Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Question 154: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the free schemes will be amended to allow pensioners at 65 years and over qualify for these schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35792/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The household benefits package, which comprises the electricity-gas allowance, telephone allowance and television licence schemes, is generally available to people living permanently in the State, aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or who satisfy a means test.

The package is also available to carers in receipt of a carer's allowance and to people with disabilities under the age of 66 years who are in receipt of certain welfare type payments. People aged over 70 years can qualify regardless of their income or household composition. Widows and widowers aged from 60 to 65 years whose late spouses had been in receipt of the household benefits package retain that entitlement to ensure households do not suffer a loss of entitlements following the death of a spouse. Further extensions to the household benefits package could only be considered in a budgetary context and taking account of the financial and other needs of those not covered by the existing arrangements.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 155: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason the fuel allowance to residents (details supplied) in Dublin 9 has been reduced due to the fact that residents are still making a payment for heating costs; his views on reversing this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35878/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The aim of the national fuel scheme is to assist householders that are in receipt of long-term social welfare or Health Service Executive payments towards their additional heating needs during the winter season. As a long-standing policy within the scheme, fuel allowances are not payable in cases where a person has access to their own fuel supply, or is benefiting from a subsidised heating service, such as those provided by Dublin City Council at several of its housing complexes.

In the course of a routine review of fuel allowance payments, the Department recently ceased fuel allowance entitlement which had been paid in error in several cases where recipients were in local authority accommodation with subsidised heating. The allowances were withdrawn in these cases with effect from the start of the winter heating season but no overpayments are being assessed against them.

Fuel allowances were paid in error to these people in previous years. In some instances, fuel allowance was awarded because the applicants indicated that their heating costs were not being subsidised. The non-payment arises purely from the proper application of conditions for the scheme. It would not be equitable to retain the fuel allowance in these cases when neighbouring tenants in the same circumstances are not eligible and are managing their budgets accordingly. Nonetheless, I am conscious of the particular circumstances which apply in the cases concerned and I am reviewing the position to see if there is scope to resolve their situation.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 156: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the present terms on which widows are eligible for partial unemployment or sickness benefit; and if he has made provision for charges in these terms in Estimates 2006. [35984/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Under social welfare legislation a person who is in receipt of a widow's or widower's contributory pension may qualify for half rate unemployment benefit or half rate disability benefit subject to satisfying the normal conditions for entitlement to payment. To be entitled to payment of unemployment benefit a person must be unemployed, be under 66 years of age, be capable of and available for work, be genuinely seeking employment, have sustained a substantial loss of employment, prove unemployment in the prescribed manner and satisfy the contribution conditions. To satisfy the contributions conditions a person must have 39 paid or credited PRSI contributions in the relevant tax year or 26 paid PRSI contributions in the relevant tax year and 26 paid PRSI contributions in the tax year before the relevant tax year. Classes A, H, and P contributions are qualifying contributions. Unemployment benefit may be paid for up to 156-312-390 days of unemployment. The duration of benefit varies according to the age of the person, the class of qualifying contribution, number of total contributions paid since entry into insurance and the circumstances of the claim.

A widow or widower who is claiming disability benefit and getting widow's or widower's contributory pension at half the personal rate of disability benefit may receive payment for up to 15 months. Widow's contributory pension recipients who have less than 260 paid reckonable PRSI contributions may be paid disability benefit at half the personal rate for up to 12 months. Widow's contributory pension recipients who have more than 260 paid reckonable PRSI contributions may be paid disability benefit at half the personal rate for up to 15 months.

Following exhausting his or her entitlement to disability benefit, a recipient may re-qualify for payment of same if they have paid 13 reckonable PRSI contributions following the date he or she exhausted his or her entitlement to disability benefit. Classes A, E, H, and P contributions are qualifying contributions.

The Abridged Estimates for the Department of Social and Family Affairs were published last week. It would not be usual to provide for any changes to the current arrangements relating to widows or widowers. Any improvements for this group fall to be considered in a budgetary context.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 157: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the income which is assessed against a young person living at home on account of their parents' income; and if provision has been made for changes in the Estimates 2006. [35985/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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For unemployment assistance purposes, the assessment of means for non-householders resident in the parental home has always taken into account the yearly value of any benefit and privilege enjoyed by him or her by virtue of residing with a parent or step-parent. In practice, this is taken to mean the value of free board and lodging to a claimant and such value is ascribed having regard to the level of parental income.

The 1986 Commission on Social Welfare examined the then operation of the benefit and privilege arrangements. The commission recommended the abolition of the concept of benefit and privilege for those aged 25 years and over. In reaching this conclusion, the commission stated:

The reason for this cut-off point (25 years) is that by that age young adults would normally have become financially independent of the parental home. The minority, however, unable to obtain employment by that age or those who become unemployed at a later age should also be entitled to financial independence and it can be argued that such persons should, therefore, be entitled to a payment in their own right, irrespective of parental means. Payment at the full basic rate is appropriate in such cases.

In the 2003 budget, the assessment of benefit and privilege for unemployment assistance claimants aged 29 years and over was abolished. The 2004 budget abolished the assessment for those aged 27 and 28 years of age. In the 2005 budget, I further reduced the age above which the assessment of benefit and privilege does not apply to 26 years of age. Any further change in these arrangements would fall to be considered in a budgetary context, as distinct from the Estimates.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 158: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the income which is assessed against a person in respect of the earnings of their spouse; and if provision has been made for changes in Estimates 2006. [35986/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The maximum qualified adult dependant increase is payable where the adult dependant's gross weekly earnings do not exceed €88.88. Regulations provide for the tapered, or gradual, withdrawal of the qualified adult allowance for claimants of most welfare payments where the person's spouse-partner is earning over €88.88 and finally withdrawn at earnings of €220 per week.

Since the Government came into office, several changes to these tapered arrangements have been introduced with a view to ensuring the impact of increases in earnings are not negated for families where the spouse is the sole earner and is in low-paid employment. The range of income over which the qualified adult allowance is withdrawn has been progressively extended. Provision was made for the deferral of the loss of half the child dependant allowance until the earnings of the spouse-partner exceeds the upper bound of the income range. In addition, the qualified adult weekly rates have been increased annually in each budget package. From January 2005, the weekly personal and maximum qualified adult allowance rates of the lowest payment rates were increased by €14.00 and €9.30 respectively.

As is normal, the Abridged Estimates volume recently published does not provide for any enhancements to social welfare schemes. Any further changes in income limits in respect of qualified adults would have to be considered in a budgetary context and in the light of competing priorities.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 159: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the income which is disregarded in calculating a person's eligibility for rent supplement, distinguishing the treatment of maintenance payments, part-time earnings, pensions and so on; the provisions which have been made for changes in any of these in Estimates 2006. [35987/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which is administered on my behalf by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, a weekly or monthly rent or mortgage interest supplement is available to assist eligible people who are unable to meet their immediate accommodation needs through their own resources. The scheme is subject to statutory means test rules contained in the third schedule, Part IV of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 1993, as amended, and regulations made thereunder. The details of the disregards referred to by the Deputy are outlined below.

Under standard supplementary welfare allowance assessment rules, rent supplements are calculated to ensure that an eligible person, after the payment of rent, has an income equal to the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her family circumstances, less a minimum contribution of €13 which each recipient is required to pay from his or her own resources. Family income supplement is disregarded in the standard means test. In addition, in cases where the applicant has part-time employment, that is, fewer than 30 hours per week, up to €60 of weekly earnings is disregarded.

Social welfare programmes aim to be responsive to the needs of those who depend on income maintenance support while providing incentives to assist people to become more independent financially, particularly through employment. In this regard, a number of measures have been introduced in recent years to remove disincentives to taking up employment and to assist in the transition from welfare to work. These measures include employment support schemes such as the back to work programme and special means disregards and tapered withdrawal of benefits as earnings increase.

People are entitled to retain certain social welfare and other secondary benefits in total or in part for the duration of the employment scheme, subject to certain conditions. For most people, the most significant secondary benefit is rent or mortgage interest supplement, which is paid under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. An income limit of €317.43 per week applies to the retention of these supplements. No income limit applies to the back to work allowance itself.

While this rent supplement retention income limit has not changed since its introduction, significant other improvements have been made to the means test subsequently. Back to work allowance and family income supplement, in cases where one or both of these are in payment, are disregarded in the assessment of the €317.43 weekly income limit. PRSI and reasonable travelling expenses are also disregarded in the means test.

Under these special arrangements, rent supplement may be retained for up to four years on a tapered basis, that is, 75% of supplement in year one, 50% in year two and 25% in years three and four. In addition, the maximum payment limit of €317.43 per month on the amount of supplement payable was abolished for people on the approved schemes.

In effect, this means that people who commence employment through a back to work scheme or community employment following a period of unemployment can have a weekly household income significantly in excess of the €317.43 limit and still qualify to retain 75% of their rent or mortgage interest supplement. For example, in the first year of his or her participation in the back to work allowance scheme, a single person can have combined income from the back to work allowance and wages of €429 while a couple with two children can have a combined income of €528.25. In addition, the separate maximum payment limit of €317.43 per month on the amount of supplement payable was abolished for people on the approved schemes.

People availing of an employment support scheme may opt to be assessed under either standard supplementary welfare allowance rules or under the special retention rules and will be entitled to receive payment under whichever is the more favourable option for them. A person on a community employment scheme or other back to work scheme whose household income is above the €317.43 weekly limit for retention of secondary benefits may still qualify for rent supplement under the standard rules. In that context, I introduced amending regulations in January 2005 to increase the income disregard in the standard rules of the scheme from €50 to its current level of €60 per week.

Half of any maintenance payments a lone parent receives can be disregarded as means for the purposes of assessing a person's entitlement to one-parent family payment. The means test for this and certain other social assistance schemes also provides for a disregard of up to €95.23 per week of maintenance payments in instances where applicants have rent or mortgage interest obligations on their family homes. Given that up to €95.23 per week of maintenance payments has already been disregarded in the means test for the primary scheme payment purposes to allow for housing costs, maintenance income up to this weekly amount is assessable in determining the appropriate level of rent supplement payable. However, depending on the particular family housing cost, up to €60 per week of maintenance in excess of this €95.23 amount can be disregarded for rent supplement means assessment purposes to ensure that the family has the benefit of the extra maintenance income up to that level before it affects their rent supplement entitlements.

In the past, in the specific situation where budget increases in rates of payment were granted to old age pensioners at amounts higher than which applied to supplementary welfare allowance, a special income disregard was introduced to ensure that the people concerned received the full benefit of their budget increase. The amount of income in excess of the basic supplementary welfare allowance rate that can be disregarded in the means test for rent supplement for people aged 65 or over who are in receipt of a social welfare pension or equivalent payment from another country is now €26 per household. The 2006 Abridged Estimates made no provision for changes in rent supplement eligibility, entitlements or rates of payment. Any such change in the scheme would be a matter for consideration in the context of the forthcoming budget.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 160: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if provision has been made for changes in the provision for supplements to meet the cost of a prescribed diet in Estimates 2006; and the terms and conditions for this scheme which will prevail. [35988/05]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if provision has been made in Estimates 2006 for changes in terms under which the back to work allowance can be claimed; and the terms and conditions which will apply in 2006. [35989/05]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if provision has been made in Estimates 2006 for changes in the terms under which the back to education allowance can be claimed; and the terms and conditions which will apply in 2006. [35990/05]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 164: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if provision has been made for change in the concessions under different categories of service which make up the free schemes or in the terms for eligibility in the 2006 Estimates; and the terms which will apply. [35992/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 160 to 162, inclusive, and 164 together.

The 2006 Abridged Estimates, as normal, made no provision for changes in eligibility, entitlements or rates of payment for any of the schemes administered by my Department. Improvements across the range of social welfare schemes are being considered at present in the context of the forthcoming budget.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 163: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the circumstances in which persons on disability benefit, unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance can qualify for the national fuel allowance and are exempted for the requirement to have 13 paid stamps to qualify. [35991/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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Fuel allowances are paid for 29 weeks from the end of September to mid-April each year. Some 274,000 customers — 151,000 with basic fuel allowance and 123,000 with smokeless fuel supplement — benefit under the scheme at a cost of €85.4 million in 2005. Under the scheme, a fuel allowance of €9 per week is paid to eligible households during this 29-week winter heating period. An additional €3.90 per week is paid to eligible households in the designated urban smokeless fuel zones, bringing the amount payable in these areas to €12.90. The allowance is available to pensioners and other categories of long-term social welfare payments and to all other applicants on the basis of a means test. There are no social insurance contribution requirements for eligibility under the scheme.

People in receipt of short-term social welfare payments such as unemployment benefit, unemployment assistance, disability benefit or occupational injuries benefit are not normally eligible to receive a fuel allowance. However, there is a special arrangement in place to pay the smokeless fuel allowance element — €3.90 per week — to people who live in one of the designated urban smokeless fuel areas and who have been receiving one of these social welfare payment types for 13 weeks or more. To be eligible for this supplementary fuel allowance, applicants must satisfy the other standard conditions of the fuel allowance scheme, in particular that the combined weekly household income must not be more than €51 above the reference old age contributory pension rate applicable to the family size. As with the standard fuel allowance, only one smokeless fuel allowance is payable per household. Applications for this smokeless fuel allowance should be made through the local social welfare office.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 165: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be approved the carer's allowance. [36066/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned applied for carer's allowance in respect of two carees on 4 October 2005. The principal conditions for receipt of the allowance are that full-time care and attention is required and being provided and that the means test that applies is satisfied. Additionally, the requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes including carer's allowance with effect from the 1 May 2004.

Having examined all the facts in her case, a deciding officer decided that she does not satisfy the habitual residence condition. She was notified of this decision, the reason for it and the right to an appeal on 21 November 2005. Under social welfare legislation, decisions regarding claims must be made by deciding officers and appeals officers. These officers are statutorily appointed and I have no role in regard to making such decisions.