Written Answers Nos. 152-169
152. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline 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. [12506/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI confirm that my department received two applications for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 2 February 2017. The applications are 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.
153. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the status of an application for illness benefit in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12450/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIllness benefit is a payment for people who cannot work due to illness and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. For illness benefit claims made in 2017 the governing PRSI contribution year is 2015.
The rate of payment depends on the person’s level of earnings in the governing contribution year. Where the average weekly earnings are €300 or more, the personal rate of payment is €188 (€193 from 13 March 2017). A graduated rate applies where the average weekly earnings are less than €300.
The person concerned made a claim to illness benefit and this claim was received in my Department on 15 February 2017.
The person concerned qualifies for a graduated rate of illness benefit of €121.40 weekly (€124.60 from 13 March next) based on their earnings in the governing year 2015.
The person concerned may also be due an increase in their payment in respect of their spouse/partner. As this depends on the spouse/partner’s level of earnings some further enquiries are being made in this matter. When these are completed a decision will be made on whether an increase should be paid in respect of the spouse/partner and the person concerned will be notified accordingly.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
154. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the circumstances under which a poverty impact assessment is undertaken; the number that have been undertaken in the past four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12451/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Action Plan for Social Inclusion identifies poverty impact assessment (PIA) as being an important implementing and monitoring mechanism for poverty reduction. PIA is the process by which government departments, local authorities and State agencies assess policies and programmes at design, implementation and review stages in relation to the likely impact that they will have or have had on poverty and on inequalities which are likely to lead to poverty, with a view to poverty reduction.
In line with this requirement, the Cabinet Handbook states that memoranda for Government involving significant policy proposals should "indicate clearly the impact of the proposal on groups in poverty or at risk of falling into poverty". Poverty Impact Assessment is also fully embedded in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) process, as per Department of An Taoiseach Revised RIA Guidelines 2009.
It is the responsibility of individual government departments and other bodies developing policy to undertake a poverty impact assessment in adherence with official guidelines. The Guidelines for Poverty Impact Assessment 2008 and templates for process requirements are available on the Department’s website at: www.welfare.ie/en/downloads/PIAGuidelines.pdf.
The Government decided in 2012 to incorporate PIA into an integrated social impact assessment (SIA) in order to support the implementation of the national social target for poverty reduction and to ensure greater policy coordination in the social sphere. SIA is an evidence-based methodology which estimates the likely distributive effects of policies on household incomes, families, poverty and access to employment. My Department undertakes rigorous and extensive ex-ante and ex-post SIAs of the main welfare and direct tax budgetary policies using the ESRI’s tax/benefit micro simulation model, SWITCH. The Department has published ex-post SIAs of the main welfare and direct tax measures in annual budgets, since Budget 2013. They are available on the Department’s website at: www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Examples-.aspx.
155. Deputy Michael Harty asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will issue on an application for disability allowance for a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12452/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis man has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 28th December 2016. The first payment will be made by his chosen payment method on 29th March 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.
156. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the status of a social welfare appeal submitted by a person (details supplied) in County Cork in respect of an application for carer's allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12479/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 9 January 2017. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral appeal hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
157. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will receive an outcome to a request for a review of the amount of carer's allowance entitlement. [12515/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraCarer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to a person who is providing full-time care and attention to a person who has a disability such that they require that level of care. CA is in payment to the person concerned since 17 April 2008.
The person concerned has requested a review of her means on 11 January 2017 and forwarded a P45. Further information deemed necessary to determine changes in her means was requested from her on 7 March 2017. Once the information is received the review will be processed and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
158. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline his plans to provide extra staff in the carer's allowance review section, which is currently understaffed and has cases received as far back as May 2016 that are only being assessed now. [12518/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraCurrently, there are 73.5 full-time equivalents (77 people) assigned to the Carers section.
My Department, like all Government departments and agencies, is required to operate within a staff ceiling figure and a commensurate administrative staffing budget, which for this Department has involved reductions in staff numbers.
Within these constraints, the Department is focusing on prioritising the filling of critical posts. The staffing needs for all areas within the Department, including the Carers Section, are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, management priorities and the competing demands arising, 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.
Within the Carers Section, the priority is to ensure that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. This scheme has seen a considerable increase in applications in recent years. There was a 47% increase in applications from 2012 and a 20% increase in applications in 2016 over 2015.
Once a claim is in payment, any one of the 71,850 carers can seek a review at any stage and my Department seeks to process these requests as quickly as possible. While the review is ongoing the carer continues to receive the allowance and if it is decided that they are due a higher rate of payment than is currently in payment to them, full arrears will be paid to them from the date that their means changed.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
159. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the reason pensioners who became recipients of the State pension on dates after November 2016 were not eligible for the 85% Christmas bonus; his plans to address this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12520/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Christmas Bonus payment was increased to 85% last year and was paid to over 1.2 million long-term social welfare recipients such as pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and the long-term unemployed in the first week of December at a cost of €220 million.
The bonus is paid as an increase to a recipient’s weekly payment in the relevant week. For recipients of a State Pension, the relevant week was the 2nd to the 8th of December 2016 inclusive, as outlined in social welfare legislation (S.I. 570 of 2016). Accordingly, any person in receipt of a State Pension in November would be eligible for the Bonus payment in December.
I understand that my officials have been in contact with your office to determine whether there was a specific case behind your question. It transpires that in the particular case referenced, the person began to receive their pension payment from the 9th of December, which is unfortunately outside the relevant week of payment for the Christmas Bonus.
160. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider conducting all reviews of social welfare payments to customers at once rather than over a number of seperate occasions (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12543/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy has confirmed that this question refers to Carer's Allowance (CA) cases. CA is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has a disability such that they require that level of care.
In order to qualify, applicants must show that they are habitually resident in the State, that their means are less than the statutory limit, that they are providing full-time care and attention and that the person being cared for requires full-time care and attention.
Once claims are in payment, my Department periodically reviews them to ensure that there is continued entitlement. Depending on the circumstances in each case and to make best use of resources, a review may only concentrate on a specific condition of entitlement.
For example, when reviewing the entitlement of a carer who cares for an elderly person with dementia, only the means or provision of care would be reviewed. My department would not review the need of the care recipient for full-time care and attention.
In other cases, a review may be carried out to confirm that full-time care and attention is still being provided to a care recipient by a carer. In such a case there may be no need to review the carer’s means.
Furthermore, a person can at any stage request their own review of entitlement. Normally such a review request is only in relation to the person’s means and my Department would be unlikely to review the other conditions unless there were indications that those conditions were no longer being satisfied.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
161. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the reason for the delay in processing an application for disability allowance in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12548/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs previously confirmed to the Deputy an application from this lady for disability allowance (DA) was received by my department on 13 May 2016.
The application has been referred to a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) for a report on the person’s means and circumstances. The SWI has met with the person and once the SWI has submitted his/her report to DA section, a decision will be made on the application and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
162. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the reason a person (details supplied) has been refused domiciliary care allowance. [12549/17]
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 the 8th December 2016 advising of this decision.
A review of this decision was requested on 22nd February 2017 and additional information on her 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. Upon receipt of the Medical Assessor’s opinion, the case will be further examined by a deciding officer, who will revise the original decision if warranted. Such reviews can take up to 12 weeks to complete at present.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
163. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when a jobseeker's payment will issue in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12561/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned had a previous jobseeker allowance claim closed on 13/12/16 as she failed to collect her weekly payments. The person concerned re-applied for jobseeker allowance on 20/1/17. This application was reviewed by a social welfare inspector and a decision has been made to disallow the claim due to means not disclosed. If the person is not satisfied with this decision she can appeal this outcome through her local branch office.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
164. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will address the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12562/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 21 February 2017. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral appeal hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
165. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will address queries (details supplied) with regard to changes in CE schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12565/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, I brought a Memo to Government last week and obtained approval to publish my Department’s review report on Community Employment and the other work schemes and to progress the various changes that were recommended. I will be publishing the review report shortly.
As part of the roll-out of the new measures, my Department will be consulting with key stakeholders in the coming weeks and implementation of the new measures will be progressed thereafter.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
166. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will extend the community employment scheme of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12570/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs you may be aware, the Department sets down eligibility criteria for participation on employment schemes so as to ensure that opportunities to avail of activation measures are managed effectively. The maximum duration of participation available on Community Employment (CE) schemes, is determined having regard to a range of factors including the age and signing record at date of commencement on the scheme.
On every CE scheme, participants can only be given contracts of employment up to, but not beyond, the scheme’s next renewal date. In the case of the person concerned, the scheme’s next renewal date is 21/07/2017. Closer to that date, each participant will be advised whether or not they are eligible to continue on CE for the following contract period and also for what duration.
Securing a placement on the Rural Social Scheme (RSS) would be contingent on a number of factors including satisfying the eligibility criteria, e.g. actively farming and/or be in receipt of Farm Assist, a vacant place being available etc. By whom for any such placement. Any enquiry in relation to RSS, in the first instance, should be directed to the Implementing Body, County Kildare Leader Partnership.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
167. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Social Protection to set down the estimated annual cost of increasing the weekly disability allowance by €20; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12576/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraDisability Allowance is a means-tested social assistance payment which is paid to persons aged 16 to 66 who are substantially restricted in undertaking suitable employment arising from a medical condition (subject to satisfying the relevant medical criteria). The estimated cost in a full year of increasing the weekly personal rate of Disability Allowance by €20, from €193 to €213 per week, is €140.3 million. Each €1 increase in the weekly personal rate would cost €7.0 million in 2018 and a full year.
There is an analogous social insurance payment, Invalidity Pension, which is paid to persons who are permanently incapable of work (subject to satisfying the relevant medical criteria and the minimum number of paid PRSI contributions). Each €1 increase in the weekly personal rate of Invalidity Pension would cost €3.2 million in a full year.
In addition, Blind pension is available for those aged 18 to 66 who are blind or visually impaired. The cost of a €1 weekly personal increase in the Blind Pension is €0.07 million in a full year.
It should be noted that (i) in the event of the Disability Allowance weekly rate exceeding the Invalidity Pension rate, some Invalidity pensioners (number not determinable) would transfer to the means tested Disability Allowance scheme to avail of the higher rate on that scheme; (ii) the costs shown above do not include the cost of proportionate increases for qualified adults; (iii) any additional costs which might arise as some persons in receipt of other welfare schemes might potentially apply for and qualify for Disability Allowance thereby also benefitting from a higher rate of payment than that which applies to their current scheme or (iv) offsetting savings on the Rent Supplement scheme as the additional weekly increase would reduce the level of entitlement under that scheme.
It should also be noted that these costings are subject to change over the coming months in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2018.
168. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Social Protection to set down the number of persons currently availing of the wage subsidy scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12577/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra169. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Social Protection to set down the amount of money allocated to employability services; the number of persons availing of these services; the estimated annual cost of expanding the employability service to provide places for an additional 1,000 persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12578/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 168 and 169 together.
The Wage Subsidy Scheme is an employment support scheme aimed at employers in the private sector and is designed to incentivise the employment of people with disabilities in the open labour market. To participate on the scheme an employee must work a minimum of 21 hours per week up to a maximum of 39 hours per week. In the past 5 years the numbers on the scheme have increased from just above 1,000 to 2,349 participants in February 2017.
The EmployAbility service is a national employment and recruitment service dedicated to improving employment outcomes for job seekers with a disability. The service is currently delivered by 23 limited companies, each with a specific geographical remit and each fully funded by the Department. Budget 2017 provides €9.64 million to run the service.
Each service is required to operate at a ratio of 1 Job Coach to 25 participants. The current number of active participants is about 3,000. The duration of the service for each client is 18 months. The estimated cost of 1,000 additional participants per year is €2.65 million.
I hope this clarifies the issues for the deputy.
