David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 115: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs further to parliamentary Question No. 11 of 11 November 2008; if the ESRI research project regarding take up levels of family income supplement has been completed; when she will publish same; the action she will take as a result of the findings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3330/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The family income supplement scheme (FIS), which provides income support for employees on low earnings with families, is designed to preserve the incentive to move from welfare to (or remain in) employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were claiming other social welfare payments.

Since its introduction concern has been expressed from a number of quarters that there is a low take-up under the scheme. It has not been possible to estimate from administrative sources the number of families who would be eligible but do not apply for their FIS entitlements. However, research undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in 1997, which was based on the results of the Living in Ireland Survey 1994, suggested that fewer than one in three of potentially eligible claimants were actually in receipt of the payment at that time. Since those with a higher entitlement are more likely to avail of the scheme, the take-up in expenditure terms was estimated to be somewhat higher, at close to 40% of potential expenditure. Subsequent studies by the ESRI have arrived at similar estimates of take-up.

Following on from further research undertaken by the ESRI, the Department undertook to determine the current level of take up of FIS among potentially qualifying families and to ascertain the reasons underlying the failure to avail of this payment, where applicable, and carry out an analysis of the existing FIS customer base. This research on the take-up of FIS has been undertaken by Millward Brown IMS on behalf of the Department and is now well advanced.