Written Answers Nos. 487-506
488. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on the proposed legislation to bring forward changes to the child maintenance system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24763/23]
View answerThe Report of the Child Maintenance Review Group was published last November. The Government accepted the Group's recommendations in relation to the social welfare system. I am pleased to say that, pending the introduction of the necessary legislation, my Department has already implemented some of the recommended changes on an administrative basis.As a result, my Department is no longer applying the "efforts to seek maintenance" requirement to One-Parent Family Payment and Jobseeker's Transitional Payment. This requirement often involved lone parents having to go to Court to seek a maintenance order, so this change will remove a potential additional stress for them, as well as helping to reduce the burden on our courts system.
In addition, the liable relative provisions are not being applied to new claims for One-Parent Family Payment. This means that my Department will no longer seek to recoup a portion of claim costs from the non-resident parent in these cases. I want to be very clear that removing these provisions does not replace or supersede the primary responsibility of parents to maintain their children.
In addition, child maintenance payments will be disregarded in the means test for social welfare payments. This measure will mean that many lone parents currently on reduced rates of payment will see their payment increase. It will also mean that some additional lone parents will qualify for a payment. It is estimated that this measure will be of direct benefit to approximately 16,000 lone parents at a cost of approximately €10 million per year.
These are very significant reforms of the social welfare system which will be of great benefit to lone parents. These changes require amendments to both primary and secondary legislation as well as changes to some of my Department’s systems, application forms and processes.
My officials are working on advancing the legislative provisions and associated issues at present to ensure full implementation as early as possible. In the meantime, as I have outlined, a number of the recommendations are being implemented on an administrative basis.
489. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on increasing the household benefits package to match the rising cost of living; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24798/23]
View answerThe Household Benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence and is just one of a range of supports my Department provides to assist people with their fuel costs. My Department will spend approximately €285 million this year on HHB for over 511,000 customers.
The Government is very aware of the increased cost of living and, in Budget 2023, has provided an unprecedented response that aims to ease the financial pressure on households throughout the State.
While there has been no recent increase to the gas/electricity element of the HHB package, the Government instead has targeted the limited resources available to it towards increases to core Social Welfare payments and to more targeted payments such as the Fuel Allowance payment.
As part of the Government's cost of living measures in Budget 2023, an Autumn Cost of Living Double Payment was paid to Social Protection recipients, including pensioners, in October.
In November, a €200 Lump Sum Payment was paid to pensioners and people with a disability receiving the Living Alone Allowance, a €500 Cost of Living Payment was paid to people receiving Carer’s Support Grant and a €500 Cost of Living lump sum was paid to people in receipt of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension. A €400 additional Lump Sum payment was also paid to all households in receipt of the Fuel Allowance Payment. A double month of Child Benefit was paid and a €500 lump sum payment made to people in receipt of Working Family Payment.
In December, a Christmas Bonus Double Payment was paid to 1.3 million Social Protection recipients including pensioners, carers and people with disabilities.
From January 2023, the maximum rate of core Social Welfare rates was increased. There were proportionate increases for qualified adults and those on a reduced rate.
Also, from January 2023, a new Fuel Allowance means threshold was introduced for people aged 70 years and over. The new means threshold is €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple. Under the formula used to assess means for the Fuel Allowance for over 70s, the threshold for capital that is disregarded in the assessment was increased from €20,000 to €50,000. The weekly means threshold for those aged under 70 was increased by €80 to €200 above the appropriate rate of State Pension (Contributory). Similarly, the allowable means for HHB purposes for those aged between 66-69 not in receipt of a qualifying payment was also increased by €80 to €200 above the appropriate rate of State Pension (Contributory).
The enhanced electricity credit of €600 is another important Government measure announced in the Budget. This benefitted all households.
Furthermore, I recently announced a further range of measures to support people through this difficult period. This package includes a €200 lump sum payment which was paid to over 1.3 million recipients in receipt of long-term social welfare payments, including pensioners.
Any decision to provide any further measures to help older people by increasing the household benefits package will be considered in the context of overall scheme policy and budgetary considerations.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
490. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the reason the adult dependant was excluded from the recent additional payment of €200 that was issued to persons in receipt of social protection payments, and no additional pro-rata payment was paid in respect of the adult dependent; if this matter can be examined and a payment made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24816/23]
View answerThe €200 Spring lump sum payment was paid to 1.3 million recipients in receipt of long-term social welfare payments. This lump sum was paid in late April and cost approximately €261 million.
The payment was made to primary recipients of a qualifying social welfare payment only.
This lump sum is one of a range of Spring Cost of Living supports valued at over €410 million announced in February this year, this includes a €100 Child Benefit lump sum in June, an additional €100 on the rate of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance and an extension of the Hot School Meals programme.
The February package follows on from a €2.2 Billion Social Protection Budget 2023 Package - the largest in the history of the state – which included eight lump sum payments in the last quarter of 2022.
My Department also brought in measures earlier in 2022 to help households with increasing prices, for example, two Fuel Allowance lump sums were paid in March and May and the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance was increased by €100.
Since March last year, therefore, Government has been keeping the situation under review and has responded providing a range of unprecedented supports to protect people and families as the Cost of Living has increased.
491. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide information regarding the reasoning behind the decision by the Citizens Information Board that volunteer information officers would not return to their normal work when citizen information centres reopened in autumn 2021 and Covid rules were relaxed, and the decision that from 31 August 2022 these volunteer information officers could not return unless they accepted a reduced administrative role; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24821/23]
View answerThe Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body with responsibility for the Citizens Information Service (CIS), under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection (DSP).
CIB provides funding to eight independent regional CIS companies that operate the national network of Citizens Information Centres.
Section 7(1) of the Comhairle Act 2000 (as amended) charges CIB with the provision of independent information, advice and advocacy services. This statutory independence is to ensure that individuals receive impartial services and is also to ensure that Government cannot unduly influence the information or advice offered by CIB, nor dictate how it should provide services.
Similarly, each CIS is a limited company overseen by a Regional Manager and a Board of Directors, who make decisions independently on the delivery of services in their own regions; this includes in relation to staffing and volunteers.
Any staffing or operational decisions in the CIS are therefore a matter for CIB and the CIS independent companies. The Minister does not, and cannot, direct them in this regard.
In relation to your specific query, in 2022, my Department was informed by CIB that the independent regional CIS companies, acting jointly, developed an interim volunteer strategy and this was implemented by each company in their respective areas in a different manner. My Department was informed that this interim strategy was to support the effort to re-engage volunteers in the CIS after the pandemic years. Neither I nor my Department were involved in the development of this interim strategy.
As stated in previous PQ responses, I absolutely recognise and value the important work carried out by volunteers in the CIS and I have been very clear to CIB that it is important that the voluntary ethos of CIS be maintained and the volunteers utilised to the maximum extent possible. To this end, and given concerns raised last year on the future role of volunteers in the CIS, I requested CIB to conduct an independent review of volunteering in the CIS, which was recently completed and published.
I welcomed this independent review, which endorses and confirms the important role that volunteers play in delivering the essential Citizen Information services delivered across the country, including the provision of advice to customers. It is now a matter for the eight independent CIS companies, with the support of CIB, to implement the report’s recommendations in order to see a welcome return of more volunteers to Citizens Information Centres. I hope to see the return of volunteers as quickly as possible.
492. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Social Protection why the spring cost-of-living bonus has not yet issued to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24824/23]
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.
The Government is acutely aware of the effect that high energy prices and the cost of living are having on families, businesses and the most vulnerable. In addition to the substantial package of supports provided in Budget 2023, earlier this year the Government announced a €470 million package of measures to help social protection recipients including families, pensioners, carers and people with disabilities.
The Spring Cost of Living Bonus is one of the range of measures put in place. It is one lump sum payment of €200 for each eligible person who has an entitlement to a primary payment in their own right. The Spring Cost of Living payment has already issued to over 1.2 million people.
I can confirm that the person concerned has not yet received their €200 lump sum payment. However, my Department are continuing to process these payments and the person concerned should be paid his entitlement within the next two weeks .
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
493. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are any circumstances in which carer's benefit can be issued to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24831/23]
View answerCarer's Benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce or reduce their working hours to care for a child or an adult in need of full-time care and attention.
To qualify, the carer must satisfy PRSI conditions, employment conditions, show that they are providing full-time care and attention and show that the care recipient requires full-time care and attention.
Carer’s Benefit is payable to a carer for up to a maximum of 104 weeks in respect of a care recipient. Once a carer has claimed the full 104 week entitlement in respect of a care recipient, that claim is exhausted and it is not possible for the carer to claim further Carer’s Benefit in respect of that care recipient.
An application for Carer’s Benefit was received from the person concerned on the 25 February 2021 in respect of their spouse. The claim was awarded for 104 weeks for the periods 04/03/2021 to 01/03/2023 following initial award, review and extension requests.
This person concerned was advised in a letter dated 8 March 2023 that the maximum entitlement of 104 weeks for the named care recipient had now been exhausted. It advised that the person may have an entitlement to Carer's Allowance subject to all conditions, including a means test, being satisfied. A Carer's Allowance application form was issued with this letter.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
494. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will examine a case where a person (details supplied) has waited six months for a decision relating to a paternity benefit appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24844/23]
View answerPaternity Benefit is payable for 2 weeks to employed and self-employed parents who take Paternity Leave from employment and who satisfy certain PRSI conditions on their own insurance record. The leave must be taken within 26 weeks after the birth of the child.
Applicants must complete a Paternity Benefit application, including a submission from the employer confirming the dates of the Paternity Leave, within six months of the date of leave. All claims that are received after the time allowed are considered Late Claims.
The Paternity Benefit section received an application for Paternity Benefit from the person concerned on 1 November 2022. In this application, he confirmed that his daughter was born on 19 October 2021 and that he had taken his Paternity Leave from 28 February 2022 to 12 March 2022. As the application for Paternity Benefit was received outside the six months time limit from the Paternity Leave dates, his claim was considered under the late claim legislation and disallowed.
In December 2022, the person concerned submitted an appeal to The Social Welfare Appeals Office. The appeal was disallowed on 16 May 2022 and a letter issued to the person concerned confirming this decision.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
495. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider including qualified adult payment recipients in the Christmas bonus double payment and any such double payment in future budgets; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24942/23]
View answerLast September, I announced the largest Social Protection budget in the history of the State, providing over €2.2 billion in supports to people across the State. This was in recognition of the pressures facing households due to the increasing cost of living. I was also pleased to announce two "double week" bonus payments - an Autumn bonus and a Christmas bonus. For the first time in 2023, the Christmas Bonus was extended to long-term recipients of Illness Benefit.
Recipients of these bonuses include pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and the long-term unemployed in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on their social welfare payment for all, or most, of their income.
All of these double week payments included payment of a double Qualified Adult increase where one was in payment on the eligible primary recipient's claim.
496. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection if a supplementary welfare allowance appeal can be awarded for a person (details supplied). [24985/23]
View answerThe purpose of an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) is to assist people with essential expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their available resources. The ENP is demand led and 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. Applications for ENPs are made under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service.According to the records of my Department, the person’s application for an ENP was disallowed on the basis that they had already met the need from their own resources. Following a request from the person concerned, a review of the decision was undertaken, and the claim has now been re-opened. A Community Welfare Officer visited the person at their home on 19/05/2023 where they advised they had received a loan from a family member to assist with a rent deposit. The person has been asked to provide confirmation of this arrangement. The person has also been asked to provide a quote for the purchase of home heating oil. When this documentation is received, the person's claim will be assessed, and they will be advised of the outcome in writing.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
497. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is aware that separated couples who have divided responsibility for childcare across a given week are currently caught in a situation where neither party is deemed to be entitled to the working family payment, despite the children being entirely dependent on both parties; if she has plans to address this unfair anomaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24987/23]
View answerThe Working Family Payment is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees with children who are on low earnings. It is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependents and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment.
To qualify for the Working Family Payment, the average total weekly family income must be below the relevant income threshold for the family's size. For example, the weekly income threshold for families with one child is €591 and for families with two children it is €692. The payment is calculated at 60% of the difference between the total family income and the income threshold that applies to the family.
Eligibility for the payment is not linked to receipt of a social welfare payment, but rather, a person must have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them or is part of a family wholly or mainly supported by them, and must be in employment for at least 38 hours per fortnight.
A qualified child is one under 18 years of age or a child between the ages of 18 and 22 who is attending full-time day education.
Where a relationship breaks down, If an applicant has a child living with a former spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, they can claim Working Family Payment in respect of that child/children provided that they applicant is wholly or mainly maintaining the former spouse, civil partner or cohabitant.
‘Wholly or mainly maintaining’ means that the other adult does not have an income in their own right in excess of €100 per week, is not cohabiting and is not in receipt of a social welfare income support payment in their own right.
As at the end of April, the average weekly payment made to families was estimated as €158, with in excess of 46,650 families (with over 101,000 children) being in receipt of the payment.
The Department continuously reviews its services and schemes to ensure they are meeting policy objectives, while any proposed changes need also to be considered in an overall budgetary context.
If the Deputy has a particular case of interest, I would advise him to bring it to my department's attention for more specific advice.
498. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in the light of the changing shape of the Irish family, her Department has plans to review the eligibility criteria for family-based social protection payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24988/23]
View answerThe Government recognises the changing shape of the Irish family. The Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2021 amended the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 to enable adoptive couples to choose which parent may avail of adoptive leave and, in doing so, rectified an anomaly in the legislation that left married male same-sex couples unable to avail of Adoptive Leave.
The Act also removed the presumption that the adoptive mother be the primary caregiver and permits families to choose the best option for their family. It provides for the availability of Paternity Leave and Benefit to the parent who is not availing of Adoptive Leave.
My Department continually reviews its services and schemes to ensure they are meeting policy objectives, with any changes considered in an overall budgetary context.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
499. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of cases referred to appeal in respect of all means-tested payments; the extent to which such cases are successful on appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24997/23]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions.
The table below outlines the total number of appeals received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office in 2022 in respect of all means-tested payments.
|
Scheme |
Received |
|
Blind Pension |
13 |
|
Carer's Allowance |
3,521 |
|
Disability Allowance |
5,637 |
|
Farm Assist |
76 |
|
Jobseeker's Transitional Payment |
126 |
|
State Pension (Non-Contributory) |
313 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
339 |
|
Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory) |
22 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
1,005 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance |
2,721 |
|
Widow(er)'s Pension (Non-Contributory) |
19 |
|
Total |
13,792 |
The table below provides a breakdown of appeals relating to means tested schemes with a favourable outcome for the appellant in 2022.
|
Scheme |
Allowedby Appeals Officer |
Part-Allowedby Appeals Officer |
Revised Decisionby Deciding Officer |
Total Favourableon appeal |
Total Decisions |
% Favourable |
|
Blind Pension |
1 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
13 |
38% |
|
Carer's Allowance |
804 |
67 |
520 |
1,391 |
3,388 |
41% |
|
Disability Allowance |
2,348 |
74 |
722 |
3,144 |
5,435 |
58% |
|
Farm Assist |
10 |
8 |
22 |
40 |
82 |
49% |
|
Jobseeker's Transitional Payment |
9 |
3 |
31 |
43 |
105 |
41% |
|
State Pension (Non-Contributory) |
34 |
24 |
70 |
128 |
304 |
42% |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
24 |
8 |
114 |
146 |
305 |
48% |
|
Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory) |
5 |
3 |
7 |
15 |
20 |
75% |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
111 |
20 |
144 |
275 |
925 |
30% |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance |
212 |
72 |
686 |
970 |
2,578 |
71% |
|
Widow(er)'s Pension (Non-Contributory) |
0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
17 |
24% |
|
Total |
3,558 |
280 |
2,323 |
6,161 |
13,172 |
47% |
All claim decisions taken by the Department’s Deciding Officers and Designated Persons are appealable to the Chief Appeals Officer. In any year about 85% of all claims are awarded by the Department and approximately 1% are appealed. The Department endeavours to ensure that these cases are dealt with as quickly as possible.
There is active engagement between the Appeals Office and the Department to ensure that the appeals process operates efficiently and that where the Deciding Officer's decision is not revised in favour of the appellant that the appeal file papers are provided as quickly as possible to the Appeals Office for consideration by an Appeals Officer.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
500. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applicants whose applications for the State pension have been deemed unsuccessful in the past three years on the grounds of insufficient contributions or a lack of the minimum requirement in terms of overall contributions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24998/23]
View answerUnder current eligibility conditions, applicants must have 520 full-rate paid contributions to qualify for standard State pension (contributory).
Pension entitlement depends on factors such as a person’s social insurance record, their attachment to the workforce, and countries of employment. Depending on an individual’s social insurance history, their entitlement may be assessed under a number of calculations. Where an individual satisfies the criteria under more than one calculation, the most financially beneficial rate of pension is awarded.
Below are the number of State pension (contributory) claims that remain disallowed in each of the past three years. These figures do not include applicants who have since passed away.
|
Year |
Customer claims disallowed |
|
2020 |
3,058 |
|
2021 |
3,746 |
|
2022 |
3,335 |
|
Total |
10,139 |
Where a person aged 66 or over does not satisfy the conditions to qualify for a state pension (contributory), or qualifies for less than the maximum rate, they may instead qualify for one of the following:
• The State Pension (non-contributory) which is a means-tested payment. The maximum rate is equivalent to 95% of the full rate State Pension (contributory); or
• An increase for a qualified adult, equivalent to 90% of the full rate State Pension (contributory) where their spouse/partner is in receipt of this pension; or
• Where their spouse/civil partner is deceased, a widow's/widower's/civil partner's contributory pension, which can be based on either their spouse's or their own social insurance record. The qualifying conditions for this require fewer contributions paid (260) than the State pension (contributory), and the maximum personal rate for those aged 66 is the same rate as the state pension (contributory), with allowances (notably the Living Alone Allowance) payable where applicable.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
501. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she continues to examine the situation whereby women who left full-time employment to care for a relative or family member and returned to the workforce with insufficient time to enable them to make the necessary contributions can meet the necessary contributions to qualify for a pension; if she continues to examine such cases with the prospect of remedial action; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24999/23]
View answerThis Government acknowledges the important contribution that carers provide and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the current State Pension (Contributory) system gives significant recognition to those whose work history includes an extended period of time outside the paid workplace, often to raise families or to provide another full-time caring role. PRSI Credits, Homemaking Disregards and HomeCaring Periods recognise caring periods of up to 20 years outside of paid employment in the calculation of a payment rate. Despite these measures some long-term carers of incapacitated dependents may still face barriers in accessing the State Pension. They may for example have difficulty establishing the minimum number of 10 years paid contributions.I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system in September 2022. The measures are in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations and represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system.
One of the most important reforms agreed by Government is enhanced State Pension provision for people who have been caring for incapacitated dependents for over 20 years. It will do this by attributing the equivalent of paid contributions to long-term carers to cover gaps in their contribution record and by establishing a register of family carers for this purpose.Department officials are currently working to implement the reforms, including the drafting of legislation and development of administrative and IT systems for implementation by January 2024. This will include identifying the eligibility criteria for those who will be attributed the equivalent of paid contributions for periods of long-term caring.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
502. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she might examine the extent to which a shortfall in an applicant's contributions has affected their entitlement to the State pension (contributory); if there remains an option of increasing their contributions up to the required level to enable them to qualify; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25000/23]
View answerThe State Pension (Contributory) is a PRSI-based pension, financed by contributions made by current workers and their employers, and paid to pensioners, at a rate based upon their PRSI record.A person is required to have a minimum of 520 paid reckonable PRSI contributions in order to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory). As the actuarial value of the State Pension is currently estimated at approximately €380,000, it is reasonable to require people claiming a contributory pension to have made at least 10 years of paid contributions over the term of their working life, before qualifying for a payment. The requirement for eligibility criteria in order to qualify for the State Pension (Contributory) was endorsed by the Commission on Pensions.
In September 2022, I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system. The measures are in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations and represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system.
One of the key measures is the introduction of a flexible pension system in Ireland from January 2024. Under this new system people will still be able to retire at 66 and draw-down their pension in exactly the same way as they can today. In addition, there will be new flexibility so that people can choose to defer their pension, work longer and receive an actuarially based increase in the weekly payment rate.
The flexible State Pension system is about providing people with choice. People will decide for themselves what best suits their needs and circumstances. For example, in the case of a person who reaches age 66 and does not have sufficient contributions to qualify for a full pension, they will now have the option to work for up to 4 years longer to build up additional entitlements. If a person has less than 10 years PRSI reckonable paid contributions, they may be able to use this period to establish entitlement.
Officials in my Department are currently working on the legislation and systems to support the introduction of this change, which will be effective from January 2024.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
503. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of appeals currently in hand in respect of means-tested social welfare payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25001/23]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions.
The table below provides details of the total number of appeals on hands as of 30 April 2023 in respect of means-tested social welfare payments
|
Scheme |
Total |
|
Blind Pension |
2 |
|
Carer's Allowance |
831 |
|
Disability Allowance |
1,783 |
|
Farm Assist |
35 |
|
Jobseeker's Transitional Payment |
51 |
|
State Pension (Non-Contributory) |
143 |
|
One-Parent Family Payment |
137 |
|
Guardian’s Payment (Non-Contributory) |
7 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
459 |
|
Jobseeker’s Allowance |
1,251 |
|
Widower’s (Non-Contributory) Pension |
12 |
|
Total |
4,711 |
All claim decisions taken by the Department’s Deciding Officers and Designated Persons are appealable to the Chief Appeals Officer. In any year about 85% of all claims are awarded by the Department and approximately 1% are appealed. The Department endeavours to ensure that these cases are dealt with as quickly as possible.
There is active engagement between the Appeals Office and the Department to ensure that the appeals process operates efficiently and that where the Deciding Officer's decision is not revised in favour of the appellant that the appeal file papers are provided as quickly as possible to the Appeals Office for consideration by an Appeals Officer.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
504. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for various health-related payments that have been refused in the past three years on the basis of failure to qualify on health grounds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25002/23]
View answerMy Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. In general, social welfare schemes which involve medical or caring conditionality take the longest time to process.
These cases have a number of complex qualifying conditions. There are a number of elements that a deciding officer must consider. As an example, before a decision can be made on entitlement to Carer’s Allowance and Carers Benefit, evidence must be provided in respect of the care recipient’s care requirements, the level of care the carer provides and the carer's means. In considering applications for disability allowance, evidence must be provided in respect of the person’s medical condition, the extent to which it restricts them from taking up employment, their means and their habitual residency. While considering applications for Invalidity Pension, a deciding officer must look at contributions paid and whether the person concerned is permanently incapable for work.
An application for any of these schemes may be disallowed on one or more of the eligibility conditions. My Department does not maintain statistics on each of the individual reasons.
The number of applications for various health-related schemes, registered, awarded and disallowed from 2020 to 2022 are set out in the table below
|
Disability Allowance |
Registered |
Awarded * |
Disallowed |
|
2020 |
20,671 |
15,686 |
13,559 |
|
2021 |
20,599 |
13,298 |
13,989 |
|
2022 |
26,021 |
13,817 |
14,593 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
Registered |
Awarded * |
Disallowed |
|
2020 |
9,991 |
8,332 |
5,270 |
|
2021 |
8,849 |
6,109 |
4,551 |
|
2022 |
8,932 |
5,918 |
4,142 |
|
Carer’s Allowance |
Registered |
Awarded * |
Disallowed |
|
2020 |
18,774 |
17,495 |
10,495 |
|
2021 |
19,648 |
14,804 |
9,134 |
|
2022 |
22,841 |
14,921 |
10,115 |
|
Carer's Benefit |
Registered |
Awarded * |
Disallowed |
|
2020 |
4,225 |
3,272 |
1,381 |
|
2021 |
4,069 |
2,706 |
1,077 |
|
2022 |
5,094 |
3,730 |
1,404 |
|
Domiciliary Care |
Registered |
Awarded * |
Disallowed |
|
2020 |
7,289 |
4,987 |
2,639 |
|
2021 |
9,131 |
5,3 69 |
2,478 |
|
2022 |
10,524 |
7,872 |
3,948 |
*It should be noted that the number of applications awarded, for each scheme, will include claims that have initially been disallowed and subsequently awarded on review or appeal.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
505. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of payments to men and women throughout the country on reaching their 100th birthday in each of the past five years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25003/23]
View answerMy Department does not make any payments to men and women throughout the country on reaching their 100th birthday. The only function that my Department has is to ascertain on request from the President's office, if these customers are alive. Therefore there are no such records held by my Department.
506. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of persons currently employed on community employment schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25004/23]
View answerThe aim of the Community Employment (CE) programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long-term unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their local communities on a temporary fixed term basis.
In addition to providing valuable occupational experience and training as a stepping-stone to employment for people who are unemployed CE schemes also provide important and, in many cases essential, services to their local communities.
At the end April 2023, there were 18,489 participants and 1,205 supervisors employed on CE, a total of 19,694.
I will continue to support the programme for the benefit of the CE participants and the valuable contribution being made to local communities through the provision of services.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
