Written answers

Wednesday, 26 July 2017

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Social Welfare Benefits Expenditure

Photo of Bríd SmithBríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1568. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount it would cost to disregard the maintenance payments when assessing social welfare payment. [36406/17]

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Where a social welfare claimant is in receipt of maintenance payments from a spouse/partner, housing costs incurred by the social welfare claimant (e.g. rent or mortgage payments and/or home improvement loan) up to a maximum of €95.23 per week may be offset against the maintenance payment, with half the balance of the maintenance being assessed as means. These arrangements ensure that there is always an incentive to receive a maintenance payment. The cost of disregarding all maintenance received by a welfare claimant across all relevant schemes is not readily available.

Where a social welfare claimant is paying maintenance to another person, the means assessment of this maintenance paid varies by the type of social welfare scheme.

Social welfare legislation specifically provides that maintenance payments paid under a separation order by recipients of certain social welfare schemes are to be deducted from any assessment of their income. This provision applies to the state pension non-contributory, widow/er’s and surviving civil partner’s non-contributory pension, carer’s allowance, one-parent family payment, and the blind pension.

In the case of claimants of other schemes, however, such as jobseeker’s allowance, disability allowance and supplementary welfare allowance, their means for social welfare purposes are their means before they meet any obligations they may have to pay maintenance i.e. no account is taken of such payments in assessing the means of the maintenance payer.

It is not possible to provide the cost of excluding maintenance payments made by social welfare claimants, as the relevant data are not available. Any change to the current arrangements would have to be considered in the overall policy and budgetary context.

Photo of Bríd SmithBríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1569. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount it would cost to means test carer's and disability allowances on net income rather than gross income. [36407/17]

Photo of Regina DohertyRegina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Department provides a range of income support payments for people with disabilities and to carers who provide full-time care and attention to those with a disability that require that level of care. Applicants who do not have the necessary social insurance contributions can apply for means tested social assistance payments, namely carer's allowance (CA) and disability allowance (DA).

Under both schemes assessable income is defined as gross earnings less PRSI and superannuation. Data is not available on the net earnings of recipients, which would also take into account the income tax that they pay. Consequently, it is not possible to produce a costing to means test carers and disability allowances on the basis of net income rather than gross income.

The means test for carers is one of the least onerous within the social protection system. The amount of weekly income that is currently not taken into account is €332.50. In the case of the income of a married couple, civil partners or cohabitants, the first €665 of their combined weekly income is disregarded. A couple under 66 with two children, earning a joint annual income of up to €35,400 can qualify for the maximum payment of Carer’s Allowance while such a couple earning €59,300 will still qualify for the minimum rate. Furthermore, single care recipients cannot work outside the home for more than 15 hours per week and it is unlikely that they pay income tax on their earnings.

A person on disability allowance may earn up to €120 per week without their payment being affected. Earnings of between €121 and €350 per week are assessed at 50% for means test purposes. Most disability allowance recipients who avail of the work related disregards would work only part-time and it is also unlikely that they pay income tax on their income from employment.

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