Claire Kerrane
Question:63. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the processing of additional needs’ payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59448/22]
Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Social Welfare Payments
Will the Minister provide an update on the processing of applications for additional needs payments? They are obviously critical in the winter period for those families and workers who will need support so it is really important that this payments system is working efficiently, effectively and in a timely manner. Will the Minister please give us an update in that regard?
I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising this issue. As of 1 October 2022, over 75,000 applications for additional needs payments, ANPs, were processed and payments awarded. This represents a 63% increase in awarded payments compared with the same period in 2021. My Department has already paid an estimated €46 million in ANPs so far this year. Some of this increase can be attributed to the response to support families arriving from Ukraine.
The claims currently being received for ANPs are varied and often quite complex, reflecting the individual circumstances being experienced. Where an application is complete and accompanied by the required documentation, it is generally processed very quickly. Where it is clear that a person has an immediate need, every effort is made to ensure he or she receives a payment on the same day. Any delays are typically due to additional information or documentation being requested from the person and the length of time it takes for the information to be provided. Some claims, by their very nature, are not as urgent and, in these cases, the community welfare officer, CWO, gives greater flexibility to the customers with extended time to respond. Upon receipt of this information, the application will then be processed quickly.
My Department has taken a number of steps to simplify and streamline the process for persons applying for additional needs payments. There has been a major public information campaign to raise awareness of the payment. A client does not have to attend an office in person to make a claim. If it is more convenient for them, clients can speak directly with a CWO when they call the community welfare service freephone line. People who have never been to a CWO before find this very useful. There is a full-time CWO presence in more than 50 Intreo offices nationwide from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. Of course, in addition, CWOs attend clinics in other locations, deal with people over the phone and, where needed, arrange to visit a person’s homes by appointment. There are 412 people across all grades in the community welfare service.
I thank the Minister for her response. It is always welcome to see the number of applications approved and being paid out rising. That means that people are seeking support and getting it, which is important. Can the Minister give us any information on the number of applications refused? I had asked that in a parliamentary question but all I got back was the number approved. It is important that we have those data. Data on exceptional needs and urgent needs payments refusals were not previously collected but then started to be collected.
It is important we have this information as well because we need to make sure that people are getting the support they need. The Minister confirmed last week that 70% of applications are finalised within four weeks. A month is a long time to wait. I do not believe it is fair to put it on all on the individual and say, "Well, they do not send on the full information". Clearly there are issues there. Will the Minister provide an update on staffing? I know that recruitment is under way, which is welcome.
I thank the Deputy. I have been in politics for almost 20 years. I have always dealt with local CWOs and to be fair to them they have always done their very best to help people. They give a good service. The delivery of this service is a priority for me and my Department. As of October, more than 75,000 applications for additional needs payments had been processed and awarded. This represents a 63% increase in awarded applications compared to the same period in 2021. As the Deputy will be aware, we had a major communications campaign to raise awareness of the additional needs payment. I believe that campaign has worked. We know this because the numbers applying have increased.
It is important that the online provision is put up as quickly as possible. I had asked the Minister about it just before the summer recess. Perhaps she will also give us an update on that. It will be helpful for those people who can apply online. At least then they can give all of the information before they submit the application at all. That should help to move things along in a timely manner.
I take nothing away from CWOs; they do a wonderful job. The problem is that they are not in the community the way they used to be. We cannot all be wrong. Everyone in the Opposition who has a role in social protection has raised issues with the Minister around CWOs, and I have put it to her many times. This has come to me from the local family resource centre. A person in a domestic violence situation cannot have someone come out to the home. The person does not have 15 minutes to wait on the phone or to explain the situation. People in those circumstances need to be able to access the community welfare officer. In the case of my home town, the CWOs used to be in the local health centre. They are not there anymore and that is an issue. Every Member on this side of the House has raised cases with the Minister. We cannot all be wrong. I ask her to look at it again, and to perhaps engage with the CWOs directly on that.
Where an application is complete and the required documentation is supplied, it is processed quickly. As I have said previously, where there are delays sometimes it is due to additional information or documentation being requested from the person to support their application. My Department has taken a number of steps to simplify and streamline the process for persons who apply for additional needs payments. There is a new national helpline phone number so people can ring up and get advice. A full-time CWO is also present in more than 50 Intreo offices nationwide, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. The CWOs remain available to attend clinics. They can talk to people over the phone where needed, and they can arrange to visit a person's house by appointment. We are genuinely doing everything we can to facilitate and help people. There are many payments. If they are urgent, they are paid out on the same day. I have confirmation that this has happened in instances where it is essential for items such as food, or for things that are so urgent that people do get it on the same day. In fairness to the CWOs, they are doing the best to make sure it is delivered on time.
Community Welfare Services
Seán Sherlock
Question:64. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is satisfied that every resident in the State, regardless of geography, has access to a community welfare officer in their locality. [59445/22]
I totally agree that the role of the community welfare office is a vital one, so let us all put that to bed. I want to see more of them, and more of them within our communities meeting people face to face. There are 50 Intreo offices but if there are only 50 Intreo offices they can only cover a narrow geographical area. The impediment is that there are not enough community welfare officers interfacing with people on the ground. Is the Minister satisfied that every resident of the State has access, as needs be, to a CWO?
I am happy to assure the Deputy that every resident in the State, regardless of geography, has access to a community welfare officer in their locality. CWOs are available to facilitate urgent and in-person meetings in more than 50 Intreo centres nationwide, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. In addition to meeting citizens in Intreo centres, branch offices, outreach clinics and Department of Social Protection offices, community welfare officers can make an appointment to meet a person who requests a meeting, at a mutually agreed location, including at the person's home within a short time, usually same day if it is urgent.
In addition, it is now possible for a client to make a claim, or to make an inquiry about a claim without attending in person if it is more convenient for them. The person can speak directly with a CWO when they call the community welfare service freephone line. This does not reduce the service to people, as their case can be escalated quickly if urgent local action is required such as a need for an immediate cheque payment. Where it is clear a person has an immediate need, every effort is made to ensure they receive a payment that day.
Furthermore, a person can make an application for supplementary welfare allowance by completing the SWA1 form, which is widely available. It can be downloaded at www.gov.ie. It is available in all Intreo centres and branch offices. It can also now be requested by email, phone and using the request application form page available on www.gov.ie. The completed application form should be returned to the Department, where it will be processed quickly.
I want to be very clear that the community welfare service continues to provide local access to local CWOs in local areas right across the country and I have no plans to change this aspect of the service.
I appreciate the Minister's commitment to service. I welcome the fact that the discretionary nature of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is set out in statute, covers everything from household bills to child-related payments, clothing, funeral expenses and other general expenses, housing expenses, illness expenses and a multitude of other urgent needs payments. I welcome the assurances by the Minister - if I interpret her correctly - that she is going to protect those, and that no element of those that are non-statutory will be taken away. It is vital that the discretionary element of the payments be maintained.
There is a point we are trying to make here to the Minister. If I move outside my constituency, let us consider the Navan Road for example. An area that covered Cabra, Navan Road, Phibsboro, Stoneybatter-----
Will the Deputy put a question?
This is now a service where people are being forced into the Parnell Street office. It takes the service further away from the people. Will the Minister give an undertaking to conduct an analysis of the community welfare service as it relates to every part of the country? This will tell us whether the service is being delivered equally to all citizens.
Timelines are in line with where they were pre-pandemic. Generally, where it is clear that a person has an immediate need, every effort is made to ensure he or she receives a payment on the same day.
With regard to staffing, there are 412 people across all grades in the community welfare service. In light of the increased volume of applications, and as part of the budget, we secured agreement for approximately 74 additional staff to be assigned to the community welfare service. Recruitment has commenced for these additional staff. It is anticipated that they will be in place by the first quarter of 2023. In the interim, until the staff have been recruited, 30 social welfare inspectors have been temporarily reassigned to the community welfare service since the start of November to assist with claims processing. While we do not have a full picture until the end of the year, we are now starting to see a falloff in applications for additional needs payments over recent weeks. This can probably be attributed to the lump sum payments that have been paid out.
I welcome that additional staff are being deployed. As someone who represents both an urban and rural constituency, I want to see the traditional, old-style, face-to-face interaction, and I believe that many others share this view. I take the point made by the Minister around the right of people to have access to a person where they can make an appointment.
If, however, the caseload is 75,000 applications, give or take, per annum, if I interpret the Minister correctly, and if the staff quotient is about 412, the caseload per officer is increasing, and it has become more centralised into hubs. The local discretion is being taken away and the number of officers in more remote areas is decreasing. That is my contention based on my first-hand experience. It is more an observation than a question.
No discretion is being taken away from the community welfare officers, I assure the Deputy, because discretion is needed. In fairness to them, they bring with them not only a lot of experience but also, most importantly, compassion.
I know that.
Some people will not qualify, and I think everybody will accept that. Some requests were very vague and may not have been as detailed as they could have been, so the officers were not in a position to decide whether or not the applicants qualified until they got more information. I reassure the Deputy, however, that the community welfare officers will continue to have the discretion they currently have. As I said, not every payment has to be made immediately. This is taxpayers' money, and there must be checks and balances in place.
Child Maintenance Payments
Claire Kerrane
Question:65. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on intended reforms to the child maintenance system; when it is expected that required primary legislation will be brought forward; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59449/22]
Will the Minister provide an update on the intended reforms that I understand will be brought forward via legislation, I hope in the new year, in respect of the recommendations made by the child maintenance review group in its recently published report? Can the Minister give us a rough timeline for that legislation? Lone parents have waited a long time. These are really important reforms and we really want to see this legislation move as quickly as possible.
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.
I am pleased to have recently published the report of the child maintenance review group, together with my colleague, the Minister, Deputy McEntee. The Government established a child maintenance review group in 2020 to examine a number of issues relating to child maintenance in Ireland and to prepare a report for the Minister for Social Protection on the current treatment of child maintenance payments within the Department of Social Protection; the current provisions relating to the liable relatives regarding child maintenance; and the establishment of a State child maintenance agency. I am delighted that the Government has accepted the group's recommendations on the social welfare system.
As a result, child maintenance payments will be disregarded in the means test for social welfare payments. As we know, lone parents are a particularly vulnerable group. This measure will mean that many parents currently on reduced rates of payment will see their payments increase. It will also mean that some additional lone parents will qualify for a payment. It is estimated that this measure will be of direct benefit to approximately 16,000 lone parents at a cost of approximately €10 million per year.
We will also remove the "efforts to seek maintenance" requirement from the one-parent family payment and jobseeker's transitional payment. This requirement often involves having to go to court. This change will remove an additional stress for lone parents and will help to reduce the burden on our courts system.
In addition, the liable relative provisions will be discontinued. This means that my Department will no longer seek to recoup a portion of claim costs from the non-resident parent. I wish to be very clear that removing these provisions does not replace or supersede the primary responsibility of parents to maintain their children.
These are very significant reforms of the social welfare system which will be of great benefit to lone parents. Introducing these changes will require me to make amendments to both primary and secondary legislation. The reforms will also necessitate changes to some of my Department's systems, application forms and processes. My officials are working on advancing these issues at present to ensure as early an implementation as possible of the reforms.
Once again, I thank the chair of the child maintenance review group, Judge Catherine Murphy, and all the members of the group for their work on these important and complex issues.
I too welcome the publication of the report and commend everybody involved in the group. It is a really important piece of work. However, the cost of removing child maintenance payments from the means test will be €10 million, which is small money, considering the budget of the Department of Social Protection. It is so regrettable we needed this group and this report in the first place. It is fair enough to have a report looking at the possibility of establishing an agency, but it should never, ever have been the case that child maintenance, where it is paid, is treated as household income. We did not need a report or anything complex or convoluted to come to that conclusion. At €10 million, it should have been done a long time ago.
I am glad that the "efforts to seek maintenance" requirement is to be removed as it places the obligation on lone parents to seek maintenance through the courts. The Minister herself referred to the additional stress that that causes. If we do not set up an agency or some kind of service, that is stress continued because people will end up in court when they clearly do not want to be there.
A majority view of the group was that the child maintenance service or agency be established. Will the Minister give her opinion on that?
I know that Deputy Kerrane is passionate about this, and we have had many a good and very constructive discussion on it. Senator Ruane is also passionate about this and has done a lot of work on it also. I met her only recently. In fairness, I have always said I recognise the problem that was there. The Deputy has heard me talk about it before when I have spoken about my time working in a credit union and the issues I saw first-hand there. These are significant reforms we are making, and between us Oireachtas Members and the group itself, this is a case of women leading the way.
On the question of the establishment of a child maintenance agency, the group did not reach a consensus. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has announced significant reforms to make the family courts system more accessible and family-friendly. We need to see how those reforms bed in. As part of the reforms, the Department of Justice will undertake a review of enforcement of child maintenance orders in the first half of 2023, and proposals for reform will look at strengthening attachment orders, which is the secret to all this, and examining the feasibility of introducing guidelines on child maintenance amounts.
That is welcome. As I said before, I do not believe that courts are the place for this to be sorted out and determined. We need to keep a really close eye on whatever reforms in respect of the courts come in the new year and into 2023 to make sure they improve the situation. It has been a nightmare and, in some cases, an absolute ordeal for a great many lone parents for many years now, and they deserve an awful lot better. The child maintenance review group said we need urgent and radical reform, so it is really important we see that legislation as early as possible in the new year. It is long overdue, and the Minister will have the support of the House, no doubt, in progressing it.
Finally, now that the Minister will be double-jobbing, it will be perfect-----
For three weeks.
Exactly. These are the two Departments that really need to move on this issue.
I am very mindful of that. I want to move this on. I want to get the changes made as soon as possible, and administrative issues are being dealt with, specifically the liable relatives and the requirement to prove that the maintenance was sought in going to court. I think we can deal with that fairly quickly, but more work has to be done on the legislative requirements and the impact of the Social Welfare Bill in a number of places. We just want to make sure we get it right. That is the most important thing. I am keen we move as quickly as possible in strengthening the attachment orders. The way I see it is that if you are meant to pay a certain amount for the maintenance of your child, just get on with it and stop this nonsense whereby one week you pay, and then you miss a few payments and come back and make another few, and then there are arrears, and then you go to court, and all that. That is a waste of everybody's time. If you are supposed to pay it, just pay it. That will be the secret of the success here if we can manage to get an attachment order that makes it stick such that payments have to be made and are automatically deducted. I will be working on that in the coming weeks.
Cost of Living Issues
Claire Kerrane
Question:66. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the cost of disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59450/22]
I seek an update on the cost of disability. I understand that the straw man work is under way. Will the Minister give us an update on that?
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.
The Indecon cost of disability report identified that additional costs of disability are a wider issue than income supports and run across a number of areas of government.
These include housing, equipment, aids and appliances, care and assistance services, mobility, transport, communications, medicines, and additional living expenses.
The cost of disability can be defined as the amount it costs a person with a disability to achieve the same standard of living as a person without a disability. There is not a single typical cost of disability; rather, there is a spectrum from low to high additional costs, depending on individual circumstances.
As the findings of the research have implications for so many areas of public policy and extends beyond the remit of the Department, a whole-of-government perspective is needed to address the cost of disability. This is why the Government referred the report to the national disability inclusion strategy steering group, which is chaired by the Minister of State with responsibility for disability. This group comprises of relevant Departments, agencies, a disability stakeholder group and people with disabilities. The group will consider and monitor recommended actions required by the various Departments biannually.
A number of the measures I introduced as part of budget 2023 in support of people with disabilities and their carers address some of the findings of the report and will go towards alleviating some of the costs experienced. These include a combination of lump sums, increases to income disregards and increases in core weekly payment rates.
My Department is also committed to developing and consulting on a straw man proposal for the restructuring of long-term disability payments. A further objective is to simplify the system and remove anomalies. The straw man will be informed by the Indecon cost of disability report.
It is important that there be engagement with those organisations on the ground and the report has disabled people to the fore. Can the Minister give us any additional information on the straw man proposal and on whether there is a timeline for that? It is so important. The cost of disability report was published nearly a year ago. It is not the first report to say that a cost of disability payment needs to be introduced. I understand the lump sum payments will make some difference but they relate to the cost of living. They are not to recognise disability as per the cost of disability report unless that is something that the Minister sees continuing on as a cost of disability.
I assume the other schemes such as disability allowance and invalidity pension will all be part of the straw man proposal. Can the Minister confirm that? The means test in particular causes great difficulty for an awful lot of people living with a disability.
I had a good discussion just a couple of hours ago with the Disability Federation of Ireland, DFI, and its member organisations at a strategic general meeting. I was speaking to Mr. John Dolan from DFI. There was positive feedback on the €500 disability support grant. There was recognition that we pushed the door ajar within the system by introducing that payment. We need to keep pushing that door open. My Department is working on reform of disability payments. I intend to publish the straw man proposal on these reforms shortly for consultation with the sector and get the views of the advocacy groups. The cost of disability report recommended payments on a tiered basis, for example. There are mild, moderate or profound levels of disability and, therefore, a flat rate is not appropriate. A person with a profound disability who might never be able to work would receive a higher payment than somebody with a mild disability who can. That makes sense. Those are the lines along which I am thinking.
When the Minister says “reform of disability payments”, what payments is she including in that? Does it include, for example, the blind pension or the invalidity pension? The publication of the straw man proposal is welcome and important. She said it would happen "shortly." I love the word "shortly". Does that mean this side of 2023 or are we talking about the new year?
There is clearly an issue for people who rely on payments such as disability allowance. The latest data on poverty and deprivation published survey on income and living conditions relates to 2021. Across the board, at-risk of poverty, deprivation and consistent poverty are up. Almost 20% of people with a disability are living in consistent poverty in 2022. That is why it is so important that we get these income supports right for this cohort of people.
To be fair, we have done a good deal of work in supporting people with disabilities. The cost of living double payment was paid to people getting disability allowance, invalidity pension, blind pension, disablement benefit and partial capacity benefit. There was a €500 cost-of-living lump sum. The disability support grant was paid to people in receipt of a long-term disability allowance, invalidity pension and blind pension. There was a €200 cost-of-living lump-sum payment for people getting a disability payment and who received a living alone increase. There was a €400 cost-of-living lump sum fuel allowance payment and a Christmas bonus double payment next week to all persons getting a long-term disability payment. The domiciliary care allowance will increase by €20.50 to €330 per month from January 2023. That is the first increase since 2009. From January 2023, there will be an increase of €12 in the maximum personal rate of weekly disability payments. There will be proportionate increases for qualified adults for people getting a reduced rate. The domiciliary care allowance will be available in respect of children with severe illness or disability who remain in hospital for up to six weeks after birth. I spoke to Anna Gunning from Children in Hospital today. She welcomed those changes. Last year, I changed the domiciliary care allowance up to six months. The disablement benefit will be disregarded in the means assessment for fuel allowance from January 2023. There is a €1 million expansion of the reasonable accommodation fund to support people with disabilities in the workplace. That is something I want to focus on. I want to help people with a disability who can work to break down the barriers, whether it is for them or employers, to see how we can get more people back to work in a tight labour market. They have a huge contribution to make. I am keen to focus on that as well. I have increased the earnings disregard for disability allowance and blind pension for people who go back to work from €140 to €165 from the beginning of January 2023. The means assessment threshold for fuel allowance increases from €100 to €200 over the basic contributory pension rate. That means that more people on disability will qualify.