Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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905. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will make the form for the benefit payment for 65-year olds available to download and print rather than on request only. [31554/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The new Benefit Payment for 65 year olds was introduced in fulfilment of a commitment in the Programme for Government to address the position of people who retire from employment at age 65. The scheme is designed primarily as an online service and the quickest way to apply for the Benefit Payment for 65 year olds is through the MyWelfare online service. While my Department fully accepts that there are people aged 65 who cannot or do not wish to use the online service, it is the Department’s experience that the vast majority of customers are able to access and avail of the enhanced customer service available through MyWelfare. For those who cannot or do not wish to use the online service, a postal service is available as an alternative and information regarding making an application by post is available on www.gov.ie. Alternatively customers can ring the Department’s Income Support Helpline at 1890 800 024 and request that a form be posted to them or they have the option of calling into their local Intreo Centre or Social Welfare Branch Office to make enquiries.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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906. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason her Department recognises cohabiting couples as a family unit and therefore pay them full amount for the main would be earner with an allowance for an adult dependant, and if applicable, their children, not as two individual single persons both receiving the full rate for a single adult given that for taxation purposes cohabiting couples are viewed as two individual single persons even those who have children together. [31578/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Claimants with cohabiting partners are recognised within the social welfare system as having additional needs in cases where their cohabiting partner is financially dependent upon them. The payment of an Increase for a Qualified Adult (IQA) in addition to the personal rate of payment reflects these additional household needs.

The IQA is payable in respect of a person who is wholly or mainly maintained by the customer regardless of whether the couple are married or not. Where one member of a cohabiting couple claims a means-tested social assistance payment, their partner's income is taken into account in the means test.

The social welfare and tax systems have evolved over time and in response to a variety of factors, including Constitutional imperatives as interpreted by the Courts, changing social trends and EU Directives. The EEC Equality Directive 79/9 and the subsequent Supreme Court case (Hyland v Minister for Social Welfare, 1989) led to the current treatment of non-married cohabiting couples in the social welfare code. The Court ruled that it was unconstitutional for the total income a married couple received in social welfare benefits to be less than the couple would have received if they were unmarried and cohabiting. This means that for social assistance means tested schemes such as jobseeker’s allowance, married couples, civil partners and cohabiting couples are treated in the same manner.

Income tax arrangements for married couples, civil partners and cohabiting couples are a matter for the Minister for Finance.

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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907. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide the full details of the plans of her Department which propose to introduce a new service in January 2022 to replace the existing EmployAbility service model; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31591/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department recognises the additional difficulties people with disabilities experience in securing and maintaining paid employment. To this end, my Department has contracts for the provision of the Employability services to help address these difficulties. These services are currently delivered under contract by 24 different organisations located around the country. The total value of the contracts for 2021 is approximately €10m.

The Employability services provide support and advice to people with disabilities to facilitate their integration into paid employment. Integration is an essential feature of the Employability services.

It is not envisaged that the open competitive tendering processes for employment services, which my Department is undertaking this year, will include the supports currently delivered by the Employability service. My Department will be developing a new model of contracting for these Employability services over the next year, with a view to having these important services procured in a manner that is consistent with the State's obligations under national and EU procurement rules. It is envisaged this process will see these services procured in an open and competitive manner during 2022 with new contracts being in place for 2023.