Written Answers Nos. 336-346
336. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a domiciliary care allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5463/23]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance (DA) is a monthly allowance payable in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability and requires continual or continuous care and attention in the home, substantially over and above the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age and the child must be likely to require this level of care for at least 12 months. Eligibility for DCA is established primarily and essentially by reference to the degree of ongoing additional care and attention required by the child rather than the child's disability.
An application for DCA was initially received from the person concerned in respect of their child on 20 December 2021. Their application was disallowed as per decision dated 25 March 2022, as their child was not considered to satisfy the conditions for DCA.
The person concerned requested a review of the deciding officer's decision.
Following a review dated 31 May 2022, a deciding officer having re-examined their complete DCA application including all available information and evidence submitted with their application and the further information and medical evidence that was subsequently provided in support of their review request, decided that a revision of the original decision of 25 March 2022 was not warranted.
A further new application in respect of the child concerned, including new additional information and documentary evidence was subsequently received from the applicant on 04 October 2022. This re-application was disallowed by a deciding officer on 7 December 2022, as their child was not considered to satisfy the conditions for DCA based on the information and evidence provided by the person concerned. The deciding officer also considered the opinion of a departmental medical assessor in the re-application decision process.
The applicant requested a review of the above decision.
Following a review dated 04 January 2023, a deciding officer having reviewed their complete application including the further supporting documentation that was provided by the person concerned in support of their review request decided that a revision of the decision of 7 December 2022 was not warranted. The person concerned was notified in writing of the review decision on 4 January 2023 and of the further right of review and/or appeal to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
337. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an invalidity pension for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5475/23]
View answerInvalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.
The Department received a claim for IP for the person referred to on 15 August 2022. The claim was refused on the grounds that the medical conditions for the scheme were not satisfied. Notification issued to the person concerned on 10 November 2022 informing her of this decision, the reasons for it and of her right of review and appeal.
Following the submission of further medical evidence, a deciding officer reviewed entitlement to IP. The person concerned has now been awarded IP from 18 August 2022. The first payment will be made by their selected payment method on 9 February 2023.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
338. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on an application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5477/23]
View answerInvalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.
The Department received a claim for IP for the person referred to on 09 September 2022. The claim was refused on the grounds that the medical conditions for the scheme are not satisfied. Notification issued to the person concerned on 05 January 2023 informing him of this decision, the reasons for it and of his right of review and appeal. No request for a review or appeal of this decision has been received.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
339. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection if foster parents can avail of parental leave and benefit or parental leave where a newborn baby or child under stage age of two years is placed with a foster parent or family; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5478/23]
View answerMy colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, has responsibility for both Parent’s Leave and Parental Leave. My Department has responsibility for payment of Parent's Benefit. There is no payment associated with Parental Leave.
Parent's Leave and Benefit are currently available for seven weeks to all eligible parents of children born or adopted from 1 November 2019. The schemes must be availed of within the first two years of the child’s life or adoption. In order to be eligible for Parent’s Leave or Benefit an applicant must be a relevant parent as defined in the Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019. Foster carers do not come within this definition.
Any extension of Parent's Leave or Parental Leave would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
340. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will change the rules to allow deserted wives who applied for deserted wives benefit between 3 August 1993 and 2 January 1997 be treated in respect of their income threshold similar to people who applied prior to 3 August 1992; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5482/23]
View answerDeserted Wife's Benefit is a payment made to a woman deserted by her husband. Entitlement to the payment is based on social insurance contributions paid by the woman or her husband as well as a number of other qualifying criteria. The Deserted Wife's Benefit scheme was closed off to new applications with effect from 2 January 1997, when One-Parent Family Payment was introduced.
Some women have continued to receive Deserted Wife’s Benefit because they qualified for the payment before 2 January 1997 and have continued to meet the qualifying criteria.
There is no earnings limit for persons in receipt of Deserted Wife's Benefit where the claim was made on or before 30 August 1992. An earnings limit of €12,697.38 was introduced on 31 August 1992 with a reduced rate payable provided earnings did not exceed €17,776.33. From 3 May 2007 the earning limit was increased to €20,000.
There are no plans to change the qualification conditions for the scheme at present. Where a woman no longer meets these conditions but has an income need she may qualify for another payment from my Department.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
341. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5484/23]
View answerI can confirm that the Department received an application for disability allowance (DA) from the person concerned on 10 January 2023.
The person concerned has been awarded DA with effect from 11 January 2023 and their first payment will be made by their chosen payment method on 22 February 2023.
Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments.
The person concerned was notified of this decision in writing on 30 January 2023.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
342. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of the maximum amount of contributory pension for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5514/23]
View answerThe person concerned reached pension age on 19 August 2012. They are in receipt of the State Pension (contributory) at 75% of the maximum weekly rate.
The Homemaker's scheme and Home Caring credits can be used to improve a person’s rate of State Pension (contributory).
Under the Homemaker's Scheme any years spent as a homemaker since 6 April 1994 are ignored or disregarded when working out your yearly average contributions for the State Pension (Contributory). The scheme supports people who gave up work to take care of a child under the age of 12 or an ill or disabled person aged 12 or over. As the children of the person concerned were over 12 years of age in 1994, the criteria was not met. However, if the person concerned cared for an incapacitated person over the age of 12, it is open to them to submit a completed application for the HomeMaker's scheme and request a review of their State Pension (contributory). I have arranged for an application to issue.
The HomeCaring Periods scheme applies to anyone who was born on or after the 01 September 1946. As the person concerned was born before 01 September 1946, they are not eligible for Homecaring credits.
It should be noted that it is also open to the person concerned to apply for the means-tested state pension (non-contributory), the maximum rate of which is over 95% that of the maximum rate of the state pension (contributory).
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
343. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress to date in the determination of an application for the State pension (non-contributory) in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5519/23]
View answerState 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.
The Department has no record of a state pension non-contributory application having been received from the person concerned.
On receipt of a completed application form, together with any necessary supporting documentation, the person's eligibility for state pension non-contributory will be examined and they will be notified in writing of the outcome.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
344. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will enable all the pension contributions made in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5520/23]
View answerPay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) is a compulsory payment by employers and employees to the Social Insurance Fund in respect of insurable employment. PRSI contributions are divided into different categories, known as PRSI classes. This determines the rate of PRSI a person is liable to pay and the social welfare benefits for which a person may qualify. The class and rate of contribution paid is determined by the nature of a person's employment and their weekly earnings. ‘Insurable employment’ is employment that is liable for PRSI contributions.
Prior to the 23rd June 2016, the named individual did not have permission to work in the State. PRSI contributions made by a person who does not have a valid visa which allows him/her to work in Ireland cannot be treated as reckonable contributions to qualify for benefits under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. Therefore, after full investigation, it was decided that PRSI contributions prior to the date when the Stamp 1 was issued should be removed from the individual's record.
If the individual has further evidence that he believes would change this decision, he should forward it to Client Eligibility Services, Department of Social Protection, McCarters Road, Buncrana, Co. Donegal.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
345. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps a person should take and who does not want to go to the police, who wants to divulge a historic child abuse case, that took place in a Dublin boys home in the 1970s; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5284/23]
View answerThe statutory bodies with primary responsibility for child welfare and protection are Tusla and An Garda Síochána. Both have distinct functions, powers and methods of working. Tusla has a statutory duty under the Child Care Act 1991 to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. In doing so, it relies heavily on individuals reporting concerns about children, in accordance with Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017 and the Children First Act 2015.
The Children First Act 2015, which was fully commenced in December 2017, provides for a number of key child protection measures, including raising awareness of child abuse and neglect, providing for mandated reporting of child protection concerns and improving child protection arrangements in organisations providing services to children.
Historic or retrospective abuse refers to abuse that an adult experienced which took place during their childhood. Information about abuse that happened in the past must also be sent to Tusla because the person against whom there is an allegation may pose a current risk to children.
Tusla has a specific ‘Retrospective Abuse Report Form’ for reporting in these cases, available on their website. This form is for use by adults wishing to disclose childhood abuse as well as by mandated persons under the Children First Act.
Tusla assesses all child welfare and protection concerns that are reported to it, including historic allegations of abuse. If there are ongoing child protection concerns, Tusla will take necessary actions to ensure that any child who may be at risk of harm is protected, including making a report to An Garda Síochána where Tusla believe an offence may have been committed against a child.
Apart from the Children First Act, a number of other policy and legislative improvements have been made to child protection standards in recent years. These include the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Acts 2012 to 2016 and the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012, both of which fall under the remit of the Minister for Justice. This latter Act requires that any person who has information about a serious offence against a child, which may result in charges or prosecution, must report this to An Garda Síochána.
Much of the Department of Justice’s work to extend supports for adult victims of sexual offences is being done through the implementation of Supporting a Victim's Journey, the plan to implement the recommendations of the O'Malley Review. Supporting a Victim's Journey is a detailed roadmap, which when implemented, will ensure we have a more victim-centred system that supports and empowers victims and gives them the confidence to engage with all services knowing they will be supported, informed and treated with respect and dignity at every point and by every person they come into contact with.
While noting that the person may not wish to go An Garda Síochána, it is important to note that Divisional Protective Service Units have also been rolled out across the country and are now available in every Garda division. This means that specially trained officers are available nationwide who will be responsible for engagement with, and interviewing of, vulnerable victims. This ensures that when vulnerable victims of crimes such as domestic abuse and sexual violence present to Gardaí, they are met with specialist professional and expert assistance.
346. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth when he will publish a report into child sexual abuse (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5307/23]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that I wrote to St John Ambulance to seek information about the publication of the report on 12th December 2022. St John Ambulance replied on 23rd December and confirmed that they had received a completed report from Dr Shannon. The Commissioner of St John Ambulance stated that the organisation was committed to publishing the full report immediately after the relevant legal review had taken place. The Commissioner further informed me that the legal review of the report was underway and that St John Ambulance was committed to completing this process in a timely manner.
The Commissioner stated that he would write again to me in the New Year with a publication date for the report. The Department has also informed Tusla of the expected publication of the report. Tusla officials have liaised with St John Ambulance regarding safeguarding measures now in place in this organisation.
I wrote again to St John Ambulance on 26th January 2023 seeking an update regarding the expected publication date of the report.
St John Ambulance is not a body under the aegis of my Department however in my capacity as Minister with responsibility for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, I have encouraged St John Ambulance to engage with Tusla and with the independent review process.
