Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 120: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps he will take to improve Ireland's EU rating regarding spending and services for claimants of disability and sickness payments from his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31833/06]

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 139: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the efforts his Department is making to improve supports and services available to recipients of his Department's various sickness and disability payments, in particular with regard to returning these claimants to the working population; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31832/06]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 191: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps he intends to take to deal with the particularly high numbers of unemployed or ill and disabled persons identified as being in consistent poverty in statistics produced by the EU and the Central Statistics Office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31725/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 120, 139 and 191 together.

My Department tries to assist and encourage long term unemployed, people with disabilities and other long term welfare recipients to return to work, training or further education through a range of measures administered by my Department's social and family support service.

The back to work allowance scheme incentivises and encourages long-term unemployed people, lone parents and certain persons with disabilities to return to work by allowing them to retain part of their social welfare payment for a period when they take up employment or self-employment. The back to education allowance programme is available to certain social welfare customers who need support to obtain educational qualifications before re-entering the labour market.

My Department also operates a special projects fund, administered by facilitators based in local social welfare offices, which enables facilitators to provide enhanced supports to people who need additional help to progress to further training and employment. Groups who may need special help of this nature include the long-term ill and people with disabilities.

In addition my Department operates small scale family services projects in certain areas, which are designed to focus supports towards specific target groups with complex needs, including people with disabilities. The provision of this additional support involves individual attention, customised information and enhanced access to services. It can increase the capacity of those in the most difficult circumstances, including people with disabilities, to improve their self esteem and personal situations through access to basic education, training and developmental opportunities.

The special projects and family services initiatives are based on the application of a partnership approach between my Department, the voluntary and community sector, the private sector and other local players in identifying and addressing local needs in terms of training and development for people dependent on social welfare payments including people with disabilities.

Customers in receipt of certain illness related payments such as disability allowance, illness benefit and invalidity pension are not debarred from working while in receipt of these payments subject to meeting certain criteria. Disability allowance is means tested and any income received would be assessed as means subject, however to the current income disregard. Illness benefit and invalidity pension customers may, in certain circumstances, be allowed to undertake work for rehabilitative reasons with a view to improving their prospects of returning to full-time work at a future date.

My Department's Sectoral Plan under the Disability Act, 2005 sets out an ambitious programme of support for people with disabilities to help them achieve their full potential both in terms of participation in the labour market and wider society. Over the period of the Plan (2006/2009), my department will seek to deliver support to people with disabilities which will reduce their risk of dependence. The approach will be to encourage them to meet their income needs to a far greater extent from employment, as well as achieving other social outcomes, such as further education and developing life skills in a way that will ensure that the contributions, talents and aspirations of no individual is overlooked.

The specific details of the plan include matters such as examining the incentive effects of the disability payment levels, addressing benefit traps and employment disincentives within the structure of welfare disability schemes and examining the potential for extending, improving and rationalising schemes to better support people in their efforts to take up training opportunities and participate in employment. In this regard, last month I was particularly pleased to be able to lift the peak hour restriction on the use of the free travel pass so that people with disabilities may now use their passes going to work and they no longer need to apply for a restricted pass for travelling in connection with the educational, rehabilitative and therapeutic courses that are, very often, central to improving their lifestyles.

The National Action Plan against Poverty and Social Exclusion (NAP/inclusion) details a range of actions targeted at those groups who are most vulnerable in society, including the long-term unemployed and persons with disabilities. The Office for Social Inclusion, based in my Department, has overall responsibility for implementation of the plan, and works closely with all departments to ensure effective and integrated delivery on actions in several policy areas including health, education, employment, housing and transport. While consistent poverty rates for the unemployed and people with disabilities are still higher than the average, Government policies have led to a downward shift in this regard, with the consistent poverty level for the unemployed falling from 28.2 per cent in 2003 to 19.2 per cent in 2004, and for persons with disabilities from 22.4 per cent to 21.7 per cent over the same period. The next NAP/inclusion, to be published later this year, will maintain a strong focus on removing those most vulnerable out of consistent poverty.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if, in regard to the abolition of restrictions on peak travel times under the free travel scheme, he has had discussions with transport providers to ensure that they have sufficient capacity to meet the additional demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31745/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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At my request my Department was in discussion with CIE over recent months with a view to agreeing the necessary arrangements for the implementation of the Government decision in relation to the free travel peak travel restrictions. These discussions resulted in the removal of all restrictions with effect from 25th September 2006.

More than 600,000 customers are in receipt of the Free Travel scheme, of which 430,000 are aged over 66 years. Some 145,000 are in receipt of an invalidity/disability type payment and a further 25,000 are carers. The peak time access restrictions have applied up to now on all Dublin Bus services and on Bus Éireann city services in Cork and Limerick.

The lifting of all travel restrictions at peak times will benefit many people, particularly older people and those with disabilities, who up to now have been severely curtailed in the times they have been allowed to travel in the main cities, and surrounding areas, on public transport services. It is also a recognition that many eligible people, especially those with disabilities, are becoming increasingly more active in the workforce and availing of other activities.

The ending of these restrictions also removes the need for people to have to go through the process of having to apply for special passes so that they can attend hospital appointments, or educational, rehabilitative and therapeutic courses that are, very often, central to improving their recovery and improving their lifestyles.

My department has been assured that any capacity issues arising as a result of additional passengers travelling at peak times can be met through the provision of additional buses as provided for under the Transport 21 initiative. Detailed discussions and arrangements for the implementation of Transport 21 are a matter between the CIE group of companies and the Department of Transport.