Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 44: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his Department has ever calculated the number of persons who are eligible for the family income supplement scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22891/05]

Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 67: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons who are eligible for the family income supplement but are not availing of the scheme; the number of persons who avail of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22890/05]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 375: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the number of working families on a low income which are entitled to the family income supplement but are not claiming it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23533/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions No. 44, 67 and 375 together.

Family income supplement, FIS, was introduced in 1984 to provide income support for employees on low earnings with families and thereby preserve the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where they might otherwise only be marginally better off than if they were fully reliant on social welfare payments. Weekly payments of FIS are made to families, including one-parent families, with children under 18 years or between 18 and 22 years if in full-time education, where one or more parent is in full-time remunerative employment of not less than 19 hours per week or 38 hours per fortnight, where the employment is likely to last at least three months and where the income of the family is less than a prescribed weekly amount.

The number of FIS claims in payment at week ending 17 June 2005 is 15,513. This represents an increase of 29% since December 2002 when 12,043 claims were in payment. FIS income limits were increased by €39 per week in budget 2005. This represents a net increase of €23.40 per week for most recipients. Weekly FIS income limits have risen by €84 since 2002. This represents a net increase of €50.40. The guaranteed minimum weekly rate of payment for anyone who qualifies for FIS increased to €20 from January 2004.

It is difficult to estimate the number of families who fail to apply for their entitlements under the family income supplement scheme. However, research undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Institute in 1997, which was based on the results of the living in Ireland survey 1994, suggested that fewer than one in three of potentially eligible claimants were actually in receipt of the payment. Since those with a higher entitlement are more likely to avail of the scheme, the take up in expenditure terms was estimated to be somewhat higher at between 35% and 38% of potential expenditure. I understand that the ESRI is looking again at this issue given the availability of new data since that time.

My Department undertakes a number of proactive measures to ensure that people are aware of possible entitlement to family income supplement. In the past, this has included extensive advertising on local and national press and radio, in poster campaigns and targeted mailshots. Information on FIS is also provided on an ongoing basis in various ways, which include advising all newly awarded one-parent family payment recipients, advising all employers annually in PRSI mailshots and examining entitlement for all recipients of the back to work scheme.

The provision of information on FIS in this manner is not costed separately. More generally, information on all social welfare schemes, including FIS, is also available on the Department's website and from the Department's local offices.