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Wednesday, 17 Oct 2012

Written Answers Nos. 158 - 169

Social Welfare Fraud Cost

Questions (158)

Joe McHugh

Question:

158. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will update Dáil Éireann on savings that have been made in the social welfare budget through detection of fraud; if she will provide this information on a district basis and in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45030/12]

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Written answers

A key priority for my Department is to ensure that fraudulent activity within the social welfare system is vigorously prevented and combatted. Social welfare fraud undermines public confidence in the entire system as well as being unfair to other recipients of social welfare payments and taxpayers.

For 2012, my Department has a target of reviewing 985,000 individual welfare claims and achieving €645 million in control savings. Up to the end of August 2012, some €456 million in estimated control savings has been reported and over 821,000 reviews have been carried out. Control savings are not all recorded on a district basis, therefore I am providing the information on the €456 million in savings by scheme type.

The table gives a breakdown of the control savings recorded up to end Aug 2012.

SCHEME

Amount of control savings €m

Jobseeker Allowance & Benefit

59

Illness Benefit & Medical Review Assessment

36

Disability Allowance/Invalidity Pension

20

State Pension Non Con & Estates

50

State Pension Con./Transitional Pension

57

One Family Parent

82

Widows/Widowers/Survivors & Civil Partners

34

Maintenance Recovery Unit

2

Child Benefit

66

Carers

9

Family Income Support

13

Free Schemes & Others

9

PRSI                                                             

5

SWA

14

TOTAL

456

It is important to point out that control savings are an estimate of the value of the various control activity across the schemes in payment. They do not include any cases of departmental error or any cases where the customer voluntarily told the Department of a change in their means or circumstances, which resulted in an adjustment to their rate of payment. Control savings are not actual monies recovered by the Department but are a good indication of the increase in social welfare expenditure that would occur without these activities taking place. These activities also have a deterrent or knock-on effect, which are not readily quantifiable in monetary terms. Control savings are used as a performance indicator for year-on-year activities.

My Department is very conscious of its obligation to protect public money and is determined to ensure that abuse of the system is prevented and is dealt with effectively when detected.

Child Benefit Payments

Questions (159, 175)

Arthur Spring

Question:

159. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated number of households with an income in excess of €100,000 in receipt of child benefit. [45048/12]

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Arthur Spring

Question:

175. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimate number of households with an income in excess of €100,000 in receipt of child benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45272/12]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 175 together.

Child Benefit is paid to around 600,000 families in respect of some 1.14 million children. It is a universal payment that assists parents with the cost of raising children and contributes towards alleviating child poverty. It is expected that some €2 billion will be spent on Child Benefit in 2012.

In order to make a reliable estimate of the numbers of households with incomes of over €100,000 per annum where child benefit may be in payment would not only require current household income data but also detailed specifications of the definition of income, what time period was to be considered, whose income was to be included, for example in cases where the child is residing with one or more income-earners who are not their biological parent.

Given the universal nature of child benefit, claimants are not asked to make a declaration of their household composition or of their current or recent income or that of other members in their family or of any other people with whom they may be residing. It is not possible therefore to make a reliable estimate of the numbers of households with incomes of over €100,000 per annum where child benefit may be in payment.

Question No. 160 withdrawn.

Social Welfare Code

Questions (161)

Sandra McLellan

Question:

161. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 340 of 9 October 2012, the formula set out in legislation used to calculate means for a property; if he will provide an example of what the means of a property valued at €145,000 would be subject to and another for a property valued at €175,000; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45079/12]

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Written answers

In assessing means for social assistance purposes, account is taken of any cash income the person may have, together with the value of capital and property excluding the family home, land farmed by the person or commercial premises used in the course of the business of the claimant. The yearly value of property and capital is assessed on a notional basis. In the case of property, the market value is established and any outstanding mortgages on that property are deducted before assessment. The first €20,000 of combined capital and property is then disregarded (€50,000 in the case of disability allowance and €5,000 in the case of supplementary welfare allowance).

The balance is assessed by reference to a formula. The first €10,000 of the balance is assessed at €1 per week per €1,000. The next €10,000 is assessed at €2 per week per €1,000 and any remaining capital is assessed at €4 per week per €1,000.

The weekly means assessable in the case of jobseeker’s allowance, for example, in relation to a property valued at €145,000 is €450 and €570 in the case of a property valued at €175,000.

Disability Allowance Appeals

Questions (162)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

162. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the decision to disallow disability allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45081/12]

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Written answers

An application for disability allowance was received from the person concerned on the 13th June, 2012. This application was referred to one of the Departments’ medical assessors who found that the person concerned was not medically eligible for disability allowance. A letter issued on 13th September, 2012 refusing the allowance. The person was advised that if they wished to have the decision reviewed they should forward any further medical evidence in support of the claim within 21 days from the date of the letter or, alternatively, the person was advised he could appeal the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

The Department has no record of a request for a review or a letter of appeal from the person to date.

Rent Supplement Scheme Applications

Questions (163)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

163. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite an application for rent supplement in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45082/12]

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Written answers

The Department is awaiting a response to a request for further information in support of the application for rent allowance from the person concerned. A decision on the application will be made as soon as the required information is received.

Carer's Allowance Applications

Questions (164)

Seamus Healy

Question:

164. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite the carer's allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45100/12]

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Written answers

I confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 11th July 2011. This application was referred to one of the Department’s medical assessors who found that the caree in question was not medically eligible for carer’s allowance. A letter issued on the 15th May 2012 refusing the allowance.

The person concerned appealed this decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office and submitted further medical evidence in support of the appeal which was received on the 7th June 2012. This medical evidence was forwarded to the Department’s medical assessors for further consideration and is awaiting medical assessment. If the opinion of the medical assessor is that the caree is medically eligible, a revised decision will be made and the person in question will be contacted directly with the outcome. If the outcome remains unchanged a submission will be prepared and the file and papers will be forwarded to the Social Welfare Appeals Office for determination.

Question No. 165 withdrawn.

National Internship Scheme Data

Questions (166)

Olivia Mitchell

Question:

166. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on her statement in Dáil Éireann (details supplied) that she would seek to make graduate architects eligible for the Jobbridge scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45115/12]

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Written answers

The National Internship Scheme, JobBridge, was launched on 1st July 2011. It provides internship opportunities of either 6 or 9 months for unemployed individuals at all skills levels. The aim of JobBridge is to assist individuals in breaking the cycle where they are unable to get a job without experience. It provides them with an opportunity to gain valuable experience, relevant knowledge and skills within a working environment. The Scheme is open to organisations in the private, public and community or voluntary sectors.

The JobBridge Scheme has made significant progress to-date since it came into operation on the 1st July 2011. 11,010 internships have commenced to date with 5,082 participants currently on an internship as at 11th October 2012 and 2,253 opportunities presently advertised on www.JobBridge.ie .

As you are aware given the success of the programme, I asked my Department to review the criteria for availing of the programme to ensure that the scheme gives opportunities to as many as possible so that they can benefit from the success of the programme. As part of this broader review process the scheme criteria were widened to include One Parent Family Payment and Disability Allowance recipients who have been eligible to participate on JobBridge as of the 28th May 2012.

Currently, the JobBridge Scheme requires that an internship should not be part of a training contract (e.g. as part of a training course for a professional qualification from the Law Society or one of the Accountancy Bodies or Architects). In addition, the programme currently limits access to full time third level education during the time they are with the host organisation.

The rationale behind this approach is that such training contracts with professional bodies come with terms and conditions including remuneration. In such circumstances, it is not appropriate to use an initiative such as the JobBridge scheme when training contracts are in place.

However, it must also be articulated that the Scheme is open to Host Organisations to provide internship opportunities for qualified architects. Furthermore, I can advise that existing terms and conditions of the Scheme including eligibility criteria will be re-examined as part of the independent evaluation of the Scheme currently being undertaken by Indecon International Economic Consultants.

This evaluation will assess the design, delivery and impact of the JobBridge Scheme, it will provide details of the nature of the work experience of the participants; a measurement of the relevance of that experience to the labour market and progression into employment. When published the report will also present recommendations on how the Scheme might be improved. It is at this stage that further consideration will be given to amending the terms and conditions of the Scheme.

It is worth noting that there are eight architect internship vacancies currently advertised on the JobBridge website www.jobbridge.ie .

Family Income Supplement Applications

Questions (167)

Michael Creed

Question:

167. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Social Protection if, in view of the very considerable delays in relation to processing claims for family income supplement, she will consider processing all new claims as a priority and leaving ongoing claims in payment until such time as her Department has time to review these; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45146/12]

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Written answers

The Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

The average waiting time for new family income supplement (FIS) claims at the end of September was 18 weeks and for renewal applications was 19 weeks. At the end of September, there were 7,020 new FIS applications and 8,344 renewal applications awaiting decision. The volume of FIS claims on hands and the delays in processing are a consequence of continued strong claim intake.

An in-depth business process improvement (BPI) project has recently commenced for the FIS scheme. This project will focus on optimising output and customer service and the elimination of backlogs. The project is undertaking a detailed examination of workloads and capacity from which a plan will be developed and implement to allow the normal weekly new claim intake to be processed without delay and the backlog to be ring-fenced and eliminated over a specified target period.

While all options for the elimination of backlogs are being actively considered, there are no plans at present to permit FIS payment to continue at the existing rate while awaiting renewal.

Departmental Staff Recruitment

Questions (168)

Dara Calleary

Question:

168. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to increase staff in her Department local office (details supplied) in County Mayo. [45150/12]

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Written answers

The staffing needs for all offices within the Department are continuously reviewed, having regard to workloads, management priorities and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department.

The HR Division of my Department will continue to source available staff to fill priority vacancies by way of redeployment, or transfer from within the Department and other Government Departments, taking account of the Employment Control Framework (ECF) target, as determined by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

A temporary Clerical Officer has recently been assigned to the Ballina office to support the roll out of the Public Services Card nationwide. In addition, we are working to fill an Executive Officer vacancy which is deemed to be a priority post. While there are no further plans to increase the staffing levels at this time, any vacancies in the office which are deemed to be a priority will be filled taking account of the Department’s ECF.

Child Care Services Provision

Questions (169, 171)

Ray Butler

Question:

169. Deputy Ray Butler asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on childcare policy in the context of her own Department's role in this area, with particular reference to recent consultation with other Departments, her recent visit to Sweden, any proposals she intends to bring forward; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45152/12]

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Clare Daly

Question:

171. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will update Dáil Éireann regarding consultation between lone parent groups and various Government Departments regarding the working childcare model based on Scandinavian countries and other proposals for consideration as stated earlier this year. [45215/12]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 169 and 171 together.

The inter-departmental group (IDG) on school-age childcare consists of representatives from the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, (DCYA) – which is the lead Department in relation to child care policy and provision – and the Department of Education and Skills.

The role of the group is to explore the best possible model for enhancing the provision of school-age childcare to assist in meeting the childcare needs of the customers of my Department, including lone parents. The model in question will seek to address the childcare requirements of children aged between 7 and 12 (inclusive) and will also address the child care required during both the school term and the school holidays.

Extensive work has been completed by the IDG to quantify the level of school-age childcare required to support the relevant social welfare income support recipients, in particular lone parents, for each year up to and including 2015. An examination has been completed of existing childcare schemes and the capital investments already made by DCYA in this sector. It is intended to submit proposals on school-age childcare to Government for their consideration.

Officials in the Department have also met with some of the representative groups to discuss a number of issuing affecting lone parents including their initial views in relation to childcare. In addition to this work, I have had the opportunity, with my officials to examine the Swedish childcare system. The information and experience gained will provide valuable input to the on-going work of the IDG on school-age childcare.

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