Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 722: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the conditions or criteria required for a person to qualify for credited contributions while in receipt of carer's allowance or carer's benefit. [15802/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Persons in receipt of carer's allowance, carer's benefit and the respite care grant may engage in employment, self employment, training or education outside the home for up to 15 hours per week and still be considered to be providing full-time care and attention for the purposes of the schemes. This means that where a carer remains in employment he or she will continue to pay the appropriate social insurance contribution. Also, any person, including a carer, may pay voluntary contributions once they satisfy certain qualifying conditions.

The social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties are protected by the homemaker's scheme which was introduced in and took effect from 1994. The scheme allows up to 20 years spent caring for children or incapacitated adults to be disregarded when a person's social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes. However, the homemaker's scheme will not of itself qualify a person for a pension. The standard qualifying conditions, which require a person to enter insurance 10 years before pension age, pay a minimum of 260 contributions at the correct rate, and achieve a yearly average of at least 10 contributions on their record from the time they enter insurance until they reach pension age, must also be satisfied. People who qualify for payments such as carer's allowance or carer's benefit may, subject to conditions, qualify for credited contributions for the period they are receiving the payment. As part of the National Pensions Framework, published in March this year, the current homemakers disregards will be replaced by credits for new pensioners from 2012, with backdating to 1994. This reform will be of particular benefit to carers.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 726: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of applications for dental or optical benefit currently awaiting a decision in his Department; when he expects to have matters brought up to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15832/10]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Treatment Benefit is a PRSI based scheme offering assistance towards the cost of Dental and Optical Treatment for qualified patients. It is a unique scheme, in that payment is made not to the customers themselves, but to contractors (dentists and opticians) on their behalf, who provide treatment either free or at a reduced rate. As such, we provide our customers with treatment rather than payment. Consequently, by the time we receive an actual claim, the customer has almost always already received his or her entitlement and it is the contractor who is waiting to be paid in the agreed monthly payment schedule.

The Treatment Benefit scheme currently has around 5800 claims waiting to be processed. A further 2700 claims are also awaiting further manual intervention. The 5800 claims waiting to be processed represent less than a weeks intake of new claims, while the 2700 claims awaiting manual intervention are awaiting further information from the employer, customer, or other EU country to allow a decision to be made.

The Treatment Benefit Scheme is meeting its processing targets, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Over 90% of qualified claims received in April, for instance, will be paid to our contractors in May. The remaining cases (less than 10%) will be processed as soon as this Office receives the additional information requested.