Written Answers Nos. 14-31
14. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if persons on jobseeker's payments are obliged to pursue the JobPath Seetec route if called upon to do so by her Department or if they have a choice not to go this route; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19215/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe role of the Department is not just to provide a jobseeker payment to people who are unfortunate enough to be unemployed, but also to provide assistance and support to unemployed jobseekers to help them secure employment. Central to this approach is the concept of ‘claim and commitment’. Jobseekers have a right to claim an income support from the State but also have a responsibility to commit to engaging with the employment services offered by the State whether those services are provided directly by the Department’s own staff or by staff contracted through the Local Employment Services or JobPath and working as agents of the Department.
The concept of rights and responsibilities is reflected in legislation. The Social Welfare (Consolidated) Act 2005, as amended, specifies that participation in activation meetings is mandatory, therefore jobseekers in receipt of a jobseekers payment are required to engage with the Department’s activation services whether, as I have indicated, the service is provided internally by an Intreo case officer or, externally by any of the contracted providers. Therefore once a jobseeker is referred to JobPath, they must engage with the service. All jobseekers who have been unemployed for more than a year are eligible for selection for the JobPath service and clients are chosen by means of a random selection process.
This is in the best interests of the jobseekers themselves as evidence internationally is that job search assistance and employment counselling is the most effective form of support in terms of improving employment outcomes. Data published by the Department indicates that employment outcomes among those who engage with the JobPath service are higher than those who have not been referred to the service. In addition independent research among JobPath participants indicates a high level of satisfaction with the service.
The Deputy will be aware that I recently announced that clients of my Department who are engaged with the JobPath will from 1 June have the option of applying for CE and Tús placement while continuing to engage with JobPath. This will ensure that jobseekers can benefit from the job-seeking support of JobPath while also availing of a part-time work placement via Tús or CE. This should address some of the concerns raised with me and also further improve employment outcomes.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
15. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department can intervene in cases in which a company (details supplied) has closed, suddenly leaving workers unpaid without going into liquidation, meaning that the workers cannot apply to the insolvency payments scheme; the recourse available to these workers in order to receive back payment of wages owed to them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16248/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am mindful of the plight of the employees involved and, indeed, I have met with the Unite trade union on the matter. The Department has also engaged with the Revenue Commissioners and this engagement is continuing. More generally under the provisions of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984, a company is regarded as being insolvent if: the company is placed into receivership; a winding-up order has been made; or a resolution for the voluntary liquidation of the company has been passed.
The Act does not cover what is known as ‘informal’ insolvency where employers cease trading without engaging, as required by law, in any formal wind-up process or where creditors, including employees, do not seek or pursue a liquidation and distribution of assets through the Courts. This is the situation which applies to the company referred to by the Deputy.
The Department is continuing to review the situation of informal insolvency. There are many difficult and complex company and employment law matters to be considered. The Department is considering legal advice on the matter and the possible impacts that any potential policy developments could have on existing legislation. In addressing this we must find a sensible and proportionate approach that does not inadvertently diminish employee rights or impose an unnecessary cost to the exchequer by facilitating a process whereby employers can avoid their obligations to staff.
The Department is consulting with a range of concerned bodies, including the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and the Revenue Commissioners on these issues.
In addition, the Department continues to engage with the two reviews of employment and company law which were initiated by the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation on foot of the Clery’s closure.
There are also a number of legal cases under consideration by the Courts at the moment, the outcome of which will have a bearing on this matter.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
16. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will report on an announcement by an organisation (details supplied) that it is receiving a high number of calls regarding food poverty among families; her plans to address the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18667/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the outset, I would like to express my admiration for the work of the St Vincent de Paul in assisting vulnerable people in our society. My department works very closely with Vincent de Paul in addressing many issues in relation to vulnerable people, including food poverty. The Department administers the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), which provides food and basic consumer products to people most at risk. My Department’s FEAD budget for 2018 is €8m, of which €4.5m will be allocated to ongoing food distribution with the remainder allocation to the distribution of material assistance in the areas of homelessness, school kits and new migrants. In 2017, though a network of charitable partnership organisations, the Department distributed almost 1,000 tonnes of food to over 80,000 people in communities throughout the country, either in the form of food parcels or as meals prepared by charitable organisation. In 2017, FEAD assisted 26 St Vincent de Paul conferences or regions through the provision of food from the three FoodCloud Hubs depots in Tallaght, Cork and Galway. The total value of food collected and distributed by these organisations was in excess of €650k consisting of 205 tonnes across 23 food product ranges available through the FEAD Programme.
In addition, the School Meals programme provides funding for a breakfast for all children and lunch for up to 90% of children in DEIS schools for the entire school year from September to June. For the first time in many years, breakfasts are also now available to some schools outside DEIS. Funding towards school meals is being provided in over 1,580 schools and other organisations, supporting over 248,000 children at a cost of some €54 million in 2018.
The primary role of the social welfare income supports provided through my Department is to sustain an adequate standard of living and to prevent poverty, including food poverty. The Irish social welfare system is, generally, relatively successful in this role. In 2016, the most recent year for which the relevant data are available, social transfers (excluding pensions) reduced the at-risk-of-poverty rate from 33.6 per cent to 16.5 per cent, representing a poverty reduction effect of 51 per cent. Ireland was the best performing EU member state in this regard, and this reflects the Government commitment to protect core weekly welfare rates during the recession.
The CSO publishes two items from the Survey of Income and Living Conditions relating specifically to the consumption of food.
First, in 2016, 2.3% of the population were “unable to afford a meal with meat, chicken or fish every second day”. This was down from 4.2% in 2013, when the effects of the recession were most felt.
The figure of 2.3% for 2016 was the third lowest among the EU Member States in that year, and compares with an average of 8.6% for the EU overall.
Second, 5.6% of the population were “unable to afford a roast once a week”. This is a decrease from the 2013 figure of 8.1%. No EU data are published for this indicator.
Difficulty in meeting food and other regular ongoing needs may result from a family encountering exceptional once-off expenditures. In this regard, under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.
The Government has provided over €36 million for exceptional payments in 2018. Any persons who consider that they have an entitlement to an exceptional needs payment should contact my Department’s Community Welfare Service.
The Government’s strategy for addressing poverty and social exclusion is set out in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2017.
My Department, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, is currently developing a successor plan for the period 2018-2021.
17. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her views on developing an individual placement and support model of supported employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18664/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government recognises the need for the social protection system to provide flexible and effective supports for persons who encounter mental health difficulties. Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is a model of supported employment that facilitates people with mental health difficulties to move into mainstream, open labour market employment. Under the IPS model, a person is viewed as capable of undertaking competitive paid employment, if a suitable work setting can be found and appropriate supports provided. This approach provides a useful addition to the range of employment supports for persons with disabilities provided by my Department. The Department has recently participated as a partner organisation in the Integrating Employment and Mental Health Service (IEMHS) IPS pilot project, led by the HSE which ran between 2015 and 2017.
The aim of this project was to demonstrate how the existing HSE and Employability service could practice the IPS model for clients with severe and enduring mental health issues.
An evaluation report, Steps into Work, was published on the 8th February last and found that through improved cooperation between mental health services and employment support services, improvements could be achieved in the health and employment outcomes of people with mental health difficulties.
My Department is now collaborating with the HSE and the EmployAbility service to extend this pilot programme on a nationwide basis in partnership to enable employment specialists to be put in place across the country.
I look forward to seeing the results of this interagency collaboration specifically in terms of better health and employment outcomes for persons with mental health difficulties.
18. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the discussions her Department has had with other Departments to address the issue of unemployment blackspots; and if there have been specific actions taken to address the fact that eight of the top ten unemployment blackspots are in Limerick city. [16829/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnemployment blackspots are small areas identified in the Census of Population in 2016 as having particularly high levels of joblessness. In general, they are small residential areas within larger urban areas, with a significant number within the city of Limerick. The approach adopted by my Department is that the services delivered by Intreo are focused on unemployed individuals rather than on areas. This means, therefore, that those areas where unemployed individuals are most concentrated will also be the areas that receive a greater share of income support payments and activation and employment services. The focus of those services is to support unemployed people living in, for example, the relevant parts of Limerick to access and prepare for jobs in the wider labour market of the greater Limerick area. This involves substantial co-operation between my Department and other public authorities, particularly those engaged in education and training under the Department of Education and Skills. These areas in Limerick will also have benefitted from the general improvement in employment conditions in the Mid-West region where unemployment, as shown in the Labour Force Survey, has fallen from a peak of 16.6% in late 2012 to 6.6% by the end of 2017. Numbers in employment in the region have increased from 153,700 to 178,500 over the same period.
While data from the Labour Force Survey is not available at the county level, trends in the Live Register can give an indication of underlying trends in local unemployment. Overall, the Live Register in Limerick has fallen by almost 54% in the 5 years to February 2018, well above the reduction of 44% nationally. In the year to February 2018, the Live Register in Limerick has fallen by 1,674 people, or 16%, again surpassing the national trend of 13%.
The Government’s primary strategy to tackle unemployment since 2012 is twofold:
Firstly the Action Plan for Jobs, which is led by my colleague the Minister for Business Enterprise and Innovation, sets out to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs. This policy now includes a specific regional Action Plan for the Mid-West Region that has seen over 16,500 jobs created in the region in the last two years. Successful implementation of this Plan is targeted at the creation of 23,000 extra jobs in the region by 2020. The Plan aims to achieve this through building on key sectors of potential for the region like Aviation, Lifesciences, Engineering, Internationally Traded Services and Tourism.
Secondly, through Pathways to Work, my Department ensures that as many new jobs and vacancies as possible are filled by people taken from the Live Register. Under this policy, as I have said, employment services and activation supports are heavily concentrated on the areas of highest unemployment, including those in Limerick.
To date, the policies being pursued under the Action Plan for Jobs and under Pathways to Work have been effective in reducing unemployment, both nationally and in Limerick and I am confident that they will continue to do so.
19. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will report on the conclusion of talks between her Department and an organisation (details supplied) dealing specifically with the agreed financial arrangement put in place; her plans to distribute the funds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19259/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department currently has 58 Branch Offices at various locations throughout the country. Services are provided through this Branch Office network in areas which are not directly served by a Department operated Intreo Centre. Each Branch Office is privately operated and managed by a Branch Manager under a contract for service with the Department. My Department is anxious to ensure that the services provided by the Department’s Intreo Centres and Branch Offices are aligned so that all customers nationwide are provided with broadly similar services. On foot of this, my officials engaged in discussions with the Branch Managers Association (BMA), a representative group of Branch Managers who presented the views of its members, under the chairmanship of an agreed facilitator regarding the Department’s proposals for a new service delivery model.
Talks between the Department and the BMA concluded on 29th March. Non-binding recommendations were issued by the facilitator to both parties on 4th April and both sides have agreed to accept these recommendations.
These recommendations, together with previous recommendations from the facilitator in December 2017 on the revised remuneration model, provide a framework within which services will be delivered on behalf of the Department by Branch Managers.
Letters to each individual Branch Manager detailing the service delivery changes required by the Department and the revised remuneration model issued on 26 April 2018. Once a Branch Manager accepts these proposals in writing, the new remuneration proposal, back dated to 1 January 2018, will be put in place for that individual Branch Manager.
20. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the work in her Department to resolve issues regarding the classification of stable staff and racehorse trainers as employers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19299/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe issues which I understand the Deputy to be referring to would appear to relate to the application of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 to the Horse Racing sector.
In response to representations made to me by the industry and by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, I wrote to the Attorney General seeking his advice as to what options, if any, might be available to me to clarify the derogations available under the Directive. I am currently considering the Attorney’s advice on what is a sensitive and complex matter. My officials have met with officials of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and are continuing to engage with them on the issue. Finally, I understand that the employer involved has appealed the Labour Court determination to the Circuit Court.
I am conscious of the need to avoid doing anything that might be seen to interfere in the judicial domain and it would not be appropriate to comment on the particulars of that case while those proceedings remain before the Courts.
21. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the position regarding progressing amendments on Committee Stage of the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2017; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19219/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraA number of amendments for inclusion at Committee Stage of the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2017 are currently being drafted. My Department is currently engaging with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government (OPC) in this regard. These amendments include important measures relating in particular to pensions and data protection. Subject to the additional provisions being finalised, it is expected that the Bill will progress to Committee Stage as soon as possible thereafter.
22. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to introduce a higher rate of a qualified child increase for children of 12 years of age and over in view of research by an organisation (details supplied) which shows the additional costs associated with adolescence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19176/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMost weekly social welfare payments include an additional payment in respect of each qualified child up to age 18, which is extended to encompass older school/college going children to age 22 under certain circumstances. These are referred to as qualified child increases (IQCs). IQC payments do not of themselves constitute a specific social welfare scheme and entitlement to the appropriate primary adult payment must be established in the first instance. These payments provide targeted assistance that is directly linked with household income and thereby support low-income families.
In Budget 2018, the rate of qualified child increase was increased by €2 from €29.80 to €31.80 per week, an increase of 6.7% and the first such increase since 2010. The increase came into effect at the end of March 2018 at a cost of €28.5m in 2018 and €37m in a full year. The qualified child increase is one of a number of social welfare scheme provisions available to families on low incomes, including the Working Family Payment (formerly Family Income Supplement), the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance and the Back to Work Family Dividend.
I am aware of the research by the organisation mentioned and the findings relating to additional costs associated with adolescents. Research also shows that parents of younger children incur higher childcare costs than those with children aged 12 years and over. A targeted increase to children aged 12 years and over, while welcome to families with children in this category, would not be of any benefit to parents with younger children.
Additionally, from an operational perspective significant administrative resources would be required as in effect a two-tier system is being introduced, which is not possible to cost or estimate accurately at present. Such a proposal would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.
23. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the protections in place for employees who are members of defined benefit pension schemes in which a pension scheme is due to wind-down; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19258/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAlmost all defined benefit (DB) schemes have a rule that allows the employer to cease contributions, usually after a notice period. Currently there is no legislative obligation on the employer to make contributions and no further liability on the employer where contributions cease.
However, over the last number of years the Government has amended pension legislation to protect the pension sector and to ensure fairer and more equitable outcomes for all scheme members. The wind up priority order was amended by the Social Welfare and Pensions (No.2) Act in 2013. The changes to the wind up priority order essentially de-prioritises a portion of pensioner benefits in the manner in which the resources of a scheme are distributed on the wind up of a pension scheme. These changes make more resources of the scheme available in the initial distribution of assets to active and deferred scheme members.
The Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012 required a DB scheme to hold additional funding in the form of a ‘risk reserve’ by 2023. This function of this ‘risk reserve’ is to provide some protection and long term stability for scheme members against future volatility in financial markets.
The introduction of the Pensions Insolvency Payments Scheme reduced the cost of purchasing pensions for trustees where the employer has become insolvent, offering special payments in cases where a DB scheme is winding up.
The General Scheme of the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2017 (now the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill 2017), was published in May 2017 and contained a number of key measures relating to DB pension schemes.
The amendments will provide for a 12 month notification period where an employer is seeking to cease making contributions to a scheme. The provisions will also provide that, where a scheme is in deficit and a funding proposal is not been put in place in a timely manner, the Pensions Authority may direct steps to be taken to ensure that the scheme meets the funding standard.
These provisions are quite technical and complex. Work to finalise them is at an advanced stage and I hope to be in position to bring forward the amendments at Committee Stage at the end of May or early June. With the cooperation of the Oireachtas the Government intends to pass this legislation before the summer recess.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
24. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the measures she has taken to address the above average unemployment levels which persist in County Wexford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19281/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe first publication of the Labour Force Survey which replaces the Quarterly National Household Survey (QHNS) was released on 16, January 2018 and is the official measure of unemployment. The most recent data shows that, nationally, unemployment has fallen from a peak of 15% in 2012 to 6.1% by March 2018. Within the South East region, which includes Wexford, unemployment has fallen from a peak of 19.0% in 2012 to 7.3% by Quarter 4, 2017 with numbers in employment increasing from 184,700 in Q4 2012 to 226,400 by Q4 2017.While data from the Labour Force Survey is not available at the county level, trends in the Live Register can give an indication of underlying trends in local unemployment. Overall, the Live Register in Wexford has fallen by almost 43% in the 5 years to February 2018, close to the reduction of 44% nationally. In the year to February 2018, the Live Register in Wexford has fallen by 1,625 people, or almost 14%, again closely in line with national trends.
The Government’s primary strategy to tackle unemployment since 2012 is twofold:
Firstly, through policies set out in the Action Plan for Jobs, to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs. This policy now includes a specific regional Action Plan for the South East Region that has seen over 8,000 jobs created in the region in the last two years. By 2020, the Plan aims to facilitate the creation of an additional 25,000 jobs in the region and bring the unemployment rate in the region to within 1% of the national average.
Secondly, through Pathways to Work, my Department ensures that as many new jobs and vacancies as possible are filled by people taken from the Live Register. Under this policy, employment services and activation supports are heavily concentrated on the areas of highest unemployment, including those in Wexford.
Currently, there are 11 Activation Case Officers in the Intreo service in Wexford. This is an increase of one in comparison to January 2017, when there were 10. Prior to the roll-out of Intreo, there were 8 Activation Case Officers in Wexford, including former FAS personnel and DSP Jobs Facilitators.
The Case Officer capacity is supplemented by referrals to Turas Nua under the Job Path programme and to Wexford Local Development which operates the Local Employment Service (LES) on behalf of the Department. Wexford Local Development is contracted to provide intensive supports to 960 customers and employs 8 mediators to support LES operations.
A total of 9,114 customer engagements were scheduled by Activation Case Officers in 2017 in addition to their work with employers. Local records indicate that approximately 5,300 referrals to Turas Nua took place over the course of the year.
To date, the policies being pursued under the Action Plan for Jobs and under Pathways to Work have been effective in reducing unemployment, both nationally and in Wexford and I am confident that they will continue to do so.
25. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the State pension rates will be restored to those who left the workforce due to childcare and are now receiving a lower rate of pensions due to previous changes in regard to PRSI contributions in 2012. [19166/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra29. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the progress that has been made to address the anomalies in the State pension due to the changes introduced in 2012. [19165/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 25 and 29 together.
A policy to introduce the Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pensions calculation was adopted by the then Government in the National Pensions Framework in 2010, as was the decision to base the entitlements of all new pensioners on this approach from 2020.
On the 23rd January, the Government agreed to a proposal that will allow pensioners affected by the 2012 changes in rate bands to have their pension entitlement calculated under a total contributions approach, which will include up to 20 years of a new HomeCaring credit.
The TCA will ensure that the totality of a person’s social insurance contributions - as opposed to the timing of them - determines their final pension outcome.
In particular it will benefit people whose work history includes an extended period of time outside the paid workplace, while raising families or in a full-time caring role. Crucially, unlike the proposed Homemaking Credits which was proposed in 2010 as part of the National Pensions Framework, the HomeCaring Credit will apply to periods both before and after 1994, as for most people reaching pension age between 2012 and 2019, such periods, where they had them, occurred before 1994, and provisions restricted to periods after then are of little or no benefit to them.
This approach will make it easier for many post-2012 pensioners affected by the 2012 rate band changes who are currently assessed under the yearly average model, to qualify for a higher rate of the State Pension (contributory). A person who reached pension age after 1st September 2012 and has a 40 year record of paid and credited social insurance contributions, subject to a maximum of 20 years of the new HomeCaring credits, will qualify for a maximum contributory pension where they satisfy the other qualifying conditions for the scheme. Up to 10 years of other credits, for example, awarded when on Jobseekers or Illness Benefit, may also be used, subject to the total credits not exceeding 20 years.
Legislation has to be drafted and enacted to enable implementation of these arrangements and IT solutions in line with this legislation must be developed. Accordingly, it is planned that the reviews will commence before the end of this year, with the first payments being made in the first quarter of 2019.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
26. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her role in the welfare of actors and persons in the arts who are having difficulty accessing social protection due to the nature of their employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10155/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is accepted that periods of unemployment are a normal feature of the acting and artistic professions. The main social welfare schemes available from my Department for unemployed persons are the jobseeker’s allowance and benefit schemes which provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. Both schemes provide significant support to individuals so that they can work up to 3 days a week and still retain access to a reduced jobseeker’s payment.
The current days-based system can provide additional income supports to jobseekers including actors who are casually employed or working part-time. For instance an individual can earn a little over €20,190 per year and still retain a small jobseeker's allowance payment, while the equivalent threshold for an individual with a qualified adult is almost €34,700 if they are both working. My Department also operates a fast-tracking process for customers who sign-off on their jobseeker’s allowance or jobseeker’s benefit claim to take up work for a period of up to 12 weeks. In these cases, the claim is not closed.
Rather, payment is suspended temporarily for the duration of the work or training course. When the person signs on again after the period of work or training, the claim can be reactivated without delay and payment restored.
In addition, my Department’s Intreo service now provides a more focussed service to those in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment.
27. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a travel pass will issue to a person (details supplied) irrespective of means. [19306/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe current free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approximately 908,000 customers with direct eligibility with an annual allocation of €90 million. Persons resident in Ireland who are over 66 and persons in receipt of certain social welfare payments are eligible for the scheme. The social welfare payments that allow persons aged under 66 to a free travel pass include disability allowance, invalidity pension, carer’s allowance and partial capacity benefit. While medical evidence will be required to determine eligibility for these schemes, it does not, of itself, entitle a person to free travel. A person in receipt of Disability Allowance, or an Invalidity Pension receives the pass on the basis of the primary benefit they are paid, and not on the basis of their underlying medical condition.
Accordingly, while applications for Free Travel for the person concerned were received in 2016 and 2018, they were refused on both occasions as the person concerned was not in receipt of a qualifying payment on application.
If the free travel scheme was to be extended to all people who had a disability and/or significant health issues, regardless of whether they receive a qualifying payment, a medical assessment process would be required for all such applications, significantly changing the nature of the scheme.
There are no plans to change the eligibility criteria of the free travel scheme along the lines proposed. Any decision to do so would have significant costs and require additional administrative processes to be put in place, and it could only be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
28. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the circumstances under which or the reason a person can avail of ten years credited contributions as distinct from the 20 years allowed for homemaking and caring duties regarding the forthcoming total contributions approach for the contributory pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19252/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraPRSI contributions can be credited to people in a number of contexts, for example when in receipt of a Jobseekers or Illness benefit payments. Where applicable, these may be used towards PRSI-based social protection payments, including the State pension contributory (SPC). Not all classes of paid or credited contributions are reckonable for a State pension contributory, e.g., those of a civil servant who paid the reduced Class B rate would provide no SPC coverage.
Under the interim Total Contributions Approach announced in January, a person who reached pension age after 1 September 2012 (i.e. who is among those affected by the new ratebands introduced from that date) and who has a 40 year record of paid and credited social insurance contributions, subject to a maximum of 20 years of credits, will qualify for a maximum contributory pension where they satisfy the other qualifying conditions for the scheme. Up to 20 years of HomeCaring credits, and/or 10 years of other qualifying credits, for example when unemployed or ill, may be used, subject to the total number of credits not exceeding 20 years.
So, for example, a person might receive a maximum pension based on 20 years paid PRSI contributions, 5 years jobseeker credits, and 15 years HomeCaring Credits, over a 50 year period.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
30. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if failure to sign a personal progression plan with Seetec is used by deciding officers as a sole reason to penalise a participant's social protection payment. [19301/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraPenalty rates are a legal provision within the Jobseeker schemes to ensure that the Department can achieve compliance with Government Activation Policy as stated in Pathways to Work. Legislation provides that sanctions / penalties in the form of reduced payments may be imposed by the Department’s Deciding Officers where recipients of jobseeker payments fail, without good cause, to comply with activation measures. Activation measures include the requirement to attend group information meetings, and / or individual meetings for the purpose of assessing a person’s education, training or development needs, and / or availing of suitable education, training or development opportunities, or specified employment programmes, which are considered appropriate to a person’s circumstances. Reduced rates are only applied where a jobseeker fails, without good cause, to engage as requested with the Department’s employment services including contracted services, having received at least two warnings. Refusal to sign a Personal Progression Plan would not be the sole reason for the application of a penalty rate. Refusal to sign and also failure to agree an action plan with their Case Officer/JobPath Provider, without good cause, will incur a penalty rate as outlined in SW legislation. The Penalty Rate may be lifted at any time if the person engages in the activation process.
The Jobseeker can appeal the Deciding Officer’s decision for reduced rate penalties and for a 9 week disqualification, through the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).
31. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of a jobseeker's payment in Galway city and county who have had their existing payment cut or withdrawn consequent on their decision not to choose the JobPath Seetec route; the number that have had their payment subsequently reinstated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19214/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraPenalty rates are a legal provision within the Jobseeker schemes to ensure that the Department can achieve compliance with Government Activation Policy as stated in Pathways to Work. Legislation provides that sanctions / penalties in the form of reduced payments may be imposed by the Department’s Deciding Officers where recipients of jobseeker payments fail, without good cause, to comply with activation measures. Activation measures include the requirement to attend group information meetings, and / or individual meetings for the purpose of assessing a person’s education, training or development needs, and / or availing of suitable education, training or development opportunities, or specified employment programmes, which are considered appropriate to a person’s circumstances. Reduced rates are only applied where a jobseeker fails, without good cause, to engage as requested with the Department’s employment services including contracted services, having received at least two warnings. The Jobseeker can appeal the Deciding Officer’s decision for reduced rate penalties and for a 9 week disqualification, through the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).
According to the latest available data the number of jobseekers referred to the Jobpath service in Galway city and county who had a penalty rate applied between November 2015 and 8 April 2018 was 490. The number of jobseekers with a penalty rate in place on 8 April 2018 was 28.
