Written answers
Tuesday, 25 March 2014
Department of Social Protection
Programme for Government Implementation
Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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565. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update in tabular form of the commitments in the programme for Government that relate to her Department; and the progress that has been made in the implementation of each commitment. [14120/14]
Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Programme for Government commits to implementing a fundamental programme of reform of the system of social protection. The scale of this reform is challenging and wide-reaching. I am committed to working with the Department and its agencies in the delivery of the commitments in this Programme for Government and substantial progress on many of the commitments has already been made. The third Annual Report which sets out the implementation status of my Department’s main achievements in the Programme for Government was published by the Department of the Taoiseach in March 2014 and is available on
It is the Government’s intention to publish the fourth Annual Report in March 2015 which will set out specific progress during 2014. The timeline for the delivery of my Department’s commitments for Programme for Government is over the lifetime of the Government. The progress summary on the implementation of the commitments relevant to my Department is outlined in the following table.
Current update as of March 2014
Commitments in the Programme for Government for which the Department of Social Protection has a primary role
| Commitment | Status Summary at March 2014 |
|---|---|
| Halve the lower 8.5% rate of PRSI up to end 2013 on jobs paying up to €356 per week – announced in the Jobs Initiative. | Implemented. |
| Expand eligibility for the back to education allowance. | Implementation options under consideration and new initiatives are being piloted in 2013/2014. |
| The development of a new graduate and apprentice internship scheme, work placement programmes and further education opportunities for our young unemployed providing an additional 60,000 places across a range of schemes and initiatives – announced in the Jobs Initiative. | Implementation in progress. |
| Replacing FÁS with a new National Employment and Entitlements Service (NEES) so that all employment and benefit support services will be integrated in a single delivery unit managed by the Department of Social Protection. This integrated service would provide a ‘one stop shop’ for people seeking to establish their benefit entitlements; looking for a job; and seeking advice about their training options. | Implementation underway, including roll out of Intreo. |
| The NEES will process citizen entitlements such as supplementary welfare allowances, higher education grants and welfare allowances. It will manage as much as possible means testing for State entitlements. It will also be responsible for employment referral and training supports provided by FÁS. This service will offer users a higher level of personalised employment counselling, with more frequent face-to-face interviews. Those on the live register who are identified as being most at risk of long-term unemployment will receive priority treatment for more intensive support. It will ensure active case management for people in need of assistance. | Implementation underway, including roll out of Intreo. |
| Maintain the standard 10.75% rate of employers PRSI. | Implemented. |
| Introduce a range of measures to tackle the problem of welfare fraud. | A range of measures have been implemented under the Fraud Initiative 2011-2013. Further progress will be made in the context of a new anti-fraud strategy which is being developed. |
| Establish a Tax and Social Welfare Commission to examine entitlements of self employed and the elimination of disincentives to employment. The Commission will examine the interaction between the taxation and the welfare systems to ensure that work is worthwhile. In particular, it will examine family and child income supports, and a means by which self-employed people can be insured against unemployment and sickness | Implemented. The Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare has completed and reported on three modules: - Child and family income supports - Budget 2012 proposals relating to Disability Allowance and Domiciliary Care Allowance - Extending Social Insurance coverage for the self employed The Advisory Group is currently progressing its final module of work on the issue of working age income supports. |
| Convert the Money Advice and Budgeting Service into a strengthened Personal Debt Management Agency with strong legal powers. | The Personal Insolvency Act 2012 provides for three new non-judicial debt resolution processes; the Debt Relief Notice (DRN), the Debt Settlement Arrangement and the Personal Insolvency Arrangement. At the request of the Minister, the Citizens Information Board (CIB) agreed that MABS would act as Approved Intermediaries for the purposes of processing DRNs. The CIB together with MABS have worked closely with the Insolvency Service of Ireland to ensure that the appropriate structures are in place within MABS to meet the challenge of delivering this new service. An Approved Intermediary Service (AIS) has been established for the purposes of processing DRNs. To date, 31 MABS companies are included on the Insolvency Service of Ireland register of Approved Intermediaries. |
| Make greater use of Mortgage Interest Supplement to support families who cannot meet their mortgage payments. | Budget 2014 provided for the closure of Mortgage Interest Supplement for new applicants from 1 January 2014 and a wind down of the scheme over a four year period. In line with the Government’s strategy to assist those experiencing mortgage difficulties, the underlying principle of this measure recognises that the most appropriate way in which customers can be supported is through engagement with their lender under the Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process (MARP) which will provide sustainable and durable resolution options. |
| Maintain Social Welfare rates. | Implemented. |
| Committed to achieving the targets in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion to reduce the number of people experiencing poverty. | Implementation of the National Social Target for Poverty Reduction continues to be rolled out in 2014. A Social Inclusion Report covering progress on implementation of the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion during the years 2011-2012 was completed in 2013. Under Pathways to Work, a report is being prepared to examine the factors influencing the level of jobless households and to develop a range of recommendations to allow Government to take additional tangible steps in 2014 to assist these households to return to work. |
| We will examine the social protection system with a view to identifying and eliminating poverty traps including;- Amending the 30 hour rule for Rent Supplement and Mortgage Interest Supplement for people moving from welfare to work. Activating people on a reduced week who refuse extra day(s) employment. Over time, One Parent Family Payment will be replaced with a parental allowance that does not discourage marriage, cohabitation or work. Our tax, social welfare and other laws should not discourage people from getting married or cohabiting. For example, single mothers lose the One Parent Family Payment if they marry. Over time, we will transform it into a family income-based payment that does not discourage marriage or work. | Conditions which may give rise to the development of poverty traps are analysed on an ongoing basis. The Department’s strategic policy direction is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of a short term income support. Under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from the Department of Social Protection to local authorities. One of the key benefits that HAP will bring is the removal of barriers for people currently in receipt of rent supplement in returning to employment. Officials in the Department are working closely with those in the lead Department, Environment, Community and Local Government, who are leading the project, in developing the necessary legal, policy and operational requirements to give effect to this transfer and to pilot HAP in early 2014. Sanctions currently exist whereby a person who refuses employment or additional employment may be subject to a disallowance. In addition, issues in relation to short-time and casual workers were referred to the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare in 2013. The outcome of group deliberations will inform Departmental policy in 2014. Changes to the One Parent Family Payment (OFP) are currently being implemented on a phased basis to 2015. The purpose of these changes is to move the scheme much closer to the jobseeker schemes, tackle the high levels of lone parents suffering from consistent poverty and to improve outcomes for lone parents and their families. |
| A zero tolerance approach to welfare fraud, underpinned by a major anti-fraud enforcement drive. | Progressed under the Fraud Initiative 2011-2013. Further progress will be made in the context of a new anti-fraud strategy which is being developed. |
| As well as more regular face-to-face interviews with an integrated employment and entitlements service for those of working age, other anti-fraud measures will be undertaken using latest available technology and better sharing of data across government departments and agencies. | Continuing to build key relationships and consult and share data with external agencies, where appropriate. Progressed the use of predictive analytics to more effectively target cases for review. |
| Progressively reduce reliance on Rent Supplement, with eligible recipients moving to the Rental Accommodation Scheme. | At end December 2013, there were approx. 80,000 rent supplement recipients with approx. 50,000 in payment for more than 18 months. Details of these cases are notified on a quarterly basis to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG). At the end of December 2013 a total of 47,911 households had been transferred from Rent Supplement (RS) by local authorities. Of these 28,338 were housed directly under RAS and a further 19,573 were accommodated under other social housing options. The Department’s strategic policy direction is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of a short term income support. Under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) as approved by Government, responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need will transfer from the Department of Social Protection to local authorities. |
| Review the operation of the Rent Supplement Scheme and introduce a code of conduct for rent supplement eligibility similar to that which operates for local authority tenants. | Implementation in progress in co-operation with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. The purpose of this review is to ensure that tenants who are receiving long term support from the State under the Rent Supplement Scheme are subject to the same type of anti-social behaviour regime as local authority tenants. The most appropriate way for this to happen is for local authorities to take over responsibility for meeting the accommodation needs of these individuals through the introduction of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). The Department is currently working with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government with a view to achieving this goal. |
| Pay rent supplement to tax-compliant landlords registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) and offering decent quality accommodation, to root out fraud. | Since January 2011, it is a requirement that the landlord’s tax reference number must be supplied to the Department prior to award of a rent supplement claim. The Department continues to provide the Revenue Commissioners with details of all rent supplement payments on an annual basis to ensure this sector is tax compliant. The Department also continues to work closely with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) to help ensure that rent supplement tenancies comply with the statutory system of tenancy regulation and safeguards. |
| Divert staff from elsewhere in public service to clear the social welfare appeals backlog, and introduce a consolidated appeals process. | Implemented. |
| Put the household benefits packages out to tender, so that the Exchequer benefits from reduced prices. | Implementation not feasible based on advice from the Office of the Chief State Solicitor, the Commission for Energy Regulation and the Competition Authority as the Department is not the actual customer. Negotiations took place with the major utility providers which resulted in improved deals and yielded savings. |
| Raise the issue of payment of Child Benefit in respect of non-resident children at EU level, and seek to have the entitlement modified to reflect the cost of living where a child is resident. We will examine all possible flexibility within European legislation to reduce the cost of this payment. | Issue has been raised with the current EU Commissioner who is not willing to propose the legislation necessary. Therefore, it is unlikely progress can be made. Ireland is continuing to engage with other countries interested in this area and is participating in a group on Fair Free Movement which is trying to develop options which can be discussed with the EU Commission. |
| Ensure that trans-gender people will have legal recognition and extend the protections of the equality legislation to them. | The General Scheme of the Gender Recognition Bill was published in July 2013 and referred to the Joint Oireachtas Committee (JOC) on Education and Social Protection. The JOC held a public consultation and hearings in October 2013 on the General Scheme and published its report in January 2014. Following Government consideration of the report, the General Scheme of the Bill will be referred to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting with the aim of the legislation being published later in 2014. |
| Reform the pension system to progressively achieve universal coverage, with particular focus on lower-paid workers, to achieve better risk sharing, and to provide for greater flexibility for those who wish to retire on a phased basis. | A number of measures have been implemented and further measures are under consideration. The Minister recently informed the Dail of her intention to introduce a scheme to improve pensions coverage once the economy is in a more sustainable position. In this regard, the Minister is observing the developments in other countries with some interest. Analysis of the recommendations outlined in the OECD Review of the Irish Pensions System, published in 2013, is on-going and will inform further developments in the area of long-term pension policy. |
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