Michael Ring
Ceist:354 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when unemployment assistance will be approved and a payment made for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [29185/03]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
The person concerned made a claim for unemployment assistance on 14 November 2003 which is currently being examined. A decision will be made as soon as possible and the person concerned will be notified of the outcome.
Under social welfare legislation decisions in relation to claims and the insurability of employment must be made by deciding officers and appeals officers. These officers are statutorily appointed and I have no role in regard to making such decisions.
Question No. 355 answered with Question No. 116.
Richard Bruton
Ceist:356 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if supplements towards the cost of special heating needs are being phased out as is the case with diet supplement. [29192/03]
Under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on behalf of my Department by the health boards, a recipient of a social welfare or health board payment who has exceptional heating costs due to ill health or infirmity may qualify for a heating supplement. I have no plans to change the qualifying conditions relating to the payment of the heating supplement.
Róisín Shortall
Ceist:357 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the estimated number of persons on disability benefit for longer than 12 months; the estimated cost to the Exchequer if entitlement to free travel was extended to such persons; the estimated cost to the Exchequer if entitlement to the household benefit package was extended to such persons; the reason she has allowed the discrepancy to continue in situations in which persons in very similar circumstances who are on invalidity pension or on disability allowance have such entitlements, when other persons such as a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11, who is on disability payments from her Department since January 2002, has no such entitlement; and her plans to make provision in the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2003 to extend these entitlements to at least all persons on long-term disability payments. [29256/03]
Some 28,474 people are currently in receipt of disability benefit for a year or more. The annual cost of extending the free travel pass to this group is estimated to be approximately €2.4 million, while the annual cost of extending the household benefits package is estimated to be approximately €21 million. The free travel pass and household benefits package are only available to social welfare pensioners aged 66 and over and also to recipients of long-term illness and disability payments aged under 66 years. They are not available to short-term social welfare recipients, such as recipients of disability and unemployment benefits, nor are they generally available to long-term recipients aged under 66 years, for instance, recipients of widow and widower pensions. There are no plans to extend these benefits to recipients of the schemes involved.
The wider question of the potential overlaps between the invalidity pension and payment of disability benefit for longer than a year is one of a range of issues examined by a working group which is reviewing the illness and disability payment schemes. This review is nearing completion and it is expected that the report of this review will be published shortly.
Question No. 358 answered with Question No. 89.
John McGuinness
Ceist:359 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if old age pensioners are entitled to an extra allowance in areas in which smokeless fuel is in use. [29291/03]
The smokeless fuel allowance was introduced in October 1990 to assist people with the additional costs arising from the ban on the sale of bituminous coal in certain designated areas. This ban currently covers designated areas in Dublin, Cork, Arklow, Drogheda, Dundalk, Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Celbridge, Leixlip, Naas, Bray, Kilkenny, Sligo and Tralee.
A standard fuel allowance payment of €9.00 per week is paid to eligible households while an additional €3.90 per week is paid in smokeless zones, bringing the total amount payable in those areas to €12.90 per week. These payments are made for the duration of the fuel season which lasts for 29 weeks.
Old age pensioners who qualify for the standard fuel allowance automatically receive the additional smokeless fuel allowance if they live in one of the designated areas as outlined above.