Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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228. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if it is possible for someone in receipt of a social welfare payment to leave the country for a period of longer than two weeks to support family in the time of bereavement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6683/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Some social welfare payments, mainly contributory pensions and long-term benefits payable under the social insurance fund, are payable while the recipient is absent from the State.

Other, mainly short-term and mans tested payments, may be payable in respect of periods a person is temporarily absent from the State for up to two weeks subject to the qualifying conditions continuing to be met. In some cases a recipient of such schemes may be allowed to travel outside the State for periods in excess of two weeks, i these cases the periods for which they may be entitled to payment will vary in accordance with the scheme guidelines.

Payment is generally suspended during such absences and restored when the person returns with any arrears due then payable provided that the qualifying conditions for payment were fulfilled during the period of absence.

Any recipient of a social welfare payment should contact the relevant scheme area of the Department who will provide full information regarding payment during such absences from the State. In all cases the Department must be notified in advance of travelling, outlining the circumstances and the intended return dates.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The purpose of the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme (HAS) is to prevent hardship by providing income tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged from flooding and severe weather events and who are not able to meet costs for essential needs, household items and in some instances structural repair. The scheme is administered by the Community Welfare Service (CWS) in this Department.

Following any severe weather event, CWS staff closely monitor the situation on the ground in the area affected and work alongside relevant local authorities and other agencies to assess emerging needs and to participate in the local response effort that is mounted following a particular event.

CWS staff were immediately available on the ground in Cork in the aftermath of Storm Babet offering financial assistance and advice to those living in the affected areas.

In dealing with emergency events the Department generally adopts a three-stage approach as follows:

• Stage 1 provides emergency income support payments (food/clothing/personal items) in the immediate aftermath of the event.

• Stage 2 involves the replacement of white goods, basic furniture items and other essential household items.

• Stage 3 is to identify what longer term financial support is required, including plastering, dry-lining, relaying of floors, electrical re-wiring and painting.

Where financial assistance is required for structural damage and the estimated cost as outlined in builder’s quotes provided by the customer is of a high value amount, the case will be referred to the Loss Adjusters appointed by the Department of Social Protection.

Households in Copper Valley Vue Estate, Glanmire, Co. Cork have received continuous support since this storm and there has been no undue delay with any HAS claims;

• Stage 1 - All households that have applied for Stage 1 assistance, have received a payment.

• Stage 2 – Of the households that have applied for Stage 2 support, those claims have been actioned and my Department are awaiting the provision of further information from two applicants in order to progress their claims.

• Stage 3 – It was necessary due to high value of the claim amounts to refer the claims of the households that have applied for assistance under Stage 3 of the HAS scheme to a Loss Adjustor. To date, where the Loss Adjuster reports have been returned, letters of offer have been sent to the customers. My Department is awaiting Loss Adjuster reports for the remaining two applications.

Due to the complexity involved additional information is also required to progress the remaining claims, and it can take some time for this information to be made available by the client. The CWS is paying close attention to all claims received and claims are being processed as quickly as is possible. Where it is necessary to involve the services of a Loss Adjuster, this may also impact on the timeframes involved.

Any household in an area affected by severe weather can access the support of the HAS by contacting the Community Welfare Service at 0818 60 70 80, or they can call in to the Intreo Centre at Abbeycourt House in Cork City to discuss their HAS application with a Community Welfare Officer.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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230. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will extend children's allowance to cover children over 18 years of age ahead of planned date of next September (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6730/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Child Benefit is an almost universal monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. Currently, the payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 18th birthday where they are in full-time education, or have a disability.

In Budget 2024, the Government decided to extend the payment of Child Benefit to 18-year-olds who are in full-time education or have a disability. This was one of my key priorities in the Budget.

With many children now starting primary school at age 5, together with the increase in pupils doing transition year, there has been an increase in the number of 18-year-olds still in secondary education. I believe the extension of Child Benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education is a long-term change for the better and will support families across Ireland into the future.

This is a significant change to the Child Benefit scheme. It requires technical and operational changes before implementation.

We had originally provided that the change would take effect from September this year. However, I am very pleased that we are now able to bring this important change in from an earlier date and I have

I have secured Government approval to do that. As a result, the measure will be brought in from the first of May. In the region of 60,000 children are expected to benefit from this measure annually.

I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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231. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the policy her Department has regarding wages derived from a limited company and how they are assessed and treated in relation to means tested social welfare payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6732/24]

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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232. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the policy her Department has regarding profits held in a limited company and how they are treated and assessed in relation to means tested social welfare payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6733/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 231 and 232 together.

The rules governing the assessment of means for the purposes of means tested Social Welfare payments are given under Schedule 3 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended). These rules provide for the assessment of all capital and income, with some legislated exceptions.

Distributed profits or drawings from a limited company are assessable in the means test. Wages paid to a claimant from a limited company (and/or their spouse/partner if relevant) are assessable income, however most schemes will disregard a proportion of earnings.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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233. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if supports exist for self employed persons with children with special/additional needs; if so, the qualifying criteria; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6739/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The key role of my department is to provide income support where an income need arises because of a particular contingency – be that illness, disability, caring or unemployment.

The main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending in 2024 is expected to amount to over €1.7 billion on these payments.

Carer's Benefit payment is not available to the self-employed. However the range of other carer payments can be availed of by people who are self-employed and have children with special/additional needs, provided they meet the other qualifying criteria:

• Domiciliary Care Allowance is a non means tested monthly payment made to a parent or guardian in respect of a child aged under 16 who has a severe disability and requires continual or continuous care and attention substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age for at least 12 consecutive months. To qualify for Domiciliary Care Allowance, the child must live at home with the person claiming the allowance for five or more days per week. As part of Budget 2024, I increased the rate of Domiciliary Care Allowance from €330 to its current rate of €340 per month.
• The Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which my department provides income support to carers in the community. Carer’s Allowance is a payment to people on low incomes who are caring full-time for a person who needs support because of age, disability or illness (including mental illness). The person being cared for must require full-time care and attention. For a single person €350 .00 of gross weekly income is disregarded. Where a carer is married/in a civil partnership/cohabiting the first €750.00 of combined gross weekly income is disregarded. As part of Budget 2024 I have increased these thresholds to €400 and €900 respectively, to take effect from June this year.
• The Carer's Support Grant is automatically paid to people in receipt of Carer's Allowance, Carer’s Benefit and Domiciliary Care allowance in June of each year. Other carers not in receipt of a carer’s payment may also be eligible for the Grant. The objective of the Carer’s Support Grant is to support carers in their caring role and carers may use the grant in a manner that is appropriate to their needs. The grant is not subject to a means test and it is not taxed. The grant is paid in respect of each person being cared for to take account of the additional cost of providing care and to recognise the particular challenges faced by these carers. As part of Budget Measures 2021, the rate of the grant was increased by €150. The new rate of €1,850 is the highest rate of the grant since its introduction.

I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.