Written Answers Nos. 119-133
119. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider opening a scheme in the near future for those who are missing PRSI contributions to receive a State pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54061/23]
View answerThere are a number of payments and pensions paid by my Department to people over State Pension Age. One of these is the State Pension (Contributory) (SPC), qualification for which is based on a number of criteria, including a minimum of 520 qualifying social insurance contributions having been paid. For those who have paid the required contributions, these will be used in the calculation of their entitlements.
As the actuarial value of the State Pension is currently estimated at approximately €380,000, I believe 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.
Where a person reaches State Pension age and does not satisfy the conditions to qualify for SPC 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 (based on their share of household means) with a maximum payment of 95% of the SPC; or
• An increase for a qualified adult (based on their own means), amounting up to 90% of a full rate SPC pension where their spouse has a contributory pension; or
• Where their spouse/civil partner is deceased, a widow's/widower's/civil partner's contributory pension, which they may claim either based on their spouse's or their own social insurance record. The qualifying conditions for this require fewer contributions paid (260) than the SPC and the current maximum personal rate for those aged 66 or over is €265.30, i.e., the same as the maximum rate of the SPC, with allowances (notably the Living Alone Allowance) payable where applicable.
In September 2022, I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system in response to the recommendations from the Pensions Commission. This set of measures represents 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. 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, from January 2024, there will be new flexibility for those reaching State Pension age, so that people may choose to defer their pension, work longer, build contributions and receive a higher pension payment, if they wish.
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 has less than the 520 PRSI reckonable paid contributions required to qualify for the contributory state pension, they may opt to continue working and paying PRSI between age 66 and 70 to build up their contributions. Should someone choose to defer their State Pension they may be entitled to receive an actuarially based increase in their weekly payment rate.
In addition, I am introducing measures to enhanced State Pension provision for people who have been caring for incapacitated dependents for 20 years or more. Where a person has not been in a position to satisfy the minimum of 520 paid contributions condition for pension purposes due to the time spent caring, they may be entitled to long-term carer's contributions. Long-term carer's contributions can be awarded to a person who has cared for an incapacitated person for a period of 20 years. These contributions will be treated the same as paid contributions for State Pension (Contributory) entitlement only and can be used to satisfy the minimum 520 contributions condition.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
120. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has been contact with the OPW in relation to the loss of car parking facilities by Social Protection staff in Cavan town; if alternative facilities are being considered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54159/23]
View answerI thank Deputy Tully for the question.
Accommodation for my Department is provided by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in buildings which are either State owned or leased by the OPW on our behalf. The accommodation is typically shared with other Government Departments and Offices with limited car parking spaces available to staff.
This has been brought to the attention of the Department's management who are currently actively engaging with the OPW on this matter.
On foot of this engagement, the OPW are reviewing parking facilities at other owned and leased properties in Cavan town to establish if there are surplus parking spaces that can be allocated to staff affected by the sale of this car park.
122. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress in relation to the implementation of the pilot scheme to support people experiencing food poverty based on a case work model, as funded by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49682/23]
View answerThe Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025 is a whole-of-government strategy with the ambitious target to reduce consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU. It includes a commitment to “develop a comprehensive programme of work to further explore the drivers of food poverty and to identify mitigating actions”.
In order to further progress this commitment, I secured funding under Budget 2023 to pilot a case worker service to work with people regularly accessing emergency food provision. Following a procurement process, the pilot programme commenced in September 2023 and is provided by organisations involved in emergency food provision in three regions of Ireland: Crosscare in Dublin, Feed Cork in Cork and Mid-West Simon in Limerick.
Food poverty is a complex problem and while food banks address an immediate need, by providing food packages to those experiencing food poverty, the underlying causes and issues need to be addressed for people to exit food poverty. This pilot programme will run for an 18-month period and aims to support at least 200 people in each location. My hope is that many of those supported will no longer need to access emergency food provision but, in addition, that we have a clear picture of the types of underlying issues and support required which will help inform future policy decisions.
123. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection about the free travel scheme and the introduction of booking fees of between €2-€10 by private transport companies for some passengers who avail of the scheme; if she plans to tackle this to ensure that public transport remains free for those who are eligible for the free travel scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53906/23]
View answerThe Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are over one million customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2023 is €95 million.
The Free Travel Scheme is available to all persons aged over 66 and those under age 66 on certain qualified payments, who are living legally and permanently in the State. The scheme permits those who are eligible to travel for free on most CIE public transport services, Local Link, LUAS and a range of transport services offered by some 74 private operators countrywide.Under the Free Travel scheme, there is no requirement or impediment for transport operators to provide additional services such as a seat booking service. Some travel operators have introduced online booking services for customers who wish to guarantee their seat on a particular service. This is entirely a matter for the transport operator concerned. Customers wishing to avail of Free Travel do not have to pre-book services with any operator participating in the Free Travel Scheme. They can continue to present on their preferred day of travel and avail of Free Travel using their Public Services Card.
It is open to any Free Travel customer who wants to be guaranteed a seat on a particular service to book their seat in advance, where a pre-booking facility exists. My Department has no control over the fee a transport company may charge for their seat pre-booking facility.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
124. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are any measures under consideration by her Department to reduce poverty levels in single parent families that were not announced in the Budget. [54181/23]
View answerI was pleased that Budget 2024 included a social welfare package worth almost €2.3 billion, the largest in the history of the State. This extensive package includes a number of measures which will benefit lone parents.
In December, recipients of One-Parent Family Payment, Jobseeker's Transitional payment and others will receive a lump sum payment of €100 in respect of each child for whom they receive an Increase for a Qualified Child. In addition, recipients of both of those payments will receive a Christmas bonus double week payment in December, and a cost-of-living double week payment in January. Like all parents, lone parent families are receiving a double month's Child Benefit payment this month.
Lone parents in receipt of the Fuel Allowance will receive a lump sum payment of €300 in November. Every household will also receive three energy credits of €150 each, which are due to be paid by April 2024.
Approximately half of the payments of the €400 cost of living lump sum payment made to recipients of the Working Family Payment last month, were made to lone parents.
I have also provided for a €12 increase in the personal rate of working age payments such as One-Parent Family Payment. This will increase the personal rate from €220 to €232, per week from January. In addition, the rate of Increase for a Qualified Child will increase by €4 to €46 per week in respect of a qualified child under age 12 and by €4 to €54 per week in respect of a qualified child aged 12 or over from January. As a result, these rates will have increased by €10 for under 12s and by €14 for over 12s over the last four Budgets.
A preliminary Social Impact Analysis undertaken in relation to the Budget 2024 Social Protection package shows a very progressive impact of the Budget package, with lowest income deciles benefitting most.
In addition, I intend to publish legislation shortly which will provide for child maintenance payments to 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 and 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.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
125. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Social Protection how many people availed of the Activation and Family Support Programme in 2022 to fund the cost of training supports and education courses for people on social welfare; how this compares to 2020 and 2021, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53940/23]
View answerThe Department's Activation and Family Support Programme provides funding to assist local organisations and agencies implement training and education initiatives to address the needs of recipients of welfare payments and their families who are distant from the labour market.
The Activation and Family Support Programme provided co-funding to 10 organisations in 2022 to support 16 programmes with expenditure of €222,000. In comparison, during 2021 the scheme providing co-funding to 9 organisations and supported 12 programmes with expenditure of €164,000. In 2020, co-funding was provided to 5 organisations and supported 12 programmes and the expenditure was €162,000. Activity on the scheme increased in 2022 following a reduction in activity during the period of the Covid 19 pandemic.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
126. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection to indicate whether consideration might be given to an easier system of transfer to disability allowance or other form of payment to those applicants who heretofore already qualified for domiciliary care allowance and who have no contributions to facilitate an ongoing payment on reaching the end of their DCA entitlement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54108/23]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly allowance payable to a parent/guardian in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability and requires continual or continuous care and attention in the home, that is substantially over and above the level of care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and the child must be likely to require this level of care for at least 12 months.
Eligibility for Domiciliary Care Allowance is not based entirely on the disability or diagnosis, but rather on the impact of the disability in terms of the level of care and attention required by the child, as provided for in the governing legislation. Domiciliary Care Allowance ceases to be payable when a child turns 16.
An application for Disability Allowance may be made by the child at 16 years of age. Disability Allowance is a means tested payment for people who are aged between 16 and 66 with a specified disability that may be expected to continue for at least a year.
Each year approximately half of the 16 year old children for whom Domiciliary Care Allowance was paid in respect of have successful applications for Disability Allowance.
As the basis for these two payments, care and disability, and the recipient of the payment are different it is not possible to have a seamless transition between the two payments.
I am committed to restructuring long-term disability payments and to simplify the social welfare system to make it work better for people with disabilities. On 20 September, I published a Green Paper on Disability Reform and launched the associated public consultation.
The aim of the Green Paper is two-fold. Firstly, it aims to support a higher level of employment for people with disabilities, which will improve their outcomes; and secondly, to better insulate disabled people who cannot work from poverty and deprivation.
One of the proposals in the Green Paper is to increase the age limit for Domiciliary Care Allowance from 16 to 18. This proposed change is in response to calls from parents as well as recommendations from reports going back as far as the Commission on Social Welfare in 1986.
I would like to emphasise that the Green Paper is not a final design. It is only a starting point for a structured discussion on what the future of long-term disability payments could look like. It offers one possible approach on how to target limited resources - its proposals are intended to invite discussion, debate and suggestions.
I encourage all those with an interest to express their views in our public consultation by making a submission. We would like to hear what people like and don't like about the proposals and suggestions on how they could be improved or replaced with alternatives. I have extended the consultation period until 15 March 2024.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
127. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if measures will be introduced to assist applicants that have domiciliary care applications progressed where there are delays outside the control of parents in having necessary assessments carried out for children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54212/23]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable to a parent / guardian in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and where the level of that disability is such that the child is likely to require this level of care for at least 12 consecutive months. This level of care and attention must be required to allow the child deal with the activities of daily living.
While an assessment or diagnosis of a child's specific disability may assist my Department's Deciding Officers and Medical Assessors to make an appropriate decision on entitlement and at the earliest date possible, eligibility for DCA is not based entirely on the type of disability or diagnosis, but rather on the impact of the disability, in terms of the associated level of care and attention required by the child compared to a child of the same age. The decision process that applies in the consideration of whether a child meets the conditions for receipt of DCA includes the examination of all relevant factors identified as impacting on the child's additional care needs.
Applications for DCA are decided by a Deciding Officer on a case by case basis in respect of the relevant child. The Deciding Officer has regard to the professional opinion of a Departmental Medical Assessor in the decision process.
In addition to the personal details relating to the child's care needs as provided by the applicant on the completed application form (Dom Care 1), including the signed details from the applicant's GP/Specialist or other medical professional on this form, the applicant may provide any additional information or documentary evidence that is relevant to their application such as a medical professional report(s) if available, but there is no specific requirement to provide this information.
A parent / guardian should apply for DCA once they consider that their child may meet the qualifying criteria for the allowance. It is also open to an applicant to subsequently request a review(s) of any decision and this right is not time-limited. If requesting a review(s) of a Deciding Officer's decision, an applicant may forward any further new or additional information or documentary evidence, such as a diagnostic assessment report that was not previously available with the initial DCA application, for further consideration.
In cases where an application is successful, DCA is awarded with effect from the month following receipt of the application.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
128. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she believes the level of social welfare payments is adequate to prevent child poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54226/23]
View answer141. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will increase all social welfare payments over the poverty line to ensure no one is living in poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54225/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 141 together.
The Government is committed to the reduction of all forms of poverty, particularly child poverty, as outlined in the Programme for Government and the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020 to 2025.
The Roadmap is a whole of Government strategy with the ambitious target to reduce consistent poverty to 2 per cent or less and make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU. Following a mid-term review published in June 2023, this is to be achieved by implementing 81 commitments across seven high level goals. Progress on the majority of these commitments is well underway, with the majority achieved or achieved with on-going delivery and the remaining commitments in progress.
Social Protection Budgets over the past number of years have prioritised the introduction of measures that have had and will continue to have a direct and positive impact on poverty, and in particular on child poverty. This includes:
• A €17 increase in weekly personal rates of payments.
• Increases to Qualified Child Payments, bringing rates to €50 per week for children aged 12 and over, and €42 for children under the age of 12.
• Increases in the Working Family Payment thresholds in Budgets 2022 and 2023, as well as a €500 cost of living lump sum payment to all recipients last November.
• once-off €100 lump sum payment for Child Benefit.
• once-off €100 payment in Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.
• Extension of the Hot School Meals programme to all DEIS primary schools and special schools from October 2023, benefiting 64,500 children.
Independent post Budget 2024 analysis from the ESRI further found that the package of measures introduced under the Budget ensures that there are gains in disposable income for all household types, with lone parents and pensioners living alone recording the greatest proportional increases.
Research published under the joint DSP-ESRI Poverty and Social Inclusion Research Programme has examined, among other things, effective measures for reducing poverty and child poverty. The research finds that bringing about a significant reduction in consistent poverty requires more than a package of social welfare payments. In this regard, the most effective route out of poverty is increasing employment.
My Department recently launched a public consultation on the setting of a new national child poverty target. The consultation is available on the gov.ie website and is open until the 19th of January 2024. The development of a new national child poverty target will feed into the wider whole of Government approach to address child poverty, including the establishment of the Child Poverty and Well-being programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach and the recently published Young Ireland: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023 – 2028, led by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
129. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection when legislation to remove child maintenance as household means for lone parent payments will be introduced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53473/23]
View answerThe Report of the Child Maintenance Review Group was published last November and the Government has accepted the Group's recommendations regarding the social welfare system. These changes will decouple child maintenance and social welfare and are significant reforms, which will be of great benefit to lone parents.
As a consequence, 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 and 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 changes require amendments to both primary and secondary legislation as well as changes to some of the Department’s systems, application forms and processes. In terms of the changes to primary legislation, the draft Heads of Bill have undergone pre-legislative scrutiny at the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development, and work on drafting the Bill has been ongoing. It is my aim to publish the legislation before Christmas.
I trust this clarifies the position.
130. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps which she is taking to increase part-time employment participation levels among those in receipt of jobseeker’s payments from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53877/23]
View answerThe Public Employment Service (PES) offers a range of supports to help Jobseekers secure and sustain employment. The service is delivered, through Employment Personal Advisers (EPA) and Job Coaches (JC) who offer an individualised employment service delivered mainly via one-on-one engagements. In these engagements the EPA/JC will work with the Jobseeker to identify their skills/competencies, work experience and work preference with a view to matching them to job opportunities. Skills needs/gaps and any specific potential barriers to employment are also addressed as part of an agreed Personal Progression Plan (PPP). The PPP documents the steps that the jobseeker will take to progress to suitable and sustainable full-time employment. The Intreo Public Employment Service provides a wide range of supports which may include referrals to further education and training, placement on employment support schemes and job matching services where appropriate.
Where full time employment is not secured, part-time employment is supported through a number of schemes, including casual and systematic short-time work arrangements for people on jobseeker payments. The main social welfare schemes for people who are unable to find full-time employment are the social insurance contribution-based Jobseeker's Benefit and the means-tested Jobseeker's Allowance. These schemes allow a person to work up to three days per week, where they are fully unemployed for at least four in any seven consecutive days. Among the qualifying conditions for both schemes are that a person must be available for and genuinely seeking full-time work.
The Part-Time Job Incentive Scheme (PTJI) is available to people who are long-term unemployed to take up part-time employment for less than 24 hours per week and receive a weekly income supplement. The scheme is generally awarded for one year but may be extended for up to 12 weeks in exceptional circumstances. Participants are expected to continue to make efforts to find full-time work.
The PES promotes part time employment for Jobseekers by providing schemes and such as Community Employment (CE) or Tús. These schemes are aimed at those customers who long term unemployed. Participants of these schemes can also avail of other part time employment. These customers are also continually supported to seek full-time employment.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
131. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are plans to make provision for pension contributions for foster carers where they are unable to take-up other employment due to their role as a foster carer. [54218/23]
View answerMatters related to foster caring, including any criteria relating to work, are the responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and for Tusla. This Government acknowledges the important role that carers, including Foster carers, play and is fully committed to supporting them in that role. Accordingly, the current State Pension (Contributory) system provides 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 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.
I was very pleased to introduce the legislation to give effect to these measures in the Dail last month and I expect the legislation to be enacted by the end of the year.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
132. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Social Protection what work is being done to reduce the processing time for disability allowance applications which have increased by two weeks since December 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54101/23]
View answerMy Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that Disability Allowance (DA) applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
The DA scheme has a number of complex qualifying conditions and can take longer to process. Before a decision can be made on an entitlement to DA, 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.
The target processing time for the DA scheme is to award 75% of applications within 10 weeks. Currently, the average waiting time to award for new DA applications is 10 weeks. My Department understands the many pressures faced by people and always seeks to ensure that claims are processed quickly and efficiently.
The volume of DA applications received to date in 2023 has increased by 10% compared to the same period in 2022. However, I wish to reassure the Deputy that claim processing is kept under active review, with all possible steps taken to improve processing times. This includes the assignment of additional resources, where available, and the review of business processes, to ensure the efficient processing of applications.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
133. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection about the recent increase in scam text messages and phone calls concerning the lump sum payments from her Department; what the Department is doing to combat these; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54066/23]
View answerMy Department is aware of scam calls and text messages relating to Government supports, targeting members of the public.
These fraudulent messages claim to be from the Department and are requesting that people apply for supports announced as part of Budget 2024. The recipient of the scam may or may not be in receipt of a social welfare payment.
The focus of the Department's response has been on the provision of information so that people are aware that these messages are fraudulent.
In addition, the Department works with An Garda Síochána and the National Cyber Security Centre in relation to these scams. My Department also retains an industry leading phishing disruption & takedown service which it uses to remove or take-down malicious and phishing websites as quickly as possible.
Where personal information has been shared by a member of the public and the Department is made aware of this, appropriate measures are taken to ensure that fraudulent claims are not made.
The Department continues to remind people to be alert to possible scam phone calls or text messages. We have published a page with guidance for the public: gov.ie/scamalert.
This page includes advice on what to do if you get a strange text or email and it is on our main Department page on the www.gov.ie website, to make easy to find and access. We have also issued warnings on our social media channels, in English and Irish.
This message is also shared across Government, by other Departments.
