Department of Social Protection - Overview

History of Social Welfare in Ireland
Mission Statement
The Function of the Department
The Work of the Department
Types of Payments
Customer Services
Organisation of the Department
Information Services
Employment Support Services
The General Register Office
Social Welfare Appeals Office
Citizens Information Board
The Pensions Board
Office of the Pensions Ombudsman
Social Welfare Tribunal

1. History of Social Welfare in Ireland

1766 - Friendly Societies & Trade Unions

1834 - Poor Relief Act

1908 - Old Age Pension Act

1911 - National Insurance Scheme

1933 - National Health Insurance transferred to Minister for Local Government & Public Health

1936 - Insurance contributions for Widows and Orphans

1947 - Department of Social Welfare established

1952 - Department of Social Welfare became fully functional

1974 - Introduction of compulsory Social Insurance

1979 – Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) Scheme introduced

1982 - Set up of Social Welfare Tribunal

1986 - Set up of Social Welfare Services Office

1988 - Introduction of PRSI for the self employed

1991 - Set up of Social Welfare Appeals Office

1997 - Renamed Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs

2002 - Renamed Department of Social & Family Affairs

2010 – Renamed Department of Social Protection

2. Mission Statement

The Mission Statement of the Department is to promote active participation in society through the provision of income supports, employment services and other services.

3. The Function of the Department

The Department supports the Minister for Social Protection in the discharge of governmental, parliamentary and departmental duties. The main functions are to:

advise Government and formulate appropriate social protection policies;
design, develop and deliver effective and cost-efficient income supports, activation and employment services, advice to customers and other related services; and
work towards seamless service delivery in conjunction with other Departments, Agencies and bodies in the delivery of Government policies.

The Department plays a key role in supporting those most in need, including children and their parents, people who are unemployed and ill, people with disabilities and the elderly. Each week approximately 1.4 million people receive a social welfare payment and, when qualified adults and children are included, a total of almost 2.1 million people benefit from weekly payments.

4. The Work of the Department

The Department administers over 50 separate schemes and services which impact on the lives of almost every person in the State. A list of all the Schemes operated by the Department can be viewed at: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Schemes/Pages/default.aspx

Services of the Department include:

the development of appropriate social policy, including pension policy;
administration of a wide range of social insurance and social assistance schemes including pensions, benefits, allowances and grants;
activation, employment and community services and programmes to promote development, progression, participation and social involvement by people of working age, including Back to Work and Back to Education Allowances, the Rural Social Scheme and Community Services Programme (administered on an agency basis by Pobal) and community employment schemes;
administration of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme and Rent and Mortgage Interest Supplements;
ensuring compliance with the social insurance scheme and administration of the Employer PRSI Exemption Scheme and the Redundancy and Insolvency Payment Schemes;
provision of social welfare information, directly and through the Citizens Information Board and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS);
provision of an independent redress system through the Social Welfare Appeals Office; and
administration by the General Register Office (GRO) of the Civil Registration Service (for the registration of births, marriages and deaths in the State).

5. Types of Payments

Payments are generally divided into three groups:

Social Insurance (or contributory) payments which are made on the basis of PRSI Contributions. Payments made under the social insurance system are funded, in part, by contributions from employers and employees. Any deficit in expenditure is met by Exchequer subvention;
Social Assistance (or non-contributory) payments which are made on the basis of satisfying a means test. Social Assistance schemes are financed entirely by the Exchequer; and
Payments (such as Child Benefit or Free Travel) which are not dependent on PRSI contributions or a means test. These payements are funded entirely by the Exchequer.

6. Customer Services

Services to the Department's customers are delivered at local level and through centralised offices. All offices have access to the Department's computer network so that information on claims and payments is readily available to callers.

Details of the offices of the Department can be viewed at: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/ContactUs/Pages/default.aspx

The centralised offices are located in Buncrana, Carrick-on-Shannon, Dublin, Dundalk, Letterkenny, Longford, Roscommon, Sligo, Tubbercurry and Waterford.

The delivery of services locally is organised on a regional basis with offices in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Longford, Sligo and Waterford. There is a nationwide network of 59 Social Welfare Local Offices and 63 Social Welfare Branch Offices managed from the regional offices and over 600 Community Welfare Service offices. Services are also provided through FÁS Employment Services Offices.

Details of Local Offices by county can be viewed at: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/ContactUs/Pages/localoffice.aspx

7. Organisation of the Department

The Department has over 5,000 staff. The organisational structure can be viewed at: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/AboutUs/Pages/org.aspx

8. Information Services

Information Services provide a central information contact point for members of the public as well as supporting Information Officers located in Social Welfare Local Offices. Among the services provided are:

website updating and development;
telephone enquery service;
design of leaflets and booklets;
advertising; and
information campaigns.

9. Employment Support Services

The Employment Support Services HQ in Carrick-on-Shannon provide central support including formulating policy on various employment support schemes. In addition, cases are selected and referred to Facilitators by the Activation Unit. An Assistant Secretary and seven Regional Co-ordinators are responsible for employment support services in the regions. They are assisted by locally-based Facilitators who advise and assist people on a social welfare payment on the relevant supports available including the back to work schemes and the back to education programme. The Department continues to develop the activation agenda to facilitate people of working age in taking up employment, education, training or development opportunities. Facilitators work closely with FÁS and other agencies at national and local level, to identify appropriate training and developmental programmes for recipiants of social welfare payments, to enhance the skills those individuals have and ultimately improve their employments chances as well as help them to develop personally. The Facilitator service is available to social welfare customers at all local offices. The Department works closely with FÁS to ensure maximum utilisation of the National Employment Action Plan interview facility for people on the Live Register.

10. The General Register Office

The Civil Registration Service provides for the registrations of births, stillbirths, adoptions, deaths and marriages in the State. It is managed by the General Register Office (GRO) in Roscommon, while registration services are provided by registrars appointed by the HSE at various locations across the State. The GRO also operates a genealogical research facility in Dublin

11. Social Welfare Appeals Office

The Social Welfare Appeals Office is independently responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements, insurability of employment issues and certain decisions made by the HSE under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Schemes.

State Agencies under the aegis of the Department

12. Citizens Information Board

The Citizens Information Board is the national agency responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice and advocacy on social services and for the provision of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS).

13. The Pensions Board

The Pensions Board is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Pensions Act which provides for the regulation of occupational pensions and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts. The Board also advises the Minister in relation to pension policy.

14. Office of the Pensions Ombudsman

The Office of the Pensions Ombudsman investigates complaints of financial losses due to maladministration and disputes of fact or law, in relation to occupational pension schemes and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts. The Pensions Ombudsman is a statutory officer and exercises his functions independently.

15. Social Welfare Tribunal

The Social Welfare Tribunal is a statutory body set up in 1982 to deal with cases where entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance is refused due to an involvement in a trade dispute. Where a person feels that she/he has been unreasonably deprived of employment because the employer refused or failed to engage in the mediation process for settling disputes, application may be made to the Tribunal for adjudication on the matter.