June 9, 2011

Listener's questions answered - June 9, 2011

Midland Radio 3

 

Citizens Information Slot

 

Thursday 9^th June 2011

 

Question 1

 

John in Roscommon is 69 and he is wondering if he will automatically get a medical when he turns 70?

 

Answer 1

 

No, it won’t come automatically.  He will need to apply for it and remember that it is means tested.

Over 70s: Guidelines on income and capital

Since January 2009 there are gross income limits of €700 per week for a single person and €1,400 per week for a married or cohabiting couple. There will be no standard deductions allowable (for example, for income tax).

However, if your income is over these limits, you can still apply for the ordinary medical card or GP Visit Card: for example, if you have high medical expenses, such as paying for a nursing home.

Pensions, earnings, interest from capital and all other sources of income are included in the means test.

How capital is assessed for the over 70s

Savings or similar investments of €36,000 for a single person and €72,000 for a couple are disregarded. A notional rate of interest will be applied to the balance.

• The notional rate will be set by the HSE quarterly, by taking an average of the current deposit interest rates of a number of the major Irish banks and building societies on 1 January, April, July and October.
• Alternatively where the applicant wishes he/she can have the actual rate applied if he/she provides a certificate of interest paid on savings in the last full calendar year and the HSE will apply this method of assessment.
• In the case of fixed term or long term savings products, where the interest is only applied at the end of a fixed period, if you wish, the HSE will only take account of the interest earned on the date the investment matures. The calculation of interest includes Deposit Interest Retention Tax. Again, the HSE can apply the notional rate if the applicant wishes.

In essence, only the interest or income earned on savings and similar investments will be counted as income, not the total value of the savings or investments themselves.

Property

Income will not be assessed from property (whether a family home, a holiday home or any other property) unless it is generating a rental income. The income to be assessed will be the actual income, less any cost necessarily incurred associated with the rental of the property and such costs may include insurance premiums, loan/mortgage repayments, maintenance, etc.

Spouse aged under 70 years: Where one spouse is aged over 70 years and the other spouse is aged under 70 years, they will both qualify for a medical card if their income is below €1,400 a week.

Question 2:

 

Michael in Portarlington:  His friend is getting half rate carers allowance for a relative that she is looking after full time and he is wondering would she be entitled to full carer’s allowance.

 

Answer 2

Usually a person is awarded half rate carers when they are claiming another social welfare payment. So if this is the case with your friend then they would not be entitled to the full rate, but if their circumstances have changed since they first applied, they should inform SW and request the full payment.

 

Question 3

 

Marion and her sister inherited their parents’ house and she is wondering if they will both have to pay the property tax or will it be divided between them?

 

Answer 3

Gifts and inheritances can be received tax-free up to a certain amount. The tax-free amount, or threshold, varies depending on your relationship to the person giving the benefit. There are three different categories or groups. Each has a threshold that applies to the total benefits you have received in that category since 5 December 1991.

Group A applies where the beneficiary, the person receiving the benefit, is a child of the person giving it. This includes a stepchild or an adopted child.

 

CAT thresholds
	2009 (up to 7 April 2009)	2009 (on or after 8 April 2009)	2010 (up to 7 December 2010)	2010 (on or after 8 December 2010) and 2011
Group A	€542,544	€434,000	€414,799	€332,084
Group B	€54,254	€43,400	€41,481	€33,208
Group C	€27,127	€21,700	€20,740	€16,604

 

Valuation

 

The valuation date is the date on which the market value of the property comprising the gift/inheritance is established.

In the case of a gift, the valuation date is normally the date of the gift.

In the case of an inheritance, the valuation date is normally the earliest of the following dates:

• The date the inheritance can be set aside for or given to the beneficiary
• The date it is actually retained for the benefit of the beneficiary
• The date it is transferred or paid over to the beneficiary

Tax rate

Capital Acquisition Tax is charged at 25% in respect of gifts or inheritances made from midnight on 7 April 2009. (The rate was formerly 22% in 2009 and 20% in 2008.) This only applies to amounts over the group threshold. For example, if you have received gifts from your parents with a taxable value of €550,000, you only pay tax on the amount over the appropriate group threshold (Group A threshold: €332,084). So €217,916 is taxed at 25%.

Exemptions

The following are exempt from Capital Acquisitions Tax:

• Gifts or inheritances from a spouse
• Payments for damages or compensation
• Benefits used only for the medical expenses of a person who is permanently incapacitated due to physical or mental illness
• Benefits taken for charitable purposes or received from a charity
• Winnings from a lottery, sweepstake, game, or betting
• Retirement benefits and pension and redundancy payments are not usually liable to Gift Tax

The first €3,000 of the total value of all gifts received from one person in any calendar year is exempt. This does not apply to inheritances.

If you receive a gift or inheritance of a house that has been your main residence, it may be exempt from tax if you do not own or have an interest in any other house. There are conditions on how long you must be resident in the house before and after receiving the benefit. More information is available on this website - see Dwelling-house exemption below - or Revenue's leaflet CAT 10.

If a parent receives an inheritance from his/her child and takes full and complete ownership of the inheritance, it is usually taxable under Group A. But it is exempt if, in the previous five years, the child took an inheritance or gift from either parent and it was not exempt from Capital Acquisitions Tax.

Other exemptions relate to certain Irish Government securities, bankruptcy, heritage property, and support of a child or spouse.

Question 4

 

A listener is wondering, what can you do if a doctor misleads you about your treatment?

 

Answer 4

 

Anyone can make a complaint to the Medical Council about a doctor. This includes members of the public, employers and other healthcare professionals. The Medical Council may also make a complaint about a doctor. The Preliminary Proceedings Committee (PPC) of the Medical Council is responsible for considering complaints against doctors in the first instance.

An information leaflet is available on this subject from the Medical Council.

 

Contact:

Professional Standards

Medical Council,

Kingram House

Kingram Place,

Dublin 2

Tel:  01 4983112

 

Question 5

 

A single mother with a baby, I was accepted on the council list for a house so I am eligible for rent supplement but do the social welfare help with a deposit for a house?

 

Answer 5

 

Landlords will usually ask for a deposit, which might be a week or month's rent. If you are receiving social welfare payments, your Community Welfare Officer may help with paying a deposit, although you may have to pay some of it yourself. Make sure you get a receipt for any deposit you pay. You may lose your deposit if:

• You leave without giving proper notice or leave before the end of a fixed term lease
• You cause damage to the accommodation beyond normal wear and tear
• You leave with bills or rent unpaid.

 

Question 6

 

Will can ask the lady when the respite care grant for carers is due this year and has it been cut in amount thanks from a twenty four 7 carer?

 

Answer 6

 

Respite Care Grant of €1,700 (June 2011) is paid once each year, usually in June, for each person you are caring for. It is not taxable.

 

Question 7

 

My husband is on sick certs and I am back 2 work allowance we have 2 boys in full-time education how much a week should be getting?

 

Answer 7

 

As you are getting a back to work allowance, your husband will not be able to claim for you and depending on whether you are claiming for the children he may or may not claim.

 

His personal rate of illness benefit will be:	€188 per week
Rate for 2 children	€59.60 per week  ( if you are not claiming for them)

 

Question 8

 

My husband is on job seekers allowance and recently my aunt left us money in her will. It was a nice sum and we were just wondering if we would lose out on his benefits when it comes through.

 

Answer 8

 

Well, it depends on how much it is; anything over €20,000 will be assessed.

 

Question 9

 

If a self-employed person has to close his business and his wife is employed 4 days a week and they have a young child, what are they entitled to?

 

Answer 9

 

That will depend on a lot of circumstances like the following:

 

The amount you earn and if you have any savings or property other than your home.

 

Usually a spouse or partner would be allowed up to €60 per week if they work for 3 days without it being taken into account.  Income over that will be assessed at 60%.

 

Question 10

 

What can you do about supermarkets advertising offers but when you go to pay for the item the offer isn’t given at the till?

 

Answer 10

 

Information on Goods, Services and Prices

Consumers are entitled to information which protects them from false claims about goods, services and prices under the Consumer Protection Act 2007. Under the act it is an offence for any retailer or professional to make a false or misleading claim about goods, services and prices. It is also an offence to sell goods which bear a false or misleading description.

Claims about the weight, ingredients and performance of goods must be stated truthfully. Also claims made about how items operate and where they were made must be true.

Claims about the time, place or manner in which a service is provided and claims about the effect of a service and the service providers must also be true.

This act also covers claims about prices. Actual prices, previous prices and recommended prices of goods and services must be stated truthfully. Where a price is stated it should be clear what particular item it relates to. It should be the total price and there should be no hidden extras. If a retailer makes a mistake the buyer does not have the right to demand that the goods be sold to them at the marked price.

Question 11

 

What are my rights, can a social worker take my child out of class to talk to her with out speaking to me first? 

 

Answer 11

 

The Children First Guidelines state the following;

 

Interviewing a Child

 

8.12.1 In the course of child protection work, different types of interviews may be carried out with children. The interview referred to in this section concerns the meeting which takes place between a health board worker and a child in the initial stages of a child protection enquiry. In most instances, depending on the nature of the concern, the child should be seen by the professional conducting the enquiry and spoken to personally, in a manner appropriate to his or her age and stage of development. The child should not usually be interviewed in detail about sexual or serious physical abuse. This may be more appropriately done at a later stage by specialist personnel or An Garda Siochana, or both.

 

8.12.2 The interview should take place in a location which is comfortable for the child and, if the child desires it, in the presence of a support person such as a protective parent/carer, another professional or an adult friend. If the child has a learning disability or sensory impairment, it may be necessary to employ expert assistance to facilitate communication.

 

It is important that the child is not interviewed in the company of any person who may have a vested interest in their version of events or who might influence what the child may say.

 

8.12.3 Interviews with children should normally be carried out with their parents’ permission and the child must be able to give his or her own consent.

 

8.12.4 In some circumstances, children may present themselves to a health board social worker without either the knowledge or presence of their parents/carers. Depending on the perceived maturity of the child, the social worker should give them the opportunity to discuss whatever concerns have prompted them to make contact. In some areas, the child is interviewed jointly by An Garda Siochana and other professionals. This avoids the need for repeated interviews. Where this is the policy, local protocols should be observed.