Written Answers Nos. 1 - 58
52. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to improve the decision timeframes on all core social protection payments made by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36039/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra58. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the average waiting times for essential payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35931/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 52 and 58 together.
My 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.
Over €19 billion will be spent by my Department on its various income supports and other programmes in 2016.
Across the main social welfare schemes, last month my Department received over 38,000 applications for processing and cleared over 42,000. The number of applications awaiting decision and the average time to award for each main social welfare scheme is set out in the following table, which was provided to the Deputies earlier today.
The time taken by my Department to process applications depends on a number of factors, primarily the conditionality and relative complexity that applies to the relevant scheme. The quality and completeness of the application form and other material is also an important factor. The inclusion, at the outset, of any supporting documentation that is requested on the application form is key to a customer getting a timely and appropriate decision.
Long term schemes with medical or caring conditionality are relatively complex to decide upon and, consequently, take longer to process. When the number applying to any particular scheme increases significantly, it can put pressure on my Department’s capacity to process those claims in a timely manner.
Reducing waiting times is a priority for my Department and they are working hard to make this happen. For example, the processing time for carer’s allowance has dropped from 22 weeks in May 2016 to 14 weeks in September 2016 and continues to fall. As part of its programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology, have been implemented by my Department in recent years. In addition, staffing needs are regularly reviewed, having regard to workloads and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Table of Main DSP Schemes (arranged alphabetically) with Number of Applications awaiting decision and Average Weeks to Award
|
Scheme |
Awaiting Decision at end October |
Average weeks to award |
|
Carer's allowance |
3,833 |
14* |
|
Carer's benefit |
404 |
9 |
|
Child benefit |
1,400 |
3 |
|
Disability allowance |
5,671 |
12 |
|
Domiciliary care allowance |
2,059 |
16 |
|
Family income supplement (new claims) |
3,639 |
4 |
|
Invalidity pension |
2,003 |
9 |
|
Jobseeker's allowance |
6,955 |
2 |
|
Jobseeker's benefit |
1,741 |
1 |
|
One-parent family payment |
1,244 |
6 |
|
State pension contributory |
4,115 |
6 |
|
State pension non-contributory |
1,834 |
14 |
|
Widow/widower/surviving civil partner contributory pension |
309 |
1 |
|
Widow/widower/surviving civil partner non-contributory pension |
43 |
7 |
* Most up-to-date statistics are from the end of September 2016
56. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has assessed the impact on youth poverty of the lower rates of unemployment allowance; if so, the findings of such an assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36028/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraLower weekly rates for younger jobseekers were first introduced in the Supplementary Budget in 2009, and further extended in subsequent Budgets up to 2014. The rationale for these rates is to prevent young unemployed people from entering longer term welfare dependency by providing a strong financial incentive to take up a job, or a training or education programme.
The CSO publishes consistent poverty figures for all young people aged 15 to 24 inclusive. The CSO does not separately report poverty rates for young people in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance.
The consistent poverty rate for all young people aged 15 to 24 was 4.2% in 2008 and peaked at 14% in 2013. The most current data available relates to 2014 when the consistent poverty rate for young people decreased to 13.1%. The CSO will release the 2015 SILC data in the coming months.
Poverty is strongly linked to unemployment. The number of young people under the age of 26 on the Live Register has fallen from 51,200 to 32,260 over the two years from October 2014 to October 2016, a reduction of 37%. Similarly, the monthly unemployment rate for 15 to 24 year olds fell from 21.9% to 15.1% over the same period, a reduction of 31%. It is positive that unemployment among young people is falling at a faster rate than among the general population.
These trends are very positive. Of course, more remains to be done and I am determined that we help more young people in the most effective way possible, by supporting them into the workforce, education or training.
For that reason, on Budget Day I announced additional incentives for young people to participate in education. From next September, when a young jobseeker participates on the Back to Education scheme, he or she will be entitled to receive the full maximum rate of jobseeker’s payment, which will then be €193 per week, as against the €160 which they are currently on. This is the largest single increase in the social welfare package and demonstrates our commitment to young jobseekers who seek to enhance their skills.
