Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Michael D. Higgins
Ceist:
59
Mr. M. Higgins
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
if he will respond to the recent steep increases in fuel costs by recommending the increase of the rate of the free fuel scheme to Government which has not been improved for 15 years.
[24965/00]
The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders who are on long-term social welfare or health board payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs. A payment of £5 per week is paid to eligible households for 26 weeks from mid-October to mid-April regardless of the temperature. The sum of £8 per week is paid in smokeless zones.
The fuel schemes were reviewed in 1998 as part of my Department's series of programme evaluations. The group concluded that the present rates of payment should remain unchanged if improvements in primary payment rates fully compensated recipients for all price inflation, including fuel price inflation. Increasing primary payments gives people greater flexibility in meeting their needs and, of course, the increased rates are payable for all 52 weeks of the year.
In that regard, substantial increases were made in all the social welfare primary payments of either £4 or £7 which came into effect at the beginning of May 2000, a month earlier than last year.
In addition, the qualified adult allowance was increased by amounts ranging from £3.80 for people on disability benefit, £4.70 for old age contributory and retirement pensioners and £8.50 for invalidity pensioners where the qualified adult is aged 66 years or over.
I am concerned about the extent to which general price inflation, including fuel price inflation, is impacting on the significant improvements in social welfare payments which I have made. The Deputy will know that I cannot give specific details of the measures that will be contained in this year's budget but improving the overall position of social welfare recipients will receive a very high priority in that budget.
In the meantime, I would point out that fuel allowances are not the sole mechanism through which assistance is provided to people with heating needs. There is a facility available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs. An application for a heating supplement may be made by contacting the community welfare officer at the local health centre.
Where a person would not normally qualify for a heating supplement there is provision under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to pay an exceptional needs payment. Exceptional needs payments are payable at the discretion of the health board taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case.
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Ceist:
60
Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
if he will simplify the application process for the widow's survivor's pension in view of many complaints form qualified applicants, and in view of the additional trauma of bereavement.
[24992/00]
The application process for social welfare payments is designed to ensure that the various qualifying criteria in the relevant legislation are satisfied. To this end, a specific application form is provided for each payment which is designed to elicit the information needed and identifies the supporting documentation needed. In the case of widow/er's contributory pension, which is payable on the PRSI contributions of either the applicant or the deceased spouse, basic information is requested to identify the correct claimant, address, child dependants, date of death of the deceased person, preferred payment method and to locate the appropriate social insurance record, in order to determine the most appropriate and correct entitlement to pension. It is possible in the vast majority of cases to determine entitlement relatively easily on the basis of the information obtained in this way and by reference to the Department's computerised records dating from 1979.
In a relatively small number of cases, delay arises because entitlement depends on older, re-computerised records or on employment for which contributions may not have been paid. My Department explores all possibilities in these cases to ensure that an applicant receives full entitlement in all cases where social insurance was or should have been paid.
Under the legislation, the widow/er of a deceased person who was in receipt of retirement or old age contributory pension has an automatic entitlement to widow/er's contributory pension. In these cases, the new pension is put into payment without the need for a separate application form.
My Department is engaged in a very significant programme of change which will radically transform the means of access to and the delivery of the social welfare services. It is envisaged that, ultimately, persons making a claim to widow/er's pension will generally do so by way of the telephone system where the appropriate questions would be asked to elicit the information relevant to the particular case. Work on developing the computer systems and other changes to support these requirements is at a very early stage and it will take a number of years to implement all the changes. The objective is to make the service of the future much more focused on the customer's overall needs. I am confident that this process will result in a much better service to all our customers.
In the meantime, every effort will be made to make the present service as effective and responsive as possible to peoples needs. A code of practice has been developed and is being implemented in the design of all of my Department's forms and leaflets to ensure clarity and ease of understanding. The application form for widow/er's pension is being reviewed in the light of this code to ensure simplification and ease of completion.
My Department is committed to delivering quality customer service and to ensuring continuous improvements in the standards of service it provides.
John Browne
Ceist:
61
Mr. Browne (Carlow-Kilkenny)
asked the
Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs
the reason for a five month delay in deciding on a disability allowance claim for a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and the plans he has to speed up the process.
[25079/00]
Disability allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged over 16 and under 66. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to both medical assessment and a means test.
The person concerned applied for disability allowance on 27 April 2000 and had previously been in receipt of disability benefit. Since 26 April 2000 he has been in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance pending determination of his disability allowance entitlement.
He was examined by a medical assessor of my Department on 9 June 2000 with regard to his medical eligibility for receipt of disability allowance. Having regard to the opinion of the medical assessor he was considered not to be eligible for the allowance. Due to an oversight, however, a decision regarding his entitlement to disability allowance was not communicated to him until 23 October 2000. A further application for disability allowance was received on 19 October 2000 by my Department. Based on the information supplied in this application and following further consideration by the Department's medical assessor the person concerned has been awarded disability allowance from the date of his original application and any arrears due will be issued to him shortly.
The delay in this case is regretted. My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. Applications are processed without undue delay and decisions on entitlement are issued as soon as is practicable.
In general disability allowance applications are being dealt with expeditiously having regard to the means and medical eligibility criteria that apply.
Question No. 62 taken with Question No. 14.
Question No. 63 taken with Question No. 9.
