Written Answers Nos. 419-436
419. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if an application by a person (details supplied) will be examined; the status of this application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30865/23]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office is an Office of the Department of Social Protection which is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision making functions.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal was received to that office on 14 February 2023. In the interest of confidentiality and Office Data Protection obligations an authority to act was sought giving permission for someone to act on behalf of the person concerned.
An appeal by the person concerned was subsequently registered on the 22 June 2023. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. The Appeal was referred to an Appeals Officer on 26th June 2023, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, hold an oral hearing.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
420. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the full-year revenue that would be generated by establishing a new employer PRSI rate of 19.75% on any salaries paid over €90,000 per year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31000/23]
View answerThe estimated full year revenue that would be generated by establishing a new employer PRSI rate of 19.75% on any salaries paid over €90,000 per year is approximately €985.7 million.
This estimate does not take into account any possible changes in employer or employee behaviour arising from changing the rate of employer PRSI contribution.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
421. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the full-year revenue that would be generated by increasing the 11.05% employer's PRSI rate to 13.05% on salaries paid below €90,000 per year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31001/23]
View answerThe estimated full year revenue that would be generated by increasing the 11.05% employers PRSI rate to 13.05% on salaries paid below €90,000 per year and leaving the current rate of 11.05% for those earning over €90,000 per year is approximately €1.574 billion.
This estimate does not take into account any possible changes in employer or employee behaviour arising from changing the rate of employer PRSI contribution.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
422. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on her Department's report regarding a free travel scheme for people with epilepsy. [31053/23]
View answerThe Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. There are over one million customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2023 is €95 million. It is important to note that, in general, access to a free travel pass for those aged under 66 is a secondary benefit linked to a person being in receipt of certain primary Social Protection payments from my Department such as Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Carer’s Allowance and Blind Pension. As many illnesses or physical conditions have an impact ranging from mild to severe, entitlement to these social welfare schemes is not provided on the basis of a diagnosis but on the basis of the impact of that diagnosis on the individual concerned and in the case of Disability and Carer's Allowance on an assessment of their means. In this way, resources can be targeted to people in most need. I am aware of an ongoing campaign by Epilepsy Ireland. I fully recognise the issues and difficulties that can arise due to a person being diagnosed with epilepsy and who is unable to drive as a result of their condition. I have met with representatives of Epilepsy Ireland to discuss its proposal in detail and following the meeting I asked my Department officials to examine the issues raised in relation to access to the Free Travel scheme. I am awaiting a report from my officials on the issues raised by Epilepsy Ireland. I expect to receive the report shortly and will carefully consider its contents and any recommendations that it may contain. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
423. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection how many additional carers are now qualifying for the carer’s allowance on the basis of the changes to the means test introduced in 2022, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31061/23]
View answerCarer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.
Means are any income belonging to the carer and their spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant and includes earnings, property, (except their own home) or an asset that could bring in money or provide them with an income, for example occupational pensions, or pensions or benefits from another country.
As part of Budget 2022, I introduced measures which allow carers to have a higher weekly household income and a higher level of savings, and still qualify for a CA payment.
These measures, which took effect from 2 June 2022, included an increase in the income disregard from €332.50 to €350 for a single person and from €665 to €750 for a couple. In addition, the amount of capital disregarded in the means test increased from €20,000 to €50,000.
These significant changes mean more carers now qualify for the payment while those in receipt of a reduced payment had their payment increased.
As there are a number of qualifying criteria for CA and we do not record each individual criteria met, it is not possible to produce information on carers specifically impacted by changes to the means test. However, there has been a rise in those in receipt of CA since the introduction of the changes and I have attached a breakdown of the total number of carers in receipt of CA by county in tabular form in May 2022 and May 2023.
Table: Carers in receipt of Carers Allowance May 2022 and May 2023
|
County |
Number of Carers Allowance Claims May 2022 |
Number of Carers Allowance Claims May 2023 |
|
Carlow |
1,570 |
1,606 |
|
Cavan |
1,485 |
1,574 |
|
Clare |
2,213 |
2,202 |
|
Cork |
10,041 |
10,375 |
|
Donegal |
4,303 |
4,394 |
|
Dublin |
19,337 |
20,092 |
|
Galway |
4,717 |
4,783 |
|
Kerry |
3,225 |
3,248 |
|
Kildare |
3,375 |
3,535 |
|
Kilkenny |
1,705 |
1,745 |
|
Laois |
1,748 |
1,820 |
|
Leitrim |
759 |
795 |
|
Limerick |
5,017 |
5,238 |
|
Longford |
1,186 |
1,222 |
|
Louth |
2,855 |
2,954 |
|
Mayo |
2,963 |
2,990 |
|
Meath |
2,749 |
2,906 |
|
Monaghan |
1,139 |
1,189 |
|
Offaly |
2,185 |
2,267 |
|
Roscommon |
1,525 |
1,597 |
|
Sligo |
1,357 |
1,355 |
|
Tipperary |
4,226 |
4,303 |
|
Waterford |
2,492 |
2,593 |
|
Westmeath |
2,199 |
2,233 |
|
Wexford |
3,972 |
4,045 |
|
Wicklow |
2,490 |
2,548 |
|
Total |
90,833 |
93,609 |
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
424. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of appeals officers assigned to assessing both applications and appeals, respectively, for the State pension (contributory). [31091/23]
View answerThe processing of applications for State Pension Contributory (SPC) is a priority of my Department and is monitored on an ongoing basis with particular focus on processing times, to ensure a timely service to applicants.
There are 30 full-time equivalent Deciding Officers assigned to assessing new applications, reviews and appeal activity for State Pension (contributory).
The Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) is the office of my Department responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social protection entitlements. Appeals Officers are independent in their decision-making functions.
The SWAO has advised that there are currently 41 Appeals Officers who make decisions on SPC appeals.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
425. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the living alone allowance since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31140/23]
View answerThe Living Alone Increase is paid to people aged 66 and over, who live alone and are in receipt of certain social welfare payments: the State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-Contributory); Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension; Widow's/Widower's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme; Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme or Deserted Wife's Benefit or Allowance.
The Increase is also paid to people aged under 66 who live alone and are in receipt of the following social welfare payments: Disability Allowance; Invalidity Pension; Incapacity Supplement or Blind Pension.
The Living Alone Increase has increased from €9 in 2019 to €22 in 2022. It rose from €9 to €14 per week in January 2020; from €14 to €19 per week in January 2021 and from €19 to €22 per week in January 2022.
In addition, those in receipt of the Living Alone Allowance received a once-off lump sum payment of €200 in the week of 14 November 2022. This cost €46 million and 191,800 pensioners and 42,200 working age recipients benefited, which is a total of 234,000 beneficiaries.
The breakdown requested may be found in the Department's Statistical Reports for each year as follows:
• Page 79 of the Department's Annual Statistics Report for 2020 at www.gov.ie/en/publication/802ec-2020-annual-statistics-report/
• Page 83 of the Department's Annual Statistics Report for 2021 at www.gov.ie/en/publication/9262a-2021-annual-statistics-report/
The Department's Annual Statistics Report for 2022 will be published shortly.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
426. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the fuel allowance since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31139/23]
View answerFuel Allowance is a means tested payment to assist pensioners and other longer-term social welfare dependent households with their winter heating costs. The payment is a contribution towards heating costs; it is not intended to meet these costs in full. The payment is made over the winter season at the weekly rate of €33.00 or, if preferred, by way of two instalment payments. Only one Fuel Allowance is payable per household. Those who qualify for the payment do not need to reapply annually.
At the time of my appointment, on 27 June 2020, as Minister for Social Protection, the rate of Fuel Allowance was €24.50 weekly, payable over a 28-week season. From 4 January 2021, I increased the weekly rate to €28.00. From 11 October 2021, I further increased the rate by €5, bringing the weekly rate up to €33.00, which is the current rate.
In addition, during my time as Minister for Social Protection, and in recognition of the increasing energy costs for households, I secured a number of one-off payments for those in receipt of Fuel Allowance. In March 2022, an extra €125 was paid to all Fuel Allowance recipients; a further additional payment of €100 was made in May 2022; and, another significant additional payment of €400 was made to these households in November 2022.
As well as the rate changes and the additional support payments issued, there were also changes introduced to the qualifying conditions for the Fuel Allowance scheme.
Changes announced in Budget 2022 included:
• an increase in the weekly means threshold by €20 to €120 above the appropriate rate of state pension (contributory), enabling more people to qualify for the support; and,
• a reduction in the qualifying period for Jobseeker’s and Supplementary Welfare Allowance recipients from 15 months to 12 months with effect from September 2022, again enabling more people to qualify for the support.
In Budget 2023, Government announced the largest ever expansion of the Fuel Allowance Scheme. The changes introduced were:
• from January 2023, the introduction of a new means threshold for people aged 70 years and over, of €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple;
• in addition, for applicants aged 70 or over, the amount of capital (savings and investments) disregarded in the means test for Fuel Allowance was increased from €20,000 to €50,000. (Savings over €50,000 are assessed on a proportionate basis only); and,
• from January 2023, Disablement Benefit and Half-rate Carer’s Allowance payments were disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes. Disablement Benefit also no longer debars a household from receiving the Fuel Allowance payment.
There were some other changes also made to the Fuel Allowance qualifying criteria as follows:
• From September 2020, although the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is not a qualifying payment for Fuel Allowance purposes, it did not prevent an otherwise qualified household from receiving Fuel Allowance. For the purposes of deciding Fuel Allowance entitlement, PUP was disregarded for means testing purposes.
• From September 2021, where an increase in respect of a qualified child on a fuel allowance recipient’s claim ceases because the child reached 22 years, Fuel Allowance can remain in payment where the previously qualified child remains in full-time education and is not in receipt of any disqualifying social welfare payments or is in employment. This saver clause is subject to all other qualifying conditions for Fuel Allowance being met.
• As the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is a statutory benefit, periods spent in receipt of this payment immediately before a Jobseeker’s Allowance claim can be considered towards the 390 days necessary to qualify for Fuel Allowance.
• A person who transfers from the long-term disability related schemes of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, or Blind Pension to a recognised training or educational course can qualify for Fuel Allowance while participating on the course. Qualification for Fuel Allowance will be subject to satisfying all the relevant qualifying conditions.
• From September 2022, a Rent-A-Room means disregard applies to Fuel Allowance applicants who rent a room in their own home. This allows income of up to a limit of €269.23 weekly in respect of renting a room in their own home to be disregarded for the purposes of the Fuel Allowance means test.
• Payments received under the Accommodation Recognition Payment Scheme are disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes.
It is not possible to quantify the number of recipients who have benefitted from each of the above mentioned measures.
By the end of the 2022/23 Fuel Allowance season, in April 2023, the total number of households supported had increased to over 404,000. It should be remembered that the number of qualified households continuously fluctuates, as recipients join and exit the scheme as their circumstances change.
The number of Fuel Allowance recipients, by county, at end April 2023 were as follows:
|
County |
Recipients |
|
Cork |
42,953 |
|
Clare |
10,778 |
|
Cavan |
7,334 |
|
Carlow |
6,714 |
|
Dublin |
86,222 |
|
Donegal |
20,167 |
|
Galway |
21,454 |
|
Kildare |
13,782 |
|
Kilkenny |
7,811 |
|
Kerry |
15,332 |
|
Limerick |
18,716 |
|
Longford |
5,273 |
|
Louth |
13,451 |
|
Leitrim |
4,096 |
|
Laois |
6,750 |
|
Meath |
12,364 |
|
Monaghan |
5,819 |
|
Mayo |
15,658 |
|
Offaly |
7,583 |
|
Roscommon |
6,485 |
|
Sligo |
7,015 |
|
Tipperary |
17,884 |
|
Waterford |
13,238 |
|
Westmeath |
8,408 |
|
Wicklow |
11,290 |
|
Wexford |
17,554 |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
427. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the State pension since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31137/23]
View answerThere were no structural changes introduced to the State Pension since I took office on 27th June 2020.
As part of the Budget process in January 2022, the rate of payment for the State Pension Contributory (maximum rate) increased from €248.30 to €253.30, followed by a further increase in January 2023 to €265.30.
The breakdown requested by the Deputy may be found in the Department’s Annual Statistics Reports as follows -
• Page 37 of the Department's Annual Statistics Report for 2020, which can be found at: www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/e4517-social-protection-annual-statistics-report-archive
• Page 39 of the Department's Annual Statistics Report for 2021, which can be found at www.gov.ie/en/publication/9262a-2021-annual-statistics-report/
The Department's Statistical Report for 2022 will be published shortly.
The Deputy should note, in September 2022, I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system. The measures are in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations and represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system.
These measures include:
• The State Pension age to remain at 66 years of age.
• Rather than fixating on the idea of a single State Pension age, flexibility will be introduced to the State Pension (Contributory) from January 2024:
• A person will be able to defer access to between age 66 and 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 can use this period to help establish entitlement.
• Long-term sustainability of the State Pension system to be addressed through gradual, incremental increases in social insurance rates.
• The introduction of enhanced State Pension provision for long-term carers (in excess of 20 years) will be introduced from January 2024.
• A smoothed earnings method to calculating a benchmarked/indexed rate of State Pension payments will be introduced as an input to the annual budget process and will be submitted to Government in September each year (from 2023).
• There will be a 10-year phased full transition to the Total Contributions Approach, together with a phased abolition of the Yearly Average approach.
• Workers will be provided with access to a social insurance contribution statement service each year in a manner that enables them to understand their entitlements derived from these contributions.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will introduce measures that allow, but do not compel, an employee to stay in employment until the State Pension age.
These reforms are being worked on right now with a view to implementation in 2024.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
428. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the qualified child payment since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31136/23]
View answerMost weekly social welfare payments include provision for an additional payment of an Increase for a Qualified Child (IQC) in respect of each qualified child up to the age of 18, which is extended to encompass older children to age 22 under certain circumstances.
Budget 2023 targeted social welfare measures to assist low-income families with children by providing for the rate of the Increase for a Qualified Child to increase by €2 per week to €50 in respect of children aged 12 or over and by €2 per week to €42 in respect of children aged under 12.
I provided for increases to the rate of the Increase for Qualified Child payment from 2020 to 2023 inclusive.
|
Age Group |
Under 12 Rate per child |
Aged 12 and over per child |
|
Budget 2023 |
increased by €2 to €42 |
increased by €2 to €50 |
|
Budget 2022 |
increased by €2 to €40 |
increased by €3 to €48 |
|
Budget 2021 |
increased by €2 to €40 |
increased by €5 to €45 |
|
Budget 2020 |
increased by €2 to €36 |
increased by €3 to €40 |
As a result, these rates have increased by €8 for under 12s and by €13 for over 12s over the last four Budgets. The Increase for Qualified Child Payment is paid in respect of approximately 323,256 children across my Department's various schemes.
In the time available, it is not possible to provide the number of recipients of an Increase for Qualified Child payment by county given the payment is made across so many schemes.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
429. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the working family payment since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31135/23]
View answerThe Working Family Payment is an in-work support which is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid employees with child dependents, and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment. The rate of payment a person receives is 60% of the difference between their income and the income threshold for their family size.
I provided for increases to the weekly income threshold for Working Family Payment from 2020 to 2023 inclusive.
|
Budget 2020 |
Increase of €10 per week in the income thresholds for families with up to 3 children, from January 2021. |
|
Budget 2021 |
Increase of €10 per week in the income thresholds for families with up to 3 children from January 2022. |
|
Budget 2022 |
Increase of €10 per week in the income thresholds for all families from April 2022. |
|
Budget 2023 |
Increase of €40 per week in the income thresholds for all families from January 2023. |
The increase in thresholds from 2022 to 2023 for all families is detailed below.
|
- |
2022 |
2023 |
|
One Child |
€551 |
€591 |
|
Two Children |
€652 |
€692 |
|
Three Children |
€753 |
€793 |
|
Four Children |
€844 |
€884 |
|
Five Children |
€970 |
€1,010 |
|
Six Children |
€1,086 |
€1,126 |
|
Seven Children |
€1,222 |
€1,262 |
|
Eight or more children |
€1,318 |
€1,358 |
Recipients of Working Family Payment received a €500 cost of living lump sum payment in November 2022 and a further €200 lump sum payment in April 2023.
The number of recipients of Working Family Payments by county, from 2020, is set out in tabular form below.
Working Family Payment
|
- |
Jun-20 |
Jan-21 |
Jan-22 |
Jan-23 |
|
County |
Recipients |
Recipients |
Recipients |
Recipients |
|
Carlow |
868 |
803 |
770 |
764 |
|
Cavan |
1,206 |
1,087 |
970 |
956 |
|
Clare |
1,078 |
974 |
901 |
895 |
|
Cork |
5,110 |
4,824 |
4,477 |
4,524 |
|
Donegal |
2,539 |
2,423 |
2,324 |
2,320 |
|
Dublin |
11,934 |
11,169 |
10,873 |
11,635 |
|
Galway |
2,325 |
2,190 |
2,073 |
2,064 |
|
Kerry |
1,493 |
1,390 |
1,295 |
1,361 |
|
Kildare |
2,203 |
2,023 |
1,986 |
2,074 |
|
Kilkenny |
857 |
790 |
728 |
767 |
|
Laois |
951 |
889 |
868 |
879 |
|
Leitrim |
357 |
324 |
301 |
561 |
|
Limerick |
2,195 |
2,108 |
1,987 |
1,864 |
|
Longford |
729 |
699 |
646 |
647 |
|
Louth |
1,970 |
1,881 |
1,855 |
1,923 |
|
Mayo |
1,321 |
1,285 |
1,244 |
1,303 |
|
Meath |
1,929 |
1,794 |
1,690 |
1,770 |
|
Monaghan |
948 |
898 |
871 |
873 |
|
Offaly |
943 |
892 |
807 |
813 |
|
Roscommon |
712 |
649 |
591 |
617 |
|
Sligo |
683 |
635 |
613 |
607 |
|
Tipperary |
1,942 |
1,824 |
1,544 |
1,813 |
|
Waterford |
1,643 |
1,561 |
979 |
1,585 |
|
Westmeath |
1,044 |
987 |
1,989 |
966 |
|
Wexford |
2,138 |
2,007 |
1,082 |
2,003 |
|
Wicklow |
1,183 |
1,114 |
2,038 |
1,088 |
|
Others |
135 |
131 |
556 |
|
|
Total |
50,436 |
47,351 |
45,502 |
47,228 |
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
430. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the one-parent family payment since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31134/23]
View answerThe One-Parent Family Payment is a means tested payment for lone parents under 66, who are not cohabiting, and whose youngest child is under seven. There have been a number of changes to the scheme since 2020 which have had a positive impact to those in receipt of the One-Parent Family Payment.
In 2020 the earnings disregard was increased by €15 to €165 per week allowing recipients to earn more without affecting their payment. Only 50% of earnings about that disregard are assessed as means.
In April 2021 I removed the earnings threshold of €425 from the One-Parent Family Payment. This change means that recipients of the payment no longer face a cliff-edge when their earnings reach €425 per week but rather the payment tapers off as their earnings increase.
Budget 2022 and 2023 saw increases to the weekly personal rate of One-Parent Family Payment of €5 and €12 respectively, bringing the current personal rate of payment to €220 per week.
I have consistently increased the weekly rate of the Increase for Qualified Child payment for children over and under 12 years old since 2020, taking the weekly rates from €34 for those under 12 and €37 for those aged 12 or over in 2019 to €42 for those under 12 and €50 for those aged 12 or over in 2023.
The Report of the Child Maintenance Review Group was published last November and the Government accepted the Group's recommendations in relation to the social welfare system. As a result, the "efforts to seek maintenance" requirement is no longer applied; the liable relative provisions are not being applied to new claims and child maintenance payments will be disregarded in the means test meaning that many lone parents currently on reduced rates of payment will see their payment increase.
The number of One-Parent Family Payment recipients by county, in January 2022 and January 2023, is set out in tabular form below.
|
County |
Number of recipients |
|
|
January 2022 |
January 2023 |
|
|
Carlow |
652 |
666 |
|
Cavan |
456 |
478 |
|
Clare |
706 |
886 |
|
Cork |
3,722 |
3,772 |
|
Donegal |
1,160 |
1,407 |
|
Dublin |
13,771 |
14,674 |
|
Galway |
1,349 |
1,199 |
|
Kerry |
1,096 |
1,040 |
|
Kildare |
1,495 |
1,410 |
|
Kilkenny |
506 |
518 |
|
Laois |
739 |
770 |
|
Leitrim |
151 |
160 |
|
Limerick |
1,926 |
1,556 |
|
Longford |
473 |
488 |
|
Louth |
1,813 |
1,882 |
|
Mayo |
838 |
846 |
|
Meath |
868 |
921 |
|
Monaghan |
415 |
430 |
|
Offaly |
686 |
724 |
|
Roscommon |
268 |
274 |
|
Sligo |
463 |
457 |
|
Tipperary |
1,477 |
1,513 |
|
Waterford |
1,346 |
1,357 |
|
Westmeath |
876 |
907 |
|
Wexford |
1,504 |
1,512 |
|
Wicklow |
1,088 |
1,110 |
|
Total |
39,844 |
40,957 |
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
431. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the hot school meals programme since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31133/23]
View answerThe School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations benefitting 260,000 children. The objective of the 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.
Budget 2023 provided €94.4 million for the programme. The Government recently approved an additional €14.5m to allow access to the Hot School Meals scheme for all remaining DEIS schools from September 2023.
As part of Budget 2019, funding was provided for a pilot scheme from September 2019, providing hot school meals in primary schools at a cost of €1m for 2019 and €2.5m in 2020. The pilot involved 37 schools benefitting 6,744 children for the 2019/2020 academic year and was aimed primarily at schools with no onsite cooking facilities.
In Budget 2021, I announced that an additional €5.5m to extend the provision of hot school meals to an additional 35,000 primary school children, currently receiving the cold lunch option. Invitations for expressions of interest were issued to 705 primary schools (612 DEIS and 93 non-DEIS) in November 2020. A total of 281 (256 DEIS and 25 non-DEIS) expressions of interest were received in respect of 52,148 children.
The 35,000 places were allocated to each local authority area based on the number of children applied by local authority as a percentage of the total number. A minimum of one school for each Local Authority area was selected. Thereafter, a process of random selection was used for each area.
Budget 2022 provided for the hot school meals to be extended from January 2022 to the 81 DEIS schools that submitted an expression of interest but were not selected in the extension to 35,000 children as referred to earlier.
In March 2022, the Minister for Education announced an extension of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in School to an additional 322 schools from September 2022. In July last year, I announced that the access to the hot school meal option would be extended to the 282 newly designated DEIS primary schools from September 2022.
The number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes is detailed, by academic year, in the attached tabular statement.
Since my appointment as Minister for Social Protection, I have increased the number of schools with access to the Hot School Meal option from 37 to over 500. 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. In this regard, I intend to roll out the Hot School Meals to all remaining DEIS primary and Special schools from September 2023, benefiting more than 60,000 children.
As part of significant plans to extend the Hot School Meals to all children in the coming years all remaining primary schools have been contacted and have been asked to submit an expression of interest form if their school is interested in commencing the provision of hot school meals. From 2024, I intend commencing the roll-out of Hot School Meals to all remaining primary schools on a phased basis.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
Tabular Statement
Table - Recipients by county benefitting from Hot School Meals 2019/2020 to 2022/2023
|
- |
2019/2020 |
2020/2021 |
2021/2022 |
2022/2023 |
|
County: |
Pupils Numbers |
Pupils Numbers |
Pupils Numbers |
Pupils Numbers |
|
Carlow |
- |
577 |
1,127 |
3,169 |
|
Cavan |
241 |
763 |
1,023 |
2,195 |
|
Clare |
30 |
135 |
907 |
2,331 |
|
Cork |
862 |
1,768 |
4,631 |
6,988 |
|
Donegal |
179 |
1,637 |
3,400 |
5,601 |
|
Dublin |
1,491 |
9,421 |
20,559 |
22,694 |
|
Galway |
485 |
510 |
563 |
1,682 |
|
Kerry |
55 |
306 |
467 |
2,229 |
|
Kildare |
74 |
130 |
1,223 |
1,897 |
|
Kilkenny |
75 |
297 |
663 |
1,220 |
|
Laois |
66 |
61 |
1,091 |
1,727 |
|
Leitrim |
206 |
393 |
435 |
979 |
|
Limerick |
274 |
1,006 |
1,869 |
5,407 |
|
Longford |
550 |
199 |
1,225 |
1,969 |
|
Louth |
79 |
304 |
1,270 |
2,584 |
|
Mayo |
98 |
293 |
526 |
2,091 |
|
Meath |
437 |
- |
240 |
2,469 |
|
Monaghan |
146 |
161 |
520 |
1,376 |
|
Offaly |
125 |
233 |
2,020 |
3,981 |
|
Roscommon |
125 |
227 |
391 |
1,142 |
|
Sligo |
196 |
289 |
945 |
1,610 |
|
Tipperary |
260 |
740 |
1,663 |
4,731 |
|
Waterford |
119 |
473 |
1,422 |
3,006 |
|
Westmeath |
107 |
239 |
820 |
2,654 |
|
Wexford |
226 |
1,915 |
4,651 |
7,097 |
|
Wicklow |
238 |
829 |
1,022 |
1,542 |
|
Grand Total |
6,744 |
22,906 |
54,673 |
94,371 |
432. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the disability allowance since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31132/23]
View answerDisability Allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, means test and Habitual Residency conditions.
The DA scheme is under constant review to ensure people with disabilities, who cannot work, are supported by my Department. The policy and rate changes introduced to the DA scheme since 27 June 2020 are set out as follows:
Payments made by the State Claims Agency for claims in respect of the Pandemrix vaccine settled on or after 1 October 2020 were exempted from the Disability Allowance means assessment.
From 1 September 2020, an annual limit of €20,000 will be disregarded from the Disability Allowance means assessment for the Disability Allowance recipient and their spouse/partner who have been granted a Stipend towards completing a PhD (Level 10 qualification). This is available for a maximum of 4 years.
In January 2021, there was an increase in the allowance for a qualified child, free fuel allowance and living alone allowance.
In June 2021, the weekly income disregard increased from €120 to €140.
In June 2022, the upper limit of disregard from earnings from work was increased from €350 to €375.
The means rate bracket was changed to benefit people getting a reduced payment rate of Disability Allowance, the first means band increased from €0.00-€2.50 to €0.00-€7.50.
In January 2022, the weekly primary rate increased by €5.00.
In January 2022, there was an increase in the allowance for a qualified adult, qualified child, free fuel allowance and living alone allowance.
Effective from 12th July 2022, a rental income disregard of up to a maximum of €269.23 per week applies to an owner-occupier’s means assessment, where the room(s) is rented as living accommodation for at least 28 consecutive days to person(s) other than immediate family members or employees.
Disregard of the Accommodation Recognition Payment of €800 per month received for hosting temporary protection beneficiaries who are not in receipt of a housing support payment from the Department, or others, with similar effect.
Several bonuses were paid during 2022 as part of Budget 2023 in a package of measures to assist people with the Cost of Living
• Double weekly payment in October 2022
• €400 bonus on fuel allowance in November 2022
• €200 bonus on living alone allowance in November 2022
• €500 bonus for long term disability payments in November 2022
The Christmas bonus was paid at 100% in December 2022.
In January 2023, the weekly primary rate increased by €12.00.
In January 2023, there was an increase in the allowance for a qualified adult and qualified child allowance.
In January 2023, the weekly income disregard increased from €140 to €165.
A €200 cost of living spring bonus was paid in April 2023.
At end of May 2023 there are 159,194 recipients in receipt of Disability Allowance. Please see below breakdown by county.
|
County |
Total |
|
CARLOW |
2,591 |
|
CAVAN |
2,326 |
|
CLARE |
3,782 |
|
CORK |
19,053 |
|
DONEGAL |
6,283 |
|
DUBLIN |
37,780 |
|
GALWAY |
8,685 |
|
KERRY |
5,939 |
|
KILDARE |
6,034 |
|
KILKENNY |
2,992 |
|
LAOIS |
2,951 |
|
LEITRIM |
1,232 |
|
LIMERICK |
8,386 |
|
LONGFORD |
1,918 |
|
LOUTH |
4,707 |
|
MAYO |
4,516 |
|
MEATH |
4,639 |
|
MONAGHAN |
1,731 |
|
OFFALY |
3,174 |
|
ROSCOMMON |
2,277 |
|
SLIGO |
2,424 |
|
TIPPERARY |
6,885 |
|
WATERFORD |
4,588 |
|
WESTMEATH |
3,544 |
|
WEXFORD |
6,125 |
|
WICKLOW |
4,488 |
|
Unknown |
144 |
|
TOTAL |
159,194 |
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
433. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to illness benefit since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31131/23]
View answerIllness Benefit is a weekly payment made to people aged under 66 who satisfy prescribed PRSI contribution conditions and who are medically certified as being unable to attend work due to illness.
In January 2021, there was a €5 increase in the personal rate for Illness Benefit and increases in the rates paid in respect of qualified adult dependants and child dependants.
In March 2021, a change in the Illness Benefit scheme saw a reduction in the number of waiting days from six to three. There is no payment for waiting days.
In January 2022,there was a €5 increase in the personal rate of Illness Benefit and the rates paid in respect of qualified adult dependants and child dependants.
In December 2022, those who had been in receipt of Illness Benefit for a period of at least 12 months received the Christmas Bonus payment. This was the first time Illness Benefit was included in the Christmas Bonus payments.
In January 2023, there was a €12 increase in the personal rate of Illness Benefit, bringing it to €220, and the rates paid in respect of qualified adult dependants and child dependants.
In April 2023, those who had been in receipt of Illness Benefit for a period of at least 12 months received the €200 Spring Cost of Living Bonus.
Since March 2021, the number of Illness Benefit customers who have received a payment from day four of their claim broken down by county is in the table below.
|
County |
Number of Customers |
|
Carlow |
5,091 |
|
Cavan |
5,824 |
|
Clare |
7,644 |
|
Cork |
44,029 |
|
Donegal |
10,367 |
|
Dublin |
88,368 |
|
Galway |
20,584 |
|
Kerry |
10,214 |
|
Kildare |
17,416 |
|
Kilkenny |
6,133 |
|
Laois |
6,359 |
|
Leitrim |
2,404 |
|
Limerick |
16,498 |
|
Longford |
3,241 |
|
Louth |
11,842 |
|
Mayo |
10,487 |
|
Meath |
14,924 |
|
Monaghan |
4,369 |
|
Offaly |
5,800 |
|
Roscommon |
4,579 |
|
Sligo |
4,937 |
|
Tipperary |
12,384 |
|
Waterford |
10,008 |
|
Westmeath |
7,492 |
|
Wexford |
11,805 |
|
Wicklow |
9,438 |
|
Address outside of State |
3,197 |
|
Total |
355,434 |
These figures exclude any customers who received Enhanced Illness Benefit since March 2021. Customers did not have to serve waiting days to receive Enhanced Illness Benefit - this scheme closed in September 2022.
I trust that clarifies the position for the Deputy.
434. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to parent's benefit since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31130/23]
View answerThe Government has committed to the continued support of working parents to achieve a better work-life balance. Parent’s Leave and Benefit falls into this category and encourages the sharing of parental responsibilities equally between couples.
The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 introduced two weeks of paid Parent’s Leave for each parent of a child born or adopted after 1 November 2019.
In Budget 2021, Parent's Leave increased from 2 weeks to 5 weeks. Budget 2022 increased Parent's Leave further from 5 to 7 weeks from July 2022.
The rate of payment increased by €12 in Budget 2023.
Parent’s Benefit is paid at a weekly flat rate of €262 for seven weeks to employed and self-employed people who avail of parents leave and who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution and other conditions. The rate of Parent’s Benefit is the same as the rates of Paternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Maternity benefit.
A total of 51,400 applications for Parent’s Benefit were awarded in 2021 compared to 16,700 in 2020. A total of 74,000 claims were awarded in 2022 representing an increase of over 140% on the previous year. Since the start of 2023,a further 35,000 applications have been awarded.
It should be noted that parents can make more than one application.
The number of parents who have availed of Parent’s Leave and Benefit, by county, from June 2020, is set out in tabular form below.
The counties with large populations tend to have the most claims, namely Dublin and Cork with some 37,437 and 18,934 applications awarded respectively since June 2020. My officials regularly review county statistics to look for emerging trends across all schemes administered by the Department.
It should be noted that while a claim for leave may be awarded in one month, the leave and benefit could be availed of at a different time, or over a period of months, as it is available to use one week at a time. It is also the case that parents can submit up to 7 separate applications for leave during their child’s first two years of life. The figures attached represent the number of individual parents who had claims awarded for the period requested.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
|
County |
1st June 2020 - 31st May 2023 |
|
Antrim |
28 |
|
Armagh |
102 |
|
Carlow |
1786 |
|
Cavan |
2696 |
|
Clare |
3375 |
|
Cork |
18934 |
|
Derry |
69 |
|
Donegal |
4488 |
|
Down |
278 |
|
Dublin |
37437 |
|
Fermanagh |
155 |
|
Galway |
8959 |
|
Kerry |
4489 |
|
Kildare |
7981 |
|
Kilkenny |
2983 |
|
Laois |
2367 |
|
Leitrim |
1160 |
|
Limerick |
5773 |
|
Longford |
1215 |
|
Louth |
3803 |
|
Mayo |
4337 |
|
Meath |
6866 |
|
Monaghan |
2375 |
|
Offaly |
2137 |
|
Roscommon |
2005 |
|
Sligo |
1973 |
|
Tipperary |
5027 |
|
Tyrone |
72 |
|
Waterford |
3739 |
|
Westmeath |
3078 |
|
Wexford |
4483 |
|
Wicklow |
4243 |
|
Total |
148413 |
435. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31129/23]
View answerThe Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The scheme operates from June to September each year.
The allowance is payable in respect of eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid, and eligible children between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid.
To qualify for the allowance a person must meet a number of conditions, namely:
• The child must meet the age criteria,
• The applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and getting an increase in that payment for the qualified child (except in certain circumstances) in the period 1 June to 30 September,
• The assessable income for the household must be within prescribed limits,
• The applicant and the child (or children) in respect of whom the allowance is claimed must be resident in the State.
For the 2020 scheme, the eligibility criteria for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme was extended to include the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment as a qualifying payment for the allowance. Recipients of this payment also needed to satisfy all the other qualifying conditions in order to qualify.
In Budget 2022, the income limits for one parent families were increased to bring them in line with the income limits for two parent families, widening the eligibility for that cohort of customers. Also in Budget 2022, the rates of payment for the scheme were increased by €10 to €160 for children aged between 4 and 11 years and €285 for children aged 12 and over.
In July 2022, as a once-off measure to assist families with back to school costs in 2022, the rates of payments were increased by €100 for each eligible child under the scheme.
In February 2023, as part of the cost of living measures announced, the €100 increase for each child was maintained for the 2023 scheme year.
Each year, the income limits have increased to ensure the increases in weekly social protection payments rates introduced in each budget does not negatively impact on an individual’s entitlement to the allowance.
The 2023 Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme opened to new applications on 8 June and will remain open until the end of September. Customers can apply for the allowance online on www.mywelfare.ie.
The number of recipients, by county, who received the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance in each of the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023 is set out in tabular form below.
|
- |
Total Number of Recipients (families) Awarded |
|||
|
County |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 (as at 26 June) |
|
Carlow |
2,590 |
2,403 |
2,611 |
2,166 |
|
Cavan |
2,623 |
2,442 |
2,730 |
2,180 |
|
Clare |
3,172 |
3,008 |
3,679 |
3,094 |
|
Cork |
13,615 |
12,953 |
14,700 |
12,147 |
|
Donegal |
6,480 |
6,126 |
7,033 |
5,929 |
|
Dublin |
36,560 |
35,352 |
39,128 |
32,830 |
|
Galway |
6,598 |
6,272 |
7,189 |
5,799 |
|
Kerry |
4,322 |
4,136 |
5,130 |
4,461 |
|
Kildare |
6,134 |
5,863 |
6,292 |
5,096 |
|
Kilkenny |
2,446 |
2,266 |
2,538 |
2,061 |
|
Laois |
2,858 |
2,678 |
2,849 |
2,310 |
|
Leitrim |
1,080 |
1,021 |
1,202 |
1,035 |
|
Limerick |
6,476 |
6,321 |
6,889 |
5,643 |
|
Longford |
1,964 |
1,904 |
2,073 |
1,664 |
|
Louth |
5,465 |
5,475 |
6,047 |
5,073 |
|
Mayo |
4,033 |
3,780 |
4,312 |
3,777 |
|
Meath |
5,269 |
4,951 |
5,592 |
4,543 |
|
Monaghan |
2,074 |
1,986 |
2,159 |
1,736 |
|
Offaly |
2,799 |
2,572 |
2,817 |
2,297 |
|
Roscommon |
1,836 |
1,745 |
1,942 |
1,649 |
|
Sligo |
1,901 |
1,818 |
2,108 |
1,852 |
|
Tipperary |
5,405 |
5,223 |
5,674 |
4,642 |
|
Waterford |
4,468 |
4,289 |
4,826 |
4,019 |
|
Westmeath |
3,182 |
3,047 |
3,391 |
2,766 |
|
Wexford |
6,022 |
5,757 |
6,209 |
5,191 |
|
Wicklow |
3,952 |
3,780 |
4,297 |
3,576 |
|
Total |
143,324 |
137,168 |
153,417 |
127,537 |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
436. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes introduced to the carer's support grant since 27 June 2020; and if she will detail the number of recipients, by county, benefitting from these changes, in tabular form. [31128/23]
View answerThe Carer’s Support Grant (CSG) is paid to people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance. Other people who are not in receipt of a social welfare payment but who are providing full time care and attention may also be eligible and can apply for the grant. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means but is subject to certain conditions, one of which is that the period of full-time care and attention must last for at least six months. For the purpose of approving this grant, this period of care must include the first Thursday in June.
As part of Budget Measures 2021, the rate of the grant was increased by €150. The new rate of €1,850 is the highest rate of the grant since its introduction.
The overall cost of the grant in 2023 is expected to be over €268 million.
All recipient of the grant benefit from rate increases. The following table sets out a comparison of the number of carers in receipt of the Carer’s Support Grant, by county.
Table: Carers in receipt of Carer's Support Grant May 2020 and May 2023
|
County |
Recipients 2020 |
Recipients 2023 |
|
CARLOW |
1,816 |
2,010 |
|
CAVAN |
1,829 |
2,074 |
|
CLARE |
2,881 |
2,971 |
|
CORK |
13,518 |
15,170 |
|
DONEGAL |
5,045 |
5,276 |
|
DUBLIN |
24,770 |
28,085 |
|
GALWAY |
6,025 |
6,430 |
|
KERRY |
4,041 |
4,314 |
|
KILDARE |
4,466 |
5,151 |
|
KILKENNY |
2,189 |
2,346 |
|
LAOIS |
2,147 |
2,422 |
|
LEITRIM |
897 |
995 |
|
LIMERICK |
6,056 |
6,815 |
|
LONGFORD |
1,387 |
1,494 |
|
LOUTH |
3,364 |
3,895 |
|
MAYO |
3,644 |
3,856 |
|
MEATH |
3,805 |
4,408 |
|
MONAGHAN |
1,379 |
1,546 |
|
OFFALY |
2,550 |
2,829 |
|
ROSCOMMON |
1,912 |
2,069 |
|
SLIGO |
1,744 |
1,758 |
|
TIPPERARY |
5,020 |
5,487 |
|
WATERFORD |
2,986 |
3,327 |
|
WESTMEATH |
2,635 |
2,908 |
|
WEXFORD |
4,545 |
5,036 |
|
WICKLOW |
3,191 |
3,605 |
|
County Total |
113,842 |
126,277 |
|
Other/outside ROI |
86 |
229 |
|
Overall Total |
113,928 |
126,506 |
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
