Written Answers Nos. 657-73
657. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 183 of 9 June 2015, the status of the work being carried out as a result of the meetings of the group in question; the way in which his Department has integrated the findings of this group into policy formation; his plans to tackle the discrepancy between retirement age and pension age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1567/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 provided that State pension age will be increased gradually to 68 years. This began in January 2014 with the abolition of the State pension (transition) available from 65, thereby standardising State pension age for all at 66 years, which is the current State pension age. This will increase to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028.
Each year more people are living to pension age and living longer in retirement. As a result of this demographic change, the number of State pension recipients is increasing every year. This has significant implications for the future costs of State pension provision which are currently increasing almost €1 billion every 5 years. The purpose of changes to the State pension age is to make the pension system more sustainable as life expectancy increases. This sustainability is vital, if the current workers, who fund State pension payments through their PRSI, are to receive a pension themselves when they reach retirement age.
In advance of the abolition of the State pension (transition), in 2012 an Interdepartmental Working and Retirement Group convened to discuss the wide range of issues impacting on the labour market participation of older workers; enterprise issues and employment and equality law issues. This was in order to consider cross departmental policy issues that may support longer working and thereby improve the sustainability and adequacy of the pensions system.
This Group confirmed that there is no legally mandated retirement age in the State, and the age of retirement is a matter for agreement in the contract of employment between employees and their employers. While such a contract may have been entered into with a retirement date of 65, in the context of the previous State pension arrangements, there is no legal impediment to the employer and employee agreeing to increase the duration of employment for one or more years, if both parties wish to do so.
In most cases, it is hoped that workers will continue to work up to the new State pension age. To accommodate situations where this may not be possible, specific new measures were put in place within my Department which apply to someone claiming Jobseeker’s Benefit from a date after their 65th birthday. Where qualified, these recipients may continue to be eligible for that payment until reaching pension age.
Matters relating to employment and equality legislation do not fall under the remit of the Department of Social Protection. However, with reference to any discrepancy between retirement age and pension age resulting from retirement compelled by employers, I can confirm that in 2015 the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act amended Irish equality legislation to set out the grounds on which employers must justify the setting of particular retirement ages, such grounds being underpinned by the provisions of the Employment Equality Directive.
More recently, in January 2016, an Interdepartmental Group on Fuller Working Lives, chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, was established specifically to examine the implications arising from prevailing retirement ages. The final report of the Group made a number of recommendations to support working and retirement practices. This included a request to the Workplace Relations Commission to prepare a Code of Practice under Section 42 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990 to help manage the engagement between employers and employees regarding retirement issues and longer working. The final report, the recommendations of which were accepted by Government in August 2016, is available on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s website.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
658. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a carer's allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1581/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on 28 October 2016. The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
660. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection the average waiting times, from the point of application to a decision being made, in respect of each social protection payment. [1601/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy (where available) is detailed in the following tabular statement.
|
Social Welfare claims by average waiting times 31 December 2016 |
|
|
Scheme |
Average Waiting Time (weeks) |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
1 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance |
2 |
|
One-Parent Family Payment |
5 |
|
State Pension Contributory (Dom) |
6 |
|
Widow’s, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension |
1 |
|
State Pension Non-Contributory |
14 |
|
Household Benefits |
2 |
|
Free Travel |
3 |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
14 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
1 |
|
Child Benefit (Domestic & FRA) |
3 |
|
Child Benefit (EU Regulation) |
26 |
|
Family Income Supplement (New) |
5 |
|
Disability Allowance |
13 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
8 |
661. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for disability allowance by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1624/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis man has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 10 August 2016. The first payment will be made by his chosen payment method on 1 February 2017.
Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments or in respect of outstanding overpayments (if applicable).
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
662. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of putting the social welfare appeals office on a statutory footing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1686/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is not possible at this stage to estimate what additional costs above the annual running costs that would be incurred to put the social welfare appeals office on a statutory footing.
663. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will expedite an application for carer's allowance for a person (details supplied). [1766/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI confirm that my department received an application for carer's benefit from the person concerned on 22 November 2016. Additional information in relation to the person’s application was requested by a deciding officer on 12 January 2017. Once the information is received the application will be processed without delay and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
665. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) has been refused domiciliary care; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1790/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe domiciliary care allowance application from this lady was disallowed as it was considered that the child did not meet the eligibility criteria for the allowance. A letter issued on 1 December 2016 advising of this decision.
In the case of an application which is refused, the applicant may submit additional information and ask to have the decision reviewed, or they may appeal the decision directly to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. This information and the options available to her have been advised in the decision letter.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
666. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if a full investigation can be undertaken into the entitlement for parallel payment for the same period as an alleged overpayment in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1794/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraParliamentary Question No. 187 of 1 December refers; the person concerned was in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance pending the processing of a jobseeker's allowance application. The person concerned did not disclose that she was in receipt of carers allowance at the maximum rate. Under the legislation that governs the carers allowance scheme, jobseekers allowance cannot be paid concurrently. The person concerned does not have an entitlement to a concurrent payment for the period in question.
An application for the one parent family payment in May 2011 did not proceed as requested supporting documentation was not provided. There is no record of any other application being received from the person concerned for another social welfare payment.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
667. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons participating in the community employment schemes, Tús and the rural social scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1824/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department provides a range of programmes, including Community Employment (CE), Tús, and the Rural Social Scheme, to cater for the long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market.
The following are the numbers employed on the respective programmes as at year-end 2016:
Community Employment - 22,356
Tús - 7,273
Rural Social Scheme - 2,571
These programmes provide part-time temporary work with local sponsors in communities and aim to enhance the employability and mobility of disadvantaged and unemployed persons by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities. In addition, they assist long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a regular work routine. The programmes deliver a range of positive benefits for both participants and their local communities.
With the ongoing welcome reduction in the Live Register, issues such the appropriate level of expenditure, the number of places and the criteria for participation on employment schemes, including CE are all being considered. I hope to be in position to bring a Memo to Government on these matters in the coming weeks. If there are any changes to be made to the CE scheme, consultations with stakeholders will be facilitated.
I trust that clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
668. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons participating in the community employment schemes, Tús and rural social scheme, in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1825/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraNumber of persons participating in Community Employment Schemes, Tús and Rural Social Scheme in Co. Clare are as follows:
|
Schemes |
No. of persons |
|
Community Employment |
494 |
|
Tús |
117 |
|
Rural Social Scheme |
117 |
669. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will release the 2015 figures for the number of applications made for invalidity pension and domiciliary care allowance and the number of applications refused. [1828/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information referred to by the Deputy in relation to number of applications made for invalidity pension and domiciliary care allowance was published in Section J of the 2015 Annual Statistical Report on my Department’s website and can be accessed at www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Annual-SWS-Statistical-Information-Report-2015.aspx.
With regard to the number of applications refused by my Department during any year, this statistic is not segregated from the overall number of claims cleared (i.e. awarded, withdrawn or rejected) for publishing. I am however informed that during 2015 there were 5,496 invalidity pension claims and 2,012 domiciliary care allowance claims rejected by the scheme areas.
670. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made on an application by a person (details supplied) in County Donegal for domiciliary care allowance that was submitted on 19 September 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1829/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis lady was notified on 9 January 2017 that her domiciliary care allowance claim has been awarded from 1 October 2016. The first payment of the allowance, along with arrears due, will issue on 17 January 2017.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
671. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the way he will ensure that information given to Seetec, the company registered in the UK which runs the JobPath programme, will continue to adhere to data protection regulations in line with the EU and Ireland as Britain undergoes Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1830/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. The service is delivered by two companies, Seetec and Turas Nua.
Information is shared with these companies to enable them to provide employment services on behalf of the Department. The purpose of sharing this information is to assist in the development of tailored personal progression plans, for individual jobseekers in order to support them back into paid employment. However no personally identifiable client information is stored outside Ireland by either company.
It should be noted that the contracts in place are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Ireland and the courts of Ireland have exclusive jurisdiction over these contracts.
As part of the contracts for the provision of these services, there are strict obligations placed on these providers by the Department in terms of data protection. The companies are also contractually required to register with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner and are subject to the same provisions of data protection legislation as Departmental staff. Data protection legislation requires that personal data shall be kept only for one or more specified and lawful purposes and that personal data shall be used and disclosed only in ways compatible with these purposes. Any breaches or suspected breach of the data protection legislation may, in addition to being investigated by the Department, also be referred to the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
672. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Social Protection to review the case of a person (details supplied). [1873/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned will be contacted by a member of staff from the Clondalkin Intreo Centre to discuss a repayment schedule which will take into account her circumstances.
673. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when jobseeker's allowance will be paid in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1887/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe claim of the person concerned was disallowed on 22 November 2016 on Habitual Residence Condition and means grounds. He requested a review of the decision and his claim was returned to the Social Welfare Inspector on 8 December 2016. The Social Welfare Inspector has now reviewed the file and the person will be informed of the decision this week. If the person is not satisfied with the decision, he will be afforded an opportunity to appeal the decision to the Chief Appeals Office.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
