John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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485. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the fact that county councillors who meet the financial criteria for family income supplement cannot access this payment because the local authorities will not sign off on less than 19 hours work; her plans to address this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51559/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Family Income Supplement (FIS), re-designated under Budget 2018 as the Working Family Payment (WFP), is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. The WFP/FIS is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependants and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment. There are currently over 57,000 families with more than 127,000 children in receipt of WFP/FIS, with an estimated spend this year of approximately €422 million. To qualify for WFP/FIS, a person must be

a) engaged in remunerative full-time employment as an employee which is expected to last for at least 3 months, and

b) be working for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight or 19 hours per week.

A couple may combine their hours of employment to meet the qualification criteria. The applicant must also have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them or is supported by them. Furthermore, the average family income must be below a specified amount, which varies according to the number of qualified children in the family.

Elected members of local authorities (better known as ‘councillors’) are office holders. They are not local authority employees and do not qualify for WFP/FIS on foot of their role as county councillors.

A councillor who is otherwise engaged in remunerative full-time employment may qualify for WFP/FIS, subject to meeting the criteria outlined above. It is also possible for the household of a County Councillor to receive a WFP/FIS payment where the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the County Councillor meets the qualifying criteria.