Written Answers Nos. 877-891
877. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount of money paid as children’s allowance to persons who live outside the State in each of the years 2005 to 2023, by country of destination, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56683/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraChild Benefit is a monthly payment to the parents or guardians of children under 16 years of age. Child Benefit can also be claimed for children aged 16 and 17 if they are in full-time education or full-time training or have a disability and cannot support themselves.
The table below outlines Child Benefit payable to children residing outside the state from 2018 to 2023, the country of residence, number of children, number of families and the expenditure are included.
Child Benefit is payable in respect of children resident outside the state under EU legislation where at least one parent is making social security contributions in Ireland.
|
|
2018 |
|
2019 |
|
2020 |
|
2021 |
|
2022 |
|
2023 |
|
|
Country of Residence |
No of Customers |
No of Children |
No of Customers |
No of Children |
No of Customers |
No of Children |
No of Customers |
No of Children |
No of Customers |
No of Children |
No of Customers |
No of Children |
|
Belgium |
5 |
8 |
7 |
14 |
4 |
7 |
7 |
13 |
4 |
6 |
9 |
19 |
|
Bulgaria |
61 |
88 |
58 |
90 |
75 |
110 |
64 |
95 |
61 |
89 |
79 |
113 |
|
Czech Republic |
44 |
73 |
51 |
82 |
39 |
60 |
36 |
65 |
33 |
62 |
34 |
66 |
|
Denmark |
2 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Germany |
10 |
15 |
11 |
17 |
6 |
9 |
8 |
15 |
9 |
13 |
9 |
13 |
|
Estonia |
9 |
14 |
7 |
12 |
5 |
8 |
6 |
9 |
6 |
8 |
6 |
9 |
|
Ireland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Greece |
3 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
13 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
11 |
|
Spain |
132 |
218 |
100 |
166 |
57 |
108 |
62 |
116 |
57 |
100 |
67 |
115 |
|
France |
19 |
39 |
16 |
25 |
11 |
17 |
12 |
18 |
12 |
20 |
16 |
26 |
|
Croatia |
110 |
179 |
128 |
214 |
120 |
195 |
119 |
185 |
109 |
168 |
116 |
172 |
|
Italy |
62 |
98 |
36 |
60 |
29 |
44 |
33 |
50 |
25 |
35 |
25 |
36 |
|
Cyprus |
2 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Latvia |
130 |
185 |
110 |
148 |
100 |
134 |
87 |
123 |
75 |
110 |
73 |
104 |
|
Lithuania |
286 |
435 |
260 |
400 |
208 |
327 |
193 |
306 |
156 |
243 |
150 |
237 |
|
Luxembourg |
1 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Hungary |
33 |
46 |
25 |
38 |
29 |
41 |
30 |
48 |
29 |
44 |
28 |
44 |
|
Malta |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Netherlands |
5 |
13 |
7 |
12 |
7 |
13 |
6 |
11 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
|
Austria |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
7 |
|
Poland |
2,406 |
3,573 |
1,567 |
2,566 |
1,492 |
2,395 |
1,350 |
2,211 |
1,187 |
1,958 |
1,010 |
1,612 |
|
Portugal |
67 |
95 |
49 |
76 |
51 |
78 |
49 |
80 |
39 |
66 |
40 |
58 |
|
Romania |
567 |
1,016 |
683 |
1,297 |
681 |
1,291 |
650 |
1,237 |
661 |
1,240 |
696 |
1,332 |
|
Slovenia |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Slovak Republic |
124 |
209 |
126 |
206 |
118 |
205 |
97 |
175 |
83 |
151 |
82 |
143 |
|
Finland |
5 |
7 |
8 |
15 |
6 |
10 |
6 |
12 |
4 |
7 |
4 |
7 |
|
Sweden |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
United Kingdom |
800 |
1,765 |
1018 |
2,169 |
1057 |
2,307 |
1,073 |
2,313 |
724 |
1,429 |
1,279 |
2,605 |
|
Iceland |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Liechtenstein |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Norway |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Switzerland |
2 |
3 |
3 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
|
Total |
4,891 |
8,105 |
4,281 |
7,637 |
4,104 |
7,374 |
3,904 |
7,113 |
3,287 |
5,769 |
3,739 |
6,739 |
|
Total Cost |
13.06m |
|
13.1m |
|
13m |
|
12.3m |
|
11.0m |
|
12.9m |
|
Please note the 2023 figure includes the Spring Cost of Living bonus of €100 per child and the December Double payment which were paid to all families.
The table below shows a breakdown Child Benefit payable to children residing outside the state from 2005 to 2017. However, the breakdown of the country of residence is not available.
|
YEAR |
Number of Families |
Number of Children |
Total Cost |
|
2005 |
|
806 |
€720,000 |
|
2006 |
599 |
1444 |
€2.2m |
|
2007 |
2269 |
4311 |
€4.77m |
|
2008 |
5,820 |
10,500 |
€20.9m |
|
2009 |
6024 |
9723 |
€19.7m |
|
2010 |
4,904 |
7,728 |
€15.4m |
|
2011 |
4,887 |
7,705 |
€13.1m |
|
2012 |
5,178 |
8,153 |
€15.4m |
|
2013 |
4,819 |
7,707 |
€19.7m |
|
2014 |
4,793 |
7,668 |
€11.9m |
|
2015 |
4,878 |
7,862 |
€12.7m |
|
2016 |
4,839 |
7,825 |
€13.3m |
|
2017 |
4,654 |
7,487 |
€12.85m |
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
878. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount of money paid under the heading adult dependant allowance in each of the years 2015 to 2023, inclusive of those who reside outside the State, by the country of destination of these payments, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56684/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMost welfare benefits require the recipient to be habitually resident in Ireland. Certain welfare benefits, such as State Pension Contributory allow the recipient, and any adult dependents such as a spouse to live outside the State.
The data requested by the Deputy for the calendar year 2023 is shown in the attached tabular statement.
Note that only a person's current country of residence is readily available in my Department's records. Due to this limitation, the table below is a record of all adult dependent allowances paid in the calendar year 2023 to people who were resident outside Ireland in January 2024. As such, it does not include payments made to people who moved to Ireland in 2023, while it includes payments made to people who lived in Ireland at the start of 2023 before moving away.
This means that the expenditure figures shown in the table are statistical estimates rather than exact figures.
While the figures for 2023 are a reasonable estimate of the true position, I regret that the data limitation noted above means that figures for earlier years cannot be presented here.
The following schemes allow for an increase for a Qualified Adult: Adoptive Parent Benefit, Back to Work Scheme, Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance, Blind Pension, Back to Education Program, Daily Expenses Allowance, Disability Allowance, Farm Assist, Health and Safety Benefit, Illness Benefit, Incapacity supplement, Invalidity Pension, Jobseekers Allowance, Jobseekers Benefit, Occupational Injuries Benefit, Parents Benefit, Partial Capacity Benefit, Paternity Benefit, Short Term Enterprise Allowance, State Pension Contributory, State Pension Non-Contributory, Part-Time Job Incentive Scheme and Work Placement Experience Programme. 'Expenditure' here is therefore the expenditure on Qualified Adult payments in relation to these schemes in 2023.
|
Country |
Expenditure (million €) |
|
Ireland |
954.1 |
|
United Kingdom |
5.1 |
|
Poland |
1.7 |
|
Australia |
0.9 |
|
Spain |
0.9 |
|
USA |
0.7 |
|
Other |
4.8 |
|
All |
968.2 |
879. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection if a referral for a person (details supplied) in County Donegal to EmployAbility Northwest will be expedited; the reason for the delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56711/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe EmployAbility service provides support to people with disabilities who are job-ready to secure and maintain paid employment in the open labour market leading to independence and career progression. This support includes accessing job vacancies, aid with applications and support in accessing work experience placements and matching with employers.
Under the contract entered into with the Department of Social Protection, EmployAbility providers are required to accept responsibility for all aspects of the service delivery including the assignment of Job Coaches. I have asked that the details supplied by the Deputy are forwarded to the relevant service provider for review to ensure that this referral has been appropriately managed.
880. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Social Protection the target times that apply to the processing of jobseeker payments; and if she will report on the achievement of these targets in each month of 2023. [56728/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe current target processing time for Jobseeker's Allowance is 90% of claims in 6 weeks, for Jobseeker's Benefit, the target processing time is and 90% of claims in 3 weeks.
These targets were achieved in both schemes in each month in 2023, with the exception of August 2023, where Jobseeker's Benefit where the processing time was recorded at 85% in 3 weeks.
The processing times for Jobseeker's Allowance and Jobseeker's Benefit for each month in 2023 are shown in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Processing times for Jobseekers Allowance and Jobseeker's Benefit, by month
|
Scheme |
Jobseekers Allowance |
Jobseekers Benefit |
|
Jan-23 |
96% |
96% |
|
Feb-23 |
96% |
96% |
|
Mar-23 |
96% |
96% |
|
Apr-23 |
96% |
96% |
|
May-23 |
96% |
95% |
|
Jun-23 |
97% |
96% |
|
Jul-23 |
96% |
94% |
|
Aug-23 |
96% |
85% |
|
Sep-23 |
96% |
91% |
|
Oct-23 |
96% |
95% |
|
Nov-23 |
96% |
94% |
|
Dec-23 |
97% |
94% |
881. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a schedule of the data sets she provides to the forward planning unit of the Department of Education on an annual basis; and if she will clarify if the data she provides is aggregated or whether it is individual records. [56730/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department shares data on children aged 0 to 5-years-old with the Forward Planning Unit of the Department of Education on an annual basis to assist that Department in its role of planning and providing school places across geographical areas. This is achieved by aggregating this data geographically. The legal basis for the Department to share data with the Department of Education is Section 266 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 along with Section 6 and Section 7 of the Education Act, 1998.
The data shared includes address information, date of birth and a unique identifier.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
882. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if the circumstances of the case of a person (details supplied) will be examined to ascertain if more persons are affected, with a view to ensuring that persons in these circumstances receive the Christmas bonus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56751/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Persons Concerned entitlement to the Christmas Bonus has been reviewed and established. This payment will be included with his weekly Jobseekers Allowance payment on the 2nd of January 2024.
883. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider launching an awareness campaign for the household benefit package targeted towards persons over 70 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56760/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department administers over 90 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. My Department is fully committed to ensuring that members of the general public are fully aware of the welfare supports and services available, and to ensuring key changes are communicated to them.
The Department of Social Protection offers a range of services for vulnerable groups, including supporting people as they get older. In August 2022 my Department ran a public information campaign on radio, print and social media channels at a local and national level to increase awareness of the household benefits package, and a new easy to use online application process.
Throughout 2023 we shared organic posts across our social media channels, so that newly eligible citizens are aware of the package and how they can go about applying for it.
As part of the cross government 2022/23 'Reduce Your Use' campaign we provided content on this support for inclusion on the gov.ie campaign site, and in the SEAI Keeping Warm and Well leaflet which is published on their website and distributed to vulnerable groups.
A 2024 public information campaign is under consideration as part of our annual communications planning process.
884. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) in County Cork has an entitlement to the State pension (non-contributory). [56772/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraState pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over who have a legal right of residence and habitually reside in the state, and who do not qualify for a state pension contributory, or only qualify for a reduced-rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record.
An application for state pension non-contributory was received from the person concerned on 4 December 2023 and their case assigned to a Deciding Officer.
On 12 December 2023, the Deciding Officer issued a communication to the person concerned requesting further documentation in order to establish their entitlement to the payment.
On 21 December 2023, documentation was received from the person concerned. The Deciding Officer replied to the person on 3 January 2024 seeking clarification on a number of items. Following receipt of the person’s response on 9 January 2024, the Deciding Officer has again written to the person concerned on 11 January 2024 to clarify some further issues.
On receipt of the requested information, the Deciding Officer will make a determination on the eligibility of the person concerned for state pension non-contributory and the person will be notified of the outcome in writing.
The person concerned is currently in receipt of a reduced rate state pension contributory since 8 December 2023.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
885. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in light of the new pension deferral scheme, workers who defer their pension will be eligible for certain benefits, for example, illness benefit, if they are over the age of 66 years but are not claiming their pension and still working full time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56782/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn September 2022, I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system. The measures were in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations and represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system.
One of the measures announced is the introduction of flexibility to the State Pension (Contributory), allowing a person to defer access to their State Pension (Contributory) up to the age of 70 and receive an actuarially based increase in their weekly payment rate.
A person with less than 40 years contributions can use the period between 66 and 70 years of age to build up additional entitlements and, if a person has less than 10 years PRSI reckonable paid contributions, they may be able to use this period to establish entitlement.
During the period of deferral, certain short-term working payments have been made available for stated contingencies, such as Jobseekers Benefit, Illness Benefit, Working Family Payment, Injury Benefit, Child Benefit, Adoptive, Parents, Paternity and Maternity Benefits.
As the State Pension age remains at 66 years, a person can still draw their State Pension (Contributory) at State Pension age.
The legislation to give effect to these changes was recently enacted and applies to those who reach State Pension age (66) on or after 1st January 2024.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
886. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection how jobs funded through the WorkAbility: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme would be advertised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56791/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn August I announced a call for applications for a new programme to support the employment of people with disabilities under the new ESF+ funding. This programme, called WorkAbility: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme is a successor to the Ability programme and will run from January 2024 to December 2028.
The WorkAbility Programme is aimed at people with disabilities aged 16+ who are in the labour market or are currently not work ready and/or are distant from the labour market. It will support projects that provide progressive pathways into education, training and employment, including self-employment, for participants based on their needs, their abilities and their potential. The programme aims to support up to 13,000 disabled people progress their employment ambitions over its lifetime.
Pobal ran an independent selection process on behalf of the Department of Social Protection and have contacted the successful organisations.
A Programme Requirements Manual will be issued to all WorkAbility: Inclusive Pathways to Employment Programme grantees with their grantee agreement, which sets out the key requirements for grantees.
In relation to the recruitment of staff, it is expected that staff will be recruited via an open and transparent recruitment process, posts should be advertised and filled through a competitive process. It is the responsibility of the grantee to conduct a transparent recruitment process in line with their organization’s recruitment policies and procedures. Evidence of the recruitment process followed must be retained on file.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
887. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No.148 of 13 December 2023, if there is an appeal process through which a school (details supplied) can seek to be included in the hot school meals programme; and, if so, if the process will be outlined. [56810/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe objective of the School Meals Programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. Following the expansion of the programme in recent years, some 2,600 schools and organisations, covering 443,000 children are now eligible for funding.
I am committed to continuing to expand the School Meals Programme and building further on the significant extension of the programme that has taken place in recent years. As part of this significant expansion plan, all remaining primary schools were contacted last year and requested to submit an expression of interest form if their school is interested in commencing the provision of hot school meals.
Expressions of interests were received from over 900 primary schools in respect of 150,000 children and late last year these schools were invited to participate in the Hot School Meals Programme from April 2024.
My officials advise me that no expression of interest was received from the school referred to by the Deputy at that time.
The school meals (local projects) scheme is a non-statutory scheme and is not covered under social welfare legislation. It is one of a number of schemes which operates on an administrative basis. Administrative schemes are not appealable under social welfare legislation.
However, there will be an opportunity for this school and the other primary schools who have subsequently expressed an interest, to do so formally later this year.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.
888. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Social Protection what plans are being considered to allow unmarried partners to qualify for the widow's pension upon the death of their partner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56815/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo qualify for the Widow's, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension, one must:
• be a widow, widower or surviving civil partner;
• not cohabit with another person; and
• satisfy certain social insurance conditions.
Where the legal framework changes, the social welfare code is examined for appropriate changes and so it was that the Widows Contributory Pension was expanded to include widowers in 1994, surviving civil partners in 2010 and same-sex surviving spouses after the passing of the marriage equality referendum in 2015.
The matter of unmarried partners having access to the Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Pension is currently before the Supreme Court and it would not be appropriate for me to comment further during an ongoing legal process.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
889. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is aware that apart from some long service incremental increases for long-serving staff in 2017, staff in the Citizens Information Service have not received a wage increase since 2008 (details supplied); her plans to implement this recommended wage increase; the date for the implementation of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56847/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection, with responsibility for supporting the provision of information, advice (including money and budgeting advice) and advocacy on a wide range of public and social services.
CIB provides some services directly to the public and funds and supports a number of Service Delivery Companies to provide services on its behalf, including eight regional companies of the Citizens Information Service (CIS).
I absolutely recognise and value the essential work carried out by staff of the CIS and their dedication to their role in ensuring that people have access to quality and independent information, advice and advocacy services across the country.
DSP allocates annual Exchequer funding to CIB to deliver its services and the services of its Service Delivery Companies, including the CIS companies. In July 2023, as part of the Estimates process, CIB submitted a funding request for 2024 to the Department. This request included additional funding for a 11% pay increase for employees of the CIS and followed a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) process that directly involved both SIPTU and the CIS Employers Group.
However, neither my Department nor the Department of Public Expenditure and NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDPR) had any involvement in this pay request or the WRC process that led to it. It is important that any pay request, which impacts the services under a remit of a Government Department are carefully considered well in advance and have the involvement of all relevant stakeholders including my Department and DPENDPR from early in the process.
I therefore believe that the best way forward is for all relevant stakeholders, including CIB, the employer and staff CIS representatives, my Department and DPENDPR, to engage on this issue.
890. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Social Protection the expected timelines for pay parity claims for Tús supervisors; if he will respond to concerns raised in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56875/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra898. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on proposals submitted to her Department by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform as referred to in correspondence (details supplied) containing proposals formulated in the Tripartite Forum involving trade unions representing Tús and RSS supervisors, ILDN and Department of Social Protection officials in relation to the question of pay parity for Tús and RSS supervisors with their equivalents (community employment supervisors); when a decision will be made by her officials on the proposals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57018/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra938. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on progress towards addressing the pay disparity that sees RSS or Tús supervisors paid less than community employment supervisors for very similar work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1015/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 890, 898 and 938 together.
My Department operates a number of employment support schemes; including Tús, Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Community Employment (CE), for long term unemployed persons and low income farmers/fishers. I would like to acknowledge the important role that Tús and RSS supervisors play in providing valuable opportunities to participants in supporting the delivery of key services to local communities across the country.
It should be noted that Tús and RSS supervisors are employees of the individual Implementing Bodies (Local Development Companies), which are funded by the Department.
In early 2023, union representatives and employers agreed, with the assistance of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and the support of Department officials, a wage increase of 5% for supervisors employed on Tús, RSS and CE schemes.
Officials in my Department continue to hold regular meetings with the supervisor's representative associations to discuss issues in relation to the delivery of all employment programmes. In recent meetings the representatives raised the issue of pay parity for Tús and RSS with CE supervisors.
It is important to note that there are differences in the work undertaken by CE supervisors compared to that undertaken by Tús and RSS, relating, for example, to the preparation of individual learning plans. As a consequence, we would expect the service fees paid to the service providers to reflect this difference in scope.
My Department, as funder of these schemes, are considering the complexities involved in addressing this issue. It is also important to note that any changes to the fees paid or the funding model will require the approval of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.
Pending the outcome of this consideration, officials in my Department will continue to work with the Implementation Bodies and staff representatives in an effort to resolve the issue.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputies.
891. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made on an application (details supplied) for the State pension (non-contributory). [56884/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraState pension non-contributory is a means-tested payment for people aged 66 and over, habitually residing in the State, who do not qualify for a state pension contributory, or who only qualify for a reduced rate contributory pension based on their social insurance record.
An application for state pension non-contributory was received from the person concerned on 18 October 2023. On 23 October 2023, the case was referred to a Social Welfare Inspector to investigate the means of the person concerned, in order that their entitlement to pension could be assessed.
The person concerned has been awarded state pension non-contributory with effect from their 66th birthday, 1 December 2023, and was notified of this decision on 20 December 2023. Payment of due arrears will issue shortly.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
