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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 30 Nov 1993

Vol. 436 No. 4

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

103 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social Welfare the cost or estimated cost to the Exchequer of child dependant allowances in the years 1992-1993 and 1993-1994.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

110 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social Welfare the cost or estimated cost to the Exchequer of reducing child dependant allowance to £7.50 per week.

It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 103 and 110 together. The estimated expenditure on child dependant allowances in 1993 is £275 million and in 1994, £300 million. If the allowance was reduced to £7.50 per week there would be an estimated full year Exchequer saving of £130 million, based on 1994 data.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

104 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social Welfare the cost to the Exchequer of the family income supplement in the years 1992-1993 and 1993-1994.

Accounting for Government expenditure is done on a calendar year basis. The cost of paying family income supplement in 1992 was £12.631 million. The published estimate for 1993 is £15.75 million.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

105 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social Welfare the cost to the Exchequer of the £60 a week PRSI exemption in the years 1992-1993 and 1993-1994.

When the £60 a week PRSI exemption scheme was originally introduced in 1990, it was estimated that the cost to the Exchequer would be £8 million. The Exchequer costs for the years 1992-1993 and 1993-1994 are not available.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

106 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social Welfare the cost or estimated cost to the Exchequer in a full year of exempting the first £4,000 income from PRSI employees/self-employed contributions, for single people, and the first £8,000 for married persons.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

108 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social Welfare the cost or estimated cost to the Exchequer in a full year of exempting the first £3,500 income from PRSI employees/self-employed contributions, for single people, and the first £7,000 for married persons.

It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 106 and 108 together.

As the data available in my Department pertaining to the marital status of PRSI contributors is limited, it was not possible within the time available to provide the exact information requested by the Deputy.

However, the estimated Exchequer cost of exempting the first £3,500 of earnings from social insurance contributions is £149 million rising to a cost of £166 million when the exemption is increased to £4,000. This cost increases to £259 million when £7,000 of earnings is exempted from contributions and to £285 million when £8,000 of earnings is exempted from contributions.

These figures relate to Class A PRSI contributors in the 1993/94 contribution year.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

107 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social Welfare the cost or estimated cost to the Exchequer of increasing child benefit to £75.80 per month and £43.30 per month.

It is estimated that there would be an additional full year Exchequer cost of £298 million if the child benefit rate was increased to £43.30 per month, for all children. This additional Exchequer cost would rise to £720 million if the rate was increased to £75.80 per month.

Proinsias De Rossa

Ceist:

109 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Social Welfare the costs or estimated cost to the Exchequer of the operation of the income contribution ceiling for employee/self-employed PRSI contributions in the years 1992/1993 and 1993/1994.

The estimated cost to the Exchequer of the operation of a PRSI contribution ceiling for both employees and self-employed is £65 million in the 1992/93 year and £71 million in the 1993/94 year.

Bernard J. Durkan

Ceist:

111 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will re-examine the application for deserted wives benefit in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The person concerned applied for deserted wives benefit in 1988. The application was disallowed. The disallowance was upheld by an independent appeals officer. She applied for a lone parent's allowance in February of this year. One of the conditions for receipt of this allowance is that the claimant must not have means in excess of a specified limit — currently £4,056 per annum in the case of a person with one child dependant.

In May 1993, the person concerned was requested by a local officer of the Department to produce for inspection her business bank account, her building society account and a copy of documentation relating to her legal separation from her husband. She failed to produce any of these documents and it was not possible for the Department to determine if she was eligible for the allowance. Accordingly, her application for lone parent's allowance was disallowed. She was notified of this decision in June 1993. She did not appeal against this decision.
If the person concerned produces the relevant documentation requested, her entitlement to lone parent's allowance will be reviewed and she will be notified of the outcome.
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