Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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448. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will provide an update on the household benefit, fuel allowance and living alone applications for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57553/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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In addition to her widow's contributory pension, payable at the weekly rate of €253.30, the person concerned has been awarded a living alone allowance at the weekly rate of €22.00 from the 22nd April 2022; fuel allowance at the weekly rate of €33.00 and the telephone support allowance at the weekly rate of €2.50 from the 21st October 2022. Payment will commence at her nominated Post Office on the 25th of November 2022 and all arrears due will be paid on the same date. The person concerned has also been awarded the Household Benefits Package and has been notified of the decision by post.

As a result of the cost-of-living measures introduced in the budget, the person concerned will also be paid a fuel allowance lump sum of €400 and a once off €200 living alone allowance lump sum payment on the same date.

I trust the above clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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449. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will consider extending the age for receipt of children's allowance until third level education finishes. [57557/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Child Benefit is a universal monthly payment made to families with children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their eighteenth birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Estimated expenditure on the scheme will be approximately €2.1 billion in 2022.

In Budget 2023, I secured a significant Social Welfare package of over €2.1 billion. As part of that, one of my priorities was to provide support for families and children.

People who are in receipt of Child Benefit received a cost-of-living double payment on 1st November. This double payment was made to approximately 638,000 families in respect of over 1.2 million children at an estimated cost of €170.4 million.

There are currently no plans to extend Child Benefit in respect of full-time students over the age of 18 until their third level education finishes. Such an extension would have significant cost implications. Families on low incomes may be able to avail of a number of social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:

- Increase for a Qualified Child (IQCs) with primary social welfare payments;

- the Working Family Payment for low-paid employees with children; and

- the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance.

Budget 2023 provides for a €40 weekly increase in the Working Family Payment income limits for families of all sizes from January at a cost of approximately €16.8 million in 2023. I also provided for a €500 lump sum payment to all families in receipt of the payment this month at an estimated cost of €23 million.

Additionally, I provided for the weekly rates of the Increase for a Qualified Child to increase by €2 to €42 per week in the case of children under age 12 and by €2 to €50 per week in the case of children aged 12 or over. This increase will take effect from January at an estimated cost of €30.4 million in 2023.

These schemes provide targeted assistance that is directly linked to household income and thereby support low-income families with older children participating in full-time education.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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450. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a decision will be made in relation to a working family payment review for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57564/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Working Family Payment (WFP) 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 1 qualified child who normally resides with them and be working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight in ongoing insurable employment.

Once WFP is awarded, the weekly rate of payment remains the same for 52 weeks while the applicant remains in employment, working a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight, except in circumstances where an additional qualified child has joined the household, or the applicant no longer qualifies for One Parent Family Payment as their youngest child has reached the relevant age threshold.

The current WFP application in payment to the person concerned was received on 25th August 2022. WFP was awarded from 15th September 2022 (renewal date), and this will continue until 13th September 2023.

However, if the person concerned has had a significant change in her circumstances, she may choose to close her current WFP application and make a new application.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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451. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will explain the reasoning as to the reason a person who is in receipt of partial capacity benefits, if recipients are on an invalidity-based payment rate they will not be entitled to the one-off payment of €500; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57570/22]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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467. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason that partial capacity benefit was excluded from the €500 disability lump sum payment; if consideration was given to making this payment available to those on partial capacity benefit; if the payment will be extended to those in receipt of PCB now; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58033/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 451 and 467 together.

As part of Budget 2023, the Social Protection budget has been designed to assist people with cost-of- living increases through a mix of lump sum payments, increases to weekly payment rates and an expansion of the Fuel Allowance scheme.

The measures introduced include the provision of a one-off €500 Cost-of-Living payment, which will be paid in November 2022 to recipients of the Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and the Carer's Support Grant. Recipients who are in receipt of one (or more) of these payments qualify for the €500 payment.

The Partial Capacity Benefit scheme has been designed to allow persons in receipt of this payment to continue to receive a percentage of their previous payment (i.e., 50%, 75% or 100%) while in employment. The scheme has also been designed so there are no restrictions on the number of hours a person in receipt of the payment can work, and there are no restrictions on earnings/earnings limits. Persons who have moved on to Partial Capacity Benefit from an Invalidity Pension payment retain their Partial Capacity payment, while in employment for three years.

As persons in receipt of Partial Capacity Benefit are in employment without any restriction on earnings, they are not eligible for the €500 Cost-of-Living payment.

However, Partial Capacity recipients have received a double payment under the Cost-of-Living support measure, announced in the recent Budget, which was paid the week commencing 17^thOctober 2022. They will also receive the Christmas bonus double payment, which will be paid from the week commencing 5th December 2022.

In addition, from January 2023, the maximum rate of Partial Capacity Benefit will increase by €12 per week. There will be proportionate increases for people getting a reduced rate and for qualified adults. The weekly rate for a qualified child will also increase to:

- €42 for children under 12 years of age;

- €50 for children aged 12 years and over.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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452. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the breakdown of exceptional needs’ payments under the supplementary welfare allowance paid in each month; the total and individual value of each payment; and the total expenditure by category and month from January 2021 to October 2022, inclusive in tabular form. [57610/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, my Department may make additional needs payments to help meet expenses that a person cannot pay from their weekly income. This is an overarching term used to refer to exceptional and urgent needs payments, and certain supplements to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the customer’s own resources, and which are deemed to be necessary.

The schemes are demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

While it is not currently possible to show the payment value for each individual Exceptional Needs Payment (ENPs) and Urgent Needs Payment (UNPs) paid for the time in question, tables 1 and 2 show the breakdown by category of the number and total expenditure of ENPs and UNPs paid in 2021 and to date for the end of September 2022. The Department is developing the statistical output of this scheme to provide a standard reference point for the future dissemination of these figures.

Any person who considers they may have an entitlement to an additional needs payment is encouraged to contact their local community welfare service. There is a National Community Welfare Contact Centre in place - 0818-607080 - which will direct callers to the appropriate office.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Tabular Statement

Table 1 - The number by category of ENPs and UNPs paid in 2021 and to end of September 2022

Table 2 - The total expenditure by category of ENPs and UNPs paid in 2021 and to end of September 2022

Note: These figures are taken from the Department's ENP/UNP database and represent a snapshot of ENPs/UNPs as they are approved by an officer rather than when they are paid. The figures do not capture payments that are cancelled, payments that go out of date or overpayments recouped and therefore will not reconcile with the end of year outturn figures.