Written Answers Nos. 907-920
907. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Social Protection how many persons who have been granted international protection or a leave to remain and continue to reside in accommodation provided by IPAS are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance. [57130/23]
View answerThere are a number of different forms of protection which the State can grant to international protection applicants. These include programme refugee status, refugee status, subsidiary protection and permission to remain in Ireland. The term ‘protection’ is used to cover all of these. Once protection is granted, the person has a right to live and work in Ireland on the same basis as an Irish citizen. They are entitled to apply for any social welfare payment appropriate to their circumstances, subject to the rules of the scheme.
The Department does not collate statistics on the number of persons in receipt of jobseekers allowance who have been granted international protection or a leave to remain and continue to reside in accommodation provided by IPAS, as this is not necessary for the administration of the scheme.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
908. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress to date in the determination of an invalidity pension application in the case of a person (details supplied); when a decision will issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57136/23]
View answerInvalidity Pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.
The person concerned has been awarded IP with effect from 5 October 2023 and received first payment to his nominated bank account on 4 January 2024. He received all arrears due from 5 October 2023 to his account on 11 January 2024. The person in question was notified of this decision on 21 December 2023.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
909. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on an appeal for carers allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57144/23]
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.
I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of the Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by an Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts.
I am advised that the person concerned has since submitted additional evidence and that the Department has been requested to return the file to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. On receipt of this file, the Appeals Officer will review the case. The person concerned will be contacted when the review of her appeal has been finalised.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
910. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if eligibility for an exceptional needs payment for a replacement boiler can be re-examined with particular reference to the fact that the applicant (details supplied) is in receipt of an invalidity pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57152/23]
View answerUnder the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme, my Department may make an Additional Needs Payment (ANP) to help meet essential expenditure which an eligible person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to Exceptional Needs Payments (ENPs) and Urgent Needs Payments (UNPs), and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the customer’s own resources, and which are deemed to be necessary. ANPs are means tested and administered by Designated Persons in the Community Welfare Service considering the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case.
According to the records of the Department, the person concerned applied for an ANP to assist with the cost of a replacement boiler for their home heating system. This claim was disallowed on the basis that the person had adequate savings to meet the cost of the boiler. The person concerned was advised of the outcome of their application in writing and afforded the option of seeking a review of the Designated Person’s decision.
Determinations made in relation to claims made under Sections 200, 201 and 202 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation Act) 2005, namely allowances-in-kind, ENPs and UNPs, can be reviewed by a SWA Reviewing Officer under Section 323 of that Act.
Following the Deputy’s request, a SWA Reviewing Officer reviewed the claim and considering the circumstances of the case, upheld the original decision made by the Designated Person. Correspondence issued to the person concerned on 28/12/2023 advising them of the outcome of the review.
If the person concerned requires assistance with an essential expense that they are unable to meet from their own means in the future, it is open to them to make a new application for assistance by completing a SWA1 form. This form is available in all Intreo Centres and can also be requested by calling the National CWS freephone line at 0818 60 70 80 or at www.eforms.gov.ie/en/forms/5. Alternatively, if the person concerned has a verified MyGovID account they can apply for an ANP at www.MyWelfare.ie.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
911. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection the financial assistance, for maintenance and care related costs and so on, available to those who are vision impaired and have a guide dog; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57166/23]
View answerThe Community Welfare Service (CWS) in my Department provides a range of supports under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme. These supports can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, as well as a single Additional Needs Payment (ANP).
An ANP can be made to help meet expenses that an eligible person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from a person’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. ANPs are awarded at the discretion of the Community Welfare Officers administering the scheme considering the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case. A person must provide personal, financial, household, and other information in support of their claim to determine eligibility and to establish a need arising.
If the Deputy is aware of a specific case in which a person is experiencing financial difficulties, he can provide the person’s details to the Community Welfare Service email address for Oireachtas members at TDREPSCWS@welfare.ie so that my officials can send an application pack.
ANPs are not intended to cover circumstances where another Government Department or Agency has a primary responsibility. A person who is blind or visually impaired, can claim a tax credit if they own a trained guide dog. The Guide Dog Allowance is an annual allowance of €825 at the standard 20% rate of Income Tax (equal to a tax credit of €16). The allowance is administered by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners.
912. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a schedule of the personal and or person-specific data sets her Department holds that have been provided and/or shared with other Departments and/or Ministers and/or State bodies and/or agencies and/or local authorities in the past 20 years to date; if she will clarify if the transfer of data and/or records was in aggregated form or on an individual basis; and the reason the data and/or records were provided. [57218/23]
View answerMy Department shares personal data with a number of Government Departments, bodies, agencies, and local authorities, for the purposes which are set out in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 and in other Acts.
The personal data shared may include identity data, such as Personal Public Service Number (PPSN), name, address, date of birth, as well data relating to life events such as date of birth and date of death. In addition, data on social welfare payments and data relating to a person's social insurance contributions are shared with the Revenue Commissioners.
The data shared may be aggregated or individual depending on the legislative provisions and purpose which relate to the data sharing activity, which provisions set out the purpose for which the data can be shared.
These purposes include:
i) improving efficiencies and customer service across the public service,
ii) assisting public bodies, including my Department, in carrying out their statutory functions, including the control of schemes operated by those bodies,
iii) improving data quality across the public service,
iv) the allocation of PPSNs,
v) the authentication of identity,
vi) to meet EU obligations in the area of law enforcement.
Schedule 5 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 lists the specified bodies which are authorised to use the PPSN when carrying out their statutory functions and with which the Department can share personal data in relation to identity. Other provisions in that Act provide for the sharing of data for other purposes. In addition, other Acts provide a legal basis for sharing of personal data between the Department and other bodies.
My Department has an effective data governance framework in place to ensure that it meets its obligations as a data controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 in respect of its data sharing activities. This includes putting in place specific Data Sharing Agreements in respect of the sharing of data with other Departments and agencies.
913. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection when an appeal for carer’s allowance (details supplied) will be processed and a decision made on it; the reason for the delay in processing this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57223/23]
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 in that office on the 3rd of August 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. When the papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office the case was assigned to an Appeal s Officer. The Appeals Officer has been contacted and has confirmed this appeal has now been finalised and the appeal has been allowed. Notification of the outcome of the appeal issued to the person concerned on the 11th January 2024.
The nature of the appeals process impacts on the processing times which are proportionate to the complexity of many of the issues under appeal that often require a high level of judgement in addition to the need to ensure due process and natural justice. Appeals may be determined on a summary basis or by means of an oral hearing. As in this case where an oral hearing is deemed necessary it may result in further delays in the process in terms of making the necessary arrangements for the hearing.
Further improvements in appeals processing times are a priority for the Chief Appeals Officer. A significant Appeals Modernisation Project is currently underway the goal of which is to streamline and enhance the end-to-end appeals process for the customer, the Social Welfare Appeals Office and business areas across the Department.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
914. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection in line with Action 80 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, if she has plans to establish a State-run public employment service that builds on the good practice in the field of disability employment and which links autistic people to employers and offers support, guidance and information as well as tailored support services for participating employers; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57269/23]
View answerMy Department provides employment supports and services to jobseekers and employers through the Intreo Employment Service. Intreo provides a wide range of supports to assist jobseekers, including those with a disability, to find work. Intreo also provides recruitment advice and support for employers including information on recruitment and retention incentives. Employment Supports for people with disabilities, including autism will continue to be provided via the Intreo Employment Service.
The Intreo Employment Service is a tailored and case managed employment service for all jobseekers who seek support. Each jobseeker works with an Employment Personal Adviser (EPA) with a view to agreeing a personal progression plan to access the full range of employment and skill development supports with a view to securing employment. Intreo also delivers a recruitment and job matching service for employers via events, in-person and online engagements and using the Jobsireland.ie website.
In late 2022, following extensive engagement with disability stakeholders, the Department commenced an early engagement approach through which the Intreo Employment Service proactively engages with people with a disability including those with Autism, at the earliest opportunity. The aim of this engagement is to offer support and assistance, on a voluntary basis, to support them to enter or return to employment. At 31st December 2023, just over 21,000 appointments were scheduled for people in receipt of Disability Allowance approximately 15% of those were interested in the service.
Specially trained EPAs are available in Intreo Centres to advise and assist people with disabilities to identify employment opportunities, upskill, undertake education, work placements or locally based employment programmes. There are also a number of Employer Relations Officers assigned to progress work opportunities for vulnerable jobseekers experiencing barriers to employment, including people with disabilities such as Autism. The Department offers a range of employer incentives and supports, including the wage subsidy scheme and the reasonable accommodation fund to support employers who employ people with a disability. In addition, the work placement experience programme, which is a work placement scheme, provides jobseekers, including those with a disability, with an opportunity to gain valuable work experience.
The Department recognises the additional challenges that some jobseekers with disabilities may experience in securing and maintaining employment and these jobseekers work with job coaches who provide both pre-employment and in-employment support and assistance. Additionally the Department contracts for the provision of specialist employment services through 23 EmployAbility companies, around the country. This service is dedicated to improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities, including Autism, who wish to take up employment.
As the Department already engages proactively with people with disabilities, the costs involved are subsumed into the overall costs of providing the Intreo Employment Service.
The Department will continue to proactively engage with all people with disabilities, including those with Autism, with a view to supporting them into sustainable employment.
915. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in line with Action 81 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to engage with stakeholders including the autistic community and employers and review the wage subsidy scheme and reasonable accommodation fund with a view to promoting uptake of the schemes; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57270/23]
View answer916. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in line with Action 82 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to promote the availability and potential benefits of schemes such as the wage subsidy scheme and reasonable accommodation fund to employers; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57271/23]
View answer917. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in line with Action 83 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to amalgamate and streamline workplace support grants and the reasonable accommodation fund under one fund which employers may draw down for the purposes of accommodating an autistic or disabled employee or prospective employee; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57272/23]
View answer918. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in line with Action 84 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to initiate a review of the wage subsidy scheme through a rights-based, social lens and identify how best to update or replace the scheme; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57273/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 915, 916, 917 and 918 together.
My Department provides a wide range of income and employment supports to assist jobseekers and employees with disabilities, and their employers. Supports available include the Reasonable Accommodation Fund, the Disability Awareness Support Scheme and the Wage Subsidy Scheme. These supports are generally not contingent on the type of disability but on the extent to which it restricts a person’s ability to pursue employment in the open labour market.
The Reasonable Accommodation Fund provides financial support for people with disabilities and for employers to help make their workplaces more accessible. The Disability Awareness Support Scheme provides funding for disability awareness training for employees. The Wage Subsidy Scheme is an employment support to private sector employers to encourage employment of people with disabilities in the open labour market.
I am committed to improving disability employment supports to better meet the needs of disabled people and to increase their take-up. For this reason, over the past two years my Department has run extensive public consultations to inform the reviews of these three schemes. This is in line with the UN’s Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The consultations combined received nearly two thousand submissions from people with a broad range of disabilities including autism, from disability groups, Disabled Person's Organisations and employers. This feedback has been used to inform how these schemes can be improved.
Following consultation, I published a review of the Reasonable Accommodation Fund and Disability Awareness Support Scheme last August. The report made nine recommendations which aim to improve the scheme for persons with disabilities including persons with autism. The review recommends combining the two schemes into a single flexible scheme, promoting the availability and potential benefits of the reformed scheme to all, simplifying systems and processes, and providing approval in principle.
It also recommends increasing funding, extending workplace needs assessments, and job coaching to new recruits and all existing employees, increasing the number of support hours eligible for funding, providing support for blended working, and opening the scheme to other employers, for example the voluntary and community sector. I expect to launch a reformed scheme that will give effect to all nine recommendations in Q1 2024.
A review of the Wage Subsidy Scheme is underway. My officials are currently compiling the analysis from the consultation and working on completing the report, which I expect to be finalised over the coming months. In anticipation of recommendations in the review, I have made provision in Budget 2024 to decrease the minimum hours from 21 to 15 hours, which was a key issue raised by stakeholders in the consultation. I expect this change to be operationalised in the first half of this year.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
919. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in line with Action 85 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to remove the minimum work hours to access the wage subsidy scheme to allow for people with disabilities to access part-time employment; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57274/23]
View answerThe Wage Subsidy Scheme is an employment support to private sector employers, the objective of which is to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities and thereby increase the numbers of people with disabilities obtaining and sustaining employment in the open labour market.
The scheme provides financial incentives to private sector employers to hire people with a disability for between 21 and 39 subsidised hours per week under a contract of employment.
The Wage Subsidy Scheme is a demand-led scheme and as of December there were 1,515 private sector employers availing of the subsidy in respect of 2,436 participant employees. Estimated expenditure on the Wage Subsidy Scheme in 2024 is €25 million.
The Programme for Government commits to fine-tuning and expanding targeted employment schemes, such as the Wage Subsidy Scheme, to help more people with disabilities stay in the workforce.
My department is currently undertaking a review of the scheme under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for people with Disabilities. The review included a four-week public consultation held last year that received over 1,000 submissions. I expect to receive the completed report of the review in the coming months.
Under Budget 2024, and with effect from April the minimum required hours will reduce from 21 to 15 hours at an estimated additional cost of €3.7 million. Administrative and IT work is underway to operationalise this change by April.
It is not possible to cost the Deputy's proposal given the difficulty in assessing the behavioural responses from both employers and disabled people entering employment..
My goal is to support persons with disabilities to pursue their employment ambitions and give people with disabilities the opportunity to experience open labour market employment. In terms of the minimum hours threshold under the scheme, there is a balance to be struck in terms of providing flexibility while still offering substantial and sustainable employment to people with disabilities. I believe that a reduction in hours to 15 hours represents that balance and will attract more people with disabilities to take up employment while still maintaining the overall objectives of the scheme.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
920. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in line with Action 62 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to introduce a non-means tested, targeted cost-of-disability payment for autistic people and disabled people with high levels of expenditure due to their autism diagnosis or disability; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57309/23]
View answer922. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in line with Action 64 of the Autism Committee’s Final Report, she has plans to introduce specific targeted supports for those with the highest additional costs due to disability, including autism; and the estimated first- and full-year cost, respectively, of implementing this proposal. [57311/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 920 and 922 together.
The Indecon Cost of Disability report was prepared following an extensive consultation with disabled people and disability stakeholders. This included one of the largest disability surveys ever undertaken in the State.
The report identified that additional costs of disability run across a number of areas of expenditure including housing, equipment, aids and appliances, care and assistance services, mobility, transport, communications, medicines, and additional living expenses. Furthermore, Indecon found that there is not a single typical cost of disability; rather, there is a spectrum from low to high additional costs of disability, depending on individual circumstances.
It is very clear that the findings in the research have implications for many areas of public policy. Based on this, one of report's conclusions was that a multifaceted, whole of Government approach is required to address the cost of disability.
It is for this reason the Government decided that the report, and actions to be taken on foot of the report, should be considered and monitored by the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group, under the remit of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
The work of the Steering Group, chaired by the Minister of State for Disability, was due to end in 2021 but was extended to the end of 2022. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth are in the process of developing a new disability strategy which will be informed by the Cost of Disability report. Officials in my Department will contribute to the development and implementation of this strategy.
A number of measures introduced as part of Budget 2024 to support people with disabilities and carers, reflect some of the findings of the Indecon report and has alleviated some of the costs experienced. These measures include:
• Additional funding to include provision for Free Travel Scheme for those medically certified unfit to drive.
• A reduction in the minimum weekly hours of work from 21 to 15 hours for employers to avail of the Wage Subsidy Scheme.
• An increase in the Carer's Allowance income disregard to €450 for a single person and €900 for a couple.
• A €400 cost of living lump sum paid to people getting a Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Blind Pension.
• A €300 cost of living lump sum for those getting the Fuel Allowance.
• A €200 cost of living lump sum to people who are getting a Living Alone Increase.
• A Christmas Bonus double payment to all persons getting a long-term disability payment.
From January 2024 there will be an increase of €12 in maximum personal rate of weekly disability payments, with proportionate increases for people getting a reduced rate. Domiciliary Care Allowance will increase by €10 a month, and a cost of living bonus will be paid in January 2024.
However, despite the measures in the recent budget, there is still a need to reform our system of disability payments to better target supports and better account for the cost of disability. In September, I published the Green Paper on Disability Reform to begin the conversation about improving these supports and further addressing the cost of disability.
The aim of the Green Paper is two-fold. First, it seeks to better insulate disabled people who cannot work from poverty by providing for higher rates of payment. Second, it seeks to support and encourage a higher level of employment for people with disabilities by tailoring the provision of employment supports to suit a person’s capabilities.
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 in writing or by video. It is essential that we hear from as many disabled people and representatives as possible. I have extended the consultation period until 15 March 2024 to ensure everyone has adequate time to make a submission.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
