Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his plans to offer all qualified adults, in addition to pensioners, the opportunity to be paid directly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37620/06]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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A person who is in receipt of a social welfare payment may claim an increase in respect of a dependent spouse or partner. This increase, known as the Qualified Adult Allowance (QAA), is normally paid as a single amount with the primary payment to the claimant. Provision has existed for many years to split the payment and pay the spouse or partner separately in cases of difficult family circumstances.

In recent years the question of paying the QAA direct to the adult dependant has been raised in a number of reports, the intention being to provide the dependant with a level of economic freedom. Significant changes have been made in the social welfare code, over the years to ensure as many people as possible qualify for a social welfare payment in their own right.

The Qualifying conditions for a pension have been significantly eased, for example through reducing the minimum yearly average of contributions required to qualify for a pension and the introduction of homemaker credits for the benefit of people of working age engaged in home duties.

In the case of the State pensions (non-contributory), the means of the couple are jointly assessed and where both are over the age 66, each receives a pension in his/her own right.

I am aware that, while the situation of people qualifying for pensions in their own right has increased, there is still a large number of adults dependent on their spouses' social welfare payment for support.

In October 2002, my Department introduced arrangements to pay the QAA on request to the spouse or partner of new claimants of State Pension (contributory) or State pension (Transition). Since these arrangements were introduced, some 1,400 couples have indicated their preference to have the QAA paid separately. I am examining the issues involved in extending this arrangement to pensioners generally.

The position regarding people of working age is less straight forward and separate payment may be appropriate for certain schemes. It is open to a dependant spouse or partner to claim unemployed assistance in their own right subject to satisfying means and other conditions.

I am currently closely examining all of the options and implications of paying QAAs separately to working age qualified adults in the light of developments in this area in relation to pensioners.