Social Welfare Benefits.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 April 2004

Wednesday, 28 April 2004

Ceisteanna (90, 91, 92, 93, 94)

Breeda Moynihan-Cronin

Ceist:

108 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons receiving assistance from the money advice and budgeting service in respect of the latest date for which figures are available; the number who were in receipt of the supplement payable to persons on social welfare allowance; if her attention has been drawn to concerns that many persons may be pushed into the hands of moneylenders; her views on whether this merits a reconsideration of her decision to abolish the supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12052/04]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Mary Coughlan)

My Department has overall responsibility for the money advice and budgeting service, MABS, which provides assistance to people experiencing difficulty in meeting repayments on borrowings. There are 52 independent companies nationwide operating the service.

The MABS programme provides money advice to individuals and families who have problems with debt and who are on low income or in receipt of social welfare payments. The latest information available from the companies providing the service shows that 12,000 people are currently availing of the service. The MABS service does not provide financial assistance to its customers. Instead, the service places an emphasis on practical budget based measures that help people to move permanently from dependence on moneylenders and to access alternative sources of low cost credit.

In 2003, I provided €9.9 million for the operation of the MABS service and an additional €1.01 million was allocated for 2004 in the last budget. MABS supplement payments paid under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme were made by the health boards because the people concerned had entered into repayment arrangements that were so onerous that they did not have enough income left to meet their basic needs. Some 273 people were in receipt of these supplements at 16 April 2004, representing less than 3% of MABS customers.

At the time the decision was taken to discontinue the MABS supplement, over 50% of the MABS supplements in payment had been in payment for more than a year and nearly 25% of recipients had been in receipt of the supplement for more than two years. The duration of these payments confirms that the supplement had become a long term arrangement which is effectively a subsidy for creditors. These supplements have not been used in three health board regions and were rarely used in the largest health board region. The good practice established in these areas, which cover the majority of the State's population, is now being put in place throughout the State. I wish to emphasise that MABS supplements currently in payment will not be withdrawn. Payment of the supplement in these cases, will continue for the duration of their current term of agreement.

It is with the support and expertise of the MABS companies throughout the country that people can be best assisted in sorting out their debts. These companies will continue to provide their services to people who need it. In the circumstances, I am satisfied that the decision to discontinue the MABS supplement is reasonable and will require creditors to take a more realistic approach to the repayment arrangements a debtor can afford to make. Health boards may still deal with emergency or exceptional cases at any time of the year by way of exceptional needs payments or an urgent needs payment.

Ciarán Cuffe

Ceist:

109 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the plans she has to make free phone allowance available to all medical card holders, especially those with disability and not assessed on income means. [12090/04]

Michael Ring

Ceist:

110 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will consider granting free schemes to all widows and widowers on the death of their spouse, regardless of age. [12167/04]

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Mary Coughlan)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 110 together.

The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity/gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who fulfil a means test. The package is also available to carers and people with disabilities under the age of 66 years who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments, such as invalidity pension and disability allowance. People aged over 70 years of age can qualify regardless of their income or household composition. Widows and widowers aged from 60 to 65 years, whose late spouses had been in receipt of the household benefit package, retain that entitlement to ensure that households do not suffer a loss of entitlements following the death of a spouse.

A range of proposals have been made to extend the free schemes to other groups. These are kept under review in the context of the objectives of the scheme and budgetary resources.

Question No. 111 answered with QuestionNo. 72.

Gerard Murphy

Ceist:

112 Mr. Murphy asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her plans to ensure access to the free meals scheme for all schools in disadvantaged areas; and the estimated cost of same. [12163/04]

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Mary Coughlan)

The school meals programme makes an important contribution to ensuring that school children receive better nutrition and contributes to improved school attendance and quality of learning. The current programme provides funding for the urban school meals scheme, which operates in conjunction with certain local authorities, as well as for a number of locally operated school meals projects that are in place in both urban and rural areas.

In 2003, a sum of €3.29 million was spent on the school meals programme. It is estimated that 382 schools, with a total of over 50,650 pupils, benefited from the urban scheme while 347 schools and voluntary organisations received funding which benefited some 26,000 children under local school meals projects. Budget 2004 provided €6.08 million for the programme.

My Department is working with the Department of Education and Science to extend the school meals programme. In this regard the Department of Education and Science is using its schools completion programme and giving children an even break initiative to target disadvantaged schools. It is actively promoting the school meals programme through the local schools completion programme co-ordinators. In addition, my Department is currently contacting those schools which in 2003 indicated an interest in the school meals programme but did not submit a formal application for funding. My Department will also be issuing notifications to schools regarding the school meals programme for the 2004/2005 year in the near future.

A review of the urban and Gaeltacht schools meals schemes, which was published in 2003, made a number of recommendations to focus the scheme on areas of greatest disadvantage. This includes targeting secondary schools with the highest concentration of pupils at risk of early school leaving and their primary feeder schools. In July 2003, invitations to apply for funding under the school meals programme were issued to 217 schools as identified by the Department of Education and Science. During the current school year, September 2003 to June 2004, a total of 119 new projects so far have received funding.

The funding is being used to benefit children participating in breakfast clubs, lunch clubs and homework clubs in the schools concerned. The scheme also supports initiatives that target dispersed disadvantage and children with special needs.

Question No. 113 answered with QuestionNo. 71.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

114 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the terms of reference of the proposed review of income support arrangements for lone parents; when it is expected that the review will be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12059/04]

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Mary Coughlan)

One of the objectives of the one-parent family payment is to encourage lone parents to consider employment as an alternative to welfare dependency while at the same time supporting them to remain in the home if they so wish. It is generally accepted that one of the most effective routes out of poverty for people in the active age groups is through paid employment. Income support for lone parents is designed to assist them in overcoming the particular obstacles they may face in taking up employment or training opportunities and to encourage them to return to employment instead of remaining dependent on social welfare payments.

Ireland has among the highest percentage of lone parent families within the EU, with over 11% of households headed by a lone parent, a relatively low proportion of whom are in employment, compared to other countries. Figures from the national action plan against poverty and social exclusion in 2001 show that some 42.9% of lone parents in Ireland had a level of income which puts them in the category at risk of poverty. That is the reason I have given a commitment in my Department's statement of strategy to review the operation of income support arrangements for lone parents. This will take account of recent reports and emerging analysis in this area, such as the review of the one-parent family payment published by my own Department and a recent OECD study, entitled "Babies and Bosses", published in November 2003.

As a first step, I will be bringing together the Departments that have a role in the creation of policy around the issue of parenting alone. In the light of these discussions, terms of reference will be drawn up for a review of this issue to be carried out by the Departments concerned. These discussions will also serve to facilitate debate on the issue of parenting alone, enable networking at a policy level, and analyse and detail the progress needed to address gaps in current policy and programmes.

The intention is to have the overall review completed in time for consideration in the context of the next national action plan to combat poverty and social exclusion to cover the period 2006 to 2009.

Question No. 115 answered with QuestionNo. 96.