Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I would like to be associated with the comments of other members of the committee on the work of the staff. The statistic that has struck me this morning from the two witnesses is that 18 months of work was carried out in two weeks. That is a tremendous achievement. The staff working in the Department are an asset. I would like to express my thanks to them for their work, and also for their responses to the queries we raise.

Mr. Hession said that he was part of the task force on the arts sector. He has told us that 12,000 people in that sector are currently in receipt of the PUP, which is just over 20% of the CSO figures. Through his work as a member of this task force, does he have any idea what the other artists and people involved in the arts sector are on at the moment? Are they struggling? Are there issues with PUP that are causing them not to apply for it? It seems to me that 20% is a very low figure. At its height it was only 25%, which is low considering the emails we have received from people in the arts sector about the issues and concerns they have. Has the task force come up with anything else in relation to the inability of artists and others in this sector to apply for the PUP?

I have another question, which I have raised before at this committee. It concerns those under the age of 18 who are paying tax and PRSI, but do not qualify for the PUP because it is confined to those over 18 years of age. Are any figures available on the number of 17-year-olds who may have lost their jobs but are not in receipt of the PUP? Perhaps the witnesses have some figures on that. It has been raised with me by a number of people that young people who have paid their taxes are not in receipt of the PUP.

Deputy Ó Cuív mentioned the issue of child dependants. His question was not answered in the last round of questioning, so perhaps it could be answered now. It is a serious concern for me, particularly in respect of low-income families. I had a case yesterday which concerned somebody who is in receipt of €203 - the lowest PUP rate - and is trying to survive with two children on this amount. This person cannot get a child dependant payment. Is there any other payment for which they can apply to bring up their income level, or anything else they can do? It does seem that receiving a payment of €203 with two children, and everything that goes along with Christmas, is a very low payment. Perhaps the witnesses could address that issue.

I share the concerns raised by others on the genuinely seeking work rule. Has an instruction been given to the staff of the Department's local offices not to enforce this rule? It is important that this is clarified today, because we do not one member of staff to be telling applicants that it is being enforced because the rule is there, while another member of staff is telling them that it is not being enforced. There must be one rule for all. Like other members, I am asking for confirmation that that is the rule.

Do the witnesses have any comment on how the social insurance fund might affect the State pension age and qualification? It has been mentioned before in commentaries that the fund will help us to reduce the age of qualification for the State pension. Will the €5 billion that has been taken out of the fund, as we have heard, be used for PUP payments only, or is it also for other Covid support payments? The witnesses might clarify that.

Mr. Hession mentioned the 26,000 students in receipt of the PUP. I have received queries from a number of students on the taxation implications of the PUP for them. Will there be any such implications for that cohort of people? Obviously, they are trying to get back to their education and to pay for it, other members of the committee have mentioned. I ask the witnesses to comment on that issue.

Finally, the witnesses mentioned in their introduction that over 90% of claims for the PUP were received online. That is a very interesting figure. As public representatives, many people come to us with queries about making applications for social welfare payments online. I know there have been difficulties with making online applications for medical cards, in respect of which I have encountered particular difficulties. Have any lessons been learned with a view to rolling out the online facility to other payments? Like other committee members, I have had queries about the actual application form being much easier to complete. However, I am most interested in the fact that over 90% of claims were submitted online. Is that somewhere that the social welfare and social protection authorities are thinking of going in the future?