Written answers
Wednesday, 14 December 2016
Department of Social Protection
Programme for Government Implementation
Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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125. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the status of commitments made in the programme for partnership Government that fall within the remit of his Department; the commitments which specified an action to be taken by the end of 2016; if this target date has been met in respect of such commitments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40224/16]
Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for a Partnership Government includes a wide range of commitments which fall directly within the remit of my Department. While none of these commitments included a specific deadline of end-2016 for action to be taken, a substantial number of commitments are already being delivered upon. Budget 2017, for example, provided for €5 increases in the maximum weekly rates of all social insurance and social assistance payments, for the extension of entitlement to invalidity pension and treatment benefit to the self-employed, and for enhanced supports to low-income farm families and one-parent families.
The status of the commitments within the remit of my Department is set out in the following table.
| Commitment | Status |
|---|---|
| “ [to] increase Rent Supplement ... by up to 15% taking account of geographic variations in market rents.... “ | Increased rent limits under the Rent Supplement scheme were implemented effective from 1 July 2016. |
| “ To protect low-income families in private rented accommodation and avoid further market rental inflation.. [to] expand access to the Tenancy Sustainment Protocol throughout the country. “ | The Tenancy Sustainment Service was extended to Galway city in June 2016 and is also operational in Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow - the urban areas where the housing pressures are most acute. |
| “to introduce a PRSI scheme for the self-employed” | Budget 2017 provides for the extension of entitlement to the Treatment Benefit (from March 2017) and Invalidity Pension (from December 2017) schemes to the self-employed. |
| “ to introduce a new ‘Working Family Payment’, targeted at low-income families.” | Work underway – extensive analysis is required in order to design this new payment. It is intended that this work will be completed in advance of Budget 2018. |
| “... [to] publish a dedicated ‘Pathways to Work for Jobless Households’ to support jobless households into employment.” | Inter-Departmental Group established. Labour Market Council has been consulted and drafting work ongoing. |
| “...actively encourage payments at Post Offices. “ | All DSP staff were advised of the PfG commitment and reminded that customer wishes should be facilitated where appropriate when they wish to receive their payment at the Post Office. |
| “the rollout and extension of the Personal Microcredit Scheme, which is providing simple microloans to members and helping to combat the use of moneylenders” | The It Makes Sense loan scheme, which provides low-cost loans to low-income families as an alternative to money-lenders, has been made available to credit unions across Ireland. |
| ... invest in new services and caseworkers to support jobseekers through the network of local Intreo offices..... support a regional approach to Intreo offices ... review work activation and social welfare schemes to ensure that schemes do not contain anomalies that may impact unfairly on people in rural areas, including farmers.” | Work ongoing. |
| “... extend the Dental Treatment Benefit under the Social Insurance Fund to reimburse the cost of some routine dental treatments.” | Budget 2017 provided for the expansion of Dental and Optical Benefits under the Treatment Benefit scheme with effect from October 2017. |
| ...” the Departments of Health and Social Protection [to] work together to pursue a “Fit for Work Programme” to support more people to get back to work if they have an illness or disability. | Extensive work has been carried out and a consultation event on the proposed initiative ‘Healthy You’ will be held next week. |
| “ ...to introduce flexibility and support in the social welfare system for people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties to transition into employment by ensuring a seamless return of their entitlements should a particular employment opportunity prove unsuitable. .... [and] ...address concerns surrounding the loss of secondary benefits, so that people are always better off in work.” | The INTREO service has been rolled out to people with disabilities who wish to avail of the service on a voluntary basis. In addition, four pilot best practice Individual Placement and Support (IPS) projects have been established in conjunction with the HSE, Genio and Mental Health Reform. Options are being considered by the Make Work Pay interdepartmental group established under the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities. |
| ... consolidate all means testing under a single national body ensuring a single application process for services or entitlements across all government agencies.” | No specific developments to date. |
| “... an increase in the Disability Benefit and Allowance, Carer’s Benefit and Allowance, and Blind Person's Pension“ .... “increase the State Pension and the Living Alone Allowance above the rate of inflation.” | Budget 2017 provided for a €5 increase in the maximum weekly rate of all social insurance and social assistance payments, from March 2017. |
| “... support and expand supported employment opportunities and work with stakeholders to make supported employment more attractive to both prospective employers and employees.” | Work ongoing, in particular relating to the implementation of operational recommendations contained in an evaluation of the Employability Service. |
| “... highlight incentives for employers to employ a person with a disability, roll out a national awareness campaign” | Work ongoing. DSP Employer Engagement promotes workplace supports for people with disabilities on an ongoing basis. |
| “... fully protect the Free Travel pass for all pensioners.” | The Free Travel scheme is fully protected. |
| “...in recognition of the vital role of schemes such as the Rural Social Scheme, Community Employment Schemes, BTEA and Farm Assist in rural communities and in activating the unemployed, ...to make suitable recommendations to strengthen provision in this area...” | Budget 2017 provided for an additional 500 places under the Rural Social Scheme and these will be put in place in the New Year. |
| “ Review ... the Farm Assist Scheme, recognising the challenges facing farmers on low income.” | Budget 2017 provided for the full restoration of the Farm Assist scheme to the position which applied prior to Budget 2013, with effect from March 2017. |
| “... review the Fish Assist scheme in recognition of the irregular earning patterns of fishermen, in an effort to respond to difficult financial circumstances.” | The changes provided for in Budget 2017 in relation to the Farm Assist scheme will apply equally to certain categories of self-employed fishermen. |
| “.... develop a system that fosters independence through retraining and employment ...provide the resources to invest in services that protect the weakest and most vulnerable in our society from poverty and exclusion.” | Work ongoing, notably through the implementation of Pathways to Work 2016-2020 and the promotion, monitoring and reporting on the implementation of the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion. |
| “...carry out an immediate review of the financial supports available to the unemployed or those returning to the education system to ensure the greatest possible uptake of continuing education by eliminating current barriers.” | A study has been commissioned to explore the drivers of negative employment outcomes of participants on the Back to Education Allowance Scheme with a view to informing the scheme direction. Changes were made in Budget 2017 so that from next September where a young jobseekers who are under the age of 26 participates in the Back to Education scheme, he or she will be entitled to receive the full maximum rate of jobseeker’s payment which will then be €193 per week, as against the €160 which they are currently on. This 21% increase represents an extra €33 a week, and demonstrates the State’s support for young jobseekers who seek to enhance their skills. A new €500 annual Cost of Education Allowance will also be made available to Back to Education Allowance participants with children from the next academic year in September. This will help parents, including lone parents, to return to education. |
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