Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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309. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a person whose entitlement to the illness benefit is exhausted after two years can sign on for credits in the time between the end of their illness benefit and the making of an invalidity pension application in cases in which that person had full PRSI contributions made prior to becoming ill and who worked in the private sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21969/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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A person who satisfies the conditions for receipt of Illness Benefit can receive a payment for a maximum of 1 or 2 years depending on the level of PRSI contributions they have paid.

In advance of the ending of their entitlement to a payment a letter issues advising as to the date the entitlement is due to end. The letter advises as to the options available going forward. In this regard the person is advised that they may continue to submit medical certificates in order to be awarded credits, or if they expect to be unable to attend work for a period of at least another year they can apply for Invalidity Pension, which is contribution based, or Disability Allowance which is a means tested scheme. If the person expects to be in a position to resume work in the short-term they can apply for a Jobseeker's payment.

If a person remains out of work but does not satisfy the criteria for the schemes mentioned above and they are struggling to meet their basic financial needs they could apply for assistance under the terms of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

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 each year) from October to April, which is currently supporting more than 372,000 households, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. 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 Fuel Allowance payment is targeted towards those who are more vulnerable to energy poverty, including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own.

If a participant on a Rural Social Scheme (RSS) was in receipt of Fuel Allowance prior to going on the scheme, they can continue to receive the Fuel Allowance payment while participating on the scheme once they continue to satisfy the qualifying conditions.

If the RSS participant was not in receipt of the Fuel Allowance payment prior to going on the RSS they may still apply for and qualify for Fuel Allowance in the following circumstances.

- If the RSS participant was in receipt of a long-term qualifying payment prior to going on the RSS this will allow them to satisfy the qualifying payment element. However, all other qualifying conditions of Fuel Allowance must also be satisfied.

- Where the RSS participant has an established underlying entitlement to Fuel Allowance but is not in receipt of the allowance because another member of the household was receiving the payment, it is open to the RSS participant to apply for fuel allowance if these circumstances change, e.g., where the fuel allowance recipient leaves the address.

Any decision to extend the eligibility criteria for Fuel Allowance in the manner outlined by the Deputy would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.

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.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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311. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has considered making lone parent family payments available in respect of the guardianship of foster children; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that lone parents cannot avail of those supports such as the one parent family payment and the jobseeker’s transitional payment for the children they are fostering; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22058/22]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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318. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the processes that are in place to support lone parents who are foster parents (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22123/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 311 and 318 together.

Under current social welfare legislation in order to be eligible for the One Parent Family Payment (OFP) an applicant must be a qualified parent, as outlined in Section 172 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, of at least one child under the age of 7, who is ordinarily resident in the State.  The eligibility criteria for the Jobseeker Transitional (JST) scheme are the same as the OFP scheme except that the client must be a qualified parent of at least one child aged between 7 and 13 years (inclusive).  Section 148A 2(a) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 outlines the definition of qualified parent for the JST scheme.  Additional scheme conditions such as a means test, and absence of cohabitation also apply to both schemes. 

A qualified parent for the purposes of the OFP and JST schemes includes:

1. a widow,

2. a widower,

3. a separated spouse,

4. an unmarried person,

5. a person whose spouse or civil partner has been committed in custody to a prison or place of detention for not less than 6 months, or

6. a surviving civil partner,

7. a civil partner who is not living with the other civil partner of the civil partnership, or

8. a person who is not a party to a civil partnership

who is the parent, step-parent, adoptive parent or legal guardian of at least one relevant child, who normally resides with that person. 

Therefore, to be a qualified parent the applicant must legally be defined as either the parent or legal guardian of the relevant child.  A foster carer is not the parent or legal guardian of the foster child, as required by the governing legislation for OFP and JST.  Therefore, for the purposes of the OFP and JST schemes the foster parent is not a qualified parent and cannot currently qualify for OFP or JST with the foster child as the relevant child.

The provision of fostering services is a matter for Tusla (the Child and Family Agency).  This includes any supports, including financial, that are required by either the foster carers or the foster child.  Tusla provides a Foster Care Allowance in respect of each child in foster care. The payment is made to provide for the needs of the child.  The weekly Foster Care Allowance is currently €325 per child under 12, and €352 for children aged 12 and over.  Foster care allowances from Tusla are not taken into account in the means test for social welfare payments and are not taxable.

In addition to the Foster Care Allowance, there are other income supports currently available to a foster parent(s):

Child Benefit - Where a child has been placed in foster care by Tusla and the child has been in the continuous care of the foster carer(s) for 6 months, Child Benefit may then transfer to the foster carer(s).

Increases for Qualified Child (IQC) on Primary Social Welfare Payments - A foster parent who is in receipt of a primary social welfare payment (such as jobseeker’s allowance) can receive an increase for a qualified child in respect of a foster child (as long as no other person is in receipt of an IQC in respect of the same child).

Working Family Payment - The Working Family Payment is paid to low-income families according to the number of children in the family.  As outlined above, a child in foster care can be a qualified child for social welfare schemes.  As the Working Family Payment definition of a child is based on the definition of qualified child, a foster parent with only foster children can qualify for the working family payment (subject to meeting all of the other qualifying conditions).

Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) - The Back to Work Family Dividend legislation uses the qualified child definition in its eligibility rules.  Therefore, if a foster parent moved off Jobseeker's Allowance and had been in receipt of an IQC for their foster child they would be entitled to the BTWFD on the same basis as others.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.