Thomas Gould
Ceist:114. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider meeting with family carers to discuss supports they need due to the cost of living crisis. [24588/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraSocial Welfare Benefits
Ceisteanna (114)
Freagraí scríofa
The Government recognises the important role that family carers play in Irish society and is fully committed to supporting them through a range of supports and services.
My Department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Combined spending on all these payments to carers in 2022 is estimated to exceed €1.5 billion.
I have previously met with carer groups and will continue to do so. By way of illustration, as part of its commitments under the National Carer's Strategy, my Department hosts the Annual Carer's Forum. The Annual Carer’s Forum provides carers with a voice at policy level. My officials are currently organising the 2022 Forum in conjunction with Family Carers Ireland and Care Alliance Ireland. The event is taking place online on 31 May and I will be attending and will hear first-hand the issues experienced by family carers. Since my appointment as Minister for Social Protection, supporting our Carers has been a key priority for me.
Last year, in my first Budget in the Department, I increased the Carer’s Support Grant to €1,850 - that represents the highest-ever rate of payment for that grant.
In this year’s Budget, I made significant changes to the Carer’s Allowance means test.
- The capital/savings disregard for the Carer’s Allowance means assessment is being increased from €20,000 to €50,000, aligning it with that which applies for Disability Allowance.
- For carers who work, I have increased the weekly income disregard from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.
These are the first changes that have been made to the Carer’s Allowance means test in 14 years. The changes will take effect in June.
I can assure the Deputy that I am very aware of the key role carers play in society, in particular the challenges they face due to the increases in the cost of living. I will continue to keep the range of supports available to carers under review, in consultation with family carers and their representative organisations.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Artists' Remuneration
Ceisteanna (115)
Gary Gannon
Ceist:115. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to a motion passed by Monaghan County Council (details supplied) in relation to supporting artists with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24647/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme which the Government launched in April is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.
It is important to stress that a payment under the Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme is not a social protection or income support payment. Rather it is a payment in recognition of the valuable contribution of the arts community and an incentive to encourage people to remain actively employed in the arts rather than seeking employment elsewhere.
My Department provides a range of income supports for people unable to work due to illness or disability. Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are means tested social assistance schemes, which are also subject to a medical assessment and habitual residency requirement.
Social welfare legislation provides that for social assistance schemes, including disability allowance, all income and assets belonging to a claimant, and his or her spouse/partner where applicable, is assessable for means testing purposes. The purpose of the means test is to ensure that resources are directed to those with the greatest need for income supports by the State. Specific disregards apply for certain sources of income.
Disability Allowance and Blind Pension are structured to support recipients to avail of opportunities to pursue employment, be that self-employment or insurable employment. When an individual commences employment, they can avail of an income disregard of €140 per week. In addition, 50% of earnings, between €140 and €350, are also disregarded, i.e. 50% of earnings in this band are disregarded for the purpose of the means test. Earnings above €350 per week are assessed in full.
Budget 2022 measures, will see from June:
- An increase in the upper disregard of €25 per week, from €350 to €375 for both payments
- An increase of €5.10 being applied to the general weekly means disregard entry point for the Disability Allowance. This increase will bring the entry point of the weekly means disregard for Disability Allowance in line with that of the Blind Pension, at €7.60 per week.
Income from the Basic Income for the Arts Pilot Scheme will be treated as income from self-employment, and as a result the disregards above will apply. A new web page has been created on Gov.ie which details the ‘Interaction of the Basic Income for the Arts Pilot Scheme with DSP payments’. This page will be updated as required.
My Department regularly reviews its supports and payments schemes to ensure that they continue to meet their objectives, any changes to the means assessment of social assistance schemes would have to be considered in the overall policy and budgetary context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Employment Schemes
Ceisteanna (116)
Éamon Ó Cuív
Ceist:116. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection if she intends reforming the TÚS, community employment and the rural social schemes to make them more attractive to participants and potential participants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24501/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Department provides a range of income supports and activation programmes for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. These supports include Tús, Community Employment Scheme (CE) and the Rural Social Scheme (RSS). Tús is a work initiative that provides short-term work opportunities for those who have been unemployed for more than a year, in community work placements.
The aim of the CE programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long term unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities. Depending on age and circumstances, participation on CE is for one to three years consecutively, with a six year limit. Older age cohorts can stay on CE until reaching state pension age. RSS is an income support initiative providing part-time employment opportunities for farmers or fishers in receipt of certain social welfare payments, and underemployed in their primary occupation, within their local area in community and voluntary organisations.The RSS scheme plays an important role in sustaining rural communities, with participants having the opportunity to improve existing skills, or develop new skills, whilst performing valuable work in their local communities.
Minister Humphreys and I were pleased to announce reforms to RSS and CE schemes on 21st December last to improve the operation of schemes and further support schemes maintain vital services to communities. These changes included a provision to allow CE/RSS participants who reach 60 years of age to remain on both schemes until they reach state pension age. The following is a summary of the main reforms which became effective from 1 January 2022.
- All participants on RSS and CE who are 60 years of age or older can remain on the programme until they reach the state pension age.
- Strengthening of the referral process.
- Discounting time spent on CE, after seven years, as counting towards the maximum time allowable on CE.
My Department will continue to focus on referrals to CE and Tús over the coming months to ensure that vacancies on the schemes are filled. We will also continue to support efforts by the sponsoring companies and implementing bodies (IBs) to advertise and promote both schemes.
My Department continually monitors all its income and employment support programmes to ensure that they are achieving the best outcomes for participants and for the local communities in which they operate. My Department intends to undertake a specific review of the operation of RSS later in 2022, as it will take some time before the impact of the changes implemented at the start of the year are fully known.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
Income Inequality
Ceisteanna (117, 145)
John Lahart
Ceist:117. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on Ireland’s level of income inequality as found in the recent European Union survey on income and living conditions data, including progress to meet the National Social Target for Poverty Reduction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24670/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
Ceist:145. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Social Protection the findings of the latest survey on income and living conditions data and the impact that her Department’s income supports have had on these findings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24225/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 and 145 together.
The Survey on Income and Living Conditions contains the official poverty data for Ireland. The most recent survey results (SILC 2021) were published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 6 May 2022.
The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020–2025 is the national strategy for poverty reduction and social inclusion. The ambitious headline target is to reduce the percentage of the population in consistent poverty to 2% or less by 2025.
SILC 2021 shows that there have been improvements across the key national poverty indicators. The rate of consistent poverty decreased by a 0.7 percentage points to 4%. Government welcomes this steady progress towards meeting the national social target for poverty reduction. In addition, child poverty also decreased significantly – from 7.2% in SILC 2020 to 5.2% in SILC 2021.
Data from SILC 2021 highlights the protective effect that social transfers have on poverty. Without social transfers, the at risk of poverty rate would have been 38.6%. Social transfers reduced this rate to 11.6%. This represents a 70% reduction on the at risk of poverty rate in 2021. Ireland is consistently one of the best performing EU countries in reducing poverty through social transfers.The survey results also show that social welfare and COVID-19 income supports were key in sustaining incomes. Without COVID-19 income supports, average household incomes would have fallen by 6.2%. As a result of COVID-19 income supports, average household incomes actually increased by 5.2%. It is particularly welcome that household disposable incomes increased across all income deciles.
The SILC 2021 report also calculated the Gini coefficient, which is a measure of income inequality where a smaller number represents greater income equality. It found income equality had improved in Ireland (improving from 28.5% in SILC 2020 to 27% in SILC 2021) and that social transfers played a key role in this. Without social transfers, the Gini coefficient would have been 43.4%.
Combined with the other SILC 2021 findings, the reduction in income inequality displays the effectiveness of Ireland’s social welfare system at both redistributing income and reducing poverty.
Employment Support Services
Ceisteanna (118)
Bríd Smith
Ceist:118. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will clarify what if any provisions her Department has made for dealing or absorbing current LES staff who may lose their positions as a result of the tendering process for those services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24561/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
My Department been engaged in the restructuring and procurement of externally contracted employment services since 2019. There has been extensive consultation with existing contractors and representative bodies including the Irish Local Development Network and trade union organisations.The Department is in receipt of legal advice requiring a competitive procurement for these services and the measures that the Department has undertaken to ensure that existing providers can compete competitively for these services, as evidenced in the outcome of the first phase of procurement.
Last year my Department issued Requests for Tender for the new Intreo Partners Local Area Employment Service and this year in phase 2 has issued two further requests for tender for Intreo Partners Local Area Employment Services and Intreo Partners National Employment Services. The procurement of these services is ongoing and the outcome of the procurement is at this time unknown. My Department has offered an extension of contracts to existing providers of LES and Job Clubs until the end of August this year and many contractors have already accepted this offer.
Where existing employers choose not to bid for these services, are unsuccessful in the procurement process or decline the offer of a contract extension and are unable to finance redundancy payments to their staff, then my Department's Redundancy and Insolvency service will, in accordance with the governing legislation, be able to make provision for statutory redundancy payments for any affected staff.
Public Sector Pay
Ceisteanna (119)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh
Ceist:119. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is considering a comparative evaluation of the work undertaken by supervisors on community employment schemes and supervisors on the rural social scheme and TUS scheme in order to address pay disparities between the two; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24521/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
My Department operates a range of employment support schemes, each with differing characteristics and roles in the overall support offering to unemployed and under employed customers. For example, community employment (CE) is aimed at supporting long term unemployed to upskill and transition into employment or training, whereas the RSS scheme supports under employed farmers or fishermen/woman in undertaking work of a worthwhile nature in their rural communities.
Each Implementing Body (in respect of Tús and RSS schemes) and each CE sponsoring authority is an independent employer in their own right. The Department is not the employer of supervisors employed on these schemes.
Regular engagements, in a range of fora, are available to those involved these schemes to allow them raise any issue of concern. My officials met with union representatives of RSS and Tús schemes on the of 6th April and discussed cross cutting human resource policy issues of concern, including pay and conditions. These engagements will continue.
I think the Deputy may be referring to differences Tús and RSS supervisor pay-scale compared to that of the Community Employment supervisor scale. This can be explained by the duties involved. There are differences between the schemes including the recruitment processes, participant turnover, training and development offered and scheme administration. I understand that unions now wish to have this issue re-examined. We need to be conscious of the wider IR environment at this time and the potential cost to the exchequer, while ensuring fairness and equity.
This was one of the issues raised at the meeting between my officials and unions at the start of April.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
Social Welfare Benefits
Ceisteanna (120)
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Ceist:120. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection the supports that are in place to assist victims of domestic violence to access rent supplement; the number accessing the supplement; the number of refusals; the number applying for associated supports under the supplementary welfare supports by county to date in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24673/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The accommodation needs of victims of domestic violence are met through a joined-up service delivery model provided by Tusla with the close involvement of the various housing authorities nationwide.
Access to Rent Supplement can be provided on referral by Tusla or by prescribed Tusla-funded service providers. This provides victims of domestic violence with a fast track approval and screening process with a simplified means test to get immediate access to rent supplement so that they are not prevented from leaving their home because of financial concerns.
The standard rent supplement means test does not apply to these applicants for an initial three month period. After three months, a further three month extension may be provided, subject to the usual rent supplement means assessment. After six months, if the tenant has a long-term housing need, they can apply to their local housing authority for social housing supports and, if eligible, will be able to access the Housing Assistance Payment, a social housing support provided by Local Authorities.
While this protocol to assist victims of domestic violence in accessing rent supplement was initially introduced in response to the pandemic, I was pleased to announce in November last year that the measure has been made a permanent feature of the Rent Supplement Scheme, recognising that the underlying rationale for this support will be required long after the impact of the pandemic has receded.
Access to rent supplement is additional and complementary to the range of other supports already in place for victims of domestic violence.
Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, a supplement can be awarded to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. In addition, officers can make a single exceptional needs payment to help meet essential, once-off expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. Decisions on payments and supplements 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. Statistics are not maintained on the number of applications for additional supports relating directly to victims of domestic violence.
There are 45 victims of domestic violence currently being supported under the Protocol, with 214 cases supported since the Protocol came into operation in August 2020. There have been no refusals to date.
Table 1 shows the number accessing support by county to date and the current recipients by county.
Table 1 - The number accessing support by county to date and the current recipients by county.
|
County |
Number of Beneficiaries (August 2020 to date) |
Number of Current Recipients |
|
|
|
|
|
Carlow |
7 |
2 |
|
Cavan |
4 |
1 |
|
Clare |
10 |
2 |
|
Cork |
35 |
9 |
|
Donegal |
6 |
2 |
|
Dublin |
30 |
7 |
|
Galway |
19 |
2 |
|
Kerry |
8 |
3 |
|
Kildare |
4 |
2 |
|
Kilkenny |
2 |
1 |
|
Laois |
5 |
0 |
|
Leitrim |
1 |
0 |
|
Limerick |
3 |
1 |
|
Longford |
6 |
0 |
|
Louth |
4 |
1 |
|
Mayo |
11 |
0 |
|
Meath |
1 |
1 |
|
Monaghan |
3 |
0 |
|
Offaly |
10 |
0 |
|
Roscommon |
10 |
2 |
|
Sligo |
8 |
1 |
|
Tipperary |
11 |
5 |
|
Waterford |
5 |
2 |
|
Wexford |
6 |
0 |
|
Wicklow |
5 |
1 |
|
Total |
214 |
45 |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Social Welfare Benefits
Ceisteanna (121)
Joe Flaherty
Ceist:121. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress that has been made to support groups facing additional challenges accessing work such as lone parents, persons with disabilities and minority groups include Travellers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24686/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Pathways to Work 2021-2025, the Government’s national employment strategy, was published in July of last year. The aim of the strategy is two-fold: to support those who lost their jobs during the pandemic, and helping those who, prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, already faced disadvantages in the labour market.
One of the strategy’s five key strands is ‘Working for All – Leaving No One Behind’, which has the objective of promoting better labour market outcomes for all, including those facing additional barriers to work such as lone parents, people with disabilities and minority groups including Travellers. Pathways to Work has targeted measures aimed at reducing unemployment for each of these groups.
For example, a key goal in the Pathways strategy is to increase employment rates of people with disabilities. Measures aimed at helping people with disabilities find employment include implementing the Early Engagement Roadmap for jobseekers with disabilities who wish to voluntarily engage with my Department’s employment services.
The Traveller and Roma community face particular disadvantage in the labour market. Pathways to Work commits to engaging with community representative bodies to produce Traveller (and/or Roma)-specific employment service engagement tools and developing a Traveller and Roma training, enterprise and employment plan. My Department is currently engaging on a cross-Departmental basis and with Traveller representative groups to progress these commitments.
Moreover, since a Government decision in December 2021, my Department, through its Intreo offices, will promote more referrals to Community Employment schemes for people most distant from the labour market including persons with disabilities, members of the Traveller and Roma communities, ex-offenders and lone parents, who meet the eligibility criteria.
Overall, a strong recovery in the labour market is leading to significantly more employment opportunities than was envisaged when Pathways to Work was launched in July 2021. While this development is welcome, I am keenly aware some groups continue to face challenges in accessing employment.
I have asked the Labour Market Advisory Council to submit a report to me later this year on progress in the implementation of Pathways to Work commitments, including those relating to supporting groups facing additional challenges accessing work.
Youth Unemployment
Ceisteanna (122)
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
Ceist:122. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Social Protection the specific measures that her Department is taking to tackle youth unemployment. [18633/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As the Deputy will be aware, young people in the labour market (those under 25 years of age) can be particularly affected by labour market disruptions.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate for 2019 averaged approximately 12.5 percent. However, after the onset of the pandemic, the CSO’s ‘COVID-19 adjusted’ monthly youth unemployment rate – which included all those in receipt of the PUP – increased dramatically, peaking at almost 70 percent in May 2020.
Following the phased reopening of the economy over the latter half of 2021, most young people closed their PUP claims and returned to work, resulting in a strong decline in youth unemployment. As of April 2022, the youth unemployment rate stands at 5.6 percent, an historic low.
While it is welcome that the youth unemployment rate has declined to less than half of pre-pandemic levels, it is critical to continue to minimise potential scarring effects amongst young people who permanently lost their jobs during the pandemic, and to support young people who face difficulties or higher barriers to entry to the labour market.
Accordingly, my Department has a series of targeted employment supports under Pathways to Work 2021-2025, the Government’s employment services strategy. These include expanding the JobsPlus scheme and enhancing the incentive to recruit young jobseekers by increasing the youth age limit from 25 to 30 years, and ring-fencing places on the Work Placement Experience Programme, Community Employment and Tús schemes for eligible young people.
My Department also works closely with the Further Education and Training sector to provide access to training and upskilling opportunities. As part of Budget 2022 and Pathways to Work 2021-2025, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science are providing an additional 50,000 further education and training places to help more people to have the opportunity to upskill for employment into a new sector.
Furthermore, my Department under Pathways to Work increased funding for the Back to Education scheme which leads to second and third level qualifications and increased the maximum value of the Training Support Grant available via Intreo from €500 to €1,000.
These training and upskilling opportunities are likely to be of particular relevance to young people seeking to enter the labour market for the first time.
Social Welfare Benefits
Ceisteanna (123)
Colm Burke
Ceist:123. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who are still in receipt of the enhanced illness benefit to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24381/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
In March 2020, under the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 and subsequent regulations, the Government provided for entitlement to Illness Benefit for people who had been diagnosed with Covid-19 or who had been identified as a potential source of infection with Covid-19.
The measures were designed to ensure that the people concerned were in a position to comply with medical advice to isolate, while at the same time having their income protected. The measures also helped limit and slow down the spread of the virus to reduce peaks in the numbers of cases which would cause extreme pressure on the health system.
People who meet the eligibility and medical criteria, are entitled to the Enhanced Illness Benefit payment of €350 a week, with increases for dependants if appropriate. There are no waiting days in respect of the Enhanced Illness Benefit payment.
In the case of people diagnosed with Covid-19 the enhanced payment is payable, subject to appropriate certification, for a maximum of 10 weeks.
The latest details available show that to date a total of 553,257 claims for Enhanced Illness Benefit have been paid with 2,151 claims currently in payment.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
Employment Schemes
Ceisteanna (124)
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
Ceist:124. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures her Department is taking to attract unemployed women or women looking to return to work into the construction sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24224/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Housing is a key priority for this Government. This is demonstrated by the unprecedented commitment to build 300,000 new homes by 2030 under Housing for All Strategy. The Government also plans to retrofit 500,000 homes - an action which is increasingly important for householders and the economy at a time of rising energy costs.
To achieve this, we need to attract thousands of new workers into the sector. It is estimated that some 27,500 additional workers will be required to meet the housing target. On May 5th, I and my colleague Minister Harris launched the Future Building Initiative to drive recruitment to this sector. Our two Government Departments and related agencies are joining forces to spearhead activation and recruitment for the construction sector and drive internal projects to support this work. The new cross-functional unit which includes staff with expertise in activation, recruitment and training has been established to oversee this initiative.
Critical to the success of that recruitment will be the need to attract new entrants to the labour force, to upskill and reskill those already working in the sector, to attract back some who have left the sector and to attract workers from other countries to contribute to the construction labour force. Women are a target group in all these measures.
While the construction labour force is predominantly male, there is an increasing representation of women choosing construction as a career. As a percentage of the overall workforce in the sector, there has been an increase from 8% to 14% in recent years but more is needed to increase that percentage significantly over the coming years in order to increase female participation rates in the construction sector. This will be a priority focus of the new unit.
A number of initiatives have already been advanced:
- on International Women’s Day my department ran a social media campaign featuring women in construction to promote the sector as a career choice to other women.
- during Intreo Construction Work and Skills week which runs from the 19th May - 26th May, some 40 events across the country will be run in Intreo Centres and ETB Training Centres to promote construction careers; a number of these will be dedicated events for women.
- plans are being developed for a campaign to support 'Returners' to the workforce; this will focus on supporting those who have left the workforce for a period to come back into the workforce. This campaign will include the promotion of careers in construction.
In advancing this work the Future Building team will be working closely with Solas, the Education and Training Boards and the Construction Industry Federation to coordinate and collaborate to building momentum and new opportunities for women in the construction sector.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Social Welfare Offices
Ceisteanna (125)
Pa Daly
Ceist:125. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will introduce a secure webchat capability for local INTREO offices to facilitate families with young children, those with disabilities and the elderly, given the difficulties they may face attending offices in person; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24535/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Given the important and wide-ranging role my Department plays in the State, the delivery of excellent customer service is central to the Department’s mission of supporting and enabling individuals achieve their potential in Irish society.
The Customer Service Strategy 2020-2022 sets out to develop and implement key actions to deliver enhanced customer service to the Department’s customers. The Department’s customer base is broad and varied, and not all customers are prepared for, or wish to, utilise online services. In the Statement of Digital Strategy 2022-2025, the principle of ‘digital by desire’ remains one of the guiding principles of the Department’s approach to the development of digital services.
However, the Department aims to ensure that it maintains the progress made to date with moving to digital and online, particularly over the last two years when demand for such services soared. Tools such as social media, email, SMS, interactive voice response, are already part of the way we do business. Medical referee assessments moved online during Covid-19 restrictions. Further enhancements such as digital/web chat are likely elements of future development.
My Department is currently piloting a chatbot service on MyGovID. This allows customers to enter text queries and get responses to general questions related to the MyGovID identity service. My officials will continue to investigate new technology solutions and I am committed to providing customers with secure and accessible online services which meet their needs, particularly those who may face difficulties attending offices in person.
My focus and that of my Department is on empowering and encouraging customers and staff to continue to drive the digital adoption agenda, to allow customers the capacity to interact with the Department when and in a way that is convenient for them, in order to get the information, service and payments they are entitled to.
Finally all scheme areas in my Department are contactable by phone. Telephone queries relating to Intreo services are dealt with by the National Intreo Contact Centre, which is available to support customers with their queries on 0818 405060 from 8.15am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Customers can find contact details, including phone numbers and emails, for all other DSP schemes and services on my Department's www.Gov.ie site.
Question No. 126 answered with Question No. 95.
Social Welfare Benefits
Ceisteanna (127)
John Lahart
Ceist:127. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the findings of the most recent European Union survey on Income and living conditions data, including measures in place to support those found to be most at risk of poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24669/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Survey on Income and Living Conditions contains the official poverty data for Ireland. The most recent survey results (SILC 2021) were published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 6 May 2022.
Government welcomes the progress made towards meeting the ambitious Roadmap for Social Inclusion targets, which includes reduction in the percentage of the population in consistent poverty to 2% or less by 2025. The latest SILC data shows steady progress in achieving the Roadmap target to reduce consistent poverty, with a 0.7 percentage point reduction to 4%.
Data from SILC 2021 highlights the protective effect that social transfers have on poverty. Without social transfers, the at risk of poverty rate would have been 38.6%. Social transfers reduced this rate to 11.6%. This represents a 70% reduction on the at risk of poverty rate in 2021. Ireland is consistently one of the best performing EU countries in reducing poverty through social transfers.
Budget 2022 included a range of measures to support groups at risk of poverty, including those not at work due to illness or disability, lone parents and those who are unemployed. Measures included increases to all core weekly payments and to the qualified child rates; an increase in the weekly income threshold for the Working Family Payment for all family sizes; an increase in the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for older and younger children; an increase in the earnings limit for the Disability Allowance; and increases to the Living Alone allowance and Fuel allowance.
Social impact assessments of Budgets published on the Department's website find that recent Budgets benefited those in the lower income deciles the most primarily as a result of the social welfare measures.
In addition, under Strand 4 of Pathways to Work 2021 - 2025, the national employment services strategy, there are a number of key commitments to support groups that are under-represented in the labour market, as a key mechanism for exiting poverty.
I will continue to work with my Government colleagues as we strive for further improvements across the key national poverty indicators, ensuring continued support for those most at risk of poverty.