Written answers

Tuesday, 4 December 2007

Department of Social and Family Affairs

Social Welfare Benefits

9:00 pm

Photo of Martin FerrisMartin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 136: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of family income supplement applicants in 2006; and his views on whether the income limits under which a person can be awarded FIS are high enough. [32302/07]

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Family income supplement (FIS) is the principal in-work income support for people in low-income employment with children. It designed to provide the incentive to remain in, or take up, employment rather than be fully welfare dependent. In 2006, some 33,000 claims were received for FIS. 13,000 of these were first claims while 19,400 approx. were renewals. For the same period in 2005 there were 22,740 claims received, 7,780 of which were new claims while 14,960 were renewals.

Recent improvements to family income supplement include the change of assessment from a gross income basis to net income, the increase to €20 per week in the minimum payment and, in budget 2007, the continued re-focusing of income thresholds to include additional gains for larger families.

For example, since 2002 the FIS threshold for a one child family has increased from €362 to €480, an increase of 32.6%.

In my view this represents a significant commitment to low income families which I hope to carry forward into the future.

Photo of Eamon GilmoreEamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 137: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of recipients of rent allowance by the duration of the claim with a breakdown for those under 12 months, above 12 months and at six monthly intervals above that. [32203/07]

Photo of Martin CullenMartin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The following table shows that there are 24,703 recipients of rent supplement for 18 months or more. This table represents unbroken continuous claims only. Where recipients change address, the claim at the new address is normally recorded as a new claim and the duration spent at the previous address may not be taken into account in this table.

Number of Recipients of Rent Supplement by Continuous Claim
Duration at 23/11/07
MonthsRecipients
0 to 1226,456
12 to 187,718
18 to 245,558
24 to 304,617
30 to 362,986
36 to 422,733
42 to 481,920
48 to 541,731
54 to 601,195
60 to 66852
66 to 72541
72+2,570
Total (1)58,877

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