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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 24 Oct 2002

Vol. 556 No. 2

Other Questions. - Social Welfare Benefits.

Paul Connaughton

Ceist:

6 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the categories of persons who will receive payment of the Christmas bonus; the categories of recipients of social welfare who will not receive this payment; and if she will consider paying all people in receipt of social welfare, whether short-term or long-term, the Christmas bonus. [19529/02]

As the House will be aware, on 7 October I announced that the Christmas bonus for 2002 will again be paid at a rate equivalent to 100% of the person's normal weekly payment, but with an increased minimum payment of €30. The cost of this measure is estimated to be €103.3 million. Payment will be made in early December and it is estimated that it will benefit 1.1 million persons comprising 740,000 recipients and an estimated 400,000 dependants.

The bonus will be paid, as in previous years, to recipients of all long-term social welfare payments including retirement and old age pensioners, widows, widowers and one-parent families, carers, invalidity pension and disability allowance recipients, persons in receipt of long-term unemployment assistance and farm assist and people on employment support payments.

Recipients of short-term payments do not qualify for the Christmas bonus. This includes persons in receipt of short-term unemployment payments and disability benefit, maternity benefit, carer's benefit, family income supplement and supplementary welfare allowance. An estimated 190,000 people receive these short-term weekly payments.

The focus of the Christmas bonus has always been on long-term welfare payment recipients who rely on the social welfare system for financial support over the long-term. There are no plans to extend entitlement to the bonus payment to short-term schemes and any such extension could only be considered in a budgetary context having regard to the resources available and the significant cost which would be involved.

There is great anger on the part of those on short-term benefits who will not receive the Christmas bonus. Does the Minister consider it fair that a person on carer's benefit, who gave up employment to look after their mother, father, brother or sister, and who had paid their stamps and dues to the State will not get the Christmas bonus while others who may never have made a contribution to the State will get it? Those in short-term employment and on short-term benefits are upset as they have the same needs and difficulties as those on long-term benefits. Will the Minister consider paying the Christmas bonus to those in receipt of the carer's allowance? They have paid their dues to the State and when they need help, owing to a reduced income, they will not get the Christmas bonus. This is mean of the Government. The Minister, as a mother, should give an undertaking to deal with this issue immediately and pay those on short-term benefits.

When the Government of which the Deputy was a member was in office, it did not pay a 100% Christmas bonus, it paid only 75% which went down to 65%.

We have better times now.

It is sanctimonious of the Opposition to refer to that. As a consequence of the Christmas bonus I have been able to persuade the Government quite easily that a 100% Christmas bonus is important and we have been able to continue that ilk in recent years. One of the difficulties with short-term benefits is that they are short-term. They could last a week, ten day or two weeks in which case a person could be in receipt of a short-term benefit today and not at Christmas when hopefully they have returned to work or whatever. That is one of the huge difficulties in the context of short-term benefits. The focus has always been on supporting those with long-term needs and, in particular, all those in receipt of long-term benefits and in long-term schemes must be supported as it is part of their overall household package funding. The 100% Christmas bonus is important to them and as a consequence will cost over €103.3 million.

Will the Minister agree there are anomalies in the system as it operates? The Minister referred to short-term benefits. If a person did not move on to invalidity benefit he or she could be on disability benefit for a lengthy period. Those people are excluded. I agree with my colleague, Deputy Ring, that we encourage people to go for carer's benefit. If caring for two elderly parents, a carer could be out of work for three years. Perhaps the Minister will look at this again in the context of this year.

The Minister and the Department acknowledge that those in receipt of family income supplement are on low incomes. While the Department recognises they are on low incomes, they will not get the Christmas bonus. Christmas is a difficult time for these people. As Deputy Broughan said, something must be done. Those in receipt of FIS should get the Christmas bonus. If the Minister were to agree to pay it, it would be money well spent and is badly needed by these people.

I appreciate the genuine concerns expressed by Deputies opposite. I am not in a position to introduce a 100% bonus this year. I have agreement with Government to pay the 100% bonus on the long-term benefits. I agree that in the context of some of the schemes there are anomalies whereby short-term benefits become long-term and that people do not opt for invalidity pensions, as the Deputy indicated, although entitled to do so after a year. Certainly there are anomalies in that area. In the event of resources becoming available to me I will look at that scheme. As Deputies will appreciate, tinkering with any scheme could cause consequential problems on the other side. Even to change disability benefit from being a short-term benefit to a long-term benefit may not be to the benefit of others who wish to move to invalidity pension.

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