Written Answers Nos. 33-44
33. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal against the refusal of domiciliary care allowance in respect of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38586/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 5 September 2014. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the appeal in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
34. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a decision on a domiciliary care allowance review in respect of a person (detail supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38596/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received from the person concerned on 9 May 2014. This application was referred to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors who did not consider that the child met the medical criteria for the allowance. A letter issued on the 19th August 2014 outlining the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance.
A review of this decision was requested on the 19th September 2014 and additional information on this child’s condition/care needs has been supplied. The application together with the new information supplied will now be examined by another medical assessor. Once their opinion is received the application will be re-examined by a deciding officer and a revised decision will be made, if warranted. The person concerned will be notified of the outcome of this review as soon as it is completed.
35. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if an appeal for non-contributory pension in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny will be expedited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38633/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision.
Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of the Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by the Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts.
I am advised that the person concerned has submitted additional evidence to the Appeals Office and that the appeal decision will be reviewed in light of this evidence. The Appeals Office will be in contact with the person concerned in relation to this review shortly.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
38. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding child benefit payments when parents separate but equally share parenting, that is when children spend half of their time in the care of each of their parents; if in a situation like this, both parents are considered eligible for 50% of the child benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38702/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraChild benefit is a universal monthly payment made to the parents/guardians of children that assists families with the cost associated with raising children. Currently, child benefit is paid to around 604,000 families in respect of some 1.15 million children with an estimated expenditure of around €1.9 billion in 2014.
The needs of the children are the priority consideration in the payment of child benefit. Under Section 220 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005, child benefit is payable to the person with whom a qualified child normally resides and the child will not be regarded as normally residing with more than one person. Regulations governing normal residence for child benefit purposes are contained in S.I. 142/2007 (Article 159) and they provide inter alia for the following:
(1) In the event that a qualified child is resident with both mother and father, he or she will be regarded as normally residing with the mother or step-mother.
(2) If mother and father are resident in separate households, the qualified child shall be regarded as normally residing with the person with whom he or she resides for the majority of the time.
In practice, child benefit is paid to the child’s mother in all cases except where the parents are separated and the father has responsibility for the full-time care of the child for more than 50% of the time.
The regulations governing the scheme does not provide for the splitting of the payment between parties in cases of shared residency arrangements for the child.
If the Deputy wishes to have a particular case considered in further detail by the Department, I will arrange this if she sends me the details.
41. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an illness benefit appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38764/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraPayment of illness benefit to the person concerned was disallowed by a Deciding Officer following an examination by a Medical Assessor of the Department who expressed the opinion that she was capable of work.
An appeal was registered on 6 October 2014 and the Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that, in accordance with statutory requirements, the Department was asked for the documentation in the case and the Deciding Officer’s comments on the grounds of the appeal. In that context, an examination by another Medical Assessor will be carried out. The person concerned will be notified when arrangements for the examination have been completed.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
42. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will restore the mortgage interest supplement payment for struggling home owners to enable them to retain their homes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38804/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe original purpose of the mortgage interest supplement scheme was to provide short-term support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only. There are currently approximately 6,700 people in receipt of mortgage interest supplement for which the Government has provided €17.9 million in 2014.
The Government’s strategy to assist those in mortgage difficulty is built around the following measures, as recommended in the 2011 Interdepartmental Mortgage Arrears Working Group (Keane Group), in four main distinct areas:
- Lenders providing sustainable and durable resolution options to their borrowers.
- A social housing response (Mortgage to Rent).
- Comprehensive advice to borrowers.
- Personal Insolvency Reform.
In the context of the overall strategy, the continued payment of mortgage interest supplement does little to assist recipients in improving the long term difficulty in addressing their mortgage problem and provides little incentive for the lender to provide sustainable solutions.
The most appropriate way in which customers experiencing mortgage difficulties can be supported is through engagement with their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) which explores the various options available to the person and provides sustainable solutions.
As part of the fiscal adjustment required for Budget 2014, provision was made for the discontinuation of entitlement to mortgage interest supplement for all new applicants from 1 January 2014. Existing customers were not affected by this measure and may retain entitlement to the scheme, up to 1st January 2018. However, it would be expected that during this four year period, existing customers would no longer require this support through sustainable solutions being put in place with their lenders, securing employment or exit strategies sponsored by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, namely the mortgage-to-rent scheme.
43. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of contracts of indefinite duration that have been sought and the number that have been granted in the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014 in the public sector under the remit of her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38845/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department does not maintain records on the number of contracts of indefinite duration that have been sought.
The following table details the number of contracts of indefinite duration that have been awarded in the Department and in the agencies under its remit.
|
- |
Dept of Social Protection |
Citizens Information Board |
Pensions Ombudsman |
Pensions Authority |
|
2007 |
Nil |
8 |
Nil |
Nil |
|
2008 |
Nil |
4 |
Nil |
Nil |
|
2009 |
10* |
1 |
Nil |
Nil |
|
2010 |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
|
2011 |
1 |
1 |
Nil |
Nil |
|
2012 |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
|
2013 |
1 |
Nil |
Nil |
1 |
|
2014 |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
*In 2009, the CPSU made a claim with the Department of Foreign Affairs on behalf of 10 Temporary Clerical Officers based in the Passport Office, for contracts of indefinite duration (CID). The CIDs were approved by the Department of Finance on the basis that the staff involved were to be employed by the Department of Social Protection who had an urgent requirement for staff at the time.
44. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to householders in some types of housing, such as maisonettes, being denied insurance cover for their homes; if there are any measures under his remit to assist these householders; and if policy changes could assist those affected by this situation. [38669/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraNeither I, as Minister for Finance, nor the Central Bank of Ireland, as Regulator, can compel insurers to quote for business. The decision to provide any specific form of insurance cover and the price at which it is offered is a commercial matter based on the assessment an insurer will make of the risks involved.
My officials have consulted with the Central Bank of Ireland and with Insurance Ireland on the matter. The Central Bank has advised that it is not aware of any issues particular to maisonettes at this time. Insurance Ireland, which represents 95% of the market, has advised that maisonette insurance is available within the insurance market here.
Insurance companies, as a matter of course, carry out reviews of the risks against which they are prepared to insure and sometimes make decisions to discontinue certain types of cover which they consider high risk. These types of decisions are made sometimes on the basis of their broad past experience rather than looking at the individual circumstances of householders.
Insurance Ireland operates a free Insurance Information Service for those who have queries, complaints or difficulties in relation to obtaining insurance. They have advised that they may be in a position to assist if a proposer has difficulty in obtaining an insurance quote. Their service can be contacted at (01) 676 1914 or by email at iis@insuranceireland.eu.
