16 April 1981. During an interview with a social welfare inspector on 21 May 2021 the person in question stated that he was engaged in employment for 10 hours per week since 01 January 2017. His IP claim was terminated effective from 24 June 2021 and an overpayment assessed against him for period of employment from 05 January 2017 to 23 June 2021. The person in question requested a review of this decision and the deciding officer (DO) having reviewed his case decided that the overpayment stands. Notification of the outcome of the review issued to the person in question on 04 May 2022 informing him of no change to the original decision and also notifying him of his right of appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. To date no appeal request has been received.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
1184. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to ensure that foster carers are not penalised for the care they provide and are entitled to credited contributions for the time that they spend caring for a foster child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39646/22]
View answerMatters related to foster caring are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and Tusla.
More widely, this Government acknowledges the important role that carers play and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the current State Pension (Contributory) system includes a range of measures including PRSI credits, Homemaking Disregards and HomeCaring Periods to recognise caring periods (of up to 20 years) outside of paid employment in the calculation of a State Pension payment.
The Programme for Government “Our Shared Future” includes a commitment to examine options for a pension solution for carers, the majority of whom are women, particularly those of incapacitated children, in recognition of the enormous value of the work carried out by them. The Pensions Commission was established in November 2020 to examine the sustainability of the State Pension system and the Social Insurance Fund. The Commission’s terms of reference included consideration of how people who have provided long-term care for incapacitated dependants can be accommodated within the State Pension system.
The Pensions Commission’s Report was published on 7th October 2021. It established that the current State Pension system is not sustainable into the future and that changes are needed. The report set out a wide range of recommendations, including enhanced pension provision for long-term carers (defined as caring for more than 20 years). It recommended that long-term carers should be given access to the State Pension (Contributory) by having retrospective contributions paid for them by the Exchequer for any gaps in their contribution history arising from that caring. The Commission also recommended that relevant Departments should examine, in conjunction with relevant stakeholders, options for the creation of a statutory "Family Carer Register" which could, in time, facilitate the identification of long-term carers for State Pension (Contributory) purposes as well as assisting in the planning and delivery of services for family carers.
In the interests both of older people and future generations of older people, the comprehensive and far-reaching recommendations in the Pensions Commission’s Report need to be considered very carefully and holistically. My officials are examining each of the recommendations and consulting across Government through the Cabinet Committee system. The views of the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands and the Commission on Taxation and Welfare will be considered as part of these deliberations. Once we have considered all of these matters in detail and have taken on board the views of my Ministerial colleagues, I intend bringing a recommended response and implementation plan to Government.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1185. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Social Protection if the period in which rent supplement payments can be backdated will be increased from the current limit of six months. [39650/22]
View answerThe rent supplement 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 provided support to 11,093 recipients as at the end of June 2022.
Since the introduction of the Housing Assistance Payment, rent supplement is reverting to its original role of providing short-term support to those who have become temporarily unemployed and require income support to meet their tenancy costs while they seek alternative employment. Responsibility for the provision of rental assistance to those with a long-term housing need remains with local authorities.
Customers who establish an entitlement to rent supplement by satisfying the conditions of the scheme will receive payment from the date of application. There is a provision for the backdating of the claim for a period up to six months before the date of application where specific circumstances apply. There are no plans to extend this period of support beyond this time. Any decision to extend the period of back dating would need to be considered from within a budgetary context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1186. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection if a family that is not in receipt of any social welfare payments but falls under the qualifying income thresholds for the back-to-school footwear and clothing scheme would be considered for the scheme to allow working families to benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39744/22]
View answer1187. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider amending the back-to-school footwear and clothing scheme to allowing working families that are not in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment to access this scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39745/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1186 and 1187 together.
The 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 for 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.
1188. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason that the walk-in community welfare clinics have been discontinued in Sligo; if additional community welfare officers will be provided in Sligo; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39748/22]
View answerI believe that it is vital that the Community Welfare Service (CWS) is an easily accessible, flexible, and responsive service to meet the varied needs of vulnerable people, particularly in a time of crisis or emergency. Therefore, continued in-person customer engagement remains a pivotal feature within the community welfare service but my Department has put a range of access options in place to assist customers.
For this reason, CWOs are available in 51 Intreo Centres across the country during business hours, five days per week to meet and assist customers, on a 'walk in no appointment needed' basis. In the remaining small number of Intreo Centres where a CWO is not in the location on a full-time basis, a CWO will be available to respond if a customer needs arises, and within a quick response time of receiving a request for a face-to-face meeting with a customer. This can be in one of our branch offices or at a mutually agreed convenient location including, if the person wishes, at their home.
For example, in the Deputy's constituency, a CWO is available to meet with customers at the Intreo Centres in Sligo and Carrick-on-Shannon during business hours from Monday to Friday. A CWO is available to meet with customers in the Manorhamilton Intreo Centre, Tubbercurry Branch Office, the outreach location in Ballinamore or at an alternative suitable location (including a person's home) by appointment within a short time of a person requiring such a meeting.
Furthermore, a freephone National Contact Phoneline for CWS was launched in June this year which further enhances access to CWS nationwide. This is a dedicated phoneline available to people across the country to get information on CWS and access to a CWO to seek assistance and support. Since the phoneline commenced operation, more and more people are availing of the opportunity to have their issues resolved by this method rather than by calling into an office. Arrangements are also in place for onward follow-up by a local CWO if an issue to this contact phoneline cannot be resolved.
It is important to note that a person no longer has to meet in person with a CWO to make a claim. A person can make an application for assistance by completing a SWA1 form, which is widely available. It can be downloaded at www.gov.ie and is available in all Intreo Centres and Branch Offices. It can also now be requested by emailing cwsforms@welfare.ie or by calling freephone 0818 60 70 80.
Completed application forms together with any supporting documentation required should be returned to the relevant office where the claim will be processed promptly. Follow up contact will then be made as necessary directly to the person by their local CWO. As I have said, there is no need now for the person to travel to an office to meet with a CWO to make a claim.
My Department has maintained staffing levels in the CWS nationwide in recent years during times when demands decreased, reflective of the commitment that I have given to continue to support the delivery of locally based services. My Department has introduced innovations this year which have increased efficiency in processing applications for SWA payments. These innovations and the maintenance of staffing levels have led to the CWS being in a stronger position to respond to increases in the demand for the service as they occur.
It is important to note that claims processing activity within the CWS is closely monitored at all times and resources are deployed as necessary. There is now a national organisational structure in place to oversee the operation of the service across the entire country.
Among the innovations that have been introduced to help citizens and to support the CWOs where possible, the preparatory work on applications - for example, the gathering of supporting documentation that is necessary to assess and finalise a claim, is carried out largely by a back-office team. This initiative releases CWOs to focus on delivery of services and from the requirement to undertake administrative tasks and allows for increased capacity for them to meet with people as required and/or to process claims.
The assessment and decision on claims and any further interactions are carried out by locally based CWOs, as it always has been. The delivery of a locally based CWS remains a cornerstone of the service.
This method of processing applications has been found to be very effective in improving service to people, especially at times of particular pressure. It allows for flexible processing arrangements, and it has ensured that a swift response is available to people resulting in a significant decrease in the time waiting for a claim to be paid regardless of the prevailing circumstances in place in any area of the country.
I trust this clarifies the matter
1189. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection if the disregard capital increase of €50,000 from €20,000 which was rolled out on 2 June 2022 is for all the social welfare means tested payments assessments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39788/22]
View answerIn general, social assistance payments are means-tested. A means test is a way of checking if a claimant has enough financial resources to support themselves and determine what amount of social assistance payment, if any, they may qualify for.
A maximum rate is payable where a person has limited or no means and, generally, tapering applies to the rate payable to those with modest or more substantial means. This is because there is an expectation that those with resources can at least partly contribute towards supporting themselves.
Social welfare legislation provides that, for social assistance schemes, income and capital (such as savings, investments and property other than the family home) belonging to the claimant and his or her partner, where applicable, is assessable for means assessment purposes.
How capital is assessed can vary depending on the nature and purpose of the payment, and various disregards apply across the schemes, reducing the amount of means assessed.
For most social assistance schemes, the first €20,000 of capital is fully disregarded, the next €10,000 assessed at €1 per thousand, the next €10,000 assessed at €2 per thousand, with the remainder assessed at €4 per thousand.
For Disability Allowance and Carer’s Allowance, the first €50,000 of capital is fully disregarded. The Disability Allowance capital disregard was increased to €50,000 in 2007 and I increased the Carer’s Allowance disregard in Budget 2022 to the same level.
To increase the capital disregard to €50,000 for all means tested payments would have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall policy and Budgetary context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy
1190. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the legislation surrounding the length of time disability allowance payments can be made to people when they are outside the State (details supplied) if the people concerned are of mixed heritage and are anxious to maintain strong familial links with their family abroad and as a result need to visit them a number of times a year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39800/22]
View answerAt the end of May, there were almost 155,800 people in receipt of Disability Allowance. Legislation provides that, in addition to the means test, eligibility for the Disability Allowance is restricted to person’s aged 16 to 66 years of age, is subject to a medical assessment and a habitual residency requirement. This is in line with the general principles of social assistance payments.
A person in receipt of Disability Allowance may receive payment where absent from the State for a maximum of two weeks while on holiday, attending a funeral, visiting a sick relative, etc. The Department must be notified in advance of the date of departure. There are no plans to change these criteria.
I trust that this clarifies this matter for the Deputy.
