Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 November 2022
117. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason that those in receipt of illness benefit were not awarded a double payment in line with other welfare schemes; and the rationale for the omission. [59278/22]
View answerIn response to the ongoing cost of living pressures, my Department will spend approximately €1.2 billion in social welfare measures this year to help individuals and families through this difficult period.
One of these measures is the Autumn Cost of Living Double Payment which was paid to those schemes which are eligible to receive the Christmas Bonus, with one amendment - the removal of the 12-month duration requirement for certain schemes - allowing short-term jobseekers and Supplementary Welfare Allowance customers to qualify for the October support.
Illness Benefit is not, and has never been, a qualifying payment for the Christmas Bonus. It is a scheme which, by its nature, is a short-term social welfare scheme. It has a high degree of churn with people coming onto the scheme and moving off every week, often with very short duration claims. For example, between July and September 2022, almost 115,000 Illness Benefit claims were awarded and, of these, only 21,000 remain in payment. This indicates a churn of 82% over just a three-month period. The average duration of a claim for Illness Benefit is only 6 days.
In addition, many Illness Benefit payments are paid directly to the employer. Therefore, a double payment such as the cost of living support would, in many cases, be an employer subsidy as opposed to an additional support to the customer. This is not the intent behind the October cost of living support, and nor would it be a targeted use of resources.
I do appreciate however that individual circumstances can vary from case to case. I have asked my officials to examine this issue in respect of the Christmas Bonus and people who are in receipt of Illness Benefit for longer periods of time.
If an individual or family are struggling with additional costs, Additional Needs Payments can provide help and support to people facing financial hardship. Under the scheme, the Department may make an Additional Needs Payment to people on a low income, whether they are working or receiving an income support, to meet essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
