Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 181: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will further improve and ease the qualification guidelines for family income supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24979/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Social and Family Affairs administers a number of schemes designed to help working families on low incomes. Family income supplement is the principal income support for people in low-income employment with children. It is designed to provide the incentive to remain in, or take up, employment rather than be fully welfare dependent. Qualification for payment under this scheme requires that a person must be engaged in insurable employment for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight. A couple may combine their hours of employment to meet the qualification criteria.

Improvements to FIS 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 recent years, the re-focusing of income thresholds to include additional gains for larger families. If a low income worker does not work sufficient hours to claim FIS, there is a range of other payments which may be more appropriate. For instance, people working up to three days per week may instead apply for a jobseeker's payment, provided they are unemployed for the remainder of the week and continue to seek full-time work. Entitlement can be either insurance based (jobseeker's benefit) or means-based (jobseeker's allowance).

The part-time job incentive scheme is available to those who were previously on a jobseeker's payment for 15 months or more and are now working under 24 hours per week while seeking full-time employment. This payment is not means-tested. Farm assist is a weekly means-tested payment for low income farmers, including those who may have off-farm employment or self-employment. In addition, many social welfare payments, including one parent family payment and disability allowance provide for earnings disregards and tapered withdrawal of payments as earnings increase. Any changes to the qualifying criteria of any scheme can only be considered in a budgetary context.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons eligible for free travel; if she is in a position to extend the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24980/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The free travel scheme is available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over. All carers in receipt of carer's allowance and carers of people in receipt of constant attendance or prescribed relative's allowance, regardless of their age, receive a free travel pass. It is also available to people under age 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type welfare payments, such as disability allowance, invalidity pension and blind person's pension. At the end of 2007, there were over 630,000 free travel passes in issue. A more detailed breakdown of this number by scheme can be found in the Appendix.

There have been significant improvements to the scheme in recent years. In September 2006, all peak time restrictions were removed so that pass holders can now travel free on participating services at any time. In spring 2007, the all-Ireland free travel scheme was introduced. This scheme is based on a reciprocal agreement between the Department and the Department for Regional Development in Northern Ireland, which operates the Northern Ireland concessionary fares scheme. Under the scheme, free travel pass holders aged 66 or over can travel free on services operating within Northern Ireland and senior smartpass holders aged over 65 from Northern Ireland can travel free on participating services here. Any further extension of the scheme could only be considered in a budgetary context.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 183: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she has carried out an evaluation of the extra household running costs incurred by widows or widowers with young families; her proposals to address the issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24981/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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No specific research has been undertaken by the Department in relation to the cost of living for widows and widowers with children. However, those in question have benefited from a range of improvements in social welfare schemes in recent years. Widows and widowers can qualify for one of a number of different schemes depending on their particular circumstances. The contributory widow(er)'s pension is available to those who satisfy the necessary PRSI contribution conditions, either on their own record or that of the deceased spouse. People qualifying for this benefit are not subject to a means test.

People without the necessary PRSI contributions can, if they have qualifying children, receive the one-parent family payment. This is a means tested payment which comprises an earnings disregard, designed to assist with the extra costs lone parents with children face in trying to access training or employment. Up to €146.50 of earnings per week is completely disregarded, while earnings in excess of that and up to €425 per week are assessed at 50%. In addition, people whose earnings have risen above €425 per week may be entitled to half of their payment for up to 26 weeks. The widowed parent grant, introduced in 2000, provides additional assistance following a bereavement to those with children and is paid in addition to the usual after death payments such as the bereavement grant, currently €850. The widowed parent grant was increased by €2,000 to €6,000 in the last Budget in recognition of the particular difficulties faced by widows and widowers with children on the death of a spouse.

The social welfare budget 2008 enhanced the value of all weekly rates of payment, including the rate of widow's and widower's pensions, in relative terms, by giving increases well in excess of projected inflation for this year. Younger widows and widowers benefited from the €12 per week increase in the weekly rates of payment for persons of working age. This increase brings the rates of payment for widows and widowers to €197.80 per week for non-contributory payments and €203.30 for contributory payments. Increases in the rates of child benefit assist those widowed with children. Since 1997, the monthly rates of child benefit have been increased significantly in accordance with Government commitments.

Following Budget 2008 the rates of child benefit were increased to €166.00 per month for each of the first and second children and €203.00 per month for the third and subsequent children. In addition, the annual early childcare supplement (ECS) announced in Budget 2006 and applicable to children under 6 years of age was increased by €100 per annum. Furthermore, widows and widowers with children also benefited from the increase in the child dependant allowances to €24 per week. Widowed people are also entitled to the fuel allowance, back to school clothing and footwear allowance and other secondary benefits on the same basis as other social welfare recipients. Under the terms of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, an exceptional needs payment (ENP) may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which the applicant is unable to meet out of his/her own resources. Eligible people would normally be in receipt of a social welfare payment (including widow(er)'s pension) or health service executive payment.

The level of increases and other improvements announced in the Budget were a further demonstration of this Government's ongoing commitment to the most vulnerable in our society. I will continue to keep the range and adequacy of the supports provided under review.