Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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1583. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the cost of increasing funding to the community service programme in line with the recommendation to increase the national minimum wage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36592/17]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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1584. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to increase funding to the community service programme in line with the recommendation increase in the national minimum wage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36593/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1583 and 1584 together.

As the Deputy is aware, the Community Services Programme (CSP) provides financial support to community companies that provide revenue generating services of a socially inclusive nature. Many of these companies are also funded from other sources and generate revenue from the public use of their facilities and services.

The additional programme cost involved in increasing the CSP contribution to match the minimum wage would be approximately €3m over a full year.

The rate of CSP contribution is not aligned to the minimum wage rate of payment. The funding provided to service providers under the CSP is expressed as a fixed annual co-funding contribution towards the costs of employing a manager or a specified number of full-time equivalent positions.

In 2016, my Department put in place a support fund to assist existing funded companies who are not in a position to cover the increase in the minimum wage. Funded companies were invited to apply for this fund which operates on the basis of a reducing allocation over a 3 year period between 2016 and 2018.

I understand that approximately 84% of funded companies paid their staff above the minimum wage in 2016.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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1585. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her Department has considered the impact that the recommendation to increase the national minimum wage will have on income thresholds set to qualify for certain social welfare payments; her plans to increase the income thresholds for social welfare payments in line with the recommendations for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36594/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the recent recommendation by the Low Pay Commission to increase the hourly rate of the Minimum Wage with effect from January 2018. The report of the Commission does not make any mention or recommendations in relation to means tested social welfare entitlements.

The Department operates a range of means tested social assistance schemes where, in order to qualify for the payment, the claimant must satisfy a means test which takes into account the assets and income (including earnings) of the claimant and his or her spouse/partner.

The means test for earnings includes tapering arrangements, whereby a certain proportion of earnings are disregarded in order to provide a financial incentive to work. For instance, for jobseeker’s allowance recipients, the first €20 of daily earnings is disregarded (subject to a maximum of 3 days per week) and 60% of the remainder is assessed as means. Similarly, for one-parent family allowance and jobseeker’s transition recipients, the first €110 of earnings is disregarded and 50% of the remainder is assessed as means. It should be noted that the level of disregards apply equally to those who receive hourly earnings in excess of the minimum wage.

Increases in the minimum wage result in an overall financial gain for means-tested social welfare recipients who are working and on the minimum wage. In addition, means tested social welfare recipients, including recipients who are working, benefitted from the increase of €5 per week in the maximum weekly rates of payment announced in Budget 2017. These increases came into effect last March and included proportionate increases for those claiming an increase for a qualified adult.

Any changes to the earnings disregards or the income thresholds of social welfare schemes would have cost implications and would have to be considered in the overall policy and budgetary context.