John Gormley
Ceist:77 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the numbers who will be affected by the proposed removal of the crèche allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29019/03]
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Benefits.
Richard Bruton
Ceist:351 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons who will be affected by the withdrawal of crèche supplement proposed in the Estimates; the categories of persons who will be affected; and the way in which this will impact on the participation of disadvantaged children in early education initiatives. [28982/03]
I propose to take Questions No. 77 and 351 together.
Subject to certain conditions, any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet his or her basic needs and the needs of any adult or child dependant may be entitled to assistance under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme which is administered on behalf of my Department by the health boards. The objective of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme is to meet immediate, short-term income maintenance needs. The scheme is not intended to be a long-term solution in any individual case.
The crèche supplement was introduced with the intention of providing assistance to the parent of a child who is in need of a short-term emergency support. This could arise, for example, to assist a parent who would not otherwise be able to avail of particular supports such as counselling services or addiction treatment programmes.
At 21 November 2003 there were 1,738 crèche supplements in payment. The current figure represents an increase of almost 150% in less than three years from January 2001 when there were approximately 700 people in receipt of a crèche supplement. The main categories of recipients of crèche supplements are one parent families and the unemployed. The cost of these payments will be some €2.1 million in 2003. Payment of crèche supplements are increasingly being made for reasons which are clearly outside the scope of the original intentions of the scheme.
An analysis of crèche supplements shows that some 35% of supplements have been in payment for over eight months, 20% of supplements for over one year and approximately 10% for more than two years. The fact that the supplements are in payment for long durations in many cases indicates that they have become a long-term child care support rather than the short-term social support for which they were intended. In effect long-term child care needs are now being provided through a short-term emergency provision scheme. At present many of the groups involved in providing early education initiatives receive the bulk of their funding from the health boards. While the total amount spent on crèche supplements is significant the actual amounts contributed in individual cases is relatively small and administratively inefficient. My Department will be discussing this matter with the health boards concerned to ensure that appropriate alternative measures are put in place to address the needs of families with children in this regard.
Emmet Stagg
Ceist:78 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason for the reduction of 4% in the allocation in her Department's Estimates for 2004 for family income supplement, particularly in view of her statement on 13 November 2003, suggesting that, following the abolition of the transitional half rate payment for lone parents, such persons would be encouraged to apply for FIS; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28950/03]
Dan Boyle
Ceist:128 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason it is anticipated that family income supplement will require 4% less funding in 2004. [29013/03]
I propose to take Question Nos. 78 and 128 together.
Family income supplement, FIS, is designed to provide cash support for employees on low earnings with families, thereby protecting the incentive to remain in employment. The estimated average number of families in receipt of FIS in 2003 is 12,200. The 2004 Abridged, or pre-budget, Estimate for FIS is €45.9 million. This sum provides for an average of 12,600 recipients at current weekly income thresholds, an increase of 400 compared to the 2003 average.
The reduction of 4% in the 2004 FIS Estimate against the 2003 Estimate reflects the fact that the number of recipients in 2003 is lower than had been projected a year earlier when the 2003 Estimates were being drawn up. The 2003 Estimate, to which the 2004 Estimate is compared in the Abridged Estimates volume, had provided for a projected increase of 1,100 in the year to reflect an increase of €17 in income thresholds for FIS qualification from January 2003. However, the net increase in numbers was considerably less, resulting in an underspend against the projection.
The arrangements whereby lone parents could retain 50% of their previous entitlement for a period of 12 months where earnings exceed the €293 threshold was originally intended to ease the move from social welfare to employment by cushioning the loss of the social welfare payment. The family income supplement scheme also achieves this in respect of low-income families with children, and it is considered to be the more appropriate support in such circumstances. It is estimated that this will affect 350 recipients of one-parent family payment in 2004. The provision for increased FIS numbers in 2004 will therefore facilitate this change.
This policy change is also consistent with the conclusions of the recent OECD survey, which stated that the existing system of earnings disregards serves largely to encourage lone parents to top-up income from one-parent family payment with small earnings rather than provide an incentive to increase earnings. The study also suggested that the family income supplement could be better promoted as a tool for providing financial incentives for lone parents to enter employment. It should be noted that the Estimates do not include any provision for measures which may be announced tomorrow in the budget.
Question No. 79 answered with Question No. 69.
Question No. 80 answered with Question No. 64.
David Stanton
Ceist:81 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the total amount paid in unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance each year in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29083/03]
Details of the total amounts paid in unemployment assistance and unemployment benefit are contained in a tabular statement which I am making available to the Deputy. This table shows that the amount spent on unemployment assistance fell each year from 1998, when it amounted to €770 million, to a figure of €430 million in 2001. This reflects the fact that the average live register was reducing in this period, when it dropped from a weekly average of 228,278 in 1998 to a figure of 141,765 in 2001.
The number of claimants in receipt of unemployment assistance also dropped from 128,986 at the end of December 1998 to 78,897 at the end of December 2001 – a reduction of 64%. Expenditure on unemployment benefit also fell, but less markedly in the period 1998 to 2001, in line with the fact that the number of claimants declined by 6% or 3,700 persons. The increase in the live register during 2002 from 152,406 at the end of 2001 to 166,142 at the end of December 2002 was a significant factor in the increase in expenditure for unemployment benefit and assistance in 2002. The estimated outturn for unemployment assistance for 2003 is €572 million and for unemployment benefit is €483 million.