Vol. 452 No. 5
8 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he will maintain the same facilities for those who are in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance, when this scheme is transferred from the Department of Health to the Department of Social Welfare. [8235/95]
The transfer of responsibility for disabled person's maintenance allowance from health boards to my Department will not result in any diminution in the entitlements of people in receipt of the allowance. People in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance are usually entitled to medical cards and may also, depending on their circumstances, be entitled to free travel, free electricity allowance, free television allowance, free telephone rental allowance and vouchers under the free fuel scheme and the EC social assistance butter scheme. All those currently entitled to these allowances will retain this entitlement following the transfer of the disabled person's maintenance allowance scheme to my Department and all new customers will of course be entitled to apply for these secondary benefits.
At a broader level there are a number of differences in the means test for the allowance by comparison with other social welfare schemes and I will be addressing this issue in the future. My intention is, however, to transfer the scheme as it is and subsequently to address the anomalies which exist. In doing so I will take account of any recommendations emerging from the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities. The transfer of responsibility for the scheme to my Department will of itself improve the situation for people in receipt of the allowance and in any subsequent rationalisation of the existing arrangements my intention will be to ensure that the situation of people with disabilities is improved.
When will the transfer take place? At present there is an income disregard of £32.20 for people on disability working with the National Rehabilitation Board, where they do very valuable work. Will that benefit continue under the new arrangement? I am not certain whether the transfer to a nationally based scheme will improve the system. People on disabled person's maintenance allowance have very close contact with community welfare officers at local level and I am anxious that that continues.
A number of issues arise in the transfer of disabled person's maintenance allowance to the Department of Social Welfare. For instance, there is no formal appeal procedure at present when a person is refused disabled person's maintenance allowance. The health board will obviously consider an appeal, but the intention is that the Department of Social Welfare's independent appeal procedures would apply in those circumstances when the system is transferred. The payments systems differ throughout health boards — for example, by way of cheque, voucher book or payable orders cashable at post offices. The target for the transfer date was originally the middle of this year. There is a working group — I hope Deputies do not object to my using a working group to try to eliminate the problems that may arise as a result of this transfer——
The Minister is leaning very heavily on them.
It is important to rely on expertise. It is not right that the Minister of the day should pretend to be expert on everything.
That was no trouble to the Minister in the past.
It is important in this job to have a little humility.
There is no better group than the Democratic Left Party to ensure jobs for the boys.
Let us hear the Minister, please.
The original target date was 1 July 1995, but it does not seem likely that target date will be achieved at this stage, given the complexity of adapting eight different administrative systems to produce one smooth functioning system. However, it should be possible to commence the transfer during the current year. The legislative basis for transferring the scheme will be contained in the Social Welfare (No. 3) Bill. The timescale for that Bill will affect the timescale for the transfer which cannot take effect until that Bill is enacted. I understand the Bill will be introduced in the autumn.
The financial arrangements regarding disabled person's maintenance allowance in the interim between 1 July and the date of transfer are under discussion because those arrangements will involve a transfer of resources between the Department of Health and my Department. Differences between the disabled person's maintenance allowance means test and the unemployment assistance means test operated by my Department must be ironed out. The bottom line is that the advantages people in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance currently have will be retained by them once that scheme is transferred to the Department of Social Welfare. It is not intended that their position will be disimproved but will be improved.
People who qualify for disabled person's maintenance allowance are those who have disabilities of a long term nature. There is currently a good deal of discussion about the need to give people who have disabilities an enhanced income over and above that of people who are unemployed. People with disabilities have higher living costs and we will look to the forum on disability in making recommendations in that regard. In the long term we are considering the establishment of an assistance scheme in the Department of Social Welfare. The disability benefit scheme currently in place enables employed people who become ill to claim their insurance benefits if they have sufficient contributions or credits but if they do not have enough they cannot claim any benefit and must, as Deputy O'Keeffe said, call to the community welfare officer.
It is my view that the Department should have in place a type of means tested allowances which could be claimed by employed people who become ill, similar to unemployment assistance. With the transfer of disabled person's maintenance allowance to the Department of Social Welfare there is an opportunity to consider that broader question. There are many plans afoot to develop that area. The bottom line is that people on disabled person's maintenance allowance will not lose out as a result of the transfer.
The Minister did not answer the specific question I asked. Will the disregard of £32.20 which applies to people in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance who work with the Rehabilitation Board continue under the new arrangement?
I do not have a specific note on that, but given my general undertaking that people in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance will not lose out as a result of the transfer, the Deputy can take it that those involved will not lose that disregard. It is important that the message goes out from all sides of this House that the people in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance will not lose out as a result of the transfer of that scheme to the Department of Social Welfare. People in those circumstances have enough to worry about without being concerned whether they will lose some income as a result of administrative change between the Department of Health and the Department of Social Welfare.
I am concerned about the Minister's comment regarding streamlining the disabled person's maintenance allowance means test in line with the unemployment assistance means test, given that many young people are disqualified from unemployment assistance perhaps because their parents are farmers and even though the farm income may be low they may be disqualified from benefit when assets and so on are taken into consideration. The Minister has given an undertaking that people currently in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance will not lose out. Will he give an assurance that new applicants will not lose out and that the means test that applies to that scheme will not be streamlined with the unemployment assistant means test to such an extent that people who would normally qualify for disabled person's maintenance allowance under health board regulations would not qualify under the new regulations in the Minister's Department? That is a matter of concern for those people. When considering applications for that allowance will the Minister's Department take into consideration the established principle that the disabled person's maintenance allowance is designed to cover the additional costs incurred by the fact that people are disabled?
I did not mention the word "streamlining". Specific issues relate to the disabled person's maintenance allowance means test and that operated by the Department of Social Welfare. It is intended that the disabled person's maintenance allowance scheme will be transferred in its present form to the Department of Social Welfare and the current means test will continue to apply. Any future changes to the scheme will be made in full consultation with people in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance and will not be made by way of diktat.
Regarding the disabled person's maintenance allowance means test, a medical eligibility test must be undertaken by a disabled person's maintenance allowance applicant. Article 4.1 of the regulations provides that an allowance is payable to a person who by reason of a specified disability is substantially handicapped in undertaking work of a kind which if he or she were not suffering from that disability would be suitable to his or her age, experience and qualifications. Specified disability is defined as an injury, disease, congenital deformity or physical or mental defect which is continued or may reasonably be expected to continue for at least one year. There is a clear difference between that disability and the disability benefit paid by the Department of Social Welfare, generally referred to as sick benefit, which is a temporary payment.
There is an opportunity now that the disabled person's maintenance allowance will be transferred to the Department of Social Welfare to consider the creation of a new assistance allowance for people who are sick and do not have a right to benefit by way of insurance contributions. The question of the means testing of disabled person's maintenance allowance applicants, which is separate from their medical eligibility, as against the means test that applies to others will not be addressed until the scheme is transferred to my Department. The decision to transfer the scheme is a major administrative undertaking and we do not have the resources to make changes to the scheme. If the Deputy wishes I can outline the differences in the means tests, but I am sure she is aware of them.
The Minister said that no changes will be made to the scheme without consultation with those in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance. Can he give a guarantee that those beneficiaries who will transfer to his Department will continue to receive disabled person's maintenance allowance? Can he give a guarantee that there will be no major delays in the evaluation of new applications and the examination of applications will be no more stringent than that which currently applies in the health board system?
I can guarantee that people entitled to disabled person's maintenance allowance under the regulations will receive it.
What about people who are in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance? Will they be reclassified or their eligibility for benefit be reconsidered?
Unfortunately, in trying to be helpful I am opening up other areas of concern. The disabled person's maintenance allowance scheme will be transferred in its present form to the Department of Social Welfare and will continue to operate under current regulations, means test, medical eligibility, age limits and so on for the foreseeable future. If there are any proposals to change the disabled person's maintenance allowance, that will be done in full consultation with organisations which represent people with disabilities in receipt of disabled person's maintenance allowance. It is intended to improve the system so that people with disabilities will have an enhanced quality of life, not a more difficult one. That is the guarantee I am giving.
