Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 108: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps she is taking to ensure that persons with high monthly mortgage repayments such as a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5 are not better off by remaining on the live register rather than working as a result of the way in which the means testing of jobseeker's allowance and mortgage interest supplement currently operates. [15051/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive.

Mortgage interest supplement provides short-term 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.

The Executive has advised that the person concerned has made an application for mortgage interest supplement. Further information has been sought from the person concerned in order to process his application. The Executive has further advised that a decision will be made on the application when the requested information has been provided.

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 their family circumstances less a minimum contribution, currently €18, which recipients are required to pay from their own resources. Many recipients pay more than €18 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.

In order to qualify for mortgage interest supplement, a person must satisfy a number of statutory qualifying conditions. Claims are determined on the basis of the merits of each individual case and in accordance with all of the statutory qualifying conditions. One of the statutory qualifying conditions is that the claimant or his or her spouse is not engaged in remunerative full-time work. Section 198 (6) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, 2005 refers. Article (6) (3) of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Supplementary Welfare Allowance) Regulations 2007 (S. I. 412 of 2007) provides "a person shall be regarded as being engaged in remunerative full-time work where he or she is so engaged for not less than 30 hours per week."

Under Section 196(2) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, where a person and his/her spouse are members of the same household, "their needs and means shall be aggregated and shall be regarded as the means and needs of the claimant." In these circumstances, the income of an applicant for mortgage interest supplement and his or her spouse is taken into account when assessing means.

The assessment for the existing mortgage interest supplement scheme provides for a gradual withdrawal of payment as hours of employment or earnings increase. Those availing of part-time employment and/or training opportunities can continue to receive mortgage interest supplement subject to their satisfying the standard means assessment rules. Since June 2007, where a person has additional income in excess of the standard weekly rate of supplementary welfare allowance, the first €75 of such additional income together with 25% of any additional income above €75 is disregarded for means assessment purposes. This ensures that those engaging in part-time work or participating in training schemes are better off as a result of taking up such an opportunity.

In view of the current economic environment, the Department has commenced a review of the administration of the mortgage interest supplement scheme. The main purpose of the review is to consider how the mortgage interest supplement scheme can best meet its objective of catering for those who require assistance on a short-term basis, where they are unable to meet mortgage interest repayments on their sole place of residence. Legislative and operational issues arising in the existing mortgage interest scheme, including the cap on hours of employment, are also being examined as part of this review.