Vol. 504 No. 4
99 Mr. Gregory asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason a person (details supplied) in Dublin 10 who is on invalidity pension and on a community employment scheme can only claim for himself and not his children on the community employment scheme when a lone parent can claim for her children on both payments. [12080/99]
Invalidity pension is a social insurance payment paid to persons who are deemed to be permanently incapable of work by the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. As a general rule, a person in receipt of an invalidity pension is therefore not eligible to participate in a community employment project. However, exceptions are made for courses enabling persons to retrain for different types of work they might be able to undertake and for work of a rehabilitative nature.
A person on invalidity pension receives a personal weekly rate of £72.20. The qualified adult allowance is an additional £46.50 and the child dependant allowance is £15.20 for each child. A person on invalidity pension who is participating on a community employment project would receive in addition a weekly payment of £89.75. Thus an invalid pensioner who is on community employment and single receives a total weekly amount of £161.95. An invalid pensioner on community employment with a qualified adult and one dependent child receives a total weekly amount of £223.65.
A person in receipt of one-parent family payment receives a personal weekly rate of £70.50 and a child dependant allowance of £15.20 for each child. If the lone parent participates on a community employment project there is an additional payment of £89.75 personal rate and £13.20 child dependant allowance for each child. A lone parent who has one dependent child and is on community employment receives a total weekly amount of £188.65. Unlike invalidity pension, the one-parent family payment is means-tested. Once weekly earnings exceed £115.38 there is a tapered withdrawal of the one-parent family payment. This would apply, for example, in the case of a lone parent on the community employment programme who has two dependent children.
The additional child dependant allowance paid to a lone parent on community employment is intended as a support for child care. It is recognised that lone parents have particular difficulty in accessing employment and training programmes because of child care needs.
