Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

59. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the transitional arrangements in place to assist persons in receipt of payments from her Department in returning to work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37405/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Department’s main support for welfare recipients returning to work is the family income supplement (FIS), an in-work support which targets low-paid employees with children. FIS is designed both to prevent child and family poverty and to offer a financial incentive to move from welfare to work. FIS is paid to some 44,000 families in respect of some 97,000 children. Expenditure on FIS for 2014 is estimated to be of the order of €280 million.

An integral part of FIS is that once the level of payment is determined, it continues to be payable at that rate for a period of 52 weeks, provided that the person remains in full-time employment. A key advantage of this approach, which is unique to the FIS scheme, is that claimants can be certain that they will receive a guaranteed level of income support throughout the period. This certainty provides a real incentive to workers with families to avail of employment opportunities and to maximise their earnings from work.

The Statement of Government Priorities 2014-2016contains a commitment to introduce measures to assist low income families by improve the system of child income supports in Budget 2015 such that those moving from welfare to work will retain payments for children to ensure that people are better off in work. Any decisions in this regard are a matter for Government to consider in a budgetary context.