Written answers

Thursday, 14 July 2022

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Social Welfare Benefits

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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526. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has made any changes to the family income supplement scheme since she took office. [34033/22]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly tax-free payment for employees with children which supports people in low paid employment.  The WFP is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependents, and to offer a financial incentive to take up  and stay in employment.

It is a targeted measure that is directly linked to household income and therefore directly supports low-income working families.  There are approximately 46,000 families with 103,000 children who are currently in receipt of WFP.  The estimated spend of WFP in 2022 is €349 million.

Budget 2020 introduced an increase in the income limits for families with one to three children.

Budget 2022 introduced an increase in the income thresholds by €10 for each family size.

The increase in the Working Family Payment income thresholds is one of a number of measures included in Budget 2022 which were specifically targeted at low-income families with children.

It was originally intended that this increase in the Working Family Payment income thresholds would take effect from June 2022.  However, as part of the €505 million package of measures which the Government introduced to assist families with the rising cost of living it was decided to bring this  change in from 7th April 2022.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Photo of Peadar TóibínPeadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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527. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of times that the fuel allowance has been increased or decreased in each of the past ten years. [34034/22]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022.  The purpose of this payment is to assist qualifying households with their energy costs.  The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. 

There have been a number of changes to both the rate and duration of the fuel allowance payment over the last 10 years.  

With regards to the duration of the fuel season, Budget 2012 reduced the fuel season from 32 weeks to 26 weeks.  For the 2017/18 fuel season the duration was increased to 27 weeks and for the 2018/19 season the duration was increased to 28 weeks. 

With regards to the weekly rate of fuel allowance payable, there has been no reduction in the rate payable in the last 10 years.  From January 2016, the rate payable was increased from €20 to €22.50 per week.  Further increases to the weekly rate payable occurred in January 2020 (€24.50), January 2021 (€28) and in October 2021 (€33). 

A number of temporary changes were also made to the Fuel Allowance payment in response to emergency situations or severe weather conditions over the last 10 years.  Due to severe weather conditions in 2013 and 2018, one additional week’s Fuel Allowance was paid in both these fuel seasons.  The duration of the 2019/20 season was increased to 32 weeks as a once off measure in response to the Covid-19 Emergency and two additional lump sum payments of €125 and €100 were paid to Fuel Allowance recipients during the 2021/22 fuel season in response to the increased cost of living. 

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Photo of Mairead FarrellMairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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528. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason that applications for jobseeker’s benefit for education sector workers are taking longer to process currently compared to previous years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38802/22]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The process in respect of all Jobseeker's Payments including part-time workers in the educational sector is kept under review.In general, there is no delay in processing Jobseeker Benefit claims if the relevant claim application forms and supporting documentation are completed by the customer in a timely manner. Issues have arisen in the past where details of accrued holiday pay were not furnished so my Department would encourage that these details be supplied as quickly as possible. 

Seasonal workers including educational workers should apply for jobseeker’s benefit as soon as they become unemployed.

Educational sector workers, who are employed on a temporary basis and who have previously been in contact with the Department, are issued with a repeat jobseeker’s application form and holiday form in advance of the school holiday periods. This advance process facilitates an efficient service to these customers and allows for speedy processing of their claim when the period of unemployment actually arises.

However, it is important to note that educational sector workers are still required to sign on for each period of unemployment and satisfy all the qualifying conditions for jobseeker’s benefit including the 3 waiting days at the start of the claim if  it does not link to a previous jobseeker's claim. 

I want to assure the Deputy that prompt processing of all claims remains a priority for my Department. Scheme areas are monitored on an on-going basis and processing procedures are reviewed to ensure that claims are paid to customers as quickly as possible.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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529. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason that the automatic entitlement to a back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance payment for a person (details supplied) has ceased; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38812/22]

Photo of Heather HumphreysHeather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn.  The scheme operates from June to September each year. 

The allowance is payable for eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child increase is in payment.  It is also payable for those between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and for whom a qualified child allowance is in payment.

Each year, through a matching process, customers are identified as having an entitlement to the allowance and are awarded the allowance automatically.  These customers were notified of their award by the 20 June. 

Qualifying for the payment automatically one year does not guarantee a customer will qualify for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance payment automatically the following year.

Customers who have not received notification of an automated payment will need to apply for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance online on www.mywelfare.ie even if they received a payment automatically last year.  The online application system has been open since 20 June.

Customers who are experiencing issues applying online can contact our dedicated number on 071-9193318 or 0818-11 11 13 or by email to bscfa@welfare.ie and an officer will be able to assist the customer to apply online or will issue an application form to the customer.

The closing date to apply for this year’s Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is 30 September 2022. 

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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