Written Answers Nos. 247-256
247. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who have applied for the humanitarian assistance scheme as a result of recent flooding in counties Laois and Offaly; the amount available under the scheme; the amount paid out to families in this area to date; the number of applications to be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52448/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department immediately activated the humanitarian assistance scheme, administered by the local Community Welfare Service (CWS), to assist householders in County Laois and Offaly affected by flooding following the recent severe weather conditions.
The purpose of the humanitarian assistance scheme is to prevent hardship by providing income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and severe weather events and who are not in a position to meet costs for essential needs, replacement of household items and in some instances structural repair. In dealing with emergency events of this nature, the Department generally adopts a three stage approach as follows:
- Stage 1 is to provide emergency income support payments (including food, clothing and personal items) in the immediate aftermath of the event.
- Stage 2 generally involves the replacement of white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items. It is not until the flood water abates and houses dry out that the full extent of the damage to homes becomes fully known.
- Stage 3 is to identify what longer term financial support or works are required. It could take some time before this stage of response commences. Works carried out can include plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, electrical re-wiring and painting.
Following the flooding in Laois and Offaly, officials have provided financial support to the 57 affected households who have engaged with the Department and payments are continuing to be processed in these cases including some under Stage 2. Latest figures show that €13,000 has been paid to these households. It is unclear at this time the level of funding that will be required to return homes to a habitable condition. However, it is expected that the value of payments under the scheme will increase as we continue to move into Stage 2 and Stage 3 supports. The scheme is demand led and there is a time-lag between the flooding event and actual claims for financial support.
The Government has not set a limit on the amount that can be paid to an individual household under this scheme. Levels of payment depend on the relative severity of damage experienced and the household’s ability to meet these costs ensuring that the funding is appropriately targeted.
People seeking assistance under the humanitarian assistance scheme should contact their local Intreo Centre where CWS staff are available to offer assistance.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
248. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that those who are self-employed prior to applying for and being awarded the carer's allowance receive no credited contributions while in receipt of this payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52495/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe purpose of credited contributions (credits) is to protect social insurance entitlements by bridging gaps in an employee’s social insurance record, where they are not in a position to pay PRSI, such as for period of unemployment, illness or in receipt of certain payments, including carer’s allowance.
In isolation, credits do not give entitlement to social insurance benefits. In combination with paid PRSI contributions, credits can assist employees qualifying for short-term schemes such as jobseeker’s benefit. Credits may also enhance the level of benefit for long-term schemes such as the level of payment of State pension contributory (SPC), but only where the individual has already met the condition relating to the minimum number of paid contributions.
To qualify for credits an individual must satisfy entitlement to the credits scheme. While there are no self-employed credits, individuals who were previously employed can access the scheme in the same manner as other workers, subject to meeting the conditions of the scheme. In general credits can only be awarded where an individual has had a recent attachment to the workforce as an employee i.e. within the last 2 years. Therefore credits are not automatically awarded to all recipients of carer’s allowance.
Individuals who are caring on a full-time basis, including those in receipt of carer’s allowance may, however, qualify for the home-maker's scheme. The home-maker's scheme is designed to help home-makers and carers to protect their SPC entitlement, and applies to home-making periods since 6 April 1994. It applies to the self-employed on the same basis as it does to other workers.
The home-maker's scheme provides that years spent working in the home while caring on a full-time basis for a child up to 12 years of age or an incapacitated person age 12 or over will be disregarded in calculating a person's yearly average number of contributions for the purposes of determining the rate of their entitlement to SPC. In this way the home-maker's scheme ensures that an individual’s entitlement to SPC is protected during periods spent caring.
249. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a request for review of a decision to refuse carer's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52509/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application for carer's allowance was received from the person concerned on 12 June 2017.
Carer's allowance is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care.
It is a condition for receipt of carer’s allowance that the applicant’s means are less than the statutory limit, which in this case is €272.60 per week and that the person being cared for must have such a disability that they require full-time care and attention.
The evidence submitted in support of this application was examined and the deciding officer decided that this evidence was insufficient to indicate that the requirement for full-time care and attention was satisfied. The application was also disallowed as her means were assessed at €403.43 weekly which exceeded the statutory limit.
The person concerned was notified on 26 October 2017 of this decision the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.
A review of this decision was requested on 9 November 2017 and the outcome of the review was that it was decided that the requirement for full-time care and attention was satisfied. However, although the review of her means resulted in a lower assessment of €401.61 weekly, her means were still found to exceed the statutory limit.
The person concerned was notified of this on 2 December 2017 and of her right of review and appeal.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
250. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an application for invalidity pension by a person (details supplied) will be expedited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52516/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraInvalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.
The department received a claim for IP for the lady concerned on the 22 November 2017. The claim will be processed as quickly as possible and the she will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
251. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the case of a person (details supplied) will be reviewed in the context of notice to attend JobPath appointment; if their application for disability allowance can be approved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52524/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis lady submitted an application for disability allowance on 28 July 2017.
The application, based upon the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds and she was notified in writing of this decision on 23 November 2017. The person was also notified of her right to a review of this decision or to appeal it to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office.
To date no additional information or request for a review, or an appeal has been received from this lady. On receipt of further medical evidence the disability allowance can be re-examined for this lady.
JobPath is an approach to employment activation which caters mainly for people who are long-term unemployed (over 12 months) to assist them to secure and sustain full-time paid employment or self-employment. The Department of Employment Affairs & Social Protection selects jobseekers on a random basis for referral to JobPath. This lady has been in receipt of a Job Seekers payment since June 2015 and was therefore randomly selected for referral. She has been engaging with Cenit, the JobPath provider in Maynooth since April 2017.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.
252. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the circumstances of a case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52528/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe customer concerned was in receipt of the Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Non Contributory Pension. Her case was selected for a routine review to ensure that she continued to meet the eligibility criteria. Part of this review involved investigation and interview by an inspector. In the course of this investigation, the customer advised the inspector that she was in a cohabiting relationship since August 2017 and signed a voluntary declaration to this effect. The customer was written to on 29th November 2017 to give her an opportunity to present any evidence to the deciding officer that she wished to be taken into account before a final decision is made on her case. Her response is awaited.
If the customer does not respond to this correspondence a final decision will be made on the case after 21 days and the customer advised accordingly. The customer will also be advised of her right of appeal in the event that she is unhappy with the deciding officer’s decision.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
253. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason the State has not to date ratified Article 31 of the revised European Social Charter; if steps will now be taken to ratify Article 31 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52583/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland ratified the Revised European Social Charter on 4 November 2000. At that time Ireland accepted 92 of the 98 paragraphs of the Revised Charter. Three of those paragraphs not accepted by Ireland make up Article 31, which relates to the right to housing. Any reconsideration of Ireland’s current position in relation to Article 31 of the Revised European Social Charter would fall under the responsibility of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government.
254. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has given consideration to exempting persons in receipt of the household benefits package, fuel allowance and-or living alone allowance from having to pay PSO charges on their electricity bills; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52585/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Public Service Obligation (PSO) Levy is a charge on all electricity customers without exception, and is determined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU). The legal basis for the PSO and its method of calculation by the CRU are set out in Regulations made under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 (S.I. 217 of 2002).
Any exemption would have to be considered by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment as my Department has no policy remit in the setting of the PSO levy or exemptions from it.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
255. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount of local property tax which is to be assigned to roads by each local authority in tabular form. [52436/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraLocal Property Tax (LPT) was introduced to provide an alternative, stable and sustainable funding base for the local authority sector, providing greater levels of connection between local revenue raising and associated expenditure decisions and making the taxation system less dependent on other taxes.
In accordance with Government decisions on local retention of LPT, certain local authorities with large property bases receive additional income from LPT compared to their baseline (minimum funding level). The Government decided that these local authorities would use this surplus funding in two ways, with a portion available for their own use and the remainder, if any, to fund certain services in the Housing and Roads areas. This process is known as self–funding.
As set out in the following table, 5 local authorities are required to use €16.4m of their LPT allocations to self-fund roads services in 2017.
LPT self-funding of roads services
|
Local Authority |
2017 Self-funding of roads services € |
|
Cork County Council |
340,082 |
|
Dublin City Council |
5,780,600 |
|
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council |
3,497,531 |
|
Fingal County Council |
3,914,446 |
|
South Dublin County Council |
2,886,859 |
|
Total |
16,419,518 |
It is a matter for each local authority to determine its own spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process, having regard to both locally identified needs and available resources. It should also be noted that LPT is just one source of income for local authorities, with commercial rates and other local charges, for example, providing significant funding for the sector along with grants from Government Departments and other bodies.
Responsibility for Local and Regional Roads transferred to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) in 2008. An arrangement between my Department and DTTAS provided that funding for such Roads would be channelled from the Local Government Fund to DTTAS. As per the Revised Estimates 2017, €333m is being transferred for this purpose this year. Responsibility for the allocation of Local and Regional Road Grants to local authorities is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.
256. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when the revaluation Bill will come before the Houses of the Oireachtas. [52514/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI understand the Question refers to the General Scheme of a Rates Bill.
Commercial rates form an important element of the funding of all local authorities. However, the legislative basis for the levying of rates is spread over a number of enactments, some dating back to the 19th century. Many of the provisions are outdated and not suitable for business trends in the modern era. My Department has developed legislative proposals to modernise and consolidate the legislation governing commercial rates. The main issues being addressed in the General Scheme include the consolidation of over 20 separate pieces of legislation dealing with commercial rates into a single enactment; improved enforcement powers for local authorities to collect rates; provisions to allow the local authority to introduce rates alleviation schemes to support national and local policy objectives; and provisions for temporary abatement for vacant premises.
In this regard, the Government approved the drafting of a Rates Bill on 11 April 2017. The General Scheme of the Bill is currently with the Attorney General’s office for drafting.
