Written answers

Thursday, 26 January 2012

Department of Social Protection

Social Welfare Benefits

5:00 pm

Photo of Clare DalyClare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 15: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of extra civil and public servants who became entitled to claim family income supplement after the pension levy, the public service pay cuts and the universal social charge. [3780/12]

Photo of Joan BurtonJoan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Family Income Supplement (FIS) is designed to provide support for people with families who are on low earnings. This preserves the incentive for them to remain in employment in circumstances where they might only be marginally better off than if they were claiming other social welfare payments. The payment amount is based on a fixed proportion of the gap between the assessable income of the household (net of income taxes, PRSI Pension contribution and universal social charge) and prescribed FIS income thresholds.

Currently this fixed proportion is 60 per cent of the difference between the weekly income and the income threshold for the family size. As these thresholds are linked with the number of dependent children in a household, FIS provides an important policy instrument in reducing child poverty in working households as well as improving incentives to work. Total expenditure on FIS was some €204 million in 2011. At the end of December 2011 there were approximately 28,876 people in receipt of a weekly FIS payment of which 2,976(10%) were recorded as public servants. That number includes those working in the civil service and the wider public service.

The pension levy was introduced in March 2009; public service pay reductions were effective from January 2010 and the universal social charge (USC) was introduced with effect from January 2011. Both the pension levy and the USC are allowable as a deduction from gross earnings for the purposes of assessment of FIS. Figures for the recorded number of civil and public servants in receipt of FIS at each year end during the periods are given in Table 1. This group has remained at about 10% - 11% of the total number of FIS recipients.

Table 1

Year EndingNumbers on FISat end DecCivil & Public Servants on FIS at end Dec% of FIS recipients who are Civil/Public Servants
200827,7982,72010%
200925,9632,95111%
201028,3613,15111%
201128,8762,97610%

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.