Written Answers Nos. 81-87
81. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the position regarding employment rights in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5865/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will appreciate, I cannot give legal advice in the context of answering a Dáil question and the interpretation of the law is a matter for the Courts and relevant quasi-judicial bodies.
The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) is mandated to secure compliance with employment rights legislation. Under the current reform programme NERA’s Information Unit has been restructured and expanded to form a new Workplace Relations Customer Service Section. This Section provides information in relation to employment, equality and industrial relations rights and obligations. It can be contacted at Lo-call: 1890 80 80 90. The website http://www.workplacerelations.ie also provides extensive information on employment rights.
Complaints under any of the legislation mentioned above may be made via downloading the “Single Complaint Form” from the website www.workplacerelations.ie.
83. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons 23 years of age and younger in receipt of rent allowance from her Department for each of the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5725/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently approximately 79,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.
Statistics are not available on the number of persons 23 years of age and younger in receipt of rent supplement for each of the past five years. The rent supplement age statistics that are available profiles recipients’ age subtotalled for every 5 years for those over 20 years of age. The following tabular statement providing this data in respect of customers aged under 20 to 30 years for the period from 2009 to 2013.
TABULAR STATEMENT – Rent Supplement recipients aged under 20 years to 30 years 2009-2013
|
Age Group |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Under 20 years |
1,359 |
1,004 |
825 |
579 |
407 |
|
20 to 24 years |
14,029 |
13,146 |
11,581 |
9,078 |
7,114 |
|
25 to 29 years |
17,841 |
18,353 |
17,896 |
15,204 |
12,922 |
85. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 85 of 5 February 2014 in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7, the options available to them in respect of State pension on the basis that they are obliged by their employer to retire aged 65 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5754/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraIncreasing State pension age and the abolition of the State pension (transition), from January 2014, are steps that have been taken to ensure the sustainability of pensions into the future. The decision to reform State pension was taken in the context of changing demographics and the fact that people are living longer and healthier lives.
Depending on the person’s pension scheme, he may be entitled to an occupational pension at age 65 and he should contact his employer in this regard. In terms of social welfare supports available to those at age 65, all short term social welfare schemes are payable to age 66. The main payment available on leaving employment before pension age is jobseeker’s benefit. Existing legislation provides that jobseekers whose benefit expires in their 65th year will continue to be paid benefit up until the age of 66, subject to the general scheme conditions.
The Department has put in place new administrative arrangements to ease the transition from the labour force into retirement and to support those who are no longer eligible for State pension (transition). For people aged 62 or over who are claiming Jobseeker’s Benefit or Allowance, they will no longer be required to engage with the activation process and will not be subject to penalty rates for non-engagement. However, they can, on a voluntary basis, avail of all supports available in training or employment support programmes.
In addition, signing period will be reduced to a yearly signing arrangement for this age group and most will be transferred to Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) payments so payment can be made directly into their bank account.
86. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will raise the cap on rent allowance in view of increasing rents throughout certain parts of the country. [5760/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources and who do not have accommodation available to them from another source. There are currently approximately 79,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.
Revised rent limits under the rent supplement scheme have been implemented with effect from Monday 17 June 2013 and will be in place until 31 December 2014. The rent limits were determined following an extensive review of the private rental market based on the most up-to-date data available. The purpose of the rent limit review is to ensure availability of accommodation for rent supplement tenancies and not to provide rent supplement tenants with access to all housing in all areas while ensuring that maximum value for money for tenants and the taxpayer is achieved.
During the rent limit review, the Department used information from rental tenancies registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) to analyse actual rental costs in each county across the country. The Department also used publicly available data sources including the Central Statistics Office rental indices, the Daft.ie Rental Report and websites, advertising rental properties to ascertain both the market trends and the current asking prices for one, two and three bedroom properties.
There have been increases in the maximum rent limits in Dublin and Galway while there have been some reductions across a number of rural counties reflecting the conditions in the rental markets in those counties. Separate to the county limits, higher rent limits have been provided for in North Kildare and Bray areas.
Officials in the Department continue to examine the impact of the rent limits on those who claim rent supplement but at this stage I have no plans to revise the existing rent limits.
87. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Social Protection the time limit for applying for statutory redundancy; if a person who left work because they became terminally ill may apply for statutory redundancy after a period of five years has elapsed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5773/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate workers, under the Redundancy Payments Acts for the loss of their jobs by reason of redundancy. It is the employer’s responsibility to make statutory redundancy payments to its eligible employees.
The time limit for an employee to make a statutory redundancy lump sum claim is 52 weeks after the date of termination of employment. The Employment Appeals Tribunal can extend the time limit to 104 weeks from the date of termination of employment where evidence is provided that the delay in submitting the claim arose through reasonable cause.
In order to qualify for a statutory redundancy payment, an employee must:
- have at least two years continuous service;
- be in employment which is insurable under the Social Welfare Acts;
- be over the age of 16; and
- have been made redundant as a result of a genuine redundancy situation.
In the first instance, it is up to the employer to determine if a genuine redundancy situation exists. In general, this means that the job no longer exists and the person is not replaced. This can occur where, for example, an employer requires fewer employees to do work of a particular kind, where a company goes into liquidation or receivership, where it is decided to rationalise a business or where a business simply closes down.
A person who voluntarily resigns, or resigns due to ill-health, would not satisfy the legislative conditions governing the redundancy scheme and so could not be viewed to have been dismissed by reason of redundancy. Accordingly, such a person would not be entitled to a statutory redundancy payment.
