Tony Gregory
Ceist:101 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Social Welfare if a double week can be paid to a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1 who is in arrears on one week's unemployment assistance arising from administration difficulties.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
The person concerned is in receipt of unemployment assistance since 4 July 1992.
She is casually employed, working two days per week and being paid unemployment assistance for four days at the maximum daily rate appropriate in her case of £9.87.
As part of the Department's strategy of improving its level of service for unemployed persons, a new system of payment for people engaged in casual employment is being introduced. Under these new arrangements, customers are paid weekly by cheque and the requirement to attend their local Social Welfare Office each week to sign-on and collect a cash payment is removed.
A cash payment in respect of unemployment assistance for the unemployment week ending 12 April 1994 was made to the person concerned by the local office on 12 April.
A cheque payment for unemployment week ending 19 April issued on 22 April 1994, while a further cheque for payment due on week ending 26 April 1994 issued on 29 April. When the person concerned called to the local office on 5 May and stated that the cheque had not arrived a cash payment was issued to her. A cheque payment due in respect of unemployment week ending 3 May was issued on 6 May. While it is accepted that there was a delay in the payment due during the change-over period, it was not considered necessary that claimants be paid a double week. This is a once-off situation associated with the introduction of the new and improved procedures.
The person concerned was advised of the new payment procedures before cheque payments were introduced. She did not suffer a loss of payment in the change-over to the new system.
As the Deputy will be aware these procedures are beneficial to the customer as they eliminate the need to attend the local social welfare office each week to sign-on and be paid.
Jim Mitchell
Ceist:102 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Welfare if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties faced by widows under 66 years of age receiving widow's pension, who become invalided but who are excluded, by virtue of the fact that they are receiving a widow's pension from transferring to either invalidity pension or disabled person's maintenance allowance and are therefore excluded from free travel; the plans, if any, he has to amend the free travel scheme so as to include widows under 66 who would otherwise qualify for another pension with which free travel is provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The free travel scheme operated by my Department is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over as well as certain incapacitated people who are in receipt of social welfare type payments in respect of their incapacity, such as invalidity pension or disabled person's maintenance allowance.
A number of improvements in the free schemes will be introduced from next July. These include the retention of the free schemes, including free travel, by widows aged 60 and over as the survivors of recipients. Any proposals for further extensions to the scheme would require additional resources and would have to be considered in a budgetary context.