Written Answers Nos. 727-741
727. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer of raising the qualified child increase by €10 for children under 12 years and €15 for children over 12 years. [36619/23]
View answerThe estimated full year cost of increasing the Increase for Qualified Child by €10 for children under 12 years of age is €112.0m.
The estimated full year cost of increasing the Increase for a Qualified Child by €15 for children aged 12 and over is €63.6m.
It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
728. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer of expanding child benefit to students until they finish formal education. [36620/23]
View answerThe estimated full-year cost of extending Child Benefit to 18-20 year olds in secondary school is €70.5m.
This costing is based on the estimated school enrolment numbers and is subject to change in light of emerging trends in those numbers and subsequent revisions.
Any extension of the Child Benefit scheme in this manner would need to be considered in an overall Budgetary and policy context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
729. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer of retaining the €100 increase in the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. [36621/23]
View answer733. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer to have access to the back-to-school allowance extended to foster carers for the benefit of the children in their care. [36687/23]
View answer746. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the dates that the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowances will be paid; the additional cost in a full year to retain the current €100 increase; the estimated cost to extend it to foster carers; the additional cost to provide the current payment to all school-going children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36762/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 729, 733 and 746 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.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment has been increased by €100 for the 2023 scheme year. The rates of payment for the 2023 scheme year are €260 for children aged between 4 and 11 years and €385 for children aged 12 and over.
This year, the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payments began to issue week being 10 July. To date, 136,000 families in respect of 240,500 children have been awarded the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance and these families have received their payment as outlined in their award notification.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme remains open to new applications on www.mywelfare.ie until 30 September. Officers are processing applications as efficiently as possible and once the application is awarded, the payment will issue to the customer within the next 3 working days.
153,000 families in respect of 273,000 children were awarded the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment in 2022. Using the total number of children benefitting for the scheme in 2022 as a basis, the additional cost in a full year to retain the current €100 increase is €27.3 million.
The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is not payable in respect of foster children as the financial support provided to foster parents by Tusla, the foster care allowance, includes provision for the cost of clothing and footwear for the foster child. It is not possible to accurately quantify the additional number of families that would make an application if the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance was extended to foster children. Foster carers may qualify for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance in respect of children in the household for whom the foster care allowance is not received.
The additional cost to provide the current payment to all school-going children, based on 2022 primary and post primary enrolments figures is €215.6 million.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
730. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer of extending the jobseeker's transitional payment to one-parent families in work, training or education. [36622/23]
View answer754. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost to extend the JST to one-parent families in work, training or education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36770/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 730 and 754 together.
The Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment is a means tested income support for lone parents whose youngest child is aged 7 to 13 years, inclusive. When the persons youngest child turns 14, a person may be eligible for another scheme such as Jobseeker’s Allowance.
My Department also provides a number of other related supports. For example, the Working Family Payment which is available to lone parents who are working 38 or more hours per fortnight. A person can receive a payment under the scheme where a person has a child up to age 18 (or age 22 if in full time education). The scheme is paid based on 60% of the difference between the persons average weekly family income and the Working Family Payment threshold for the family size. The threshold is €591 per week where there is one child, €622 per week where there are two children and so on up to €1,358 per week where there are eight or more children.
In addition, a person who takes up insurable employment or self-employment, within four weeks of the end of their Jobseeker's Transitional Payment claim, can qualify for Back to Work Family Dividend, which is payable for a two-year period.
In year one, the rate of payment is based on the person's Qualified Child entitlement, subject to a maximum of four children, on the date of exit from their previous payment. Fifty per cent of that amount is payable in year two. The weekly rates of payment are set out below.
|
Under 12 |
1 child |
2 children |
3 children |
4 or more children |
|
|
|
Year 1 |
€42.00 |
€84.00 |
€126.00 |
€168.00 |
|
|
Year 2 |
€21.00 |
€42.00 |
€63.00 |
€84.00 |
|
12 or over |
1 child |
2 children |
3 children |
4 or more children |
|
|
|
Year 1 |
€50.00 |
€100.00 |
€150.00 |
€200.00 |
|
|
Year 2 |
€25.00 |
€50.00 |
€75.00 |
€100.00 |
Importantly, Working Family Payment and Back to Work Family Dividend can be paid concurrently.
The cost of paying the means tested Jobseeker's Transitional Payment to lone parents, after their youngest child turns 14, who are in employment, training or education would be very difficult to estimate. This is because, for example, in addition to demographics and evolving family structures, a person's circumstances may change over time: some persons formerly in receipt of Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment will be in receipt of another payment from the department, others may not be in receipt of a payment; while still others will be in employment and may not qualify for a means tested payment. Therefore, the numbers who would qualify were the scheme to be extended as described is not known.
The current approach aims to support lone parents by reducing long-term welfare dependency, and associated poverty, among this group by focusing on their access to education, training, and employment support services. Access to these services is designed to enhance the person's skills-set and job-readiness, thereby assisting with their transition into the workforce, and with their subsequent attainment of financial independence. There are no plans to change the current arrangements at present.
731. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer of extending the entitlement of the living alone allowance and household benefits package to one-parent families. [36623/23]
View answer755. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost to extend the entitlement of the living alone allowance and household benefits package to one-parent families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36771/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 731 and 755 together.
The Living Alone Increase (LAI) is an extra payment for recipients of certain social welfare payments who live alone. It is an increase of €22 per week available to persons aged 66 or older who live alone and are in receipt of the State Pension, Widow(er) or Surviving Civil Partner's Pension, Incapacity Supplement or Deserted Wife's Benefit. It is also available to those aged under 66 who live alone and are in receipt of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Incapacity Supplement, or Blind Pension.
The estimated cost of the provision of the Living Alone Increase to all those in receipt of One Parent Family Payment (OPFP) and Jobseekers Transition payment (JST) would be as follows:
|
Scheme |
Yearly Rate of LAI |
Number of Additional Recipients |
Additional Yearly Cost |
|
OPFP |
€1,144 |
41,235 |
€47.2 million |
|
JST |
€1,144 |
19,611 |
€22.4 million |
The Household Benefits Package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €285 million this year on HHB for over 511,000 customers.
People over the age of 70 receive the HHB 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.
It is estimated that 20% of people in receipt of OPFP already have access to the HHB package as they are also in receipt of Carer's Allowance, therefore the number of OPFP claims that may benefit from the measure is reduced to 32,988. The estimated cost of the provision of HHB to all those in receipt of OPFP and JST would be as follows: -
|
Scheme |
Yearly Rate of HHB |
Number of Additional Recipients |
Additional Yearly Cost |
|
OPFP |
€580 |
32,988 |
€19.1 million |
|
JST |
€580 |
19,611 |
€11.4 million |
All proposals, including the proposals outlined by the Deputy could only be considered while taking account of overall Government policy and in a budgetary context.
I trust that this clarifies these matters for the Deputy.
732. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied). [36624/23]
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 Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered on the 13th April 2023. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received from the Department on 8th June 2023.
The case was referred on 14th June to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, hold an oral appeal hearing.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
734. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer to extend eligibility to the State pensions for foster carers. [36688/23]
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 provides for 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 payment rate. Foster carers are entitled to the benefits of the Homemaker’s Scheme or HomeCaring Periods on the same basis as other carers, and will qualify if the carer is in receipt of Child Benefit. If the foster carer is not in receipt of Child Benefit, they can still qualify for Homemaker’s Scheme or HomeCaring Periods provided the caring periods are confirmed by Tusla.
Despite these measures, some long-term carers of incapacitated dependents may still face barriers in accessing the State Pension (Contributory). 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 last September in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations.
An important reform 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 a paid contribution to long-term carers to cover gaps in their contribution record. Foster Carers who have cared for an incapacitated dependent or dependents for over 20 years will also benefit from this important change. My officials are currently working to implement these reforms.
In its Strategic Plan for Fostercare Sevices, launched last year, Tusla stated that as of June 2022, there were 3,985 foster carers in Ireland. This department does not have data on how many of them would have enough social insurance contributions to qualify for the State Pension (contributory), credit contributions and other related information. It is therefore not possible to provide an estimate specifically for foster carers.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
735. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department, and all agencies under the remit of his Department, have their telephone contact details on their websites and on other media platforms; if all stationery and headed notepaper used in correspondence with the public contain relevant phone contact details, taking into account that everybody is not in a position to correspond by e-mail; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36703/23]
View answerMy Department and its agencies are fully committed to delivering excellent customer service.
The Department's Customer Charter outlines our commitments in detail, and explains what customers can expect when they contact us. It states that when a customer contacts us by letter or email that: "we will always provide you with a contact name, telephone number, email address or postal address, so that you can contact us again if you need to."
Department letters issued to customers contain the contact details of the relevant office dealing with the customer's claim or payment.
In relation to my Department’s website and social media platforms
- The Department's home page on gov.ie contains the main Department phone number as well as providing a link to a Phone Number Directory that contains all relevant contact phone numbers by scheme or service area so that people can easily access the phone number or email address that they need.
- The online portals mywelfare.ie and jobsireland.ie also contain relevant contact numbers and email addresses.
- The main Department phone number and an email address is available on Instagram, giving customers the choice to contact the Department via their preferred method.
- Twitter and LinkedIn channels provide a link to the Department’s home page on gov.ie, which includes all relevant contact numbers.
The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Citizens Information Board (CIB), the Pensions Authority and the Pensions Council.
The Pensions Authority’s headed notepaper contains their phone number, as does their website. They do not provide a phone number on LinkedIn, the Authority’s only social media platform, as this platform is used only to post information already existing on its website.
The Pensions Council was established to provide policy advice to the Minister and, as such, it is not a public facing body, nor does it have staff. The Pensions Authority provides secretariat support to the Council and administers any enquiries received by the Council.
The Citizens Information Board has relevant telephone contact details on the websites and social media platforms they manage. The stationery and headed paper have contact details, including email addresses and a contact telephone number.
I trust the above clarifies matters for the Deputy.
736. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) in County Kerry is eligible for illness benefit on their 2022 social insurance class A contributions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36752/23]
View answerMy Department received an application for Illness Benefit from the person concerned on the 23rd June 2023. Unfortunately, they did not qualify for payment of Illness Benefit as they did not satisfy the PRSI conditions.
In order to qualify for Illness Benefit, a person must have at least 39 reckonable PRSI contributions paid or credited in the relevant tax year, or 26 contributions paid in both the relevant tax year and the year before that. For claims made in 2023, the relevant tax year is 2021. The person concerned has only 7 reckonable contributions paid in 2021, and no reckonable contributions in 2020, and as such they do not qualify for payment.
A letter issued to the person on 5th July 2023 providing them the full details of this decision. The person concerned should continue to submit medical certificates for as long as they are incapable of work in order to receive PRSI credited contributions.
If the person concerned is in urgent need of financial assistance, it is open for them to contact the Community Welfare Officer in their local Intreo office to enquire about assistance under the means-tested Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
737. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of expanding eligibility for cohabiting couples to all social welfare benefits on the same basis for married couples; what work her Department has carried out on this to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36753/23]
View answerClaimants with cohabiting partners are recognised within the social welfare system as having additional needs in cases where their cohabiting partner is financially dependent upon them. The payment of an Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) in addition to the personal rate of payment reflects these additional household needs.
The IQA is payable in respect of a person who is wholly or mainly maintained by the customer, subject to a means test, regardless of whether the couple are married or not. Where one member of a cohabiting couple claims a means-tested social assistance payment, their partner's income is taken into account in the means test.
In regard to schemes, neither the Widow(er)’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory nor the Non-Contributory Pension are currently payable to surviving cohabiting partners who have not entered into marriage or a civil partnership with the person they were cohabiting with. Entering into a marriage or civil partnership is a legal act, which confers both rights and obligations on both parties that do not exist in law between cohabiting couples.
The legal context governing relationships such as marriage is regulated by the Minister for Justice.
Aside from the wider legal issues regarding the status of marriage and civil partnerships, which is a much broader policy area than its implications for the income support schemes of my Department, extending the current provisions to people who have not undertaken equivalent legal obligations would potentially carry significant costs.
Estimating the precise extent of the costs which might accrue in these circumstances is not currently possible.
738. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of increasing all weekly social welfare payments by either 10%, €15 or €27.50 per week respectively; to provide a breakdown, by payment, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36754/23]
View answerThe estimated full year cost of increasing all weekly social welfare payments by 10%, €15 and €27.50 respectively is shown in the table below.
|
Scheme |
10% Increase |
€15 Increase |
€27.50 Increase |
|
|
€m |
€m |
€m |
|
Social Insurance Schemes |
|
|
|
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
715.6 |
403.8 |
740.5 |
|
Widow/er's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Con) Pension (Under 66) |
33.1 |
22.0 |
40.3 |
|
Widow/er's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Con) Pension (Over 66) |
126.6 |
71.4 |
131.0 |
|
Deserted Wife's Benefit (Under 66) |
1.8 |
1.2 |
2.2 |
|
Deserted Wife's Benefit (Over 66) |
3.9 |
2.2 |
4.0 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
70.7 |
46.9 |
86.0 |
|
Partial Capacity Benefit |
2.8 |
1.9 |
3.5 |
|
Guardian's Payment (Contributory) |
1.2 |
0.9 |
1.6 |
|
Death Benefit Pension |
0.7 |
0.4 |
0.7 |
|
Disablement Pension |
6.3 |
3.8 |
6.9 |
|
Illness Benefit |
60.9 |
41.5 |
76.2 |
|
Injury Benefit |
0.7 |
0.5 |
0.8 |
|
Incapacity Supplement |
1.0 |
0.7 |
1.2 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
42.4 |
28.9 |
53.0 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit (Self-Employed) |
1.1 |
0.8 |
1.4 |
|
Carer's Benefit |
4.2 |
2.7 |
4.9 |
|
Health and Safety Benefit |
0.1 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
|
Maternity & Adoptive Benefit |
26.5 |
15.2 |
27.8 |
|
Paternity & Parent's Benefit |
9.5 |
5.5 |
10.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Social Assistance Schemes |
|
|
|
|
State Pension (Non Con) |
126.5 |
74.7 |
137.0 |
|
Blind Person's Pension |
1.2 |
0.8 |
1.5 |
|
Widow/ers or Surviving Civil Partner's (Non-Con) Pension |
1.2 |
0.8 |
1.5 |
|
Deserted Wife's Allowance |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.1 |
|
One-Parent Family Payment |
46.3 |
31.6 |
57.8 |
|
Carer's Allowance (Under 66) |
59.1 |
37.6 |
68.9 |
|
Carer's Allowance (Over 66) |
2.7 |
1.5 |
2.7 |
|
Half Rate Carer's Allowance (Under 66) |
16.3 |
10.4 |
19.0 |
|
Half Rate Carer's Allowance (Over 66) |
11.6 |
6.3 |
11.6 |
|
Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) |
0.6 |
0.5 |
0.8 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance Max Rate |
150.5 |
102.6 |
188.1 |
|
JA age 18 to 24 |
8.9 |
10.3 |
18.8 |
|
Disability Allowance |
192.3 |
131.2 |
240.5 |
|
Farm Assist |
5.9 |
4.0 |
7.3 |
|
Employment Support Schemes (BTWA & BTEA) |
8.6 |
5.9 |
10.7 |
|
Employment/Internship Schemes (CE, Tús, RSS etc.) |
43.8 |
26.9 |
49.2 |
|
Work Placement Experience Programme |
0.5 |
0.3 |
0.5 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
13.4 |
9.2 |
16.9 |
|
TOTAL* |
1798.8 |
1104.7 |
2025.4 |
* Rounding may affect totals
The costs shown above are on a full year basis and are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
It should also be noted that these costings include proportionate increases for qualified adults and for those on reduced rates of payment, where relevant.
739. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection how much the State contributory pension would have to increase by to provide a level of payment equivalent to 34% of average earnings; the total estimated cost; the estimated cost of a €53-per-week increase; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36755/23]
View answerAs part of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, Government committed to finalising an approach for the benchmarking and indexation of pension payments.
Last September, I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system. The measures are in response to the recommendations from the Commission on Pensions and represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system.
As part of this, a smoothed earnings method to calculating a benchmarked/indexed rate of State Pension payments will be introduced as an input to the annual budget process and will be submitted to Government in September each year, commencing this year.
It references published CSO earnings statistics – calculating 34% of average earnings (excluding irregular earnings and overtime) - and also references the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP) to calculate a price-adjusted rate.
The cost to increase State pensions to provide a level of payment equivalent to 34% of average earnings (excluding irregular earnings and overtime), based on provisional Q1 earnings figures, is €332 million, based on a €9 increase in rates. This costing, as requested, does not take account of prices.
The estimated full year cost of increasing State pensions by €53 is €1,955.7 million.
The costs shown above are on a full year basis and are based on the estimated number of recipients in 2023. They include costs for State Pension Contributory, State Pension (Non-Contributory) and Widows Contributory Pension (Over 66). It should be noted that these costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2024.
It should also be noted that these costings include proportionate increases for qualified adults and for those on reduced rates of payment, where relevant.
740. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of expanding child benefit to 18 and 19-year-olds in full-time education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36756/23]
View answerChild Benefit is a universal monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their eighteenth birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. It is currently paid to over 650,000 families in respect of over 1.2 million children with an estimated expenditure of more than €2.1 billion in 2023.
Families on low incomes may be able to avail of a number of social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:
- Increase for a Qualified Child with primary social welfare payments;
- the Working Family Payment for low-paid employees with children; and
- the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance, where the child is in second level education.
These schemes provide targeted assistance that is directly linked to household income and thereby support low-income families with older children participating in full-time education.
There are currently no plans to extend Child Benefit in respect of full-time students who are over 18 years of age and in full time education. Such an extension would have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.
The Department does not hold figures on the number of students aged 19 and over in full-time education or training. The estimated full-year cost of extending Child Benefit to 18-year-olds still in secondary school at the current rate of payment is €65m.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
741. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of increasing child benefit by €10 per month; the projected cost of providing a double payment of the existing rate in September; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36757/23]
View answerChild Benefit is a universal monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their eighteenth birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Child Benefit is currently paid to over 650,000 families in respect of over 1.2 million children with an estimated expenditure of more than €2.1 billion in 2023.
The estimated cost of increasing the monthly rate of Child Benefit by €10 is approximately €12.5 million per month or over €150 million per year. A €10 monthly increase would bring the estimated annual expenditure on Child Benefit to in excess of €2.25 billion.
The estimated cost of a once-off double month's payment of Child Benefit at the current rate of payment is approximately €175.34 million.
These estimates are based on the number of recipients in May 2023. It should be noted that this costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated number of recipients.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
