Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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665. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will extend the double week cost-of-living support payment to those on illness benefit; if not, the reason; and the reason that there has been no additional support for those on illness benefit. [54836/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Autumn Cost of Living double payment is part of a range of measures in Budget 2023 to mitigate the effects of the increased cost of living. The Autumn Cost of Living double payment was payable to recipients of Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Blind Pension, Disablement Benefit and Partial Capacity Benefit.

Illness Benefit is not a qualifying payment for the autumn double payment. In the vast majority of cases, Illness Benefit is a short-term payment for those who are certified by their GP as needing to take time out from their employment. This means there is a constant daily churn in terms of Illness Benefit recipients as people take time off/return to work. In addition, in many cases Illness Benefit is paid directly to the employer where sick pay is paid.

Most recipients of Illness Benefit still have an attachment to the labour force and there is an expectation that they will return to work.

Long-term Illness Benefit recipients who are permanently incapable of work may be eligible for Invalidity Pension (subject to satisfying the relevant medical criteria and social insurance contributions). Those who are substantially restricted in undertaking suitable employment arising from a medical condition may be eligible for the means-tested Disability Allowance (subject to the relevant medical criteria). All recipients of both of these payments are eligible for additional benefits including free travel and the household benefits package.

This Department provides Additional Needs Payments under our Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme to help meet essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. This includes exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from a person’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary.

Illness Benefit recipients will benefit from the €12 increase in the maximum weekly rate of this payment from January 2023.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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666. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider including persons who are on sickness benefit for over one year on the autumn cost-of-living payment. [54864/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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In response to the ongoing cost of living pressures, my Department will spend approximately €1.2 billion in social welfare measures during the coming months to help individuals and families through this difficult period.

One of these measures is the Autumn Cost of Living Double Payment which was paid to those schemes which are eligible to receive the Christmas Bonus, with one amendment - the removal of the 12-month duration requirement for certain schemes - allowing short-term jobseekers and Supplementary Welfare Allowance customers to qualify for the October support.

Illness Benefit is not, and has never been, a qualifying payment for the Christmas Bonus. It is a scheme which, by its nature, is a short-term social welfare scheme. It has a high degree of churn with people coming onto the scheme and moving off every week, often with very short duration claims. For example, between July and September 2022, almost 115,000 Illness Benefit claims were awarded and, of these, only 21,000 remain in payment. This indicates a churn of 82% over just a three-month period. The average duration of a claim for Illness Benefit is only 6 days.

In addition, many Illness Benefit payments are paid directly to the employer. Therefore, a double payment such as the cost of living support would, in many cases, be an employer subsidy as opposed to an additional support to the customer. This is not the intent behind the October cost of living support, and nor would it be a targeted use of resources.

If an individual or family are struggling with additional costs, Additional Needs Payments can provide help and support to people facing financial hardship. Under the scheme, the Department may make an Additional Needs Payment to people on a low income, whether they are working or receiving an income support, to meet essential expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.