Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy McCarthy for raising this issue which I will address on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton.

Family income supplement is designed to provide income for employees on low earnings who have families. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were unemployed and claiming other social welfare payments. The method of calculating FIS entitlement has not changed for either new or renewal claims. At both new claim and renewal stages, the deciding officer will first check to ensure the minimum hours of employment of 19 hours per week or 38 hours per fortnight are being consistently achieved. Then the average assessable earnings are calculated. To do these, the deciding officer uses the information supplied by the claimant and his or her employer on the claim form, recent payslips and-or a P60.

Where, after this process is followed, the deciding officer remains in doubt as to the FIS entitlement, he or she will either request additional information from the claimant or the case may be referred for investigation to a social welfare inspector, SWI. The SWI will make the necessary inquiries in order to clarify the position which may include interviewing both claimant and employer and inspection of any relevant records or documentation.

The entitlement to and appropriate rate of FIS is calculated based on average assessable earnings plus any other income a family may have using the appropriate income limit threshold with regard to the number of qualified children. To qualify for payment of FIS a person must be engaged in full-time remunerative employment as an employee. That is defined as employment which is expected to last for at least three months and paid work for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight or 19 hours per week. A couple may combine their hours of employment to meet the qualification criteria.

Once FIS is granted it remains in payment for 52 weeks as long as the customer continues to be engaged in full-time remunerative employment as an employee. However, if he or she ceases to be engaged in full-time remunerative employment as an employee, either through loss of employment or reduction of hours of employment, his or her entitlement to FIS ceases. As with all other statutory decisions made by deciding officers of the Department, FIS claimants are offered the right of appeal to the independent social welfare appeals office.

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