Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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854. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people with direct eligibility for free travel under the free travel scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13816/23]

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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855. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average annual cost per pass under the free travel scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13817/23]

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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857. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of people who would newly qualify for free travel if the free travel scheme were to be extended to all recipients of the carer support grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13819/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 854, 855 and 857 together.

The Free Travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. The number of people currently with direct eligibility is approx. 1,056,984. Obviously, this number changes regularly. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2023 is €95 million.

The Free Travel Scheme is not costed on the basis of an average cost per pass but rather on the usage. Therefore, the costing of additional passes is more complex and should take into account the needs of the user, the likely level of usage, the nature of the pass - whether it includes spousal or companion passes, and how extensively they are used - and availability of public transport services. My Department does not keep data on the usage and cost of free travel passes by type and therefore cannot provide an accurate average cost per pass.

Based on figures from the end of February 2023, the number of people who would newly qualify for free travel if the Free Travel Scheme were to be extended to all recipients of the Carer's Support Grant, irrespective of conditions or means, is 27,366.

The cost of extending the Free Travel scheme to those in receipt of the Carer's Support Grant would be very difficult to quantify properly, as the cost is determined by the usage of the extra passes provided and not by the number of newly qualified people. The cost of the measure would also depend on the type of Free Travel pass issued and the duration any such pass is issued for.

It is important to note that, in general, access to a Free Travel pass for those aged under 66 is a secondary benefit linked to a person being in receipt of certain primary Social Protection payments such as Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Carer’s Allowance, Blind Pension and Partial Capacity Benefit.

The Carer’s Support Grant is an annual payment made to carers who get Carer's Allowance, Carer's Benefit or Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA). It can also be paid to certain other carers providing full-time care. The Carer's Support Grant is therefore not a primary Social Protection payment and is in many cases linked to the payment of other Social Protection payments.

Any decision to extend the Scheme in the manner suggested by the Deputy would have to be considered in the overall budgetary context.

Finally, the Department of Social Protection provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have an urgent need, which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers and include help towards recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the person's own resources and are deemed to be necessary.

I hope this helps to clarify the matter for the Deputy.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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856. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of recipients of domiciliary care allowance who are not in receipt of carers allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13818/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly allowance payable to a parent/ guardian in respect of a child aged under 16, who has a severe disability or condition and requires ongoing additional care and attention substantially in excess of that normally required by a child of the same age and the child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for a at least 12 months.

DCA is not means or income tested and is payable at a standard rate of €330.00 per month in respect of each qualified child. DCA recipients are not subject to employment or self-employment restrictions.

Carer's Allowance (CA) is a means tested weekly payment for carers who are providing full time care and attention, to person(s) who require support and assistance because of age, physical or learning disability or illness, including mental illness. In cases where the person receiving the care is a child aged under 16, DCA must be payable in respect of the child. CA recipient(s) must not be engaged in employment or self-employment for more than 18.5 hours per week.

There are in excess of 50,500 persons in receipt of a DCA payment, over half of whom (approx. 26,000) are not in receipt of a CA payment.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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858. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an appeal for invalidity pension will be expedited and approved in the case of a person (details supplied) based on the medical evidence provided. [13870/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.

The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an invalidity pension appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 18 January 2023. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were returned to the Appeals Office on 24 February 2023 and referred on 16 March 2023 to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, hold an oral hearing.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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859. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of letters issued to recipients of any payments authorised by her Department, per month in the years 2022 to date in 2023, and all associated costs, requesting the recipient transfer to bank payment from collection via the Post Office Network, in tabular form. [13875/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department has not issued any letters to its customers requesting them to switch their payment method from cash collection at a post office to payment by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) into their account in a financial institution.

My Department provides two main payment options for its customers: payment in cast at post offices or payment directly into customer accounts by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). Last year, 70% of all Social Welfare payments were made by EFT and 29.5% were by cash at post offices. A small number of ad hoc payments were also made by cheque, which represented 0.5% of all payments.

Customers are offered a choice of payment method for most Social Welfare schemes and their wishes are facilitated where they choose to receive their social welfare payment at a post office. This is a matter of customer choice and preference and my Department has a duty to inform customer's of their rights. However, for control reasons, choice of payment method is restricted for a small number of Social Welfare schemes.

During the Covid pandemic, the rules governing choice of payment method for Social Welfare schemes were greatly relaxed. Customers who previously were required to collect their payment from a post office were given the option to receive their Social Welfare payment directly into an account in a financial institution, whether that be a bank, a credit union or An Post.

This was done to help customers comply with health guidelines on social distancing. The rules around payment collection by an agent were also relaxed.

As the pandemic receded, pre-Covid rules were reinstated on a phased basis. This has led to a migration of Jobseeker payments back to post offices over the last year. There is also currently a review of agent arrangements for customers in receipt of Carer's Allowance payments.

The reinstatement of cash collection at a post office as the default payment method for Jobseekers has resulted in an increase of almost 25% in the number of Jobseeker payments transacted by An Post in the last year.

The current review of agent collection arrangements for those people in receipt of a Carer’s Allowance payment has involved my Department writing out to customers to check whether they still require an agent to collect their post office payment. In the vast majority of cases, these customers have told my officials that they no longer need an agent and can continue to collect their payment themselves at a post office. A very small number of customers have indicated that they still require an agent.

Any carer not able to collect their payment at a post office could indicate an inability to provide care. For this reason, the use of an agent is only allowed in exceptional circumstances. All customers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance who had an agent were also given the option to have their payment made directly into an account in a financial institution.

Payment by EFT is permitted for the Carer's Allowance Social Welfare scheme and my Department has a responsibility to ensure that customers are made aware of all of the payments options available to them.

It is not proposed to limit the freedom of Social Welfare customers to be paid directly at a post office. Neither is it Departmental policy to advise or encourage customers to favour one financial institution over another.

With the exception of a small number of schemes, due to control reasons, my Department remains committed to providing social welfare recipients with a choice of payment method. My Department will respect customer choice as appropriate and make payments in line with customer preference where choice is available.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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860. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection how reviews are carried out for those in receipt of disability allowance or blind pension who are self-employed (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13895/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Disability Allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged 16 or over and under the age of 66. This disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and Habitual Residency conditions.

Disability Allowance and Blind Pension have been designed to support recipients pursuing employment opportunities, be that self-employment or insurable employment. When a person is in employment, an income disregard of €165 per week is applied. In addition, 50% of earnings between €165 and €375 are also disregarded for the purpose of the means test.

If a person in receipt of Disability Allowance or Blind Pension is self-employed, their income is taken to be their gross profit, less permissible work-related expenses, but not drawings. Where the person has taken drawings from their business which are greater than the level of income thus calculated, the drawings are assessed as cash income. All expenses directly related to self-employment can be offset against income from self-employment. Expenses vary with the nature and extent of the self-employment but may include materials, depreciation of machinery or equipment, telephone, lighting and heating (for business and not domestic use) and other costs associated with running a business.

Income is assessed on an annual basis, and then divided by 52 to ascertain a person’s weekly means. The means assessment is intended to reflect the income the person may reasonably be expected to receive during the coming 12 months. Where this is not ascertainable, the income for the last 12 months can be taken as a guide, allowing for any factors which it is known will vary. Assessing a person’s income in this manner takes account of the fact that some people’s income is irregular, and that they will earn more during some periods than others.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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861. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she is aware of the backlog of up to 15 weeks for applications for the working family payment; and if measures will be put in place to amend same (details supplied). [13897/23]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Working Family Payment (WFP), formerly Family Income Supplement, is a weekly in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. To qualify for Working Family Payment, the customer must have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them and be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment.

The average processing time for a WFP application is 4 weeks.

An application for WFP was received on 7th February 2023 for the person concerned. Details in relation to employment were not included with the application and, therefore, a decision on entitlement could not be established.

A letter issued to the person concerned on 8^thMarch 2023 requesting completion of an employment certificate by the employer. The certificate has not been returned and the request for information was reissued on 16^thMarch 2023.

On receipt of the requested documentation from the person concerned, their WFP application will be processed without delay and they will be notified of the outcome.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.