Written Answers Nos. 742-756
742. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of a €10 increase in DCA; the additional cost of expanding it up to children aged under 18 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36758/23]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) ceases to be payable when a child turns 16. A child may transition to Disability Allowance (DA) from age 16, even if still attending full-time education, subject to satisfying all qualifying conditions for that scheme, including certain medical criteria and a means test.
Based on the number of children in respect of whom DCA is currently in payment, the added cost of a €10 rate increase would amount to approximately €7 million euro per annum.
The number of qualified children in respect of whom DCA is payable will vary each month and over time. However, as an indication of the potential cost of expanding the scheme to include children aged 16 and 17, there were nearly 5,000 such children who turned 16 in 2022. On the basis that these children continue to meet the eligibility conditions for the DCA payment, the cost of continuing to pay DCA following their 16th birthday until age 17 would amount to approximately €19 million per annum. If payment was further extend to age 18, the cost would amount to approximately €38 million euro per annum.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
743. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of providing a double payment of each weekly social welfare payment in the last week of October; to provide, in tabular form, a breakdown of the costs, by each weekly payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36759/23]
View answerThe following table provides the estimated cost of providing a double week bonus payment in October 2023 on the same basis as applied to the Christmas bonus 2022 (and including customers in receipt of the Working Family Payment). The total cost of such a payment is estimated at €345 million. This cost is in addition to the normal weekly payment for people getting these payments.
|
Scheme |
Cost (€m) |
|
State Pension (Non-Contributory) |
24.21 |
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
130.79 |
|
Widows', Widowers' / Surviving Civil Partners' Pension (Contributory) |
33.35 |
|
Widows', Widowers' / Surviving Civil Partners' Pension (Death Benefit) |
0.20 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance |
37.33 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
7.98 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit Self Employed |
0.23 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
12.25 |
|
Widows' Widowers' / Surviving Civil Partners Pension (Non-Contributory) |
0.22 |
|
Deserted Wife's Allowance |
0.01 |
|
Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance Payments |
0.72 |
|
Daily Expenses |
0.23 |
|
Farm Assist |
0.95 |
|
Deserted Wife's Benefit |
1.13 |
|
Work Placement Employment Programme |
0.90 |
|
Community Employment Programme |
5.76 |
|
Rural Social Scheme |
0.83 |
|
TUS |
1.62 |
|
Job Initiative |
0.20 |
|
Back to Work Enterprise Allowance |
0.67 |
|
Back to Education Allowance |
0.74 |
|
Disability Allowance |
38.22 |
|
Blind Pension |
0.24 |
|
Carer's Allowance |
19.72 |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
5.14 |
|
Illness Benefit |
3.90 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
14.38 |
|
Partial Capacity Benefit |
0.52 |
|
Disablement Benefit |
1.32 |
|
Carer's Benefit |
0.92 |
|
Guardian Payment (Non Contributory |
0.16 |
|
Back to Work Family Dividend |
0.23 |
|
Guardians Payment (Contributory) |
0.31 |
|
Magdalen Commission Scheme |
0.06 |
|
Total Estimated 2023 Christmas Bonus |
345.43 |
These costings are subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
744. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of increasing the qualified child payment for under 12s by €5 or €10 and for over 12s by €10 or €15; to provide the current number of eligible children in each category and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36760/23]
View answerThe estimated full year cost of increasing the Increase for Qualified Child by €5 for children under 12 years of age is €56.0m.
The 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 €10 for children aged 12 and over is €42.4m
The estimated full year cost of increasing the Increase for a Qualified Child by €15 for children aged 12 and over is €63.6m.
The cost is based on the estimated annual average number of eligible children- 249,900 aged under 12 and 96,200 aged 12 and over.
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.
745. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the current cost of the free travel scheme and the number of participants; the projected cost of introducing free travel to students, namely those aged 18 to 24 years who hold a public services card; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36761/23]
View answerThe Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are approximately 1,068,810 customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on the free travel scheme from my Department in 2023 is €95 million.
Providing an estimate of the cost of extending the free travel scheme to students aged 18 to 24 years who hold a Public Service Card is not readily available as the cost is determined by the usage of the extra passes provided and not by the increased number. The fact that many operators have reduced fares for students would also have to be taken into account.
The objective of the free travel scheme is to ensure older people and people with disabilities remain active within their community and, while consideration is always given to any requests to improve or extend eligibility to the free travel scheme, uncoupling the link between receipt of particular social welfare payments and eligibility for the free travel scheme would so fundamentally alter the scheme that it would move it away from being a social welfare measure to being a general transport initiative.
Any such scheme would also require a fundamental expansion to the administrative set up and operation of the free travel scheme, as it would have to grant and withdraw potentially hundreds of thousands of passes each year, using information which would have to be provided by all the colleges in the State in the case of higher education students. Any proposals in this regard would have to be considered in the context of priorities for the free travel scheme and the budgetary implications of same.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
747. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of increasing eligibility thresholds for supplementary welfare allowance by 10%, 20%, 30% respectively, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36763/23]
View answerThe supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents.
Under the SWA scheme, my Department may make Additional Needs Payments (ANPs) to help meet essential expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income or from other personal and household resources. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements.
All of the relevant circumstances of the case are taken into consideration by an officer of the community welfare service when deciding the level of support required. The decision process involves consideration of the nature of the need presented and the ability of the person and their household to meet that need. This entails an assessment of an applicant’s weekly household income, their savings and investments, their outgoings and the type of assistance needed.
The payment is available to anyone who needs it and qualifies, whether the person is currently receiving a social welfare payment or working on a low income.
The household income amounts published in relation to ANPs are not an eligibility threshold, but are intended as a guide to assist persons who may find themselves in financial difficulty and require assistance with essential expenses.
Guidelines issued to staff administering the scheme assist them in the decision making process and ensure consistency of service. However, they do not affect the discretion available to officers in issuing an additional needs payment to assist an individual or household in any particular hardship situation which may arise.
An additional needs payment amount, which can have a wide range value, will depend on a person’s weekly household income, their outgoings and the type of assistance needed.
For the reasons outlined above, It is not possible to provide an estimated cost of increasing eligibility thresholds for additional needs payments by 10%, 20% and 30% as assistance can be provided in all cases where the need cannot be met from existing resources.
Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to Supplementary Welfare Allowance is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office. In addition, applications for ANPs can be made online via www.mywelfare.ie.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
748. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of introducing a second band, paid at half the current rate of fuel allowance, for those on fixed incomes where their weekly means threshold is between €200 and €500; how many would be eligible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36764/23]
View answerThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €412 million in 2023. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs.
Providing an estimate of the cost of the measure suggested by the Deputy is not readily available. Qualification for fuel allowance is based on a number of complex qualifying criteria such as household composition and a means test. Furthermore, my Department does not hold data on all households in receipt of a fixed income with a means threshold of between €200 and €500.
Any decision to adjust the rules of Fuel Allowance to allow the cohort of people outlined by the Deputy to qualify for Fuel Allowance would have budgetary consequences and would have to be considered in an overall 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.
749. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of increasing the weekly means threshold for fuel allowance from €200 to €300; how many more would be eligible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36765/23]
View answerThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €412 million in 2023. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs.
The criteria for fuel allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to my Department in as targeted a manner as possible. To qualify for the fuel allowance payment, a person must satisfy all the qualifying criteria including a means test and the household composition criteria. This ensures that the fuel allowance payment is targeted at those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own.
Taking account of the fact that the Fuel Allowance is a household-based payment and that qualification is not just based on the means test but on a number of other qualifying criteria such as household composition, it is not possible for my Department to provide an accurate projection of the potential cost of the measure outlined by the Deputy. My Department also does not maintain records across all schemes of the amount by which unsuccessful fuel applicants are over the income threshold. It is also worth noting that many people above the existing income threshold may not make an application.
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.
756. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost for every €1 increase in the living alone allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36772/23]
View answerThe estimated full year cost of increasing the Living Alone Allowance by €1 per week is €12.5 million.
The cost is on a full year basis and is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
