Social Policy Quarterly Report October-December 2001

This report contains a selection of the social policy issues indicated in Social Policy Records from CICs in October-December 2001. During this period, the Comhairle Social Policy Executive received 307 Social Policy Records. This is a considerable increase in comparison with the number of records received previously. All the CICs that sent in Social Policy Records during October-December 2001 are listed in the appendix at the end of this report. While many issues contained in the Social Policy Records have been included in this document, it has not been possible to describe every piece of feedback because of the large number of records received. The main issues identified were:

Work and welfare

Work Disincentives created by loss of secondary benefits

Ballina CIC (14.11.) illustrates the dilemma faced by people receiving unemployment payments and rent supplement: taking up work will result in the loss of the valuable rent supplement (same issue is highlighted by Carlow CIC 27.11.). The CIC suggests that rent supplement should be based purely on means, rather than on the number of hours worked. Disqualifying people because they are in full-time employment is unfair as a full-time worker can still be on a low income that is not sufficient for paying rent. This problem has become more severe as a result of recent increases in rents in the private sector to a very high level. Navan CIC (18.10.) also points out that 'the gain that are made by opting for paid employment are offset by the reduction in social supports and the cost of childcare...Supplementary Welfare Rent Allowance has to be continuously increased to take account of the surges in the level of rents...new initiatives and greatly improved funding should be provided for voluntary housing trusts'.

Limerick CIC (September) reports the case of a lone parent whose earnings from Community Employment pushed her above the income limit for the medical card and for free trips to a hospital for her sick child. This is a clear example of the loss of secondary benefits creating an obstacle to continuing in employment. Lone parents in Community Employment face a similar disincentive with regard to rent allowance, particularly as the rent allowance payable to people in Community Employment decreases every year (Cobh CIC 26.11.).

Nortside (Dublin) CIC (30.10.) argues that it is unfair to expect Community Employment workers to pay an increasing share of their rent the longer stay on the scheme. The rent allowance should stay the same throughout the participation in CE as CE wages do not increase to correspond to the increased rent costs.

Unemployment payments

City Centre (Dublin) CIC (24.10.) points out that a situation persists where persons who have applied for unemployment assistance and are waiting for a decision, have encountered great difficulties in securing a payment that will 'tide them over'. According to the Centre, it appears that people in this situation are expected to make ends meet somehow during the waiting period.

Buncrana CIC (31.10.) points out that there is an urgent need for the Health Boards to provide clearly stated and consistently applied rules on Medical Card retention for people who take up employment. Otherwise, the recent initiatives and concessions designed to encourage welfare recipients back to work are ineffective when people are faced with the loss of the Medical Card, particularly in respect of child dependants.

Community Employment

Northside (Dublin) CIC (22.11.) had had queries from married women wanting to participate in the CE scheme. However, many had been disappointed as they were told that they do not fit the eligibility criteria. Many of the women concerned were finding it difficult to obtain 'regular' part-time employment while their children were at school, and felt that a CE scheme would give them experience and training they needed and found difficult to get outside CE:

Carers, Pensioners and Students

Carers

Macroom CIC (22.10) suggests some changes in Carers Benefit. Applicants currently have to apply for Carers Benefit 6 weeks before they intend to leave employment. However, CB applications frequently arise in times of crisis when the applicant does not have the luxury of applying well in advance of leaving work. Similarly, applicants for CB must have worked 19 hours per week in the 13 weeks prior to leaving work. Again, this does not recognise the reality that people in crisis may have to take time off to care for an ill person in the weeks preceding the application for CB.

Pensioners

S.E.P. Rosmuc (12.7.) highlights the unfair means-testing of Old-Age Non-Contributory pension where no allowances are made for income from occasional or part-time work. This obviously creates work disincentives for pensioners and their qualified adults. All social welfare payments should be treated the same for purposes of means-testing additional income.

Students

Sligo CIC (September) argues that it is unfair to subject mature students living in their parental home to the standard means-test applied to people living with their parents. Given the current difficulties in finding affordable accommodation, it is not fair to assume that all persons living at home with their parents are dependent on their parents and have access to financial help from them.

Sligo CIC (17.9.) also suggests that the Back to Education programme should be universal in the sense that recipients of all benefits and payments can qualify for it. At present, the restrictions in qualifying payments mean that many benefit/payment recipiens who are interested in the scheme cannot qualify.

Health Care and People with Disabilities

Disability benefit

Galway CIC (10.10.) describes a case where it would make sense to give entitlement to disability benefit on a 'part-time basis' as the person in question is still capable of working for a couple of days a week. Instead, the person in question had to give up working and go on the disability benefit for six months before they are allowed to take up some work 'for therapeutic purposes'.

Medical cards

CICs continue to report their clients' dissatisfaction with low medical card income limits (Shannon CIC October; Limerick CIC 21.9.; Ballina CIC 1.10.; Castlebar CIC 17.10.). Rosmuc CIC (23.8.) considers it very unfair that young children are in many cases not covered for any medical expenses. The Centre argues that all children should at the very least have dental and optical services provided free until the age of 18.

Gaps in coverage for people out of work due to sickness

Cahersiveen CIC (2.9.) reports a case where a sick person with a long-term working history in the UK was left without any financial support after returning to Ireland. Persons in this kind of situation who live with their family are often not entitled to Disability Allowance or SWA due to their parents' means. However, if they were living alone they would be entitled to DA, medical card and rent allowance. There is too much reliance on families looking after adult members who have no choice but to live at home.

Primary Medical Certificate

Cavan CIC (21.8.) argues that the criteria for securing a Primary Medical Certificate must be reviewed as it is currently too difficult to obtain the certificate. The medical criteria that is used to determine eligibility should be expanded and the language of the certificate (which is experienced as degrading) should be changed. The centre argues that many people who drive unadapted cars do so because they have failed to qualify for PMC which may have adverse implications for road safety.

Families and Children

Navan CIC (18.10.) points out a disparity in the child dependant payments and child benefit: while the former is paid to recipients of long-term benefits until their children reach the age of 22 (provided the children are in full-time education), the latter ends when the children reach the age of 19. The CIC argues that child benefit should also be paid until the age of 22 for the children who are in full-time education and whose parents are receiving a child dependant payment. Limerick CIC (September) has pointed out the same problem: once the children of welfare recipients reach the age of 19, they are only entitled to child benefits despite the fact that it is costly to support a child in full-time third level education.

Family Income Supplement

Galway CIC (4.10.) criticises the rule according to which the FIS rate is fixed for 52 weeks. While this may be of advantage to someone whose wages increase during the year, it is disadvantageous for people whose wages decrease during the period. This clearly does not serve the purpose of ensuring that working parents have a minimum level of income. While it is possible for FIS recipients whose circumstances and income have changed to return the payment book and to re-apply for FIS, the CIC feels that getting the payment adjusted should be more straightforward.

Rosmuc CIC (21.8.) argues that self-employed parents on low incomes should be eligible for FIS. It is very unfair that self-employed parents are excluded from the scheme as some of them have large families and are on very low incomes.

Parental leave

Monaghan CIC (18.10.) suggests that fathers whose wife/partner is not entitled to maternity benefit should be entitled to a 'paternity benefit' on the basis of their PRSI contributions. The CIC also suggests that force majeur leave should be made more specific and extended to men whose wife/partner has had a child.

Maternity benefit

S.I.C.C.D.A. (18.10.) is concerned about the lack of entitlements to expectant mothers who do not qualify for the health and safety benefits, and don't have enough social insurance contributions to entitle them to maternity benefit or the unemployment benefit. For instance, an expectant mother working in a bar may need to quit working a couple of months before giving birth for the sake of her and the baby's health, yet the danger is not sufficiently great to entitle her to the health and safety benefit. There clearly should be something other than supplementary welfare to help bridge the gap in earnings for women who are in this situation.

City Centre (Dublin) CIC (25.9.) describes the financial hardship experienced by women who go on the maternity benefit. The Centre argues that maternity benefit should be paid at the rate of normal weekly wages rather than at 70 per cent of previous earnings.

Health and safety benefit

City Centre (Dublin) CIC (25.9.) points out the unfairness of the low level of the health and safety benefit. Health and safety benefit is paid for pregnant women whose employment poses a risk to the health of the baby and/or the mother, and whose employer is not in a position to organise alternative, safe tasks for the employee. After three weeks of normal wages, the level of the benefit drops to £ 85.50 per week. Such a drop in income obviously causes serious financial hardship. The CIC recommends that the health and safety benefit should be paid at the level of previous wages for the duration of the leave, or at least at 70 per cent of previous wages as in the maternity benefit scheme.

Housing, Homelessness and Asylum Seekers

Housing

A number of clients at the Northside CIC (July) have complained that increases in their social welfare payments are partly absorbed by increases in corporation housing rents. The Centre also points out that people living on social welfare payments are finding it increasingly difficult to buy the basic necessities as the cost of food and housing in particular has increased.

Limerick CIC (24.9.) reports a case where the Council is failing to repair the chimney of a council caravan despite repeated requests. S.I.C.C.D.A. has come across cases where private contractors are hired by the corporation to carry out repairs in local authority apartments. When these contractors fail to carry out repairs to a satisfactory standard or damage the contents of the flat in the process, the local authority refused to be held responsible. There is a need to ensure that local authorities remain ultimately responsible for work that private contractors are hired to do.

The necessity to get landlords to sing the rent supplement form continues to cause difficulties for low-income tenants who need the allowance (Limerick CIC 14.9. and 19.9., Nortside (Dublin) CIC 30.10., Carlow CIC 21.11.). Many landlords refuse to take on tenants who need rent supplement and other refuse to sign the form when they are presented with it by their tenants. The requirement that landlords must sign the form should be abolished. Northside (Dublin) CIC (30.10.) suggests that the claimant should get the rent allowance paid directly to him or her and then pay the landlord: this would improve rent allowance recipients' chances of finding accommodation.

Sligo CIC (September) calls for urgent implementation of reforms in the private rented sector as many private tenants are experiencing great problems with regard to security of tenure, return of deposit and so on.

Services for the homeless

The plight of homeless families has been highlighted by City Centre (Dublin) CIC (12.9.). Families with teenage children are expected to share a single room in B&B hostels where humiliating controls such as early curfew are imposed on them.

City Centre (Dublin) CIC (10.9.) also reports the serious difficulties they experienced when trying to access services for homeless clients. These difficulties were caused by the closure of the Charles street centre and by the fact that there was no answer to phone calls made to a special helpline number.

Limerick CIC (September) has also come across clients who are homeless with multiple problems and for whom a stay in the hospital is the only service available . The CIC feels that there should be more and better services for homeless people that are equipped to deal with their problems.

Access, Indexing and Taxation

PRSI voluntary contributions

Ballina CIC (12.11.) argues that people who do not have to pay PRSI but would like to do so in order to avail of benefits and pensions, should be allowed to do so. The voluntary contributions scheme is too restrictive in its current form.

Backdated social welfare payments

Limerick CIC (24.9.) considers it unfair that supplementary welfare is only paid from the time of the application. The CIC points out that many people are not aware of their entitlements at first and therefore lose out on payments. This is an unfair penalty on people who did not have sufficient information on available supports when the need for them first arose.

Administration

Delays in processing claims

CICs have reported delays in the processing of claims for disability allowance (Limerick CIC 16.9.), for lone parent payments (Carlow 4.9.), for unemployment benefit (Rosmuc 24.8.). There are also delays in the issuing of back payments (Castlebar CIC 21.11.).

Rosmuc CIC (24.8.) suggests that social welfare offices send a note to the applicant as soon as they have received an application for a benefit or a payment, advising the client that their application has been received. If a delay is likely, the client should be advised of this, and informed that they can do to the local Community Welfare Officer to ask for money in the meantime.

Information about benefits

There is evidence that many people who are entitled to Family Income Supplement are not aware of the existence of this payment (Carlow CIC 4.9.). An information campaign to increase awareness is needed. Similarly, people on FIS and OPFP are not always given accurate information regarding the impact of income from work on their (secondary) benefits (Galway CIC 12.12.).

Delays in processing claims can cause applicants great hardship. It is important that claimants are given realistic information about delays in assessing claims, and that they are adviced to apply for supplementary welfare during the waiting period. Long waiting times and lack of information about recourse to supplementary welfare have meant that some applicants experience great financial hardship and stress while waiting for applications to be assessed (Dundalk CIC 19.10.).

Employment

Employment rights

Killarney CIC (30.10. and 1.11) and Ballina CIC (14.11.) have highlighted that there is no protection from unfair dismissal for employees who have been employed for less than 12 months. The Centres recount the stories of several individuals, employed for less than a year, who were dismissed because they needed to take a small number of days off for health reasons and because of family emergencies.

There is also evidence that some employers are either not aware of minimum wage legislation or choose to ignore it (Carlow CIC 11.9., 21.9. and 21.11.). A number of breaches of basic employment rights were also reported: refusal to pay holiday pay (Carlow CIC 21.9.).

Leitrim CIC (mobile unit, 6.10) highlights the large number of employment rights-related queries and argues that the implementation of employment legislation needs to be more strictly enforced. The Centre also points out that the current course of redress in this area is not satisfactory as employees believe their jobs are at risk if they pursue their claims through the Rights Commission or the labour courts.

Foreign workers in Ireland

Shannon CIC (18.10.) has had queries from foreign nationals who decide to change jobs and have to wait for a new work permit. Issuing a new work permit can take several weeks, and during this time recourse to supplementary welfare is necessary. Difficulties in obtaining relevant documentation mean that clients in this position are not always granted supplementary welfare, and therefore need to borrow money in order to pay for basic necessities.

Galway CIC (no date) has come across similar cases where foreign employees on work permits are expected to work excessively long hours and their passports and/or visas are confiscated by the employer. When the individuals concerned want to change jobs, problems tend to arise where the former employer is reluctant to return documents, and where leaving a job also leads to losing accommodation.

Miscellaneous

Refuse collection fees

The income limits for exemption from refuse collection fees are too low and should be increased in tandem with increases in pensions and other benefits (Cavan 13.8.).

Small claims court

Limerick CIC (24.9.) reports reluctance among solicitors to take on minor cases. The CIC suggests a reform of the small claims court system along the lines of the British system where clients can take their cases to the court themselves.

CICs that sent in social policy returns in October-December 2001

Of 85 CICs, 45 sent in Social Policy Records in October-December 2001 (53 %).