Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 762: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will review the case a person (details supplied) in County Galway who seeks supplementary social allowance. [2417/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Health Service Executive has advised that it has no record of an application for supplementary welfare allowance from the person concerned. It is open to the person concerned to make an application for supplementary welfare allowance to his local community welfare officer. If he is unhappy with the outcome of this decision, it is open to him to appeal the decision to the Executive's designated appeals officer.

Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 763: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will review the case of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath. [2419/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Health Service Executive has advised that the person concerned was refused mortgage interest supplement in November 2007. If the person concerned is not satisfied with the decision, it is open to her to appeal this decision to the Appeals Office of the Health Service Executive.

The supplementary welfare allowance scheme which includes mortgage interest supplements is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. A mortgage interest supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people who are unable to meet their mortgage interest repayments in respect of a house which is their sole place of residence.

Mary O'Rourke (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 764: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if he will review the case of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath who has been refused rent subsidy. [2421/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Health Service Executive has advised that while no formal application for assistance has been received, under the supplementary allowance scheme, the person concerned was advised informally that she is not eligible for payment of rent supplement as she is in full-time education and is not in receipt of a back to education allowance. It is open to the person concerned to make a formal application for rent supplement to her local community welfare officer. If she is unhappy with the outcome of this decision, the person concerned may lodge an appeal against the decision with the Appeals Office of the Health Service Executive.

People in full-time education are normally excluded from receipt of rent supplement under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme. However, people participating in approved courses and who qualify for back to education allowance, receive a standard weekly rate of payment equivalent to the maximum rate of their previous social welfare payment. They may also qualify for rent supplement, subject to the standard qualifying conditions of the rent supplement scheme.

Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 765: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the length of the delays in processing applications for carer's allowance, disability allowance, family income supplement, one parent family payment, State pension, supplementary welfare allowance and appeals. [2458/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

This Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as expeditiously as possible. The staff and other resources available to the Department are regularly reviewed having regard to the workload arising and other competing demands. The available resources are then used to discharge the Department's obligations towards our customers and in implementing cost effective controls to prevent and detect fraud and abuse.

Carers Allowance is a social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full time care and attention to elderly people or to people with disabilities and whose income falls below certain income limits. The principal conditions for receipt of the allowance are that full time care and attention is required and being provided and that a means test, is satisfied.

The time taken to process a Carers Allowance claim includes three important elements; the time taken to carry out a medical examination of the claimant, where this is required, investigation of the claimant's means by a Social Welfare Inspector which can necessitate a visit to the claimant's home and confirmation that full time care is being provided.

There has been a continuous upward trend in recent years in applications for Carers Allowance. The Department received 10,700 new applications in 2006 and received over 18,000 in 2007. The average time to decide a claim in December 2007 was just over 10 weeks.

Disability Allowance is a weekly Allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged over 16 and under 66. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to both medical assessment and a means test.

The time taken to process a Disability Allowance claim includes two important elements; the time taken to carry out a medical examination of the claimant, where this is required and investigation of the claimant's means by a Social Welfare Inspector which can necessitate a visit to the claimant's home.

The number of disability allowance claims received in 2007 was 20,000 as compared with 17,600 in 2006. The average time to decide a claim in November 2007 was about 16 weeks.

Family Income Supplement (FIS) is designed to provide support for employees on low earnings with families. FIS is paid for 52 weeks provided a person continues to meet the qualifying conditions and a claim for renewal may then be made.

Entitlement to FIS is based on an applicant satisfying a means test and on certification of employment by the employer. In 2006, the Department received some 33,000 new and renewal FIS claims and 38,000 claims were received in 2007. The average time to award a FIS claim or renewal is close to 15 weeks.

One-parent Family Payment is a payment for men and women who are bringing up a child without the support of a partner. In most instances the applicant must be interviewed by a Social Welfare Inspector. Once the Inspector completes his/her report the file is returned to a deciding officer to determine the eligibility of the applicant to payment. The average processing time for One-parent Family payment claims is about 9 weeks.

State Pension (Non-Contributory) is a means tested payment for persons over 66 years of age. All income is assessable as means and this includes cash income, private pensions, foreign pensions, the value of any property (excluding the claimant's own home) and the value of any investments and capital which the claimant may have. Applications for State Pension (Non-Contributory) may necessitate a visit by a local Social Welfare Inspector to the applicant's home.

In 2007 the number of new customers awarded pension was 9620. This was an increase of 18.6 % on the 2006 figure of 8113. In December 2007 the processing time for claims was 18 weeks.

In order to qualify for a State Pension (Contributory) (SPC) at age 66, a claimant must satisfy a number of qualifying conditions. These require the claimant to:

(1) have entered into insurable employment before age 56;

(2) have at least 260 weeks full-rate contributions paid; and

(3) have a yearly average of at least 10 contributions recorded (taking paid and credited PRSI Contributions into account) from 1953 or from the date of entry into insurance (whichever is the later) to the end of the last complete contribution year before reaching pension age. In order to qualify for the maximum rate a yearly average of 48 contributions is required.

In 2007 a total of 20,170 new customers were awarded SPC bringing the total figure in payment to 237,599. The current processing time for awarding domestic SPC claims is just under 11 weeks. Where the claim involves employment in another EU country the processing time is approximately 17 weeks.

In order to qualify for a State Pension (Transition) (SPT) at age 65, a claimant must satisfy a number of qualifying conditions. These require the claimant to:

have retired from insurable employment;

have entered into insurable employment before age 55;

have at least 260 reckonable contributions paid;

and to have a yearly average of not less than 24 contributions paid or credited from 1953, or from the year of one's entry into insurance, whichever is the later, to the end of the last complete contribution year before reaching pension age.

In 2007 a total of some 8,000 new customers was awarded SPT. The current processing time for awarding SPT claims is 10 weeks.

Supplementary Welfare Allowance

It is open to all Social Welfare applicants to apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance while their claim is being processed. The Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme (SWA) is administered on behalf of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs by the Community Welfare Service of the Health Service Executive. Claims for SWA are processed by the Community Welfare Service at approximately a thousand locations throughout the country. The majority of SWA claims are processed within a matter of days. Any instance of excessive delays in processing claims should be brought to the attention of Community Welfare Service management in the particular Health Service Executive area.

I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that 75% of appeals are processed within 14 weeks, while in general all appeals are cleared within 22 weeks. In addition to affording customers the right of appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, all customers who receive an adverse decision are advised of their right, where new facts or fresh evidence comes to light, to have their claim reviewed by a Deciding Officer of my Department. These procedures can enable a speedy resolution of the appeal as the Deciding Officer may make a revised decision on foot of the new facts or evidence received.

The social welfare appeals process is quasi-judicial and it is necessary for the Appeals officer to be satisfied that he/she has all the facts before making a decision on a case.

Gathering all the evidence takes time and impacts on the speed at which appeals can be decided. Furthermore, the Appeals officer must give the person making the appeal and the Deciding Officer the opportunity to make their views known on the facts of the appeal. In addition, where illness or disability is involved, it may be necessary to have a further examination carried out by a Medical Assessor of my Department.