Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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138. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 516 of 28 September 2021, if consideration will be given to including partial capacity benefit as a qualifying payment for the fuel allowance providing recipients were in receipt of a qualifying payment previously and that they meet the means testing requirements for the fuel allowance (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62258/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33.00 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 over a full fuel season) from October to April, to 371,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €323 million in 2021. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household.

The criteria for Fuel Allowance are framed to direct the limited resources available to the Department in as targeted a manner as possible, and so it is focused on long term payments where an applicant satisfies a means test. People on long term payments are unlikely to have additional resources of their own and are more vulnerable to poverty, including energy poverty.

Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) allows people to continue to receive a percentage of their previous payment while in employment. In addition, the scheme has been designed so there are no restrictions on the number of hours a person in receipt of the payment can work and there are no restrictions on earnings. It is for this reason it is not a qualifying payment for fuel allowance.

While the Department continues to keep the range of supports available under review, any decision to extend the qualifying criteria for fuel allowance in the manner suggested could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, Exceptional Needs Payments may be made to help meet an essential, once-off cost which customers are unable to meet out of their own resources, and this may include exceptional heating costs. Decisions on such payments are made on a case-by-case basis.

The Department of Social Protection commissioned Indecon International Consultants to carry out research into the cost of disability in Ireland. The Programme for Government commits the Government to use this research into the cost of disability to individuals and families to properly inform the direction of future policy.

This matter is significantly wider than the income support system which is why a whole-of-Government perspective is being taken. There is not a single typical ‘cost of disability’, rather there is a spectrum from low additional costs to extremely high extra costs of disability, depending on the individual circumstances of the person with a disability. Additional costs of disability go across a number of areas of expenditure including housing; equipment, aids and appliances; mobility, transport and communications; medicines; care and assistance services and additional living expenses.

The Government published the report on 7 December. The Government has referred the report to the National Disability Inclusion Strategy Steering Group, chaired by Minister of State for Disability Anne Rabbitte T.D., to consider what actions across Government should follow arising from the recommendations contained in the report.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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139. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider including disability allowance and blind pension as qualifying payments for the partial capacity benefit in order to support those with a disability in seeking and gaining employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62259/21]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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140. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider changing the eligibility criteria which restrict applications for partial capacity benefit to those who have been on invalidity pension or illness benefit for a minimum of six months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62260/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 and 140 together.

Both the Disability Allowance (DA) and Blind Pension (BP) schemes are age related, means tested social assistance based schemes, which are also subject to a medical assessment and a habitual residence requirement. Each of these schemes has also been designed to support recipients to avail of opportunities to pursue their own employment ambitions, be that self-employment or insurable employment. When an individual, in receipt of DA or BP, commences employment, they can avail of an income disregard of €140 per week. In addition, a 50% taper on earnings between €140 and €350 is also applied, i.e., 50% of earnings in this band are disregarded for the purpose of the means test. Earnings above €350 are assessed at 100% i.e. for every euro earned above €350 a euro reduction is applied.

Budget 2022 saw the introduction of measures to further support persons in receipt of DA or BP to enter or return to employment, these included:

- An increase in the earnings threshold above which means is fully assessed - by €25 from €350 to €375 per week - for DA (and BP. This will take effect from June 2022.

- An increase in the general weekly means disregard entry point for Disability Allowance from €2.50 to €7.60. Currently the first €2.50 of weekly means is disregarded for Disability Allowance. The effect of this measure will be to increase the weekly rate of payment by up to €5.10 per week for Disability Allowance recipients who have means. The change also aligns the DA general disregard with that for BP at €7.60 per week. This will take effect from June 2022.

Illness benefit is a short term scheme, where a person cannot work due to illness - the maximum duration a person can be in receipt of this payment is 624 payment days. Invalidity Pension is payment made to people who cannot work because of a long-term illness or disability. Entitlement to these payments is dependent on the individual's social insurance contribution record, as well as satisfying other qualification criteria relevant to the schemes.

The Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) scheme is designed for people who are in receipt of Illness Benefit, for at least 26 week, or Invalidity Pension and who have retained some capacity for work and wish to return to or enter employment. If awarded, PCB will allow them to continue to receive, in addition to their earnings from employment, a percentage of their Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension payment while working.

The personal rate of payment of PCB is based on a medical assessment of a person’s restriction regarding their capacity for work and whether the person was in receipt of Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension (i.e. their existing rate of payment). After the medical assessment, if a person's restriction on their capacity for work is assessed as moderate, severe or profound their payment continues at 50, 75 or 100 per cent of their existing rate, respectively. If assessed as ‘mild’ they will not qualify for PCB.

The duration a person can be in receipt of PCB is linked to the payment they moved from, subject to a maximum of 156 weeks. In the case of Illness Benefit, the maximum duration of the payment is 624 payment days (104 weeks) and this applies for PCB (less the 26 weeks required to be eligible for the scheme). In the case of Invalidity Pension the maximum duration of 156 weeks applies.

Where a person completes their allowed period on PCB, a new application can be made. The application must meet all the eligibility criteria including, in the case of persons in receipt of Illness Benefit, the requirement to have completed 26 weeks in receipt of the payment.

I have no plans at this stage to change the qualifying and eligibility criteria for PCB. The Department regularly reviews its supports and payments schemes to ensure that they continue to meet their objectives. Any proposed changes have to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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141. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider extending the availability of the one-parent family payment and half-rate carer's allowance by enabling eligible recipients to claim the payment until a child reaches 18 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62261/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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There is a general rule within the social welfare system that a person can only be in receipt of one payment at a time. Payment of half-rate Carer's Allowance (CA) with certain other payments such as One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) is a notable exception.

OFP is payable until the claimant's youngest child reaches age 7, subject to all of the other qualifying conditions. When caring for a child under age 16, half-rate CA is only payable where a Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is also in payment in respect of that child.

There is a special provision for OFP recipients who are in receipt of DCA and half-rate CA in respect of their child, whereby the OFP payment is extended beyond the maximum age limit of 7, until the child for whom the DCA is in payment reaches the age of 16 years. This ensures that OFP recipients who care for a child with a disability will continue to receive additional support until that child reaches the age of 16 years and can apply for the Disability Allowance (DA) in their own right.

There are no plans to make any changes in this regard.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.