Written Answers Nos. 325-335
325. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the capital, current and total 2023 budget allocation for the humanitarian support scheme, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5388/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraHumanitarian Aid is a scheme under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance schemes.
It is a demand-led scheme, payable to persons to prevent hardship by providing income tested financial support to people affected by flooding and other severe weather events and who are not in a position to meet costs for essential needs, household items and, in some instances, structural repair.
|
2023 Budget Allocation |
€000 |
|
Humanitarian Aid |
200 |
There is no capital element to the estimate or expenditure.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
326. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if the means test threshold for the households benefits package for people under 70 years will be increased from €120 to €200 a week, in line with the fuel allowance increase implemented in January; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5302/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Household Benefits Package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €285 million this year on HHB for over 506,000 customers. People over the age of 70 receive the Household Benefits Package, with one package provided per household. The package is also available to people living in the State aged 66-69 years who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments or who satisfy a means test. The package is available to some people under the age of 66 who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments.
I can confirm to the Deputy that in line with previous increases to the allowable means for fuel allowance, the means test threshold for the HHB package was similarly increased. Therefore, from the 2nd of January 2023, the means threshold for HHB purposes for people aged between 66 and under 70 years was increased from €120 to €200 a week above the relevant State Pension Contributory rate.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
327. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made in relation to an application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5305/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Fuel Allowance is a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. The payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) is paid from late September to April.
A request for further information issued to the person concerned on 30 January 2023. On receipt of the requested information their entitlement to Fuel allowance will be examined.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
328. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person in receipt of disability allowance whose spouse cares for them, in addition to a person residing outside of the home, is eligible for fuel allowance, assuming that all other criteria are met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5306/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraA Fuel Allowance is a payment under the National Fuel Scheme to help with the cost of heating a home during the winter months. It is paid to people who are in receipt of certain qualifying social welfare payments or are aged over 70 years, satisfy a means assessment and other certain qualifying conditions. Only one Fuel Allowance is payable per household.
Disability Allowance is a qualifying payment for receipt of Fuel Allowance and the person in the circumstances described can apply for the payment.
To make an application, the quickest and easiest way to apply is online at mywelfare.ie. Alternatively, if the person concerned is unable to access online services, an application form for Fuel Allowance has been sent to the person concerned for completion. Their entitlement will be examined on return of their completed application online, or by post to the Disability Allowance Section, Department of Social Welfare, Ballinalee Road, Longford.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
329. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will outline her plans and schedule regarding the re-opening of a new full-time, face-to-face, social welfare branch office in Castlepollard, County Westmeath, following the sudden closure of the previous branch office in 2022 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5327/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraNo formal decision has yet been taken as to the opening of a new Social Welfare Branch Office dedicated to Castlepollard.
In the interim, the Department has put an outreach service in place in the County Council Offices, Mullingar Road, Castlepollard on Tuesday and Wednesday each week from 09.30 to 13.00 and from 14.00 to 16.00 since April 2022.
The outreach service is fully supported by the Mullingar Intreo Centre where customers are welcome to conduct their business by either attending in person, emailing mullingar@welfare.ie or by phone (044) 9350921. The Department’s services are also available through the Department’s digital & online channels (MyWelfare.ie).
It should be noted that, in the period since the closure of Castlepollard Branch Office and the introduction of an outreach service, the claim load has decreased by approx. 19%, from 728 to 589.
The effectiveness of this outreach service is subject to ongoing review.
Finally, I am pleased to inform the Deputy, as Minister for Rural and Community Development, I have allocated funding of €3.8million for the Castlepollard Regeneration Project.
330. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of PPS numbers allocated by her Department to beneficiaries of temporary protection and to international protection applicants from March 2022, to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5339/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm that in 2022 my Department allocated 69,600 Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) to people who have been granted Temporary Protection because of the war in Ukraine.
My Department does not collect data on the numbers of PPSNs allocated to International Protection applicants.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
331. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection the total payments made by her Department to beneficiaries of temporary protection and international protection applicants, including the jobseeker’s allowance, child benefit, fuel allowance, exceptional needs’ payments, and so on, from March 2022 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5340/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe European Union has put in place a temporary protection directive to allow Ukrainian citizens and others fleeing Ukraine to move through the EU as EU citizens. During the temporary protection period, EU member states must provide access to social welfare.
It is important to note the distinction between recipients and payments. One individual may have received several payments for the same scheme, for instance a weekly social welfare payment paid for each week they are eligible. Therefore the figures below are several multiples of the number of beneficiaries who received these payments. Up to 29th January 2023, there have been 1,096,633 payments made to those arriving in Ireland from Ukraine under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive. The breakdown of those schemes is shown in the table below.
Table 1: Payments issued to those arriving in Ireland from Ukraine under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive, by scheme
|
Scheme |
Payments |
|
Back To School Clothing And Footwear Allowance |
13,271 |
|
Carer's Allowance |
4,047 |
|
Child Benefit |
89,325 |
|
Disability Allowance |
7,414 |
|
Exceptional Needs Payment |
28,815 |
|
Jobseekers Allowance |
754,608 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
58,464 |
|
Rent Supplement |
2,711 |
|
State Pension Non Contributory |
67,569 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
64,219 |
|
Working Family Payment |
3,947 |
|
Other payments |
2,243 |
|
Total |
1,096,633 |
332. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will examine the potential of removing the means tested income threshold for full-time carers, despite increasing the disregard limits in June 2022 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5351/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government acknowledges the important role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy.
The main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending in 2023 is expected to amount to almost €1.6 billion on these payments.
The two principal conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are that full time care and attention is required and provided, and that a means test is satisfied. The means test plays a critical role in determining whether or not an income need arises and in targeting scarce resources.
As part of Budget 2022, I introduced significant improvements to the means test for Carer's Allowance. These were the first changes to the means test in 14 years:
- The capital and savings disregard for the Carer’s Allowance means assessment was increased from €20,000 to €50,000, aligning it with the capital means test for Disability Allowance.
- For carers who work, the weekly income disregard was increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.
The current Carer's Allowance disregards are the most generous income disregards in the social welfare system and mean that, in the case of a couple, earnings of up to €39,000 a year are disregarded.
In addition to Carer's Allowance, my Department also provides a non-means tested payment to carers in the form of Carer’s Benefit. Furthermore, the Carer's Support Grant - which I increased to its highest-ever rate of €1,850 - is available to carers who are not on a social welfare payment. For those providing ongoing care and attention for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability, Domiciliary Care Allowance is available and is not means-tested.
More recently, as part of Budget 2023, I announced a range of measures directly benefitting family carers, particularly in light of the current cost of living crisis. These include:
- A Cost of Living Double Payment to carers paid in October,
- A €500 Cost of Living payment for people receiving Carer’s Support Grant paid in November,
- Carers received the Christmas Bonus Double Payment in December,
- A €12 increase in the maximum rate of Carer’s Allowance and Carer’s Benefit took effect from January 2023 with proportionate increases for people receiving a reduced rate,
- A €2 increase for each Qualified Child bringing rates to €50 for Over 12s and €42 for Under 12s from January 2023,
- The Half-rate Carer’s Allowance is now disregarded in the means assessment for Fuel Allowance since January 2023,
- Domiciliary Care Allowance increased by €20.50 to €330 per month with effect from January 2023, and
- Domiciliary Care Allowance is now available in respect of children with severe illness or disability who remain in hospital for up to six months after birth.
I will continue to keep the range of supports provided by this Department under review. However, any changes to the current supports, such as the removal of means-testing, would have to be considered in an overall budgetary and policy context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
333. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for carer's allowance and the number of accepted applications in 2022, broken down by month, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5353/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraCarer’s Allowance is a means-tested payment to people on low incomes who are caring full-time for a person who needs support because of age, disability or illness. The person being cared for must require full-time care and attention.
The number of claims registered and claims awarded for Carer's Allowance in 2022 are shown in the table below.
Table 1: Claims registered and claims awarded for Carer's Allowance, by month
|
Month |
Claims registered |
Claims Awarded |
|
Jan-22 |
1,273 |
1,004 |
|
Feb-22 |
1,784 |
1,068 |
|
Mar-22 |
2,027 |
1,186 |
|
Apr-22 |
1,925 |
1,091 |
|
May-22 |
2,184 |
1,126 |
|
Jun-22 |
2,133 |
1,240 |
|
Jul-22 |
1,895 |
1,442 |
|
Aug-22 |
1,785 |
1,595 |
|
Sep-22 |
2,051 |
1,638 |
|
Oct-22 |
2,256 |
1,112 |
|
Nov-22 |
2,129 |
1,501 |
|
Dec-22 |
1,399 |
918 |
|
Total |
22,841 |
14,921 |
334. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite an application for partial capacity for a person (details supplied). [5411/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraPartial Capacity Benefit (PCB) is a social welfare scheme which allows a person to return to work or self-employment and continue to receive a payment from my department. A person must be in receipt of Illness Benefit (IB) for a minimum of six months or Invalidity Pension (IP) in order to apply for PCB.
My Department will determine whether the applicant is eligible and (if so) at what level the PCB would be paid depending on their capacity to work. Once that decision is made, the applicant must then subsequently confirm that they wish to proceed on that basis and confirm the date that their employment is commencing. A Deciding Officer will then put the relevant payment in place.
The person concerned applied for Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) on the 16 November 2022, their claim was referred to the Medical Assessor (MA). They have been assessed as having a 'Moderate' capacity to work and is eligible for PCB at 50% of their underlying scheme, Illness Benefit.
The person concerned was informed of the medical result on the 4 January 2023. They now need to contact the PCB section to advise when they intend to return to work. When my department is notified of the 'Return to work' date, a deciding officer will examine if the person meets all the qualifying conditions for receipt of PCB and complete the processing of this application.
I trust this clarifies for the Deputy.
335. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a payment (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5442/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department makes every effort to prevent over-issue of pension payments, but this is sometimes not possible where the death of a pension recipient occurs in the days immediately prior to their next scheduled payment day.
In the case of the person concerned, payment of the deceased's pension was suspended immediately on 28th November, the day my Department was notified of his death on 21st November. The overpayment of pension arose because the deceased's pension was lodged to his account on 25/11/2022, prior to the Department being notified of his death. In these circumstances, the standard procedure is that the Department writes to the personal representative of the deceased to request a refund of the pension payment.
All overpayments, including posthumous pension over-issues, are regarded as a debt to the State and as such every effort must be made to have them repaid. However, in seeking recovery, consideration is given to personal circumstances. If a person has difficulty in making the repayment and contacts my Department, it will be possible to facilitate repayment by instalments. The Department will assist similarly in this case, if required.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
