Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Ceist:321 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the position regarding a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9901/09]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 10 March 2009
Ceisteanna (295, 296, 297, 298)
Aengus Ó Snodaigh
Ceist:333 Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the position regarding a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9900/09]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 321 and 333 together.
Rent supplement is administered on behalf of the department by the Health Service Executive as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.
Rent supplement is normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of SWA appropriate to their family circumstances less a minimum contribution of €18, which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. Many recipients pay more than €18 because recipients are also required to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate basic supplementary welfare allowance rate towards their accommodation costs. Social welfare legislation provides that all income in cash is assessable for supplementary welfare allowance purposes with the exception of some specific disregards of income.
A person who claims a One-Parent Family Payment is required to seek maintenance from her/his spouse or the other parent of the child. These maintenance payments are assessed as means for the purpose of determining entitlement to a one-parent family payment. However, vouched housing costs of up to €95.23 per week (rent or mortgage) are disregarded in establishing the rate of one-parent family payment due.
Given that up to €95.23 per week of maintenance payments are disregarded in the means test for the one-parent family payment to allow for housing costs, this amount of €95.23 in maintenance payments is regarded as a contribution towards rent. The total amount of rent supplement payable is calculated taking account of the net amount of income, above the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to her family circumstances, that the claimant has available to contribute towards rent.
The Executive has advised that the person concerned was awarded rent supplement in May 2008. She was awarded maintenance of €150 per week by the Family Law Court in September 2008 but did not notify the Health Service Executive that she was receiving maintenance payments. The Executive became aware that maintenance payments were being made in February 2009.
The Executive has further advised that her entitlement to rent supplement has been recalculated following an assessment of her current weekly income from one-parent family payment of €188.80 and maintenance of €150. The combined income of €338.80 is €82.50 in excess of the appropriate rate of supplementary welfare allowance of €256.30. She is therefore required to contribute €82.50 towards her rent plus the minimum contribution of €18 a week, a total of €100.50. As a result, she is entitled to a reduced rate of rent supplement of €176.40 a week. The Executive has also advised that an overpayment of rent supplement of €1,455 has been assessed against the person concerned backdated to September 2008.
It is open to the person concerned to appeal against this decision to the Executive's designated Appeals Office.
Frank Fahey
Ceist:322 Deputy Frank Fahey asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons that are in receipt of more than €800 per month rental subsidy in each county as administered by the Health Service Executive; the number of persons receiving rent subsidy in 2008; and the cost of same. [10175/09]
Amharc ar fhreagraRent supplement is administered on behalf of the department by the Health Service Executive as part of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. There are currently almost 80,000 households in receipt of rent supplement. The following tabular statement shows the number of households in receipt of rent supplement of more than €800 per month in each county.
|
County |
Recipients |
|
Carlow |
3 |
|
Cavan |
1 |
|
Clare |
3 |
|
Cork |
474 |
|
Donegal |
— |
|
Dublin |
11,797 |
|
Galway |
119 |
|
Kerry |
20 |
|
Kildare |
1,195 |
|
Kilkenny |
9 |
|
Laois |
5 |
|
Leitrim |
— |
|
Limerick |
5 |
|
Longford |
— |
|
Louth |
3 |
|
Mayo |
21 |
|
Meath |
53 |
|
Monaghan |
— |
|
Offaly |
— |
|
Roscommon |
1 |
|
Sligo |
— |
|
Tipperary |
1 |
|
Waterford |
2 |
|
Westmeath |
1 |
|
Wexford |
4 |
|
Wicklow |
630 |
|
Total |
14,347 |
Mary Upton
Ceist:323 Deputy Mary Upton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her views on suggestions (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9527/09]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn unemployed person may qualify for Jobseekers Benefit or Jobseekers Allowance. Jobseekers Benefit is based on a person's social insurance record and Jobseekers Allowance is based on weekly means. A fundamental qualifying condition for the benefit is that a person must be available for full-time work.
However, a person who engages in voluntary work within the State may continue to be entitled to jobseekers benefit or allowance provided that, in engaging in the voluntary work, the customer continues to satisfy the statutory conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking work. Examples of voluntary work in which jobseekers may engage include helping the sick, elderly or persons with a disability;assisting youth clubs, church groups, sports groups, cultural organisations, local resident associations.
The groups involved may be nationally organised groups or local voluntary or community groups. The aim of the Voluntary Work Option is twofold, namely, to encourage voluntary organisations to involve jobseekers to the greatest extent possible in their existing activities by creating new opportunities for voluntary work and to inform jobseekers of their freedom to involve themselves in voluntary work and to encourage them to do so. In addition, the existing Community Employment Scheme, operated by FÁS, offers the opportunity to unemployed persons to participate in paid employment in the social economy.