Overview of Irish Social Welfare Supports

Introduction

This chapter will analyse the Irish social welfare system in the context of protecting the rights of people with disabilities. It will set out the supports available for people with disabilities within the social welfare system. Furthermore, it will provide a brief overview of the development of the Irish welfare state throughout the late 19

th to early 21

st

century while undertaking a comparative analysis of the Irish social welfare system and international social welfare systems in the context of disability support. The chapter will examine areas for reform regarding disability-specific social welfare supports, and how the system might better vindicate the rights of people with disabilities looking to the future of social protection.

Overview of Irish Social Welfare Supports

The social welfare system in Ireland provides a complex variety of direct and indirect payments to help people with disabilities and their carers to manage the costs of living. The Disability Allowance, the Blind Pension and the Carer’s Allowance are social ‘assistance’ payments offered irrespective of Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions.

317

There are also social ‘insurance’ schemes, payment of which is contingent on PRSI contribution, including the Partial Capacity Benefit, Disablement Benefit, and the Carer’s Benefit. A range of other schemes provide additional support for costs including health and housing.

318

The Disability Allowance is a weekly payment of a maximum of €208,319

with an increased payment available for dependent children, and any spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant with an income below a certain threshold. To be eligible for the disability allowance, a person must be ‘substantially restricted’ from working in employment which would be otherwise suitable for a person of their age, qualifications and experience, as a result of an injury, disease, or disability (physical or mental) lasting or expected to last for at least one year. They must also be habitually resident in Ireland, be over 16, and satisfy a means test.

320

The first €140 of a person’s weekly income is not included in the means test, 50% of income from €140-350 is included, and 100% of any income over €350 a week is included.

321 This €350 cap will be

317 Department of Social Protection, Statistical Information On Social Welfare Services Annual Report 2020 (DPS, 2020) <file:///Users/muireanncarton/Downloads/152643_d6371436-0518-471e-9674-a2b6a92739a2.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 318 Disability Federation of Ireland, Budget 2022 Key Measures (DFI, 2021) <https://www.disabilityfederation.ie/assets/files/pdf/budget_2022_key_measures.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 319 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 211. 320 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 210. 321 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 211.

increased to €375 from June 2022,322 but this increase may benefit less than 2% of the recipients

of the Disability Allowance.

323

There were 152,580 recipients of the Disability Allowance in 2020,324

but qualifying for the Disability Allowance can be difficult. About half of all applications are initially refused, although approximately 66% of refusals which are appealed partially or wholly succeed in their appeal.

325

This high rate of success on appeal could be a function of a selection bias indicating that the strongest cases get appealed; however, it could also indicate a tendency on the applicants behalf to omit key information in the original application which would be included upon appeal.

The Blind Pension is also a weekly payment of a maximum of €208,

326

with an increased payment for dependents. To be eligible for the Blind Pension, a person must be unable to engage in insurable employment or self-employment due to visual impairment, be habitually resident in Ireland, be aged over 18 and under pensionable age, and satisfy a means test.

327

The income disregarded for the means test is the same as currently for the Disability Allowance.328 There were 1,075 recipients of the Blind Pension in 2020.

329

There have been marginal increases in the Disability Allowance and Blind Pension in the last Budget - from €203 to €208 per week, and an increase of €2-3 in the additional payments for dependents. However, these increases do not come close to rectifying the cuts made to social

322 ‘Disability Allowance’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/disability_and_illness/disabilit y_allowance.html> accessed 7 January 2022. 323 Disability Federation of Ireland, Budget 2022 Key Measures (DFI, 2021) <https://www.disabilityfederation.ie/assets/files/pdf/budget_2022_key_measures.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 324 Department of Social Protection, Statistical Information On Social Welfare Services Annual Report 2020 (DPS, 2020) <file:///Users/muireanncarton/Downloads/152643_d6371436-0518-471e-9674-a2b6a92739a2.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 325 Noel Baker, ‘Almost half of all applications for Disability Allowance initially turned down’ Irish Examiner (Irish Examiner Online, 1 March 2021) <https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40235792.html> accessed 7 January 2022. 326 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 161(b). 327 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 161. 328 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 161(b). 329 Department of Social Protection, Statistical Information On Social Welfare Services Annual Report 2020 (DPS, 2020) <file:///Users/muireanncarton/Downloads/152643_d6371436-0518-471e-9674-a2b6a92739a2.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022.

welfare payments during the Euro-crisis austerity period.330

Importantly, the payments are still less than a person working part-time twenty hour week for minimum wage, which would work out at €210,

331

and well below the €502.52 weekly wage that the Living Wage Technical Group reported as needed to cover living and rent costs in Ireland in 2021/22.

332

The Carer’s Allowance is a payment made to people who are looking after someone who needs full-time support due to disability, illness, or age.

333

The rate varies according to whether the carer is 66 years old or not, and according to whether they are caring for one or more people.

334

There are increases in the payment for each of the carer’s dependent children.335 There were

88,906 recipients of Carer’s Allowance in 2020.336 A carer must be habitually resident in

Ireland,337 and a means test is part of the eligibility requirements.338

The Carer’s Allowance is a broad support scheme catering to a diverse range of needs and circumstances, and it is not appropriate support for many. The maximum rate, for an over 66year-old caring for two people, is €393 per week. This rate is well below a living wage in Ireland, at €502.52 meaning that it would be insufficient support on its own for full time carers with no other income. The application process requires extensive documentation and there is a long processing time for applications.

339

People seeking Carer’s Allowance may have to apply for interim payments from other social payments such as the Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

340 This Allowance is less than the already modest Carer’s Allowance, and thus

330 Charles O’Sullivan and Donna McNamara, ‘The ‘Necessity' of Austerity and its Relationship with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A Case Study of Ireland and the United Kingdom’ (2021) 21(1) Human Rights Law Review 157. 331 Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, ‘National Minimum Wage will increase 1 January 2022’ (gov.ie, 2021) <https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/1786c-national-minimum-wage-will-increase-1-january2022/> accessed 7 January 2022. 332 Living Wage Technical Group, ‘Living Wage Annual Paper 2021/22’ (livingwage.ie 2022) <https://www.livingwage.ie/download/pdf/living_wage_annual_paper_2021-22.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 333 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 179. 334 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 181. 335 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 181. 336 Department of Social Protection, Statistical Information On Social Welfare Services Annual Report 2020 (DPS, 2020) <file:///Users/muireanncarton/Downloads/152643_d6371436-0518-471e-9674-a2b6a92739a2.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 337 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 180(2) 338 Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, s 181(2) 339 ‘Carer’s Allowance’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/carers/carers_allowance.html#l 6abfb> accessed 7 January 2022. 340 Carer’s Allowance’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/carers/carers_allowance.html#l 6abfb> accessed 7 January 2022.

there is an even greater risk of poverty for those needing to rely on such payment during the application process.341

Partial Capacity Benefit is a payment for people who have returned to work with reduced capacity following an absence due to illness or injury.

342

The Partial Capacity Benefit payment is a maximum of €208 for people with ‘profound’ reductions in their capacity to work.

343

The Disablement Benefit is a compensatory payment following loss of function after an accident at work, of up to a maximum of €239 per week for people if a person is wholly unable to work.

344

Disablement Benefit can be received in conjunction with most other social welfare payments.

345

The Carer’s Benefit is a payment offered for people who leave employment to provide fulltime care for someone, given for up to 104 weeks (2 years).

346

The payment is up to €225 for people who are caring for one person, and up to €337.5 for those caring for more than one person.

347

However, recipients of Carer’s Benefit can work for a maximum of eighteen and a half hours per week, and earn a maximum of 332.50euro per week. The scheme is complemented by a right to carer’s leave from employment for up to 104 weeks. There were 3,698 recipients of Carer’ Benefit in 2020.

348

341 ‘Supplementary Welfare Allowance’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/supplementary_welfare_schem es/supplementary_welfare_allow.html> accessed 7 January 2022. 342 ‘Partial Capacity Benefit’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/disability_and_illness/partial_c apacity_benefit.html> accessed 7 January 2022. 343‘Partial Capacity Benefit’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/disability_and_illness/partial_c apacity_benefit.html> accessed 7 January 2022. 344 ‘Disablement Benefit’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/disability_and_illness/disable ment_benefit.html#l62fd2> accessed 7 January 2022. 345 ‘Disablement Benefit’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/disability_and_illness/disable ment_benefit.html#l62fd2> accessed 7 January 2022. 346 ‘Carer’s Benefit’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/carers/carers_benefit.html> accessed 7 January 2022. 347Carer’s Benefit’ (Citizens Information, 5 January 2022) <https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/carers/carers_benefit.html> accessed 7 January 2022. 348 Department of Social Protection, Statistical Information On Social Welfare Services Annual Report 2020 (DPS, 2020) <file:///Users/muireanncarton/Downloads/152643_d6371436-0518-471e-9674-a2b6a92739a2.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022.

These monetary payments are all well below the cost of living in Ireland, but there are some other specific supports available. Local social housing, the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), and rent supplements aim to help people to have secure and affordable homes. However, the insufficiency of housing supports in Ireland is well-documented across vulnerable categories of the population,

349

but is particularly significant for people with disabilities who may not only have modest incomes but have additional needs such as home modifications and proximity to healthcare services.

350

The availability of affordable and appropriate housing outside of a residential setting is key to realizing people’s right to independent living.

351

Medical cards and drug payment schemes help people with disabilities to afford healthcare costs. However, there is significant, poorly documented and unmet need for other communitybased supports such as personal assistance, respite services, home support, and residential care in community settings.

352

This lack of practical support compounds hardship for carers and persons with disabilities, who are not only insufficiently resourced but receive insufficient financial support to seek private support. Much of the medical needs of people with disabilities are met by voluntary organisations which struggle to staff and fund themselves.

353

Free travel, education grants, and fuel allowance, which come with qualifying social insurance and assistance payments such as the Carer’s Allowance and Blind Pension aims to help people to meet the cost of living. Most of these payments are not included in means tests for the Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Carer’s Allowance, and other social insurance schemes, which is welcome. However, notwithstanding all of these social welfare provisions, having a disability is still associated with an increased risk of poverty and housing deprivation.

354

349 Helen Russeell, Ivan Privalko, Frances McGinnity and Shannen Enright, Monitoring adequate housing in Ireland (Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, 2021). 350 Disability Federation of Ireland, ‘Submission on Disability Action Plan Framework’ (DFI, 2021) <https://www.disability-federation.ie/assets/files/pdf/dfi_submission_on_disability_action_plan_2022-25.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 351 Disability Federation of Ireland, ‘Submission on Disability Action Plan Framework’ (DFI, 2021) <https://www.disability-federation.ie/assets/files/pdf/dfi_submission_on_disability_action_plan_2022-25.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 352 Disability Federation of Ireland, ‘Submission on Disability Action Plan Framework’ (DFI, 2021) <https://www.disability-federation.ie/assets/files/pdf/dfi_submission_on_disability_action_plan_2022-25.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 353Disability Federation of Ireland, ‘Submission on Disability Action Plan Framework’ (DFI, 2021) <https://www.disability-federation.ie/assets/files/pdf/dfi_submission_on_disability_action_plan_2022-25.pdf> accessed 7 January 2022. 354 Helen Russeell, Ivan Privalko, Frances McGinnity and Shannen Enright, Monitoring adequate housing in Ireland (Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, 2021).