Written Answers Nos. 210-221
210. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer of increasing the cap on credits of 20 years in the assessment of pension eligibility under the total contributions approach system by one year, three years, five years and ten years. [37176/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraEligibility for the State Pension (Contributory) (SPC) is based on a number of criteria:
• Being aged 66 or over.
• Having entered the Social Insurance system 10 years before you intend to drawdown your SPC.
• Having a minimum of 520 paid social insurance contributions (i.e., 10 years reckonable PRSI contributions).
It should be noted that having 10 years of paid social insurance contributions is only the minimum requirement to qualify.
Under the Total Contributions Approach for calculating the SPC, the total number of paid contributions can be supplemented by up to 20 years of credited contributions. These credits can take the form of HomeCaring periods (maximum of 20 years) or ordinary credits (maximum of 10 years) for reasons such as unemployment or illness. The total combined credits cannot exceed 20 years (i.e. if a person has 15 years HomeCaring periods and eight years ordinary credits, they will get a maximum of 20 years credits).
To receive the maximum rate of payment, a person needs a total of at least 2,080 contributions and credits combined (equivalent to 40 years). If the total is less than 2,080, the rate of payment will be a percentage of the maximum rate of pension. For example, a person may receive a maximum pension based on a record of 20 years paid PRSI contributions, 5 years jobseekers’ credits, and 15 years HomeCaring credits (before or after 1994).
The existing provision of up to 20 years credited periods is a very generous one, having regard to the fact that 40 years contributions are required in order to receive a maximum rate of payment.
Since January 2024, long-term carers contributions (LTCCs) can be awarded to a person who has cared for an incapacitated person for a period of 20 years (1040 weeks) or more and these contributions can be used towards the calculation of their SPC entitlement. This is done by attributing the equivalent of a paid contribution to long-term carers of incapacitated dependents to cover gaps in their contribution record. These long-term carers contributions will be treated the same as paid contributions for SPC entitlement only and can, where there are gaps in paid contributions, be used to satisfy the minimum 520 qualifying contributions condition. Once a person has 20 years or more caring for an incapacitated dependent, there is no limit on the number of years of LTCC's they can have awarded for their caring role.
The long-term carers' contributions can be used in conjunction with other paid or credited contributions to increase a person’s rate of payment.
It is not possible for the Department to give an overall estimate of the cost of the measures proposed by the Deputy as the Department cannot determine accurately the number of persons who may be awarded credits when drawing down their SPC at a future date.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
212. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer annually of increasing all social welfare payments by €10 per week, €20 per week, €25 per week and €30 per week, in tabular form. [37178/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe estimated full year cost of a €10, €20, €25 and €30 increase in weekly social welfare payments is outlined in the table below. It should also be noted that these costings include proportionate increases for qualified adults and for those on reduced rates of payment, where relevant.
All costs are in millions of euro.
These costings are based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2024, and are subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.
213. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer annually of additional increases of €10, €12, €15, €20 and €25 per week to payments of disability allowance, domiciliary care allowance and carer's allowance, in tabular form. [37179/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe estimated full year cost of a €10, €12 €20 and €25 weekly increase to Disability Allowance and Carer's Allowance are outlined in the table1 below. Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly payment the estimated full year cost of a €10, €12 €20 and €25 monthly increase is outlined in table 2.
Table 1: All costs are in millions of Euros.
|
- |
€10 increase |
€12 increase |
€15 Increase |
€20 Increase |
€25 Increase |
|
|
Disability Allowance |
€92.44 |
€110.99 |
€138.74 |
€184.96 |
€231.18 |
|
|
Carer's Allowance |
Under 66yrs |
€26.70 |
€32.04 |
€40.05 |
€53.40 |
€66.74 |
|
- |
66yrs or Over |
€0.94 |
€1.13 |
€1.41 |
€1.89 |
€2.36 |
|
Half Rate Carer's Allowance |
Under 66yrs |
€7.44 |
€8.93 |
€11.16 |
€14.88 |
€18.60 |
|
- |
66yrs or Over |
€4.78 |
€5.73 |
€7.16 |
€9.55 |
€11.94 |
Table 2:
|
- |
€10 increase |
€12 increase |
€15 increase |
€20 Increase |
€25 Increase |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
€7.97 |
€ 9.57 |
€11.96 |
€15.94 |
€19.93 |
It should also be noted that these costings include proportionate increases for qualified adults where relevant. These costings are based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2024, and are subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.
214. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer of increasing the weekly income disregards of the carer's allowance to €500, €625 and €700 per single person; and the estimated cost to the Exchequer of increasing the weekly income disregards of the carer's allowance to €1,000, €1,250 and €1,400 for a couple. [37180/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraIncome disregards ensure that, where people are in receipt of a social assistance payment and are working, their income from work to the level of the income disregard, is not assessed in the means test.
As part of Budget 2024, I further increased the Carer's Allowance disregard to €450 for a single person, and €900 for carers with a spouse/partner from June.
A detailed costing was undertaken previously and estimated the full year cost to increase the income disregard for Carer's Allowance to €625 for a single person and €1,250 per couple is €23.6 million.
The Department does not currently have the available data and modelling capacity to provide a detailed estimate for the full year cost of increasing the disregards to €500 and €750 for single people and €1,000 and €1,400 for couples, but a very high level estimate would be that the increase would cost in the region of €9 million and €35 million respectively in a full year.
215. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the rationale for paying a full rate of domiciliary care allowance for every child that qualifies, when the same logic is not applied to the carer's allowance if a person is caring for more than one adult; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37181/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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. Domiciliary Care Allowance is a non means tested payment payable 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 and requires this care for at least 12 consecutive months.
It is a monthly payment currently paid at a rate of €340 per month towards the costs of caring for this particular cohort of children with a severe disability. If more than one child is being cared for who requires this high level of care, the allowance is payable for each child.
As of the end of August there were 55,995 families in receipt of the payment in relation to 63,042 children. Expenditure in 2024 is estimated at almost €274 million. The Carer’s Allowance scheme is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. The two principal conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are that full time care and attention is required and being provided, and that the means test which applies is satisfied.
There are currently 97,407 people in receipt of Carer's Allowance and the estimated spend on this payment in 2024 is over €1.1 billion.
While the Domiciliary Care Allowance is a monthly payment towards the costs incurred in the care of a child with exceptional needs, Carer’s Allowance is a social assistance payment which offers a financial support to people who cannot earn, or can only earn a limited income, due to their caring responsibilities. It is a direct income support paid to the carer. It is not a payment for caring.
In circumstances where carers are providing care to more than one person, the rate of Carer's Allowance payable is increased by a maximum of 50% of the standard personal rate. A half-rate Carer’s Allowance may also be available to those in receipt of another social welfare payment who are providing full-time care and attention. Uniquely in the social welfare system in these cases, a carer may retain their main social welfare payment and receive another payment, depending on their means, the maximum of which is equivalent to a half-rate Carer’s Allowance.
It should also be noted that subject to satisfying a means test or having sufficient PRSI contributions, those receiving Domiciliary Care Allowance may also be eligible for Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Benefit. Recipients of the Domiciliary Care Allowance payment also automatically receive the annual Carer's Support Grant in respect of each child being cared for.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
216. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer annually of extending the full rate of the carer's allowance to people who care for two or more people; the estimated annual cost of increasing the half-rate carer's allowance to 75% for people who care for two or more people; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37182/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 on these payments is expected to amount to over €1.7 billion this year.
The Carer’s Allowance scheme is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. In 2024 the expenditure on the Carer’s Allowance scheme is estimated to be over €1.1 billion and there are currently 97,407 people receiving this payment.
The total number of carers in receipt of Carer’s Allowance for two or more carees is currently 11,784, of which 8,637 carers receive a full-rate payment, and 3,147 are in receipt of a half-rate payment.
In line with other social assistance payments, the Carer’s Allowance payment is made up of a personal rate for the carer and extra amounts for any child dependants. Carer's Allowance has no qualified adult payment.
It is important to note that, just as in the case of disability and job seeking payments, the Carer’s Allowance is not intended to be a compensatory payment for the full value of earnings foregone nor is it a payment by the State for the provision of care.In this regard the payment is intended to provide an income support for the carer and does not depend on individual care requirements, so while the caring requirements of care recipients will differ, it is important to note that this does not affect the rate of the allowance. The only exception to this being an increase in the personal rate of payment where carers are providing care to more than one person. In these circumstances, the rate of Carer's Allowance payable is increased by a maximum of 50% of the standard personal rate. If the 8,637 carers received effectively an additional full rate Carer’s Allowance payment this would cost an estimated additional €55.69 million per annum.
The above estimate is based on the current under 66 Carer’s Allowance maximum personal rate of €248 per week being applied and therefore it does not take into account increased rates for carers over 66.
The half-rate Carer’s Allowance payment is available to carers in receipt of certain social welfare payments (other than Carer’s Allowance or Benefit and Jobseeker payments) who are providing full-time care and attention. This measure allows carers to retain their main payment and receive another payment, depending on their means, the maximum of which is equivalent to a half-rate Carer’s Allowance.
The annual cost of increasing the half-rate carer's allowance to 75% for people who care for two or more people would be an estimated additional €10.2 million per annum.
The calculation is based on the increased cost if all 3,147 carers in receipt of a half-rate Carer’s Allowance payment and caring for two or more carees received a weekly payment of €186. As per the previous estimate, the calculation is based on the current under 66 Carer’s Allowance maximum personal rate of €248 per week being applied and does not take into account the increased rates applied for carers over 66.
It is important to note that these costings are estimates based on administrative data. They take no account of year on year increases to the payments.
Any changes to the carer schemes under my remit could only be considered in an overall policy and Budgetary context.
I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
217. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the annual cost to the Exchequer of expanding the eligibility of the carer's benefit to include self-employed people; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37183/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraSelf-employed workers whose income is €5,000 or more in a contribution year are liable to pay social insurance contributions at the PRSI class S rate of 4%, subject to a minimum annual payment of €500. Such contributors are currently covered for a wide range of social insurance benefits including State pension (contributory), widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension (contributory), guardian’s payment (contributory), maternity, adoptive and paternity benefits, treatment benefits, invalidity pension, partial capacity benefit (if in receipt of invalidity pension), jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed) and parent’s benefit.
The issue of extending additional social insurance benefits to self-employed persons paying class S social insurance contributions was considered in the Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund, conducted by independent consultants and published in March 2023.
The Review indicated that if access to carer's benefit was extended to self-employed contributors, the cost to the Social Insurance Fund in 2024 would be approximately €7.1 million, increasing annually thereafter.
It should be noted that there has been an extensive expansion of access to the range of social insurance benefits by self-employed social insurance contributors in recent years without any increase in the 4% rate of contribution made by them. In effect, self-employed contributors, in return for a contribution of 11 percentage points lower than the combined employer and employee contribution of 15.05% made in respect of employed contributors, have access to benefits which comprise over 90% of the value of all benefits available to employed contributors.
Any change to the entitlements of self-employed contributors could only be considered in a wider budgetary context, including the associated contribution rates.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
218. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the annual cost to the Exchequer of extending the 18.5-hour ceiling for people in receipt of the carer's allowance who want to undertake training or education while providing full-time care by 1.5 hours, by 3 hours, by 4.5 hours, by 6 hours, by 7.5 hours, and by 9 hours, in tabular form. [37184/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy department provides a comprehensive package of carers’ income supports including Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. At the end of August, there were 97,407 people in receipt of Carer's Allowance. Combined spending on all these payments to carers in 2024 is expected to exceed €1.7 billion.
Carer’s Allowance is the main scheme by which the department provides income support to carers in the community. Carer’s Allowance is a means tested social assistance payment awarded to those carers who are caring for certain people who require full-time care and attention. The means test is used to target the support to those most in need.
The primary objective of the payment is to provide an income support to carers whose earning capacity is substantially reduced as a consequence of their caring responsibilities and, in so doing, to support the ongoing care of the person in respect of whom care is being provided.
A primary qualifying condition for the carer income supports provided, is that the applicant provides full-time care and attention to a person in need of such care. The person being cared for must be so incapacitated as to require full-time care and attention and be likely to require this full-time care and attention for at least 12 months. The time spent providing care must not be less than 35 hours per week.
While carer support payments are premised on the provision of full-time care and attention by the carer, they also provide flexibility in terms of allowing carers to engage in work, training or education up to 18.5 hours per week. This was increased from 15 hours as part of Budget 2020. During this time, adequate provision must be made for the care of the relevant person.
Both the full-time care and attention requirement and the 18.5-hour limitation are contained in the respective legislative provisions of the Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit and Carer’s Support Grant schemes.
The 18.5-hour limitation represents a reasonable balance between meeting the requirement for providing full-time care for the care recipient and the needs of the carer to engage in education, training or employment, thereby supporting a carer’s continued attachment to the workforce and broader social inclusion. In effect, a carer can engage in these activities for half of a full-time working week.
The main cost elements of a proposal to increase the threshold would arise from new claimants who are not currently eligible and who do not apply for the allowance because of the 18.5 hours condition. It is not known to the Department the number of people engaged in education or training who could become eligible as a consequence of increasing the hours threshold, as outlined by the Deputy, and therefore an estimate of the costs can not be provided.
Finally, any changes to the eligibility conditions for any of the carer related statutory schemes operated by my department would need to be addressed in an overall policy and budgetary context.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
219. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the annual cost of increasing the carer's support grant by €25 per year, €50 per year, €75 per year and €100 per year, in tabular form. [37185/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe estimated annual cost of increasing the carer's support grant by €25 per year, €50 per year, €75 per year and €100 per year, is set out in the table below.
|
Increase |
Cost |
|
€25 |
€4.2M |
|
€50 |
€8.5M |
|
€75 |
€12.7M |
|
€100 |
€16.9M |
The costs shown above are based on the estimated number of recipients in 2024. This costing is subject to change in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients.
220. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer annually of increasing the weekly travel allowance under the carer's allowance means test from €15 to €20, to €25, to €30, to €35. [37186/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 on these payments is expected to amount to over €1.7 billion this year.
The Carer’s Allowance scheme is the main scheme by which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. In 2024 the expenditure on the Carer’s Allowance scheme is estimated to be over €1.1 billion.
Data from July shows there were 97,130 recipients of Carer’s Allowance. Of that number, there were 28,269 availing of the weekly travel allowance, of which 3,548 were in receipt of a reduced payment. Any increase of the travel allowance would not affect those already in receipt of a full-rate payment.
It is not possible to provide the breakdowns requested by the Deputy. The travel allowance is applied as a disregard, along with the other relevant disregards, at the time of the individual’s application in order to determine that individual’s rate of payment.
However, if we were to assume that the 3,548 carers on reduced rate would now qualify for a full-rate payment due to any of the increases to the travel allowance, as proposed by the Deputy, the total cost of increasing the weekly travel allowance for this cohort from €15 would be €45.7 million per annum.
The above is based on the following assumptions:
• The calculation is based on all 3,548 reduced rate recipients receiving a full rate Carer’s Allowance of €248 per week (aged under 66 rate, caring for 1 person).
• The cost takes no account of the payment amounts those on a reduced rate are currently in receipt of.
• The cost takes no account of potential inflows. It is not known how many people who currently do not qualify would now qualify for a Carer’s Allowance payment as a result of an increase to the travel allowance disregard.
I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.
221. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated annual cost to the Exchequer of extending the back-to-education allowance to those who are in employment. [37187/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Back to Education Allowance provides income support for jobseekers and others in receipt of certain social welfare payments who pursue full-time courses of education at further or higher level. The focus of the scheme is to assist people improve their qualifications and as a result improve their access to sustainable employment. The Government has provided €35.7 million for the scheme in 2024.
A person wishing to pursue a course of study under the Back to Education Allowance scheme must satisfy certain conditions including being in receipt of a qualifying payment for a specified time. This may include people who are in part-time employment. The Back to Education Allowance provides that claimants receive a payment at the same rate as their underlying qualifying payment when they attend full time study. It is therefore not possible to provide an estimated cost of extending the scheme to persons in full time employment as they are not in receipt of an underlying social welfare payment.
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has policy responsibility for the further and higher education sectors. It provides a range of education and training options, including upskilling and reskilling options for people in employment. It also has responsibility for the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) grant which is the primary support for people pursuing further and higher education. This grant offers funding to eligible students, from school leavers to mature students returning to education who are taking approved courses.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
