Social Welfare Benefits: 2 Feb 2010: Written answers (KildareStreet.com)

Written answers

Tuesday, 2 February 2010

Department of Social and Family Affairs

Social Welfare Benefits

12:00 pm

George Lee (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 451: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the fact in 2009, a married unemployed person whose partner was working was in receipt of €100 per week but is only in receipt of €91.70 per week, this is a reduction of 8% rather than the 4% announced in Budget 2010; if she will reverse this cut to ensure that the reduction in income is only 4%. [4586/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The various social assistance schemes operated by my Department are means tested and include schemes such as jobseeker's allowance and one-parent family payment. For means test purposes, account is taken of the value of any capital or property owned by the person in addition to any cash income the person might have including, inter alia, earnings from employment, income from self-employment, foreign social security pensions and occupational pensions. If a person has a spouse or a partner, the means of that person is also taken into account.

As provided for in social welfare legislation, where a person has means the weekly value of those means is deducted from the maximum weekly rate of payment and a reduced rate is payable. Where a person has weekly means in excess of the maximum personal rate of the relevant social assistance payment, no payment is made.

The purpose of the means test is to reflect that fact that the person has other income or assets available to support him or her. Accordingly, the total weekly income available to that person or couple comprises both the value of the means of the person in addition to any social assistance payment they may be entitled to.

In addition, where a person has income from certain sources, some of that income is disregarded. In the case of jobseeker's allowance, for example, the first €20 per day is disregarded, subject to a maximum of €60 per week and 60% of the balance is assessed where a claimant or a spouse/partner has income from employment,

Where a person has no means, jobseeker's allowance is payable at the maximum rate of payment. In the case of a single person, the maximum weekly rate was €204.30 in 2009 and is €196 in 2010, a reduction of €8.30 per week or 4.1%. In the case of a couple with no means, the reduction is €13.80 per week, also 4.1%, from €339.80 to €326 .10 (including the qualified adult allowance). The effect of the Budget changes in rates of payment where a person has means can be illustrated by way of the following example. In the case of a couple where the claimant is unemployed and the spouse or partner is working three days per week with net earnings of €460 per week, jobseeker's allowance of €99.90 per week would have been payable in 2009. This reduced rate is equivalent to the combined maximum weekly personal and qualified adult rates of €339.90 less weekly means of €240. Accordingly, the total income of the couple in this example would have been €559.90 per week in 2009 comprising net earnings of €460 and jobseeker's allowance of €99.90.

Consequent on the reduction in the maximum weekly personal and qualified adult rates of jobseeker's allowance announced in Budget 2010, the total weekly income of the couple will reduce to €546.10 per week in 2010, an overall reduction of €13.80 per week or 2.5%.

As the example shows, the overall reduction in percentage terms in total family income for persons on reduced rates of jobseeker's allowance is somewhat less than applies in the case of a person with no means who receives the maximum rate of payment. This arises because the element of their total income which is represented by their means is not affected by the recent Budget. The introduction of pro-rata reductions for recipients of reduced rate jobseeker's allowance payments would further reduce the overall percentage loss in total family income when compared with that experienced by persons who had no means and are, accordingly, totally dependent on the social welfare payment.

Similar effects will occur in relation to other social assistance payments. The precise level of reduction in overall family income will vary as the income disregards and assessment rates vary from scheme to scheme. No change was made in Budget 2010 in relation to the means testing arrangements where a claimant or a spouse/partner is engaged in employment in order to maintain incentives to take up, or remain in, employment.

Where a claimant, or his or her spouse, is in employment and net earnings from that employment reduce for one reason or another, the claimant should request his or her Social Welfare Local Office, or the relevant Department Headquarters Office dealing with the claim, to review their means. In the event of a reduction in means, the level of entitlement will increase.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 452: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when a decision will be made on an application for disability allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and the reason for the delay. [4589/10]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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