Written answers
Tuesday, 8 November 2016
Department of Social Protection
Social Welfare Benefits Data
Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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232. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the full year cost in 2017 of the proposed increases in social protection payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33744/16]
Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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233. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the start dates for the relevant increases in each weekly social protection payment for 2017; the projected cost in 2017 of this increase for each payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33745/16]
Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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234. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the start date of each policy change announced at the budget; the cost of each in 2017; the full year projected cost for each measure in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33746/16]
Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 232 to 234, inclusive, together.
The information sought by the Deputy is outlined in the following tables:
Table 1: Effective dates of operation of increases in weekly rates of payment, 2017
| Date | Increases in weekly rates of payment |
|---|---|
| 8 March | -Jobseeker’s Allowance (other than Jobseeker’s Transition payment) -Pre-retirement allowance -Farm Assist |
| 9 March | -Jobseeker’s Benefit -Carer’s Allowance recipients aged 66 and over -Deserted Wife’s Benefit recipients aged 66 and over |
| 10 March | -State pension (contributory) -Widow/er’s, surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension recipients aged 66 and over -Death benefit pension recipients aged 66 and over -State pension (non-contributory) |
| 13 March | -Illness Benefit -Health and Safety Benefit -Injury Benefit -Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
| 15 March | -Disability Allowance |
| 16 March | -Invalidity Pension -Carer’s Benefit -Deserter Wife’s Benefit under the age of 66 -Carer’s Allowance recipients under the age of 66 -One-parent family payment (other than where payable in respect of a widow, widower or surviving civil partner) -Jobseeker’s Transition payment -Deserted Wife’s Allowance -Prisoner’s Wife’s Allowance |
| 17 March | -Widow/er’s, surviving civil partner’s (contributory) pension recipients under the age of 66 -Death benefit pension recipients under the age of 66 -Guardian’s payment (contributory and non-contributory) -Disablement pension and disablement gratuity -Blind pension -Widow/er’s, surviving civil partner’s (non-contributory) pension -One-parent family payment (payable in respect of a widow, widower or surviving civil partner) |
It should be noted that some schemes are paid in arrears e.g. jobseeker’s allowance, while others are paid in advance e.g. State pension contributory. The effective dates above are included in the Social Welfare Bill published last Friday. The Department also operates a number of non-statutory schemes, mostly in relation to employment and education supports. The weekly rate increases for these schemes will apply over the course of the week 13thto 17thMarch inclusive. The start dates of the other Budget measures are outlined in Table 3 below.
Table 2: Cost of increases in weekly rates of payment, 2017
| Payment | Total €m |
|---|---|
| Social Insurance Schemes | |
| State Pension (Contributory) | 81.00 |
| Widow/er's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Con) Pension | 24.80 |
| Deserted Wife's Benefit | 1.35 |
| Invalidity Pension | 12.97 |
| Guardian's Payment (Contributory) | 0.76 |
| Death Benefit Pension | 0.13 |
| Disablement Pension | 1.24 |
| Illness Benefit | 11.70 |
| Injury Benefit | 0.28 |
| Incapacity Supplement | 0.22 |
| Jobseeker's Benefit | 7.37 |
| Carer's Benefit | 0.57 |
| Health and Safety Benefit | 0.01 |
| Maternity & Adoptive Benefit | 4.40 |
| Social Assistance Schemes | |
| State Pension (Non Con) | 20.88 |
| Blind Person's Pension | 0.28 |
| Widow/ers or Surviving Civil Partner's (Non-Con) Pension | 0.31 |
| Deserted Wife's Allowance | 0.03 |
| One-Parent Family Payment | 8.58 |
| Carer's Allowance | 7.86 |
| Half Rate Carer's Allowance | 3.08 |
| Guardian's Payment (Non-Contributory) | 0.31 |
| Jobseeker's Allowance | 47.52 |
| Pre-Retirement Allowance | 0.06 |
| Disability Allowance | 28.17 |
| Farm Assist | 2.20 |
| Back to Work Enterprise Allowance | 2.76 |
| Back to Education Allowance | 2.29 |
| Part Time Job Incentive | 0.02 |
| Community Employment Programme | 5.52 |
| TÚS - Community Work Placement | 2.12 |
| Rural Social Scheme | 0.73 |
| JobBridge - National Internship | 0.50 |
| Jobs Initiative | 0.37 |
| Gateway | 0.35 |
| Supplementary Welfare Allowance | 3.72 |
| TOTAL | 284.5 |
Table 3: Summary of new DSP measures, Budget 2017.
| Measures | 2017 Cost (€m) | 2018 cost (€m) |
|---|---|---|
| €5 Weekly Rate increases | ||
| Increase the weekly rates of payment €5 per week for pensioners and recipients aged under 66, with proportional increases for qualified adults and those on reduced rates. | 284.5 | 349 |
| Social Insurance Improvements for the Self-Employed | ||
| Social insurance cover for self-employed will be extended to dental and optical benefits [March 2017] and Invalidity Pension [December 2017]. | 5 | 27.5 |
| Treatment Benefits | ||
| The Dental Benefit scheme will be expanded to include an annual free scale and polish and the Optical Benefit scheme will include the option of either free spectacles or a contribution (€42) towards the cost of upgraded spectacles. These measures will apply to both insured employees and self-employed. [October 2017] | 9 | 47 |
| Farmers | ||
| Improvements in the means testing arrangements for lower-income farmers on Farm Assist including farm families with children [March 8, 2017] and expansion of the Rural Social scheme by 500 places [2017]. | 10.5 | 17 |
| Lone Parents | ||
| Increase of €20 per week in the income disregard for One Parent Family Payment and the Jobseeker’s Transition payment, from €90 to €110 per week [January 2017]. | 9 | 9 |
| Children | ||
| Increase for School Meals scheme [2017]. | 3 | 8 |
| People with Disabilities | ||
| New funding for projects to provide pre-activation supports for people with disabilities [2017]. | 2 | 2 |
| Miscellaneous Improvements | ||
| Including the introduction of a cost of education allowance for Back to Education recipients with children (Sept., 2017), increasing the €166 Back to Education Allowance weekly rate for people under 26 to €188 [Sept., 2017], additional funding for the Community Services programme [2017], introducing payment of the Carer’s Allowance for 12 weeks where care recipients enters a nursing home [Jan 2017] etc. | 7 | 9 |
| Total | 330 | 468.5 |
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