asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of people who have had their disability benefit withdrawn from 1 January to 31 March 1988 because of the changes in the contribution conditions.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
15.
From 4 January 1988 claimants to disability benefit are required to have at least 260 contributions paid in order to qualify for payment beyond 52 weeks. This requirement did not apply to a claimant who had, on that date, already been paid benefit for 52 weeks. A total of 206 claimants who completed 52 weeks on benefit after 4 January 1988 failed to qualify for continued payment as they had less than 260 paid contributions.
17.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will investigate the circumstances of non-payment of social welfare benefit on Friday, 25 March 1988 to a person (details supplied) in County Waterford on behalf of his wife who was hospitalised with a serious medical condition at that time.
The standard procedure for payment of unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance is that payment is made direct to the claimant on the basis of proven unemployment. However, where a claimant is not in a position to collect the payment personally, the local office may issue payment to a person nominated in writing by the claimant to act on his or her behalf. In the absence of such authorisation, local office staff are not permitted to issue payment to anyone other than the claimant.
The wife of the person concerned claimed unemployment benefit for the period from 11 March to 24 March 1988. When claiming she was required to attend on Friday of each week at the local employment office to sign the unemployed register. She attended on Friday, 18 March and was paid her entitlement for the unemployment week-ended Wednesday, 16 March.
On Friday, 25 March 1988 her husband called to the local office and stated that his wife was in hospital and that he wished to collect the payment due to her for the unemployment week ended Wednesday, 23 March. He was refused payment on the grounds that he did not have the necessary authorisation from his wife nominating him to collect the payment on her behalf.
While I regret any inconvenience that the non-payment of benefit may have caused in this case, nevertheless the Deputy will no doubt appreciate that proper controls must be exercised by my Department to ensure that payments are made only to the claimants themselves or to someone specifically appointed by them to act on their behalf. The need for the completion of the authorisation I have referred to is a practical and necessary arrangement to safeguard the rights of claimants generally to receive their personal entitlements.
The payment due in this case was issued to the claimant when she attended at the local office the following week.
18.
asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the anomaly whereby persons living alone in this country who are in receipt of British old age pensions cannot receive a living alone allowance; if he will remove such an anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Persons who are in receipt of social welfare pensions are entitled to an increase in pension if they are aged 66 or over and are living alone. The living alone allowance is one of a number of increases which may be granted in Irish social welfare pensions in certain circumstances. It is not a separate payment in so far as it depends on a person having an entitlement to a basic social welfare pension. Pensions payable from other EC countries, including the United Kingdom, are calculated in different ways depending on the scheme in question but there are no arrangements whereby the living alone element of Irish pension entitlement can be applied to persons living here in receipt of UK pensions. Where, however, a person who is entitled to a pension from another EC member state is also entitled to a pro rata Irish pension under EC regulation or to a non-contributory pension on the basis of means, a living alone allowance would be payable where the basic conditions for that allowance are fulfilled.