Written Answers Nos. 54-61
54. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the annual cost of increasing the jobseeker's allowance to €188 for all recipients under 26 years of age who are currently in receipt of the €144 rate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41942/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe cost of increasing the weekly rate of Jobseeker's Allowance to €188 for all recipients under 26 years of age who are currently in receipt of the €144 rate is almost €12 million in a full year.
Jobseeker’s allowance recipients who are in receipt of the maximum personal rate of €144 per week may benefit from two of the measures I recently announced in the Budget. Firstly, all jobseeker’s allowance recipients, including those under 26, who have been unemployed for 15 months or more will benefit from the 75% Christmas Bonus payment. A single young unemployed jobseeker in receipt of the €100 rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance for 15 months will receive a Christmas bonus payment of €75, while a person in receipt of the €144 rate for 15 months will receive €108.
In addition, those who are eligible for the Fuel Allowance will gain from the increase in January of €2.50 per week, from €20 to €22.50 per week over the fuel season.
55. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 26 years of age who are on the JobBridge scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41943/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra56. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons under 26 years of age who are on the JobBridge scheme and who are in receipt of €150, €194, and €238 per week; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41944/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 56 together.
Since the introduction of the JobBridge Scheme on 1 July 2011, a total of 44,394 people have commenced an internship, there are currently 4,766 participants on the scheme, and a total of 1,398 of these are under the age of 26.
Participants on JobBridge receive an internship allowance equivalent to their weekly Social Welfare payment, while they also receive an additional €50 top-up allowance as a contribution towards expenses arising from their participation on the scheme. The rate of a Jobseekers Allowance weekly payment is related to a person’s age. The maximum payment for a person aged 18-24 years of age is €100 per week, while for a person aged 25 years of age, the maximum weekly payment is €144. It is not possible to give an exact breakdown of the individual payment rates for each cohort of participant on JobBridge, but of the total of 1,398 participants aged under 26 years on the programme, a total of 1,139 are in the age category 18-24 while there currently 259 people aged 25 years participating on the scheme.
The Department has commissioned another independent evaluation of JobBridge, the results of this evaluation are expected in early 2016 and will inform any further changes to the scheme.
57. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons under 26 years of age who are currently in receipt of jobseeker's allowance; the number of these who are eligible to receive the Christmas bonus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41945/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe jobseeker’s allowance schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. The Revised 2015 Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure this year on the jobseekers’ schemes of €3.01 billion.
In line with other EU and OECD jurisdictions reduced rates for jobseeker’s allowance recipients were first introduced in 2009 and further extended in 2014.
Reduced rates for those under 26 years of age is a targeted measure aimed at protecting young people from welfare dependency. If a young person does not improve their skills, it will be much more difficult for them to avail of job opportunities as the economy recovers and they are at risk of becoming long term unemployed from a young age. The measure aims to incentivise young jobseeker’s allowance recipients to avail of education and training opportunities. If a jobseeker in receipt of the reduced jobseeker’s allowance rate participates on an education or training programme they will receive a higher weekly payment of €160.
The Christmas Bonus is payable to customers who have been in receipt of jobseekers allowance for more than 15 months. Budget 2016 increased the amount of this bonus from 50% to 75% of the normal weekly payment amount subject to a minimum payment of €20. The bonus payment will be included in the normal weekly payment in the week commencing 30 November 2015.
Based on data at the end of October 2015, there are approximately 38,000 jobseekers aged 25 and under and it is estimated that 22,000 of these may be eligible for the Christmas Bonus.
58. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 26 years of age currently on the MOMENTUM programme; the number of these in receipt of the €160 per week rate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41946/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are currently 331 clients under the age of 26 on the Momentum Programme, 152 of which receive the weekly rate of €160.
Momentum is an initiative which provides education and training to assist long-term unemployed people gain the skills needed to access work in sectors of the economy where there are job opportunities. All Momentum education and training projects are free. There are full and part-time projects available. Projects are from level 3 to 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) or to an industry-required certification.
Momentum provides eligible jobseekers with: access to a range of quality education and training projects; links to identified job vacancies and employers; work placement and support; Industry and NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications) Certification.
Some Momentum projects are specifically for unemployed people under 25 years of age. Participants continue to get a jobseekers payment while on the project. Momentum participants aged under 26 who move from an age-related reduced rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance will get a top-up rate of €160 per week (any means that they have will be deducted from this rate).
59. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who are receiving a disability allowance, the number in Clondalkin, and the number in Lucan, County Dublin. [41964/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraInformation relating to a claimant’s address is not currently coded to the geographical location of the address. As such it is not possible to accurately report numbers of people on the live register living in a particular area at present.
However, I am informed that at the end of October there were 117,646 recipients of Disability Allowance of which 28,978 were resident in County Dublin.
60. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of the Indecon report that was commissioned to look at the disability activation fund; when the report will be published; if a committee will be established to implement its recommendations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41970/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe report of the evaluation of the Disability Activation (DACT) project, conducted by Indecon International Economic Consultants on behalf of the department, is available on the department’s website: https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Other-Publications-.aspx.
An interdepartmental working group to examine the findings of the report has been established and its first meeting was held in October last. Membership of the working group comprises representatives of departments that have commitments under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for people with disabilities, launched by the government in October, as well as the National Disability Authority.
The group is progressing its work and is currently making arrangements to meet with representatives from the individual DACT projects.
61. Deputy Michael P. Kitt asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if there are proposals to allow for a one-year social protection credit to persons who have been in direct provision centres, upon their gaining employment, for every year they have spent in these centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41975/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraPRSI credited contributions or “credits” are a form of PRSI contribution recorded on an employee’s social record. Credits protect an employee’s social insurance entitlements by covering gaps in insurance where they are not in a position to pay PRSI, such as during periods of unemployment, illness etc.
To qualify for credits a worker must have paid at least one PRSI contribution while working and have had an attachment to the workforce in the last 2 tax years, as evidenced by having paid or credited PRSI contributions in that period. If these conditions are met, credits are awarded in specific circumstances. These circumstances include proven unemployment or certified illnesses, receipt of specific social welfare payments, participation on certain training or employment schemes and entitlement to certain statutory leave, such as Parental Leave. Credits on their own, do not give an employee entitlement to social insurance benefits. In combination with paid PRSI contributions, credits assist employees in qualifying for short-term schemes and enhance the level of benefit for long-term schemes.
Where individuals enter the workforce for the first time, including those previously in Direct Provision, they may be entitled to pre-entry credits. The purpose of pre-entry credits is to enable new entrants to the social insurance system to qualify for benefits within a reasonable period after their date of entry, once they have sufficient paid PRSI contributions. They are awarded upon the payment of a worker’s first paid PRSI contribution as an employee. Pre-entry credits are awarded:-
(i) from the beginning of the relevant contribution year to the date on which they began to work i.e. their date of entry into social insurance as an employed contributor, and
(ii) for the two previous contribution years before entry into insurable employment.
In effect, the award of pre-entry credits to those previously in direct provision and who take up employment, will provide recognition for social insurance purposes, of a period of between 2 to 3 years spent in Direct Provision Centres. Any proposal to increase the level of credits awarded for additional periods spent in these centres would have financial implications in terms of increased social insurance entitlements, and would have to be considered in a Budgetary context.
