Michael Ring
Ceist:321 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs when an appeal for widow's non-contributory pension will be finalised for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [22243/99]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
The person concerned was awarded a widow's non-contributory pension at the weekly rate of £48.50 plus £6 living alone allowance and £5 free fuel allowance based on a means assessment of £36 derived from a United States pension.
She appealed against this decision to the independent social welfare appeals office and in accordance with the statutory requirements a submission by the deciding officer on the matters raised in the appeal is being prepared. The case will then be referred to an appeals officer for early consideration.
Bernard Allen
Ceist:322 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the plans, if any, he has to increase the £60 which social welfare recipients are allowed to earn before their social welfare payments are affected in view of the fact that the £60 limit has not been changed for a number of years; and when the limit was introduced. [22275/99]
I assume that the Deputy is referring to the arrangements governing entitlement to the qualified adult allowance.
The position is that the earnings limit of £60 for the purposes of determining entitlement to a qualified adult allowance was set at £60 in June 1993. In the interim, however, two important measures have been introduced.
First, in November 1997, regulations were introduced which allowed for the tapered withdrawal of the qualified adult allowance for people getting unemployment benefit, unemployment assistance, disability benefit, disability allowance, pre-retirement allowance, injury benefit and unemployability supplement whose spouse was earning between £60 and £90 per week.
Second, in October of this year these arrangements were extended to cover spouses' incomes of up to £105.
Under these revised arrangements, if the person getting the social welfare payment is on the maximum rate, and their spouse or partner is earning between £60 and £105 per week, the increase in respect of the qualified adult is payable as follows:–
|
Spouse's Income |
SW Increase |
|
Income up to £60 |
£43.20 |
|
Income between £60.01 and £65.00 |
£38.70 |
|
Income between £65.01 and £70.00 |
£34.20 |
|
Income between £70.01 and £75.00 |
£29.70 |
|
Income between £75.01 and £80.00 |
£25.20 |
|
Income between £80.01 and £85.00 |
£20.70 |
|
Income between £85.01 and £90.00 |
£16.20 |
|
Income between £90.01 and £95.00 |
£11.70 |
|
Income between £95.01 and £100.00 |
£7.20 |
|
Income between £100.01 and £105.00 |
£2.70 |
|
Income above £105.00 |
nil |
The question of introducing further improvements in these arrangements is a matter for consideration in a budgetary context.
Michael Ring
Ceist:323 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs when an appeal for farm assist will be finalised for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [22314/99]
The person concerned was awarded a farm assist at the weekly rate of £134.50 based on a means assessment of £35 derived from farm income.
He appealed against this decision to the independent social welfare appeals office and in accordance with the statutory requirements a submission by a deciding officer on the matters raised in the appeal was sought. In this context his claim is currently being reviewed by a social welfare inspector who has been in touch with him. His entitlement will be reviewed in the light of this review.
Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:324 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the expenditure on refugees, asylum seekers and illegal immigrants by his Department for each of the years 1997 and 1998 including the breakdown of the expenditure and the number of adults and children involved; and the expected figure for 1999. [22366/99]
The supplementary welfare allowance – SWA – scheme provides entitlement to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The scheme is administered by the health boards on behalf of my Department. Payment may continue in accordance with the relevant legislation as long as the person is resident in the State.
As of the end of September 1999, SWA payments were being made to approximately 5,377 households in respect of some 6,729 adults and about 2,333 children who are seeking asylum. The total expenditure on SWA payments to asylum seekers in 1997 was £12 million. Expenditure on asylum seekers was £22 million in 1998 and it is estimated that expenditure in 1999 will total £35 million. A breakdown of expenditure requested by the Deputy is not available for 1997 as asylum seekers were not identified separately from other SWA applicants.
Likewise, the proportion of expenditure attributable to persons who may have been found to be illegal immigrants is not available. A breakdown of the expenditure for 1998 and the number of adults and children involved is on the following Tabular statement.
Asylum Seeker Costs 1998
|
£m |
|
|
Basic SWA |
14.90 |
|
Rent |
5.20 |
|
Exceptional Needs Payments |
1.00 |
|
Child Benefit |
0.50 |
|
Fuel |
0.40 |
|
Back to School Clothing and Footwear |
0.10 |
|
Total |
22.10 |
These payments were made in respect of some 6,700 asylum seekers, comprising of 5,000 adults and 1,700 children.