Written Answers Nos. 50-61
50. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to revise and increase rent supplement, given the huge increase in family homelessness since the beginning of 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11710/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra53. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection to make the rent allowance scheme available to low-paid workers in order to ensure tenancy sustainment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11643/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra60. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection when he will increase the limits under the rent supplement scheme by 15%; his research on ascertaining the level of top-ups being paid by tenants to landlords charging in excess of the limits under the scheme; the consequences for such landlords; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11647/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 50, 53 and 60 together.
Supports in relation to housing and the provision of financial supports, such as the rent supplement scheme currently supporting some 56,800 recipients at a cost of €267 million in 2016, are a priority for Government and are being considered by the Cabinet Committee on Housing in the context of the Programme for Government housing commitments. My Department is currently examining the rent limits in the context of the Government commitment and it is my intention that revised rent limits will be introduced as early as possible, subject to agreement by Government.
At this time of constrained supply, my Department continues to implement a targeted, flexible, case-by-case approach where rents exceed limits. This ensures that people at risk of homelessness or loss of their tenancy are supported under the rent supplement scheme where increased rental payments are required. Currently, over 8,000 households are supported through this approach.
The policy direction of my Department is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of being a short-term support scheme mainly for unemployed people, addressing long-term support needs through Government initiatives such as the Rental Accommodation Scheme and the Housing Assistance Payment Scheme. The Programme for Government commits to delivering an Affordable Rental pilot scheme, for householders on low to moderate income, and is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.
It is very difficult for the Department to identify under the counter top ups when both the tenant and landlord are in collusion and if the payment is being made in cash. There are obvious concerns regarding the additional top-up a person may pay in terms of ensuring that there is sufficient money remaining to provide for basic living expenses.
I would urge people who are currently paying under the counter top ups to contact the Department’s Community Welfare Service. In such cases the Department’s staff will discuss the circumstances of the case with the individual with the primary concern the tenant and their accommodation needs at this time when it is extremely difficult to source accommodation.
51. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection to evaluate the social protection payments that had to be reduced during the period of recession due to a lack of resources and to identify the most sensitive where some restoration can take place while keeping the need for prudent management in mind; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11838/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAfter a series of challenging years, improvements for people in receipt of social welfare payments began in Budget 2015 and continued in Budget 2016. This included increases in the weekly rates of payment for pensioners and in the living alone allowance. There were also increases in child benefit, fuel allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. In addition, new initiatives aimed at helping families were introduced, such as the back to work family dividend, and a paternity benefit scheme which will commence payment later this year.
Looking ahead, the new Programme for a Partnership Government contains a number of significant commitments to enhance the welfare system in the years ahead. This includes increasing rent supplement limits by up to 15%, above-inflation increases for pensioners and in the living alone allowance. The Programme also supports rate increases for people with disabilities and carers.
The Government also has plans to extend social insurance benefits for the self-employed and to improve the treatment benefit scheme.
I want to make progress on these commitments in the forthcoming Budget and will seek to do this within the additional resources which will be available. I also look forward to engagement and input from my colleagues in the Oireachtas in the matter.
In addition, I will be holding a Pre-Budget forum on July 22 next to which I have invited forty welfare representative organisations. I will listen carefully to the views of the organisations attending.
52. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of returning social protection payments to 2007 and to 2008 levels in tabular form. [11646/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI understand from my officials that this question refers to the position at the beginning of 2009. The current weekly rates of payment for pensioners are higher than the rates in 2009. Accordingly, this costing does not include any rate changes for pensioners.
The cost of increasing all working age payments to their 2009 equivalent rates is €896 million. The cost of introducing higher rates of child benefit for multiple children at 2009 rates is €608 million. These costings are based on recipient data for 2016 and may be subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2017. Up to date costings on the range of other measures introduced over the period from 2009 to 2014 are not available. Budgets 2015 and 2016 introduced improvements to welfare supports including increases for pensions, in the living alone allowance and child as well as new schemes such as back to work family dividend and paternity benefit.
Looking ahead, the new Programme for a Partnership Government contains a number of significant commitments to enhance the welfare system in the years ahead. This includes increasing rent supplement limits by up to 15%, above-inflation increases for pensioners and in the living alone allowance. The Programme also supports rate increases for people with disabilities and carers.
I want to make progress on these commitments in the coming months and in the forthcoming Budget for 2017 having regard to the overall resources available to the Government. I look forward to engagement and input from my colleagues in the Oireachtas in the matter.
54. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Social Protection to reverse the changes made to farm assist and income disregards, given their serious negative effect on the income levels of already struggling farming families; to analyse and assess the impact the changes have made on those families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11652/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe farm assist scheme provides support for farmers on low incomes and is similar to jobseeker’s allowance. Farm assist recipients retain the advantages of the jobseeker’s allowance scheme such as the retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes. The 2016 Revised Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure of almost €85 million on the farm assist scheme.
Changes introduced in Budgets 2012 and 2013 brought farm assist into closer alignment with the jobseeker’s allowance scheme’s treatment of self-employed persons. Farm families with the lowest income were least impacted by these changes as the headline rates of farm assist were maintained.
Budget 2016 contained an increase in child benefit of €5 per month. All recipients of farm assist with children are now benefitting from this increase. Farm assist recipients who were eligible for the fuel allowance also gained from the increase of €2.50 per week, from €20 to €22.50 per week over the fuel season. Farm assist recipients would also have benefitted from the 75% Christmas Bonus which was paid in December last year.
The Programme for Government contains the commitment to undertake a "Review of the Farm Assist Scheme, recognising the challenges facing farmers on low incomes". I have asked my officials to review the farm assist scheme from a policy and an administrative point of view. Any changes to the scheme will have to be considered in a budgetary context.
55. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the areas where there are plans to amalgamate the activities of the community welfare officers; the areas where services have been withdrawn; his plans regarding the community welfare officer function; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11767/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing the transfer of the Community Welfare Service (CWS) from the Health Service Executive to the Department in 2011, the Department has re-engineered its business model and staffing resources to support the provision of integrated services across all business streams involved in the delivery of localised services. As part of this strategy, the Department is engaged in the delivery of integrated Intreo centres, which provide a full range of services, including the CWS, generally available in one location.
Where the CWS has been restructured, alternative arrangements have been put in place to ensure that customers are provided with on-going access to the supports provided by the service. For example, where a customer is unable to travel to an Intreo Centre or to a CWS clinic, alternative arrangements are available including improved telephone services and, if necessary, arranging a visit to the client’s home. Significant improvements in claim processing, through the development of an integrated decisions model has considerably reduced dependence on supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) by people awaiting decisions on their primary social welfare claims. Many people claiming supports under the SWA scheme generally only interact with the Department on an occasional basis, for example, when seeking an exceptional needs payment. The following table shows the number of CWS clinics that were closed from October 2011 to date on a county basis.
The function of the CWS staff in administering the SWA schemes will continue to provide important supports to persons experiencing challenging and financially difficult times. The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department.
Tabular Statement - CWS clinics closed from October 2011 to April 2016
|
County |
Total |
|
Carlow |
12 |
|
Cavan |
8 |
|
Clare |
23 |
|
Cork |
46 |
|
Donegal |
39 |
|
Dublin |
58 |
|
Galway |
44 |
|
Kerry |
17 |
|
Kildare |
7 |
|
Kilkenny |
16 |
|
Laois |
8 |
|
Leitrim |
9 |
|
Limerick |
22 |
|
Longford |
4 |
|
Louth |
1 |
|
Mayo |
32 |
|
Meath |
5 |
|
Monaghan |
5 |
|
Offaly |
8 |
|
Roscommon |
17 |
|
Sligo |
14 |
|
Tipperary |
26 |
|
Waterford |
13 |
|
Westmeath |
9 |
|
Wexford |
4 |
|
Wicklow |
14 |
56. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Social Protection the strategies he has implemented since coming to office to alleviate the exorbitant waiting times experienced by those applying under the carer's allowance scheme, the domiciliary care allowance scheme, and for many other social protection payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11765/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.
The number of new claims received on both carer's allowance (CA) and domiciliary care allowance (DCA), continues to increase. This is putting addition pressure on the timely processing of these claims. At the end of April, there were 6,361 CA applications awaiting decision and 1,876 DCA applications.
The Department has introduced a number of measures to address the efficiency of claim processing in light of the current waiting times, including the assignment of temporary and full-time staff and the facility to assign overtime working where appropriate.
These measures will lead to a reduction in the average waiting time.
The position is being closely monitored and kept under review by the Department.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
58. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to restore the telephone allowance, given changed demographics and age profiles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11709/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe overall concern in recent years has been to protect the primary social welfare rates. Expenditure on pensions at approx. €6.976 billion is the largest block of expenditure in the Department in the Estimate for 2016, representing approximately 35% of overall expenditure. Due to demographic changes, my Department’s spending on older people is increasing year on year. Maintaining the rate of the State pension and other core payments is critical in protecting people from poverty.
The decision to discontinue the telephone allowance was estimated to provide annual savings of €48 million. These savings meant that my 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. My Department will spend approximately €227 million this year on these elements of the household benefits package for over 418,000 customers.
The cost of the telephone allowance scheme had risen significantly each year, as the number of eligible customers grew, arising from the increased number of pension recipients. In 2007 there were some 316,000 people receiving the telephone allowance compared to almost 396,000 at the end of September 2013, an increase of 25%, or an average increase of nearly 4% per annum. Any decision to restore the telephone allowance would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
59. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the proposal to link the payment of child benefit to a child's attendance at school; and his further views on whether child benefit should remain a universal payment. [11805/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraChild benefit is a universal payment to help families with the cost of raising children and plays an important role in tackling child poverty. It does not rely on a means test or social insurance contributions and is paid to the parents of qualified children up to the age of 18 years.
It is paid to around 623,000 families for 1.2 million children with estimated spending of over €2 billion by my Department this year. It is not linked to school attendance for children under 16 and the Social Welfare Acts do not require monitoring of school attendance for under 16s. There is no power in the Act to do so. For older children aged 16 and 17 years, an annual declaration is required from parents, signed by their school, that their children attend school.
The monitoring of children's attendance at school is an important child welfare issue but is beyond my remit. The attendance of children at school is monitored by TUSLA under the Education (Welfare) Acts on a statutory basis on behalf of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. Any issues concerning school attendance including the operation of the monitoring systems should be addressed to TUSLA and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
My Department operates control programmes on all departmental schemes, designed to ensure that payments cease where there is no longer an entitlement. Child benefit operates a very effective and efficient control programme, ensuring that payment is only paid to families who continue to have an entitlement.
