Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 Nov 2000

Vol. 526 No. 3

Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.

Ivan Yates

Ceist:

308 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he has any proposals to increase the weekly level of free fuel payments nationally from £6 per week or to extend the period of payment beyond the present annual times from October to April; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27054/00]

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

348 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the cost of doubling the rate of fuel allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26772/00]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

It is proposed to take Questions No. 308 and 348 together.

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, £8 per week in smokeless zones, is paid to eligible households for 26 weeks from mid-October to mid-April. As a consequence, there may be a small number of occasions when the allowance is not paid even though temperatures are unseasonably low and equally, the allowance is paid at times when temperatures are above the seasonal norm.

Expenditure on the national fuel scheme was £44 million in 1999. This year a sum of £46.3 million has been provided in the Estimates for the scheme and £46.6 million has been provided for 2001. To double the allowance in all cases would cost £46.6 million in 2001. To double the standard allowance from £5 per week to £10 per week would cost an extra £37.25 million per fuel sea son. Based on current payment rates it would cost £1.79 million to extend the fuel season by one week in 2001 or £46.6 million to extend the scheme to the full year.

The national and smokeless fuel schemes were reviewed in 1998 as part of my Department's series of programme evaluations. The review group took the view that improvements in the national fuel scheme cannot be looked at in isolation from the improvements in the primary weekly payment rates. 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 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. Although the national fuel scheme operated for a fixed period, there is a facility available through the supplementary welfare allowance scheme to assist people in certain circumstances who have special heating needs at any time of year. 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.

Noel Ahern

Ceist:

309 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the basis on which the adult dependent allowance is calculated for pensioners; if the dependent allowance has increased in recent years; and if, in view of the fact that recipients feel that dependants are treated with less importance, he will consider increasing the dependent allowance to 80% of the amount being received by the main recipient. [26232/00]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

Adult dependants are catered for in the social welfare system through the payment of qualified adult allowances where a spouse or partner is in receipt of a social welfare payment. Until recently the qualified adult allowance was payable at approximately 60% of the personal rate. This was in line with the recommendations of the Commission on Social Welfare, 1986, and reflects the economies of scale which are considered to exist where two people are living together. This is the traditional way in which couples have been provided for under the social welfare system, not just in Ireland but in many other countries.

However, more recent research undertaken by the ESRI for the working group examining the treatment of married, cohabiting and one-parent families under the tax and social welfare codes report published in August 1999, suggested that the QAA should be increased to 70% of the personal rate.

The Government is committed to reaching this recommended level for the QAA over three budgets. The process was started in budget 2000 when increases in QAAs payable with pensions ranged from 8% to 17%. These increases brought the QAA to a level of between 60.5% and 67% of the personal rate.

Further progress will be made in the forthcoming budget, the extent of which will depend on the resources available and the Government's other priorities.

Michael Creed

Ceist:

310 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will extend entitlement to free fuel and Christmas bonus to those participating on community employment schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26234/00]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

People participating on community employment schemes already retain entitlement to fuel allowance and to the Christmas bonus, subject to the same conditions that apply to participants in other employment schemes. One of these conditions is that gross household income must not exceed £250 per week.

To qualify for fuel allowance, a person must be in receipt of one of a number of qualifying payments or be on an employment programme such as community employment, CE, and must satisfy certain other conditions. They must live alone or only with a dependent spouse/partner and/or a dependent child or children, or with a person who is in receipt of a qualifying payment and thus eligible for the fuel allowance in their own right, or with a person giving them full-time care or with a person getting short-term unemployment assistance.

A person who was in receipt of a fuel allowance before going on to a CE scheme will retain their entitlement as long as they meet the con ditions set out above and have a gross household income of less than £250 per week.

A Christmas bonus is paid to long-term recipients of social welfare to help meet the extra expense incurred at Christmas. This year the bonus has been increased from 70% to 100% of the recipient's normal weekly payment, subject to a minimum payment of £20. A person on a CE scheme who retains their secondary benefits would therefore continue to qualify for the Christmas bonus.