The Disability Federation of Ireland
Position Paper on
Report on the Desirability and Feasibility of Introducing a Singe Social Assistance
Payment for People of Working Age (Department of Social Protection)
What is proposed?
The existing Jobseeker’s Allowance payment is put forward as the overarching
payment for people of working age structured in such a way that conditions can be
tailored across the spectrum in accordance with individual circumstances and support
needs.
It is envisaged that the payment would consist of three levels allowing for tailoring of
conditionality at each level and related to the level of supports required by the
individual.
It states that the tailoring of services and supports, not all of which come within the
remit of the Department of Social Protection (DSP), would have to be guaranteed
(p.94).
The report draws on the model envisaged in the Developmental Welfare State report
published by NESC (p.19).
Services
Education
Health
Childcare
Eldercare
Housing
Transport
Training
Employment
Services
Services
Income supports
Income Supports
Progressive child income
Supports
Working age transfers for
participation
Minimum pension guarantee
Capped tax expenditure
Activist measures
Activist measures
Novel approaches
Particular community groups
Emerging new needs
Outcome focused
Evaluation and mainstreaming
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7th February 2012
The payment would apply to new claimants only. The extension to existing claimants
would happen over time.
What are the three Levels envisaged in the Single Payment Structure?
It is proposed that the single payment consist of three tiers:
Level 1
Three Tiers of Single Social Assistant Payment
Level 2
Level 3
Light support needs
Moderate support needs
Significant Support Needs
People who are ‘work
ready’ e.g. existing
recipients of jobseekers
allowances, lone parents/
qualified adult dependents
with children over a
certain age
People who need support
or plan to prepare to return
to work e.g. lone parents/
qualified adult dependents
with children between
certain ages, some
recipients of DA
People with significant
barriers to taking up
employment e.g. because
of long-term illness,
disability/caring
responsibilities or lone
parents/qualified adult
dependents with young
children
It is noteworthy that the three tier model mirrors the categories put forward in the
Value for Money Review of Disability Allowance published in 2011.
Three Categories proposed in the VFM Review of Disability Allowance
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
DA claimants who are job
ready with a bit of training
DA claimants who have
some capacity but need
interventions on ‘soft
skills’ to get them to level
one standard
DA claimants who, by
virtue of their medical
conditions, who will get
more from the labour
market in terms of
personal development and
participation.
Both the ‘Value for Money Review of Disability Allowance’ (2011) and the ‘Report
on the Desirability and Feasibility of Introducing a Single Social Assistance Payment
for Adults of Working Age’ recommended that an assessment would have to be
carried out to establish the person’s capacity for work and ultimately to decide at
which level the person should enter the payment and consequently what conditions
apply (p.86).
In each tier, the role of the case manager is seen as critical to identify and try to
overcome the barriers to return to work.
Access to healthcare professionals to manage illness/disability also recognised in the
single payment three tier structures.
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7th February 2012
What are the opportunities?
Currently people on disability payments are not included on the live register as they
are not considered ‘available to work’. However, in reality there are people who
would like to work if correct and flexible supports were put in place to help them
access the labour market. A Single Social Assistance Payment might shift our
perception of disability to focus on what people are ‘able’ to do rather than what they
cannot do.
What are the challenges and concerns in relation to the Single Payment and
people with disabilities?
There is an assumption that Jobseekers Allowance be used as a template to build a
single payment however this may not result in the best possible outcome for people
with disabilities. Disability payments, and the secondary benefits associated with
them, have evolved over time to respond to the specific needs of people with
disabilities. These form a wide package of measures that address the costs of
disability, as well as poverty and unemployment traps particular to disability and it is
unclear how they will be incorporated into the new scheme. Some of these are
demonstrated below:
 The first €50,000 of capital is assessed as nil means in the case of DA
compared to €20,000 for other payments. This was introduced in recognition
that a person on DA is limited in their ability to accumulate savings or work.
It also provides greater protection to someone who receives compensation for
an accident or injury and may have been in danger of losing their DA and
secondary benefits.
 Disability allowance and blind pension are also the only two payments where
an exemption of €190,500 off the proceeds from the sale of a principal
residence applies. This protects parents who want to make future provision
for their children.
 The provision of additional allowances and secondary benefits differ across
schemes. For people with disabilities, allowances such as the free travel pass,
the household benefits package and the fuel allowance go some way to
recognising additional costs of disability. The loss of such benefits would
severely impact on a disabled persons’ decision to take up employment,
education or training.
 The income disregard has been a successful policy in supporting disabled
people to take up paid employment. It is another measure that responds to the
extra costs for someone with a disability going to work. Aligning disability
payments with Jobseekers Allowance where employment is involved would
result in a loss of earnings at all levels of income. For instance, at the time of
publishing the report it was calculated that a single person on DA earning
€100 would lose €24 per week or €1248 a year with the move to the proposed
single payment structure.
 The move to cut disability allowance for young people aged 18-24 years
would appear to have been a strategy to begin to align DA with Jobseekers
allowance for the purpose of introducing the single payment. However this
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Disability Federation of Ireland
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presumed that they have equal access to jobs, have the necessary supports in
place and have no additional costs to do so. Any changes to align age
limitations could only be done if the necessary income and personal supports
are put in place beforehand and this is not currently the case.
 Disabled people are substantially disadvantaged in terms of access to work,
education and training. Therefore, different age and time limitations have
evolved to support their activation. For instance, a person on DA or Blind
pension can apply for Back to Education Allowance at age 18 compared to 21
years for those on other payments. It is not clear how this would be
incorporated into the new scheme.
 CE Schemes have been an important stepping stone for disabled people to
access paid employment. The scheme had evolved to maximise their
participation and to address the extra costs associated with returning to work
for people with disabilities. The decision to phase out the payment of a
second social welfare payment to CE recipients, as well as the proposal to cut
the training and materials grant, is a step back from a proactive policy of
activation that recognised the added barriers and costs disabled people face
when accessing the labour market.
The single social assistance payment is put forward as an element of the NESC
developmental welfare state. The Report recognises that the single payment will only
work in improving outcomes for people provided the necessary supports and services
across Government departments are available. However this in not currently the case
in relation to disabled people and it is therefore unacceptable to roll it out for existing
or new applicants of disability payments until such a time that this can be guaranteed.
The review argued that the ‘lower level of payment by moving from disability to
Jobseeker template is compensated for by the availability of increased services and
supports. However, there is a still a huge amount of work to be done across
government departments and agencies to make services fully accessible to people
with disabilities. In addition, the following issues would have to be addressed:
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The proposed National Employment and Entitlement Service (NEES) would
have to be made available to people with disabilities as a matter of priority
Case managers would require disability awareness training
It is not clear how easy it would be for people to negotiate down the
requirements that apply to them. This would apply to people whose health
fluctuates and may need greater fluidity to move between levels 1 to level 3
depending on their health. A good example is those with conditions such as
multiple sclerosis, arthritis or mental ill-health and who have periods of good
and bad health.
The loss of secondary benefits by moving up a level would act as a
disincentive to work for people with disabilities and is to be avoided
Current arrangements in terms of income disregard, secondary benefits and
rules applied to payments make up a package of measures that go some way in
addressing extra costs of disability. The review does not address how this
would be impacted if the single payment is implemented as proposed.
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A full review of capacity would have to be well planned to deal with the
complexity of the needs of people with disabilities and the supports they
would require
DFI are clear that the proposals outlined in the ‘Report on the Desirability and
Feasibility of Introducing a Singe Social Assistance Payment for People of Working
Age’ would remove important activation and income support measures that have
developed in response to the specific needs of disabled people. The necessary
supports and services to ensure that people with disabilities could avail of
opportunities within a single payment structure are not currently in place. As such,
DFI are of the view that the proposed scheme should not go ahead until such a time
that adequate provision can be made for people with disabilities.
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Disability Federation of Ireland
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