Written Answers Nos. 399-418
399. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress to date in the determination of an appeal for disability allowance in the case of a person (details supplied); when the appeal will be concluded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31153/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision on 23 July 2020. Under social welfare legislation the decision of an Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by an Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts.
I am advised that the person concerned has submitted additional evidence and that the Appeals Officer has agreed to review the case. The person concerned will be contacted when the review of her appeal has been finalised.
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 trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
400. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to address the matter of back pay for employees of an airline (details supplied) for the period March 2020 to August 2020, during which they were prevented from claiming the employment wage subsidy scheme and the short-time work support scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31187/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraA person’s entitlement to a jobseeker’s payment including the short-time work support for claims made prior to 1st September, where employees may have been in receipt of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, will depend on meeting the eligibility conditions of the scheme, including satisfying the Department with regard to days of unemployment and days of remuneration by their employer.
My Department has engaged with the employer concerned and a process is currently being agreed so that any outstanding information required to finalise decisions on social welfare entitlements will be provided by the company to their employees as quickly as possible. Applications are assessed on an individual basis and the Department will notify each individual of the outcome of its decision.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
401. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if an illness benefit will be reviewed for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31188/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with Social Welfare Regulations a claim to Illness Benefit should be made within six months of the commencement of the incapacity. If a claim is made outside this period it can only be considered for payment where the delay in claiming was due to either information received from my Department or the claimant being so incapacitated as to be unable to claim in time.
On 13 March 2020 the person concerned informed the Department that they had been incapable of work during the period from 29 January 2019 to 12 May 2019 and sought payment for this period. A Deciding Officer held on 20 March 2020, in accordance with the regulations governing late claims, that no payment was due as the claim was outside the 6 month period.
On receipt of your representation, a review has been conducted by another Deciding Officer and the decision still stands. A letter issued to the person concerned on the 15th October 2020 giving him the full details of this review and advises him that he may appeal this decision by making an appeal to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
402. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection if applicants for jobseeker’s payments are required to provide full credit card and debit card details as they appear on the card; and if so, the reason this information is necessary; if this is with the permission of the financial institutions, including banks and credit unions, with regard to their protection of personal data; if this is in line with GDPR; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31192/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraA person must satisfy all the conditions for a jobseeker's payment including a means assessment as part of their application for jobseeker's allowance. At present customers who apply online for jobseeker's allowance are required to provide information regarding their means as part of their application. When a person's entitlement to jobseeker's benefit is coming to an end, a form is issued by my Department in order to establish a person's means assessment as part of their application for jobseeker's allowance. In both instances, the information requested includes account and card details in order to carry out a full assessment of means on an individual's claim. The information provided by the customer is held securely in line with GDPR requirements.
I have asked my officials to review the level of detail required when carrying out a means assessment for a jobseeker’s claim, including the points raised by the Deputy.
403. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider increasing grant funding under the school meals programme for a school (details supplied) that caters for children with mild to moderate learning disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31250/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,580 schools and organisations benefitting 250,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement and coincides with the school year.
In recent years entry to the school meals programme has been confined to DEIS schools in addition to schools identified as having levels of concentrated disadvantage that would benefit from access to the school meals programme.
Prior to the introduction of DEIS in 2005, all schools and organisations that were part of one of a number of Department of Education and Skills’ initiatives for disadvantaged schools were eligible to participate in the programme, which included Breaking the Cycle, Giving Children an Even Break, the Disadvantaged Area Scheme, Home School Community Liaison and the School Completion Programme. These schools and organisations, including some special schools have continued to remain in the scheme but their funding is capped at the same level every year.
The school referred to by the Deputy is in the schools meals programme. This school is not designated DEIS status and the funding level for the school is capped. In 2019/2020, the school made an application to provide breakfast for 35 children and received funding of €2,000. An increase in the level of funding under the school meals programme for the school cannot be considered at this time.
I trust this clarifies the position.
404. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection if financial support in the form of an exceptional needs payment can be made to homeless persons (details supplied) in order to pay for accommodation while they are awaiting approval of their housing need from the relevant local authority, or, failing that, that the community welfare officers be allowed pay hotel, bed and breakfasts or other accommodation providers during the period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31281/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe ENP scheme is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance. Cork City and County Council have responsibility for all matters relating to housing including the provision of emergency accommodation for homeless persons in Cork.
In general the Exceptional Needs Payment scheme is not intended to cover circumstances where the responsibility rests with another Government Department or State Agency.
405. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the weekly income taxi drivers can earn in addition to claiming the pandemic unemployment payment, in light of the collapse of their industry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31478/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra406. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the income support schemes of which taxi drivers can avail; the new schemes that were announced in budget 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31479/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra415. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection the rationale on an issue (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31522/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra417. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the measure announced in the budget to support self-employed persons impacted by the pandemic (details supplied); and if in calculating €480, self-employed persons can deduct operation and material costs which they incur and only consider income which they would normally consider for taxation purposes. [31530/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 405, 406, 415 and 417 together.
The Pandemic Unemployment Payment is available to employees and self-employed people who have lost their employment and the income from that employment due to the pandemic, and who satisfy the other qualifying statutory conditions. Self-employed people must have suffered a reduction in their trading income to the extent that they are available for other full time work to qualify for the payment.
Budget 2021 provides that recipients engaging in self-employment can earn up to €480 over a four week period and continue to maintain entitlement to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The €480 limit is based on gross income, before tax and PRSI, minus expenses.
Where a person exceeds this threshold and is engaging in regular limited self-employment, access to the Part-Time Job Incentive has been extended to those who transition from the Pandemic Unemployment payment. Under this scheme, a self-employed recipient of the Pandemic Unemployment, for at least 16 weeks, can engage in self-employment for up to 24 hours per week and retain a personal weekly rate of payment of €128.60. A self-employed jobseeker with a qualified adult can be paid €209.70 per week.
The objective of these measures is to provide that a self-employed person in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment or jobseekers payments can retain income support in limited circumstances where they engage in self-employment. It is envisaged that these measures will assist businesses to open and support the rehiring of staff but due to the pandemic can only do so intermittently or on a limited or reduced basis. These measures apply to all self-employed recipients including those operating as taxi drivers.
A self -employed person may also be eligible for support under the COVID-19 Enterprise Support Grant which provides support of up to €1,000 with business re-start costs where a person transitions from the Pandemic Unemployment Payment back into employment. Budget 2021 has provided that this support will be extended until 2021. Further information on this grant is available on www.gov.ie
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.
407. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider extending free travel to include children who are being cared for by a carer receiving the carer’s allowance in view of the fact that at present the carers receive free travel but the children do not; if her attention has been drawn to the burden this places on low-income families in which children have medical conditions and often have multiple medical appointments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31512/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 approx. 980,000 customers with direct eligibility. The 2020 funding allocation for the free travel scheme is €95 million.
While my Department does not provide a free travel pass to children aged under 16, for whom a person is receiving carer's allowance, my Department does provide additional support in the form of the domiciliary care allowance. The domiciliary care allowance is a monthly payment of €309.50 to the carer of a child with a disability. The allowance may be used for the additional costs involved in caring for the child and this may include additional transport costs.
Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) my Department may award a travel supplement in any case where the circumstances of the case so warrant. The supplement is intended to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the person's own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Every decision is based on consideration of the circumstances of the case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and of the resources of the person concerned.
Children aged 16 or over may apply for disability allowance. Disability allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a disability and a person can continue to attend school while receiving the payment. A child in receipt of disability allowance is entitled to a free travel pass in his/her own right.
Any decision to extend the free travel scheme to all children, for whom a person is receiving carer's allowance, would require additional funding for the free travel scheme and would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
408. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to relax the criteria stipulating that a person must be unemployed for at least one year in order to avail of the community employment and Tús schemes, in light of increasing unemployment figures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31513/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra409. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if there is a prospect of creating a two-tier scheme for Tús in a scenario (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31514/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra410. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has considered extending the base of those who can apply for the Tús scheme from those who are in receipt of jobseeker’s benefit to include those on other forms of social welfare payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31515/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra411. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to fuse the Tús and community employment schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31516/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra412. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if supervisors within the Tús and community employment schemes could be afforded further discretion to allow members of the schemes to transfer from community employment to Tús and vice versa in order to increase their employability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31517/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra413. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if rules regarding access to the Tús scheme can be relaxed in light of Covid-19 and in order to increase intake into the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31518/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 408 to 413, inclusive, together.
My Department provides a range of income supports and activation measures for people who become long-term unemployed, and those most distant from the labour market. These supports include Tús and community employment (CE), both of which are positive initiatives that enable participants to make a valuable contribution to their communities.
Tús and CE are active labour market programmes designed to provide eligible people with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis, while helping to break the cycle of unemployment and improving a person’s chances of returning to the labour market. Although the aims of Tús and CE are similar, there are some subtle differences between the two programmes.
Tús is confined to those who are on the live register and unemployed for more than a year, and the targeted activation of this cohort aims to provide additional assistance and a renewed impetus to these jobseekers that could otherwise be in danger of persistent long-term unemployment. The maximum duration for participation on Tús is 12 months.
The focus of CE is also on the cohort of long-term unemployed people but it extends to other disadvantaged persons. CE has an additional training and up-skilling element which enables CE participants to achieve a Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) major award. In general, participation on CE for those aged between 21 and 55 years is for 1 year. Where a CE participant is working towards a QQI major award or working towards a recognised industry standard, their time on CE may be extended by up 2 years to complete this training. In addition, those over 55 years of age can remain on CE for 3 years.
Although both employment programmes have similar aims, there are currently no plans to fuse the Tús and CE schemes or to provide discretion to the supervisors of these schemes to transfer participants from one scheme to another. There is however an opportunity for a Tús participant who has completed their 12 month placement on Tús, to apply for a placement on CE should they wish to pursue the training and development opportunities available through CE.
The priority for my Department is to ensure that all employment and activation programmes have the best outcomes for participants. There are currently no plans to change the qualifying criteria for Tús or CE, to widen the range of qualifying social welfare payments for Tús or to extend the duration of placement on Tús beyond twelve months, as per the proposal of a two-tiered delivery; or in light of Covid-19. Tús and CE will continue to support those who are furthest removed from the labour market.
As the Deputy will be aware, as part of the July Stimulus Package, the Government announced 3,000 additional places on State Employment Schemes, including Tús and CE. This will provide opportunities for an increase in existing Tús and CE participant numbers and services provided to local communities.
A number of factors will inform the decision on the allocation of the additional places. These factors will include training and development opportunities, participant development requirements, existing employment support schemes and regional Live Register data.
My Department continues to keep under review the overall operation of Tús and CE, and is very aware of the significant number of people who are actively engaged with these programmes in the delivery of valuable services to local communities throughout the country.
I am fully committed to the future of these programmes and will continue to support and improve these programmes for the benefit of the Tús and CE participants and the valuable contribution being made to local communities.
414. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the reintroduction of the debt on the employer concept in social welfare and pension legislation to ensure effective protection for pensioners in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31520/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn Ireland, occupational pension schemes are generally set up under trust and are maintained by the employer on a voluntary basis. The trust deeds and rules of a scheme differ from one to another and, as with any contractual situation, reflect the level of obligation on the parties involved. While the Pensions Act 1990 provides a framework for the regulation and supervision of occupational pension schemes, it does not impose any requirement on an employer to fund scheme benefits or maintain an existing scheme. It is important to note that there has never been debt on employer legislation in effect in Ireland.
To introduce legislation of this nature would be very complex and would require very careful consideration given the impact it could have on employers and ultimately their willingness to sponsor occupational pension schemes.
My Department, in conjunction with the Pensions Authority, is continuing to actively monitor the defined benefit regulatory regime to ensure it appropriately balances fairness between all generations of scheme members with the need to help sponsoring employers, employees and scheme trustees maintain the sustainability of their pension schemes.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
416. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection if those with reduced hours on the EWSS can access short-time work support from March to September; if some applicants have already received it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31528/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) replaced the Temporary Wage Subsidy (TWSS) scheme from 1 September 2020. My Department has advised that subject to satisfying the relevant eligibility criteria, employees may claim casual or part-time jobseeker payments or Short-Time Work Support payments for days of unemployment, even where their employer is claiming the EWSS for days of employment. The normal scheme rules and application processes apply, including completion of the relevant forms by the employer to certify days of employment and unemployment.
The TWSS and the EWSS are different schemes meaning that entitlement to a concurrent jobseeker payment under the EWSS does not imply the same entitlement under the TWSS.
Section 28(5)(h) of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 provides that where the TWSS applies in relation to a specified employee for any week, the specified employee shall not be entitled to any benefit or payment, related to Covid-19, from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection for that week.
Decisions around individual entitlements to social welfare claims for periods where the TWSS was being availed of by the employer depends on meeting the eligibility conditions, including satisfying the Department with regard to days of unemployment, including that no remuneration was payable for any such day of unemployment. This requires that the specific work pattern and remuneration arrangement in place for each individual are examined for this period.
Information on the numbers of recipients of short time work support and in receipt of the TWSS concurrently is not available.
418. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress to date in the determination of an application for jobseeker’s allowance in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31531/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraAccording to the records of my Department, the person concerned submitted an application for a Jobseeker’s Allowance payment with effect from 8/9/2020. This application was awarded and the first payment inclusive of all arrears due will be available for collection on 20/10/2020 at the nominated post office of the person concerned.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
