Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 May 2005
143 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons who qualify for family income supplement; if he will report on the new guidelines for FIS; if there were changes in budget 2005 in the FIS guidelines; the advertising which his Department has carried out about FIS; and the amount spent on advertising the FIS scheme. [17633/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraFamily income supplement, FIS, was introduced in 1984 to provide income support for employees on low earnings with families and thereby preserve the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where they might otherwise only be marginally better off than if they were fully reliant on social welfare payments.
Weekly payments of FIS are made to families, including one-parent families, with children under 18 years or between 18 and 22 years if in full-time education, where one or more parent is in full-time remunerative employment of not less than 19 hours per week or 38 hours per fortnight, where the employment is likely to last at least three months and where the income of the family is less than a prescribed weekly amount. The number of FIS claims in payment at week ending 20 May 2005 is 15,422. This represents an increase of 28% since December 2002 when 12,043 claims were in payment.
FIS income limits were increased by €39 per week in budget 2005. This represents a net increase of €23.40 per week for most recipients. Weekly FIS income limits have risen by €84 since 2002. This represents a net increase of €50.40. The guaranteed minimum weekly rate of payment for anyone who qualifies for FIS increased to €20 from January 2004.
My Department undertakes a number of proactive measures to ensure that people are aware of possible entitlement to family income supplement. In the past, this has included extensive advertising on local and national press and radio and in poster campaigns and targeted mailshots. Information on FIS is also provided on an ongoing basis in various ways, which include advising all newly awarded one-parent family payment recipients, advising all employers annually in PRSI mailshots and examining entitlement for all recipients of the back to work scheme. The provision of information on FIS in this manner is not costed separately.
More generally, information on all social welfare schemes, including FIS, is also available on the Department's website and local offices.
