I propose to take Questions Nos. 1293 and 1297 together.
The income limit to which the Deputies refer applies to people who take up employment under the back to work scheme and similar approved employment schemes. Such people are entitled to retain certain social welfare and other benefits known as secondary benefits, for the duration of the scheme. For most people the most significant secondary benefit is rent or mortgage interest supplement which is paid under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. Supplementary welfare allowance is not normally payable to people in full-time employment. However, arrangements have been in place for a number of years which allow people to retain a portion of their rent supplement where they take up employment through approved schemes, subject to a weekly household income limit of €317.43.
While the €317.43 income limit has not changed in recent years, significant changes have been made to the means test. Back to work allowance and family income supplement, in cases where one or both of these are in payment, are now disregarded in the assessment of the €317.43 weekly income limit. PRSI and reasonable travelling expenses are also disregarded in the means test. This means that people who had been unemployed and who commence employment through the back to work scheme can have a weekly household income significantly in excess of the €317.43 limit in question and still qualify to retain 75% of their rent or mortgage interest supplement.
In the first year of their participation in the back to work scheme, a single person can have combined income from the back to work allowance and wages of €418.50, while a couple with two children can have an income of €510.75. Other improvements have also been made. The period for which rent supplement may be retained has been extended to four years on a tapered basis, i.e. 75% in year one, 50% in year two and 25% in years three and four. In addition, the maximum payment limit of €317.43 per month on the amount of supplement payable was abolished for people on the approved schemes. As a consequence many families retain more of their rent or mortgage interest supplement than had been the case prior to these changes taking place.
As a participant in the back to work scheme a person can opt to be assessed under either standard rules or under retention rules, and will be entitled to receive payment under the more favourable option. Under standard assessment rules, rent or mortgage interest supplements are calculated to ensure that an eligible person, after the payment of rent or mortgage interest, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her family circumstances, less a minimum contribution of €13 which each recipient is required to pay from his or her own resources.
Family income supplement is now also disregarded in the standard means test. In addition, where the employment is part-time at less than 30 hours per week, up to €50 is disregarded in the means test. This ensures that a person is better off as a result of taking up such an opportunity. Other secondary benefits include retention of entitlement to back to school clothing and footwear allowance subject to the €317.43 income limit. Income from the back to work allowance scheme is now also disregarded in the assessment for this payment which means that the level of household income can be significantly in excess of the €317.43 limit in certain cases.
The arrangements I have outlined are designed to encourage and assist people in the transition from reliance on welfare payments to full-time employment. One impact of the changes means that more people qualify for support under the standard rules of the schemes in question and are not subject to the thresholds that apply to the special rules governing retention of secondary benefits. Any further changes in the qualification criteria for retention of secondary benefits would have to be considered in a budgetary context.