Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 233: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the means test which applies with respect to maintenance payments, to earned income and to community employment earnings for a person claiming one parent family allowance; and the transitional arrangements which apply. [33200/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The one-parent family payment is a means tested scheme, therefore all income including personal and child maintenance payments and community employment earnings are assessable as means. In determining means from maintenance:

Vouched housing costs such as rent or mortgage payments up to a maximum of €95.23 per week are disregarded.

Thereafter, €1 is assessed as means for every €2 received by way of maintenance.

A person whose earnings exceed €425.00 gross earnings per week ceases to have an entitlement to one-parent family payment.

In determining means from earnings from employment or self employment or Community Employment Scheme, which are below the €425.00 limit:

The first €146.50 of weekly earnings together with all superannuation contributions, social insurance contributions, health contributions, trade union subscriptions and additional voluntary contributions (AVC's) made in respect of personal retirement savings accounts (PRSA's) are disregarded.

50% of the balance is assessed as means.

Where a person whose has been in receipt of one-parent family payment for 52 consecutive weeks prior to their earnings exceeding the limit of €425 gross per week, they qualify for a transitional payment of half their rate of payment for a further 26 weeks.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 234: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the eligibility terms for mortgage interest supplement, the income that is assessed in determining both eligibility and the value of the payment; and the income that can be disregarded. [33202/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme (SWA) provides for a supplement to be paid in respect of mortgage interest to any person in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs. The purpose of mortgage interest supplement is to provide 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. The supplement assists with the interest portion of the mortgage repayments only. A person may be entitled to a mortgage interest supplement provided that:

he or she is habitually resident in the State;

the loan agreement was entered into at a time when, in the opinion of the Health Service Executive, the person was in a position to meet the repayments;

the residence in respect of which the loan is payable, is not offered for sale; and

the mortgage interest payable does not exceed such amount as the Health Service Executive considers reasonable to meet his or her residential needs.

In exceptional circumstances, a supplement may be awarded where the mortgage interest exceeds such amount as the Executive considers reasonable but such a supplement is payable for a maximum of 12 months.

Mortgage interest supplements are normally calculated to ensure that a person, after the payment of mortgage interest, has an income equal to the rate of SWA appropriate to family circumstances less a minimum contribution, currently €13, which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. Many recipients pay more than €13 because they are also required, subject to income disregards, to contribute any additional assessable means that they have over and above the appropriate basic SWA rate towards their accommodation costs.

All income, subject to income disregards, is assessable for mortgage interest supplement purposes excluding the following items:

Child benefit, including equivalent payments from other EU countries

Earnings from employment as a Home Help

Mobility Allowance

Guardian's Payment — Contributory or Non-Contributory

Payments received from the Health Service Executive for foster children.

Payments for accommodating children under the Child Care Act.

Income from Gaeltacht students

Domiciliary Care Allowance

Grants or allowances arising in pursuance of a scheme promoting the welfare of blind people.

Money received from charitable organisations e.g. St. Vincent de Paul

Compensation awarded by the Compensation Tribunal in respect of Hepatitis C contracted from certain blood products, compensation paid to those who have disabilities caused by Thalidomide and to those receiving compensation under the Residential Institutions Redress Board

Maintenance grants paid by Local Authorities for Higher Education

Respite Care Grant.

There is a number of income disregards which apply in the calculation of means for mortgage interest supplement purposes:

Pensioners — a special income disregard exists for those aged 65 years or over. Any additional income equal to the difference between the maximum rate of State (Contributory) Pension and the rate of supplementary welfare allowance appropriate to his or her circumstances can be disregarded.

Carer's allowance — in the case of a couple, where either spouse is a recipient of carer's allowance, the amount to be disregarded is the rate of carer's allowance in payment less the rate of SWA increase in respect of a qualified adult. In the case of a single person or a lone parent in receipt of Carer's allowance, the amount disregarded is the rate of carer's allowance in payment less the personal rate of SWA.

Half-rate Carer's allowance — all income received in respect of half-rate carer's allowance is disregarded in full.

Additional income allows a disregard, calculated as follows:

disregard of the first €75 a week of 'additional income'

disregard 25% of 'additional income' over €75 a week

There is no upper limit on the amount of additional income that can be disregarded.

'Additional income' is the amount of income in excess of the SWA rate, applicable to household circumstances and includes income derived from part-time employment or self-employment (under 30 hours per week), any employment or training scheme (e.g. CE or FAS course), family income supplement and maintenance payments in excess of €95.23.

Earnings from rehabilitative employment — up to €120 of earnings from rehabilitative employment can be disregarded. However, this disregard cannot be applied together with 'the additional income disregard'. Only one such disregard can be applied i.e. whichever is most beneficial to the applicant.

Capital (savings and investments) and the value of property owned but not personally used or enjoyed is assessed as means. Where capital or property is assessed on this basis, any income received from its use is not assessed as cash income. Instead, the following formula is used to establish weekly means:

Disregard first €5,000 of capital value of property/savings

Assess next €10,000 @ €1 per €1,000

Assess next €25,000 @ €2 per €1,000

Assess remaining capital over €40,000 @ €4 per €1,000.

I am satisfied that the mortgage interest supplement scheme provides an adequate short-term "safety net" within the overall social welfare system to ensure that people do not suffer hardship due to loss of employment.

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 235: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the restrictions on work outside the home or claiming unemployment payments which apply to persons applying for respite grant and to carer's allowance. [33205/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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One of the fundamental qualifying conditions for carer's allowance, carer's benefit and the respite care grant is that the person be providing full-time care and attention to a person who needs such care. Since the introduction of the carer's allowance scheme this full time care and attention requirement has been eased in order to facilitate carers in engaging in employment, education or training. The number of hours a person may engage in employment, self employment, training or education outside the home and still be considered to be providing full-time care and attention was increased from 10 to 15 hours per week in June 2006.

There are no plans to increase the number of hours for which people can engage in employment, education or training outside the home and still be eligible for carer's payments from the Department or to extend the respite care grant or the "half rate carer's allowance" to people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or benefit.