Written Answers Nos. 48-56
48. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for a carer's allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42123/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 22 September 2015. The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
49. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when an application for a domiciliary care allowance will be finalised for a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42133/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on the 23rd June 2015. This application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 9th October 2015 outlining the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance.
A review of this decision was requested on 25th October 2015 and additional information on this child’s condition/care needs has been supplied. The application together with the new information supplied has been forwarded to a medical assessor for their professional opinion. Once this 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. Such reviews can take up to 12 weeks to complete at present.
50. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection why rent support has been refused to a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42138/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe client concerned was found ineligible for Rent Supplement as she is in full time employment. Rent Supplement is not payable where a person or their spouse/partner is in full time employment of 30 hours or more per week.
51. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection notwithstanding replies to previous parliamentary questions, when a basic social protection payment will be made to a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who has sent in the documentation required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42139/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraPrevious Questions Nos. 50 on 8 October 2015 and 146 on 17 November refer. The jobseekers allowance of the person concerned was disallowed following a review of his entitlement. He has been advised of the reasons for the disallowance. The person concerned also applied for supplementary welfare allowance which has now been refused as requested documentation was not provided. The person concerned did receive one week’s basic payment pending receipt of the requested documentation. The person concerned has been advised that he can appeal both decisions to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
52. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the regulations a person (details supplied) in Dublin 6, who has had to visit his homeland and who is due to return here soon, has to comply with in respect of a disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42153/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraExcept in certain exceptional circumstances, disability allowance (DA) is not payable for any period in respect of which the claimant is resident outside of the state. On an administrative basis, DA allows for two weeks holiday entitlement in any twelve month period. In all circumstances, DA recipients must inform the department that they are intending to leave the state in advance of travel. No such notification was received from the person concerned.
DA Payment has been suspended. The person in question should contact the department on his return to the state and forward his travel itinerary.
53. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the amount spent on rent supplement, by month, in 2014 and to date in 2015; the number of families in receipt of the supplement by county; the number of new applicants who have been provided with the supplement in 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42157/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraRent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme currently supporting approximately 63,000 people. A breakdown of rent supplement recipients on a county basis is provided in the tabular statement below. Over 17,200 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year, of which approximately 5,600 are in Dublin.
Over €298 million has been committed for rent supplement for 2015 - which represents a transfer of funding in excess of €20 million to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to support the new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). Expenditure to date in 2015 is in excess of €260 million and a monthly breakdown of expenditure is provided in the attached tabular statement. Expenditure on the scheme for 2014 was some €338 million.
Rent supplement is a demand-led scheme and Government will continue to ensure that the necessary funding for the scheme is in place.
Table 1: Rent Supplement Recipients by County, End October 2015
|
County |
Recipients |
|
CARLOW |
1,014 |
|
CAVAN |
387 |
|
CLARE |
1,110 |
|
CORK |
7,013 |
|
DONEGAL |
1,409 |
|
DUBLIN |
24,097 |
|
GALWAY |
3,339 |
|
KERRY |
1,631 |
|
KILDARE |
3,489 |
|
KILKENNY |
590 |
|
LAOIS |
971 |
|
LEITRIM |
326 |
|
LIMERICK |
1,651 |
|
LONGFORD |
405 |
|
LOUTH |
1,571 |
|
MAYO |
1,546 |
|
MEATH |
1,538 |
|
MONAGHAN |
272 |
|
OFFALY |
871 |
|
ROSCOMMON |
624 |
|
SLIGO |
484 |
|
TIPPERARY |
1,763 |
|
WATERFORD |
1,008 |
|
WESTMEATH |
1,429 |
|
WEXFORD |
2,321 |
|
WICKLOW |
2,017 |
|
Total |
62,876 |
Table 2: Rent Supplement: Expenditure: January 2015 To Date
|
Month in 2015 |
Cost €000 |
|
January |
27,749 |
|
February |
25,734 |
|
March |
26,825 |
|
April |
26,881 |
|
May |
26,023 |
|
June |
25,444 |
|
July |
26,784 |
|
August |
24,623 |
|
September |
25,141 |
|
October |
25,637 |
|
Total |
260,841 |
54. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for illness benefit by a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42163/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned is in receipt of Illness Benefit since August 2014.
The person concerned attended an assessment on 23 October 2015 with one of my Department’s medical assessors. The medical assessor has expressed the opinion that the person concerned is capable of light work.
Prior to a decision being made on their continuing entitlement to illness benefit the person concerned was given the opportunity to complete an MR99(R) form and submit any further information or medical evidence to support their case. The MR99(R) form was received in my department on 6 November 2015 with accompanying medical evidence.
If further medical evidence is available the person concerned should submit this within the next seven days.
A decision will be made, based on the medical assessor’s report, all medical information on file, and information provided by the person concerned on the MR99(R) form. Illness benefit will remain in payment until the deciding officer’s review is complete.
55. Deputy Gabrielle McFadden asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to restore the telephone allowance to pensioners as part of the household benefits package; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42193/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe overall concern of Government in its Budgets has been to protect the primary social welfare rates. Expenditure on pensions at approximately €6.675 billion is the largest block of the Department’s expenditure in the Estimate for 2015, representing almost 34.4% of overall expenditure. Because of demographic changes, the Department’s spending on older people is increasing year on year. The Department has had to make provision for an additional €168 million this year for the increasing number of pensioners. Maintaining the rate of the State pension and other core payments is critical in protecting people from poverty.
While the decision to discontinue the telephone allowance was a difficult one it provided annual savings of €48 million and meant that the Department was able to retain the other valuable elements of the household benefits package such as the electricity and gas allowance and the television licence. The Department will spend approx. €227 million this year on these elements of the household benefits package for over 416,000 customers.
I am keenly aware of the impact of Budget decisions on the Department’s clients, and I have sought to ensure that the money available is targeted in the most effective way. In Budget 2016, I was able to announce the first increase in the basic rate of the State pension in seven years, by €3 per week. This will increase the personal rate of the non-contributory pension to €222, and that of the contributory pension to €233.30. I was also pleased to announce a €2.50 increase in the rate of the Fuel Allowance, from €20 to €22.50 per week. I believe that, taken together with other changes, such as increasing the Christmas Bonus to 75% of weekly rate, the impact of this Budget will be very positive for older people.
