Vol. 426 No. 1
22 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason women are in many instances penalised following the death of their pensioner husbands by the withdrawal of free electricity and free telephone rental allowances; and if he will remedy this anomaly.
The free electricity and telephone rental allowances are payable to individual pensioners in their own right. Normally they are primarily intended for persons living alone but in certain circumstances, which vary depending on which allowance is in question, pensioners may qualify for an allowance where they have a spouse living with them even though the spouses may not themselves be qualified to receive the allowances in their own right.
In the event of the death of the qualifying pensioner, title to the allowances ceases. However where the surviving spouse is aged 66 or older, he or she will usually qualify for one, or possibly, both of these allowances in his or her own right.
Any proposal to give title to the allowances to non-qualified spouses in the circumstances mentioned by the Deputy would have considerable financial implications which could only be considered in the light of available resources.
24 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will give details of the changes relating to the maternity benefit scheme as introduced by the previous Minister for Social Welfare which came into effect on 6 April 1992.
Prior to the Social Welfare Act, 1992, the Department of Social Welfare operated two maternity schemes. The scheme for women in employment covered women who qualified for leave from work under the Maternity Protection of Employees Acts, 1981 and 1991 and the general maternity scheme catered for women workers who did not so qualify, along with women claiming unemployment benefit or disability benefit who satisfied the relevant contribution conditions.
26 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Social Welfare if, in regard to the public statement issued by him on 13 August 1992, which said that, from last autumn, the back to school clothing and footwear allowance would be linked with the school book scheme, he will give the reason this was not done; if there had been any consultations with the Department of Education prior to the statement; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The back to school clothing and footwear scheme which I introduced in 1990 provided £9.6 million to 257,000 childern in 1992.
In September 1991, the then Minister for Education announced that a thorough review of the school books scheme had been carried out by the Department of Education and that new proposals would be made to link their scheme with the clothing and footwear scheme operated by the Department of Social Welfare.
Subsequent to the issue of this statement by the Minister for Education, difficulties emerged in the Department of Education in effecting the full implementation of the link in the year 1992-93. As a result of these difficulties the Department of Education notified my Department that it would not be possible to establish the link fully in 1992. The Department of Education has advised that the proposal is currently the subject of discussions with representatives of school managements and teacher unions.
27 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will review the qualifications for carer's allowance in an effort to make this allowance more readily available to deserving cases thereby reducing extra demands for institutional care; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
36 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to review the qualifying conditions and eligibility for carer's allowance given that the present means testing excludes the majority of carer's from the full rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
46 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social Welfare the number of people in receipt of a carer's allowance; the estimated number of cases where elderly disabled relatives are being cared for outside institutions; and the proposals, if any, he has to extend the carer's allowance.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 27, 36 and 46 together.
The carer's allowance, which was introduced in November 1990, provided, for the first time, for a direct payment to be made to the carer on a means-tested basis. It is directed at persons who are providing elderly or incapacitated pensioners with full-time care and attention and whose income falls below certain limits. In July 1991 the allowance was extended to carers of recipients of disabled person's maintenance allowance from the health boards. Persons caring for recipients of an equivalent social security payment from another EC country or a country which has a bilateral social security agreement with Ireland may also qualify.
28 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Social Welfare the changes to the social welfare code in relation to contributory and non-contributory widow's pension which it is proposed to introduce to provide for a former spouse and a second spouse of a deceased in the event of a constitutional change allowing for divorce legislation within the State.
37 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Social Welfare the changes to the social welfare code which it is proposed to introduce in relation to deserted wife's benefit, deserted wife's allowance and single parent's allowance in the event of a constitutional change allowing for divorce legislation within the State.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 37 together.
The introduction of divorce would have implications for many of the schemes administered by my Department. Following the publication of the White Paper on marital breakdown a review was initiated in my Department to examine its implications.
30 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Welfare the total estimated cost to the Exchequer per year of every additional 1,000 persons added to the numbers unemployed including those on pre-retirement allowance and credits; if he will include in this estimated cost the total social welfare payment including the Christmas bonus, the total cost of income tax and PRSI foregone, the total cost of supplementary costs, including the cost of additional medical cards granted, increased rent or mortgage subsidy and other such allowances; and the total estimated cost of unemployment in 1993.
The estimated cost to my Department of every additional 1,000 persons added to the numbers unemployed is £3.4 million. The estimated cost of unemployment payments to my Department in 1993 will be made available on publication of the abridged estimates volume tomorrow.
The PRSI foregone would depend on the earnings of the people concerned. On the basis of average industrial earnings, the PRSI contribution income foregone on foot of an additional 1,000 people unemployed would be £2.2 million per year. This includes both employers and employees PRSI.
The costs to other Departments would be a matter for the Ministers concerned.
31 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Social Welfare the total amount of moneys spent on supplementary welfare allowance by the eight regional health boards for each of the years 1989 to 1992.
The health boards paid out £44.789 million in 1989, £57.90 million in 1990, and £74.30 million in 1991 on supplementary welfare allowance. The 1992 provisional outturn is in the region of £101 million.
32 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Social Welfare the plans, if any, he has to undertake a complete reappraisal of social security for all lone parents; if he intends to reverse the imposition of an income ceiling on deserted wife's benefit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The lone parents scheme in common with all others is kept under continual review in the light of changing circumstances.
A significant increase in the number of lone parent households has been occurring in recent years in almost all OECD countries, with the households involved being greatly over represented at the bottom of the economic scale. The trend in Ireland is in line with what is happening elsewhere.
Expenditure on the scheme has increased from approximately £16 million in 1982 to over £79 million in 1991.
If these trends continue, the implications for social welfare expenditure will be very significant, particularly in the light of the increased resources required to cater for other categories of welfare recipients.
One of the issues which has arisen in the context of the ongoing review of the scheme is the desirability of encouraging lone parents back into the labour market. I am examining the general question as to how the social welfare system affects the incentive to work and what measures may need to be taken to increase these incentives. I will be examining the lone parents allowance in this context.
The introduction of the earnings limit for entitlement to deserted wife's benefit was intended to ensure that resources are directed at those most in need. In this regard it was considered reasonable that in future women who earn in excess of £14,000 per annum should not qualify for deserted wife's benefit in addition and that the level of benefit should be reduced by reference to earnings between £10,000 and £14,000. Any change in these arrangements would be a matter for consideration in the context of the budget.
