My Department is responsible for the administration of a wide range of schemes involving payments and supports to people in various circumstances and these require means testing on an individual basis to determine the extent of need and the appropriate level of entitlement.
In my view there is a need to balance the desire for uniformity and consistency across all social welfare means tests with the need to ensure that the system is sufficiently flexible to be able to respond adequately to the specific needs of differing categories of customers. The different methods of assessing earnings, for example, as between the various social assistance payment schemes reflect, in many instances, specific policies being pursued by the Department, which are aimed at targeting the needs of particular groups of recipients.
Progress has been achieved over recent years in streamlining the assessment of capital across a number of schemes. Any significant advance in the co-ordination of means testing, however, involves considerable costs to the Exchequer.
I have concentrated my efforts, in this area, on bringing forward legislation earlier this year which provides for a single personal public service number, public service card and for the sharing of information across Government Departments and specified bodies, including the health boards, for the purpose of determining entitlement to benefits. This significant development will enable the public service to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery and provide ease of access for the public to a wide range of services at single point of contact.
The legislation provides for the exchange of means data between the various agencies and this will reduce considerably the need for people to undergo multiple means tests when claiming their entitlements. It will be possible to have a central means database which, under specified circumstances, can be accessed by the various agencies where a customer has made a claim for an allowance, grant, etc. This will result in improved and quicker service to customers dealing with public sector organisations.