Surge in ‘working poor’ delays state aid

A SURGE in the number of “working poor” households applying for state help to top up their incomes has led to waiting times of more than four months for the Family Income Supplement (FIS).

New figures show a backlog of 13,000 families seeking approval for the payment, which is aimed at aiding households on a low income and struggling to make ends meet.

The long waiting period has led to concerns that people might leave work because, without the supplement, they would be better off on social welfare.

The Department of Social Protection has been forced to recruit temporary staff to deal with the backlog and said overtime was being applied where feasible.

“These measures are aimed at reducing the number of claims on hand and the average waiting time for a decision,” it said.

The department has also been forced to prioritise the renewal of existing claims over the processing of new applications “to preserve continuity of payment”.

There were 8,431 new applications and 5,136 renewal applications awaiting approval at the end of November.

This was a result of a “continued strong claim intake”, the department said.

“The average waiting time for new family income supplement claims at the end of November is 17 weeks. The waiting time for renewal FIS claims is currently 8-9 weeks,” Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton said in a written response to a Dáil question.

She said her department was working to process the claims as “quickly as possible” and has introduced a number of measures to address the waiting lists in recent weeks.

More than 44,000 families receive the FIS — a sharp rise from 26,000 in 2010.

The department says the payment is an “incentive” for people to stay in work where they might be “marginally better off” if they left their jobs and claimed social welfare payments.

Independent TD Mattie McGrath said the current backlogs are having “a serious negative effect on those persons trying to return to employment who are left worse off for a period of up to 20 weeks after starting new employment”.

The terms of the payment are being examined by the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare, which was established in June.

One issue to be examined is reducing the number of hours in a week a person must work to qualify for FIS. Currently, they must work 19 hours.

A reduction could encourage people on social welfare to take up part-time work and have their income topped up by the state.