Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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101. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reforms that have taken place in the social welfare system under the current Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11246/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Since the Government took office in March 2011, I have implemented an unprecedented programme of policy reform in the social welfare system and organisational change in the Department of Social Protection.

The Department successfully completed the most significant merger in the history of the Irish public service, while at the same time reducing expenditure and meeting increased demand for services. More than 1,700 posts from the Community Welfare Services and FAS were transferred to the Department. In parallel, I have radically overhauled labour-market activation policies and overseen the transformation of the Department from the passive benefits provider of old to a public employment service that is actively assisting people back to work, training or education.

Some of the significant reforms to the social welfare and labour market activation systems since I took up office in March 2011 are set out below.

From welfare to work: Major “activation” reforms have been introduced to help people back to work. Pathways to Work is the strategy driving these reforms. The centrepiece of Pathways to Work is Intreo (launched October 2012), the Department’s employment service which is replacing old-style social welfare offices. Intreo offices provide jobseekers with both income supports and employment services - like individually tailored personal progression plans and job-search assistance - in the one place. The Department’s staff have been given powers to reduce payments for jobseekers who refuse to engage with Intreo services. Jobseekers who refuse an appropriate offer of training, or do not attend meetings, can have their payment reduced by up to €44 a week (introduced April 2011). In the first half of 2013, almost 1,500 jobseekers had penalty rates imposed. Jobseekers who continue to refuse engagement, even after a penalty rate has been imposed, can have their payment suspended for up to nine weeks (introduced July 2013).

Ensuring access to work and that work pays: activation is just one element of the radically new approach to social welfare in Ireland, the purpose of which is to ensure that people are better off in work than on welfare. A progressive new scheme called Jobseeker’s Transition was introduced in July 2013 to assist Lone Parents back to work and towards financial independence. The Partial Capacity Benefit scheme was launched in February 2012 to allow people with disabilities avail of employment opportunities while still receiving income support from the Department. The Department is working with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to introduce a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), to replace Rent Supplement. HAP will subsidise rent for people on welfare and in low-income employment so that they will not lose housing assistance when they move from welfare to work.

New schemes, more places: this year, the Department will spend more than €1 billion on work, training and education places to benefit 85,000 people – and the number of such places has steadily increased. JobBridge, the national internship scheme, launched June 2011, has proved a major success. An independent evaluation of the scheme by Indecon Economic Consultants found JobBridge had a progression rate of 61% - meaning three in five participants secure employment after completing their internship. This is one of the best outcomes for such a scheme anywhere in Europe. Almost 20,000 people have participated on JobBridge so far. Through the Springboard and Momentum programmes, overseen by the Department of Education and the Department of Social Protection, more than 23,000 unemployed people have been able to re-skill for emerging employment opportunities.

An agreement was secured on an EU-wide Youth Guarantee to provide young people with a good quality offer of employment, education / training within four months of becoming unemployed. It will be introduced on a phased basis from 2014. Internal deployment within the Department will see the number of caseworkers on activation duties doubled by the end of this year.

Working with employers: the Department now has a dedicated Employer Relations Division, which works with employers to assist them with their recruitment needs and find employees from the Live Register. The Department works hand-in-hand with State agencies such as the IDA to attract overseas investment to Ireland by demonstrating to international companies that their recruitment needs can be met in Ireland. This is done through “job-matching” profiles – matching potential positions with appropriate candidates. JobsPlus is the new employer incentive scheme, launched July 2013, which provides cash grants to businesses which hire persons who have been long-term unemployed. Under the scheme, the State covers approximately €1 in €4 of the typical cost of hiring someone who has been on the Live Register for 12 months or more.

Combating welfare fraud: the Programme for Government commits to maintaining core welfare rates while taking a zero-tolerance approach towards welfare fraud. The Department’s Fraud Initiative 2011-2013 significantly strengthened what is known as “control activity” – i.e. rooting out fraud and eliminating overpayments. In 2013, more than 1 million reviews of individual social welfare claims were carried out, and savings of €632 million were achieved through control activity. Departmental officials have been given a range of additional powers to combat fraud. Social welfare inspectors now have the powers (introduced in June 2012) to question people at ports and airports whom they believe may be entering the country to claim social welfare payments fraudulently. Data exchange with Revenue has been considerably enhanced allowing for focused control activity – particularly in relation to customers who receive means-tested welfare payments but may not have declared all their means to the Department. The Public Service Card, which involves face-to-face registration and the capture of biometric data to prevent identity abuse, has moved into full production, with well over half a million cards issued to date. It is now an integral part of claim processing and control activity.

Legislation was introduced in December 2012 to increase the amount that the Department can recover from an individual’s personal weekly payment in cases of overpayment. The Department can now recover up to 15% of a person’s payment whereas previously it had been as little as €2 a week. The Department has conducted a major project to assess the potential of predictive risk analytics to further root out welfare fraud.

Reforming Existing Schemes: the Department is currently undertaking comprehensive reform of the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP). These reforms are designed to tackle long term welfare dependency and the high rates of lone parents who are at risk of consistent poverty. The reforms see a reduction in the age threshold of the youngest child at which a lone parent is still eligible for the OFP. The age is being reduced to seven years of age on a phased basis to 7 years by 2015

Changes to the Electricity/Gas Allowance under the Household Benefits Scheme: recipients of the electricity and gas allowances are now in a more beneficial position as they are currently entitled to €35 per month whether or not they use the energy and any unused portion can either be drawn down and cashed out by the customer or accumulated as a credit on their account.

Free Travel variant of the Public Services Card (PSC): the introduction of the new free travel variant of the PSC in December 2013 will help eliminate the fraudulent use of the Free Travel Pass. The new card includes customer photo identification and a number of additional security features.

The Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare: I established the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare in 2011. This group harnesses expert opinion and experience to address specific issues around the interaction of the tax and social protection systems, and make cost effective proposals for improving employment incentives and achieving better poverty outcomes. Three reports have been completed and published: Child and Family Income Supplement payments (February 2013); Disability Allowance budget changes (April 2013); and PRSI for self-employed (September 2013). The Advisory Group is now working on its final report, on working age payments (including in work benefits) and is expected to complete this work by mid-year.