Written Answers Nos. 168 to 181
168. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the saving to the Exchequer if the following bands were applied to the public service pension reduction at all public sector pensions, up to €12,000 exempt; 6% applied to €12,001 to €24,000; 9% applied to €24,001 to €60,000; 20% applied to €60,001 to €80,000; 50% applied to €80,001 to €100,000 and €100,001 upwards 100%. [49212/12]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, only around 1% of public service pensioners are in receipt of a pension in excess of €60,000 and only a few hundred have a pension in excess of €100,000. The average public service pension is estimated at around €25,000 and many of these pensioners do not have any entitlement to the social welfare pension. I would add that there would be legal issues arising from a proposal to introduce a 100% reduction for pensions above a certain level. The changes in rates and bands proposed by the Deputy would save approximately €10 million in a full year. This figure would be reduced by the application of taxation.
169. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the gross and net additional expenditure savings that his Department is seeking to achieve in 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49246/12]
View answerGross expenditure ceilings were set out in the Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2012-2014 and currently form the basis of the 2013 Estimates discussions which are ongoing. While the individual Vote expenditure ceilings will be announced on 5 December, the updated position in regard to the overall fiscal consolidation for 2013 will be published shortly by my colleague, the Minister for Finance, in the Medium-Term Fiscal Statement.
170. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in a tabular the number of public servants in receipt of annual gross public sector pensions of between 0 to 10,000 euro,10,001 to 20,000 euro, 20,001 to 30,000 euro, 30,001 to 40,000 euro, 40,001 to 50,000 euro, 50,001 to 60,000 euro, 60,001 to 70,000 euro, 70,001 to 80,000 euro, 80,000 to 90,000, 90,000 to 100,000 euro, 100,001 to 110,000 euro, 110,001 to 120,000 euro, 120,001 to 130,000 euro, 130,001 to 140,000 euro, 140,001 to 150,000 euro, 150,001 to 160,000 euro, 160,001 and above; and if these figures include local authorities, vocational educational committees, commercial semi State companies, non-commercial State agencies/bodies public sector retirees. [49295/12]
View answerThe data provided in the following table covers retired Civil Servants, seven smaller bodies and agencies whose pensions are paid on an agency basis by the Office of the Paymaster General and the VEC/IoT sector. The data relevant to the VEC/IoT sector may include spouses payments as the individual payees sub-categorisation process is ongoing in the Paymaster Generals Office.
|
€ |
Range |
Number |
|
0 |
10,000 |
6925 |
|
10,001 |
20,000 |
3699 |
|
20,001 |
30,000 |
5238 |
|
30,001 |
40,000 |
4404 |
|
40,001 |
50,000 |
2224 |
|
50,001 |
60,000 |
587 |
|
60,001 |
70,000 |
216 |
|
70,001 |
80,000 |
41 |
|
80,001 |
90,000 |
26 |
|
90,001 |
100,000 |
10 |
|
100,001 |
110,000 |
44 |
|
110,001 |
120,000 |
27 |
|
120,001 |
130,000 |
5 |
|
130,001 |
140,000 |
0 |
|
140,001 |
150,000 |
0 |
|
150,001 |
160,000 |
0 |
|
160,000+ |
- |
0 |
|
- |
- |
23,446 |
Details in relation to the other sectors mentioned by the Deputy – Local Authorities, Commercial State Companies and Non Commercial Agencies – can be provided by the relevant Minister.
172. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in a tabular form the total list of quasi-Governmental organisations and agencies under his remit; if he will provide a list of quasi-Governmental organisations and agencies under his remit that have been abolished since March 2011 or are scheduled to be abolished and the date on which they are due to be abolished; the date on which the body was created; the name of the body; the 2012 Budget for the body; the number of employees of the body in 2012; the names of any outside consultants hired by the organisation since March 2011 and what future plans he has for the body. [49317/12]
View answerThe Government is committed to a programme of public service reform and improvement. As part of the work in this area, we are looking at classifications and listings of State agencies in order to produce more coherent and focused directories of services for citizens and the Oireachtas. Broadly the position is that there are a number of offices of State which typically are staffed by civil servants and have their own Vote for the allocation of public monies and which are within a Vote group. Secondly, there are non-commercial state bodies who are usually staffed by public servants and funded (or part funded) through a grant-in-aid from their parent Department. The following is a list of the offices and agencies under the remit of my Department:
Name of Office or Agency
|
Office of Public Works |
|
State Laboratory |
|
Public Appointments Service |
|
The Office of the Ombudsman |
|
Commission for Public Service Appointments |
|
Valuation Office |
|
Valuation Tribunal |
|
Economic and Social Research Institute |
|
Institute of Public Administration |
|
Special EU Programmes Body |
No quasi-governmental organisations and/or agencies have been created or abolished by my Department since 9 March 2011.
173. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the terms of the Public Service Pension Reduction; the timeframe it remains in place; if it is paid by both public servants and civil servants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49346/12]
View answerThe Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010 introduced the Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR). At present, the position is that the 2010 legislation provides, with effect from 1 January 2011, for an average reduction of about 4% of pension, calculated in line with the following rates and bands:
|
Annual Public Service Pension (€) |
Reduction Rate |
|
First 12,000 |
0% |
|
Between 12,000 and 24,000 |
6% |
|
Between 24,000 and 60,000 |
9% |
|
Between 60,000 and 100,000 |
12% |
|
Balance above 100,000 |
20% |
I legislated last year to add the 20% rate for the over €100,000 band with effect from 1 January 2012.
The measure secures annual savings estimated at €100 million and applies to over 130,000 pensioners. The PSPR applies to former civil and public servants and to the survivors pensions of spouses and children of former public servants. The measure is tapered to mitigate the effect on the lowest level of pension income and is consequently progressive in nature. Former public servants in receipt of high rates of superannuation benefit, including former members of the Government and the Oireachtas and other office holders, including the Judiciary, have and will bear the highest reduction.
The preamble to the 2010 legislation clearly establishes the PSPR as an emergency measure taken in the context of the financial and budgetary situation pertaining. There are also significant safeguards built into the Statute, including an annual review and report which must be laid before the Oireachtas in June each year, as well as provision for me as Minister to examine cases for full or partial exemption and to remove doubts, where appropriate.
174. Deputy Damien English asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide in tabular form the total number of inspections by the Health and Safety Authority for Compliance with Health and Safety Legislation/Existence of Safety Statement and Safety System in 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; the number of compliant inspections; the number of cases brought and the number of convictions as a result of these cases; the total cost of these inspections for each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49366/12]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is set out in tabular form below in the form maintained by the Health and Safety Authority:
|
- |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
January – October 2012 |
|
Number of Inspections |
18,451 |
16,714 |
15,340 |
10,946 |
|
Safety statement prepared and present |
76% prepared |
83% prepared 73% present |
69% |
71% |
|
Senior managers aware of duties under health and safety legislation |
60% |
88% |
88% |
87% |
|
Safety consultation system (where applicable) |
63% |
80% |
90% |
92% |
|
Number of proceedings taken |
38 |
27 |
32 |
12 |
|
Number of prosecutions |
34 |
25 |
30 |
9 |
The Health and Safety Authority’s annual reports contain additional information relating to inspections and enforcement action. These reports are available at www.hsa.ie .
Due to the short timeframe it is not possible to provide the total cost of inspections for each year. However, this information will be forwarded directly to the Deputy by the Health and Safety Authority.
175. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of inspections that were carried out by National Standards Authority of Ireland or certified third parties on waste management companies that charge customers by weight in 2010, 2011 and 2012; the number of verbal warnings or warning notices in the form of written instructions that were issued to such companies by the NSAI or certified third parties in those years; the waste management companies that were in breach of legislation in those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49099/12]
View answerWaste disposal collectors are responsible under the Metrology Act 1996 and Regulations made under the Act, for ensuring that all their weighing instruments, including weighbridges and waste disposal trucks with weighing facilities, comply with the relevant requirements. Manufacturers are required to ensure that weighing equipment is verified upon first use, and thereafter, traders should ensure re-verification is carried out following repair or adjustment of parts requiring official seals to be broken.
Compliance requires measuring instruments to be of an approved design and each individual piece of equipment must measure correctly within legal tolerances and be appropriately secured with tamper-evident devices to prevent unauthorised access to its calibration settings. Knowingly failing or neglecting to ensure compliance may result in prosecution.
In keeping with the strategy of outsourcing verification services to the widest extent possible the first authorised Verifier for truck mounted waste weighing equipment was appointed earlier this year - the Authorised Verifier Scheme for the other types of weighing equipment used in this sector is well-established.
While verbal warnings were issued by the Legal Metrology Service (LMS) of the NSAI to have non-compliances rectified, these were followed up by later inspections to ensure rectification was carried out and therefore no written warnings were issued.
Due to the regulatory nature of LMS inspections, the Deputy will understand that compliance information on individual traders cannot be made publically available as it may be the subject of current or future enforcement actions. I can however, report that the LMS has not needed to take any prosecutions in this sector to date, and I welcome this development.
The Tables accompanying this reply provide details of the numbers of weighing instruments tested by the LMS in the waste disposal sector generally and for domestic waste weighers for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012.
All Categories of Weighing Instruments
|
Year |
Inspections |
Verifications |
Warnings |
|
2010 |
132 |
67 |
30 |
|
2011 |
142 |
70 |
27 |
|
2012 YTD |
108 |
68 |
30 |
Residential Waste Weighers
|
Year |
Inspections |
Verifications |
Warnings |
|
2010 |
1 |
15 |
0 |
|
2011 |
6 |
30 |
1 |
|
2012 YTD |
5 |
31 |
3 |
176. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide in a tabular form the total list of quasi-Governmental organisations and agencies under his remit; if he will provide a list of quasi-Governmental organisations and agencies under his remit that have been abolished since March 2011 or are scheduled to be abolished and the date on which they are due to be abolished; the date on which the body was created; the name of the body; the 2012 Budget for the body; the number of employees of the body in 2012; the names of any outside consultants hired by the organisation since March 2011 and what future plans he has for the body. [49315/12]
View answerMy Department currently has 12 State agencies supporting us in our work. These are:
1. Enterprise Ireland
2. IDA Ireland
3. Science Foundation Ireland
4. Shannon Development
5. County & City Enterprise Boards (35)
6. National Standards Authority of Ireland
7. Forfás
8. National Consumer Agency
9. The Competition Authority
10. Irish Auditing and Accounting Standards Authority
11. Personal Injuries Assessment Board, and
12. The Health & Safety Authority
There is a substantial programme of reform underway within my Department. The bodies under the remit of my Department that are scheduled to be rationalised merged or abolished are set out under the Government’s Agency Rationalisation Programme. In summary, plans are at an advanced stage to:
- Merge the National Consumer Agency and Competition Authority into one single entity;
- Dissolve the 35 CEB’s and restructure small business supports through collaboration with Enterprise Ireland and the Local Authorities;
- Merge five workplace relations bodies into two;
- Transfer relevant enterprise functions from Shannon Development to IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Fáilte and merge Shannon Development with Shannon Airport;
- Integrate Forfás into the Department.
|
Name of Body |
Date Created |
Date to be Abolished/Rationalised/ Amalgamated |
2012 Budget Allocation |
No. of Employees in 2012 |
Current Status |
|
County and City Enterprise Board (35) |
Oct 1993 |
Allowing for progress through the Oireachtas, the plan is to have the Bill enacted before summer recess 2013. |
€26.386m |
124.3 (WTE) |
The Government has approved the restructuring of the enterprise support model for the micro and small business sectors. This restructuring will include the dissolution of the County and City Enterprise Boards (CEBs), the transfer of their functions, assets and liabilities to Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the development of a new Small and Micro Business Division within Enterprise Ireland (EI) as a centre of excellence in the provision of supports to the small and micro enterprise sectors, and the establishment of Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) to provide a “one-stop-shop” for small businesses within Local Authorities. |
|
Competition Authority |
Competition Authority was established in October 1991. |
The plan is for the Bill to be published by mid-January 2013: enactment will depend on progress through the Oireachtas. |
€4.654m |
42.1 |
The legislation to give effect to the merger of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency is currently on the A list of the Government's legislative programme. It is hoped that the legislation will be published by mid-January 2013. |
|
National Consumer Agency |
National Consumer Agency was established in May 2007. |
The plan is for the Bill to be published by mid-January 2013: enactment will depend on progress through the Oireachtas. |
A total of €5.716m was provided for in the Department's Vote in respect of the cost of carrying out its statutory functions, other than those relating to consumer education and information in the financial services area, in 2012. The Agency imposes a levy on regulated financial services entities to cover the cost of the consumer information and education functions that it assumed responsibility for from the Financial Regulator following the enactment of the Central Bank Reform Act 2010. The Agency expects to impose levies totalling €2.125m in respect of the exercise of the aforementioned functions in 2012. |
There are currently 59 staff (56.4 WTE) assigned to the Agency. Nineteen of these staff (18 WTE) are responsible for carrying out the consumer education and information functions in the financial services area and are paid for from the levy collected by the Agency from regulated financial service entities. |
The legislation to give effect to the merger of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency is currently on the A list of the Government's legislative programme. It is hoped that the legislation will be published in mid-January 2013. |
|
Labour Court |
1946 |
(see below) |
€3.005m (including €0.6m pensions) |
27 (WTE) |
I have commenced the process to establish a new two-tier Workplace Relations structure and considerable progress has been made to date (see below) |
|
National Employment Rights Authority Labour Relations Commission Employment Appeals Tribunal Equality Tribunal |
2007 1991 1967 N/A I currently do not have responsibility for the Equality Tribunal (Min. for Justice has responsibility for ET) |
A significant amount of work has been completed on the legislative programme and the General Scheme of Bill was approved by Government for priority drafting on 24 July, 2012. I expect publication before the end of quarter one of next year. This would enable the dissolution of these four bodies and the establishment of the Workplace Relations Bodies by early 2013. |
€6.351m €5.089m €3.658m N/A |
103.03 (WTE) 47 (WTE) 38.2 (WTE) N/A |
I have commenced the process to establish a new two-tier Workplace Relations structure. From next year two statutorily independent bodies will replace the current five. There will be a new single body of first instance to be called the Workplace Relations Commission and a separate appeals body, which will effectively be an expanded Labour Court. Significant progress has been made to date and I am happy to report that in the last year; two public consultation processes were completed; two policy documents were published; a new single contact portal has replaced the five separate entry points; there are now no backlogs for Rights Commissioner hearings; a Single Complaint Form has replaced the 30 forms previously in use; a new workplace relations interim website is in place; a pilot Early Resolution Service is now seeking to resolve disputes at an early stage without the need for adjudication. Pending the enactment of the legislation, I intend to continue to progress the reform and bring about further enhancements for users of the services on an administrative basis in the coming months. |
|
Forfás |
1 Jan. 1994 |
Forfás is being integrated into my Department. It is expected that this process will be completed by end 2013 |
€52.672m (of which 77% or €40.6m relates to pensions of former agency staff) |
88.5 (WTE) |
|
Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) EGFSN Members are appointed by the Minister for Education and Skills in consultation with the Minister for Jobs Enterprise and Innovation.) |
1997 |
EGFSN will continue to operate as heretofore with secretariat support provided by integrated DJEI / Forfás staff and its work to be subject to funding agreement with DES |
The work of the EGFSN is funded by DES under the National Training Fund |
Forfás provide research support and secretariat services to the EGFSN |
A Service Level Agreement will be drawn up between DES and DJEI to agree a schedule of work to meet DES requirements. |
|
National Competitiveness Council (NCC) |
1997 |
The NCC will continue to operate as an independent advisory body. However, the Secretariat, currently provided by Forfás, is to be absorbed into DJEI as part of the integration of Forfás. |
There is no direct funding allocated to NCC |
Forfás provide research support and secretariat services. |
The NCC is to be maintained, with a refreshed mandate and some changes in membership |
|
Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA) to the Government |
June 2004 |
October 2012 |
The 2012 budget allocation for the Office of the CSA was €95k (this reflects 8/12 of the annual allocation as the CSA contract ceased in August 2012). In addition, two research staff, at a pay cost of €135K were available, on loan from Forfás, to support the Office. |
3 (1 CSA and 2 support staff seconded from Forfás) |
The Office of the CSA was included in the bodies due for critical review under the Public Sector Reform initiative. Following a Government decision on 11/10/12 to abolish the separate Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser (CSA), the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland has taken on the role of Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government in addition to his existing role. |
|
Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (ACSTI) |
2005 |
The role of the ACSTI is being reviewed in the context of the amalgamation of Forfás into the Department and appropriate arrangements for supporting the Research Prioritisation Exercise. |
ACSTI operates as a sub-board of Forfas, all costs are met from the Forfas allocation. |
- |
The role of the ACSTI is being reviewed in the context of the amalgamation of Forfás into the Department and appropriate arrangements for supporting the Research Prioritisation Exercise. |
|
Shannon Development |
1959 |
Heads of a Bill to establish the new entity on a statutory basis will be submitted to Government in early 2013 with the aim of having the Bill enacted by Summer 2013 |
€5m in Grants and €4.2m in Pension Provision |
106 WTE (109 staff) |
On 8th May 2012, the Government decided in principle to separate Shannon Airport (SA) from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and bring it together with Shannon Development to form a new entity with a commercial mandate in public ownership. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation established a Steering Group to bring forward proposals for the implementation of that decision. Two Task Forces have also been established; the Aviation Business Development Task Force and the Change Management Task Force. The Steering Group will be reporting back to Government with proposals to implement the Government decision before the end of this month. |
|
Companies Registration Office and the Office of the Registrar of Friendly Societies |
1963 (CRO) and pre-State (RFS). |
€7.368m |
111 |
These offices are ‘de facto’ merged, operating under a common budget and with the same individual designated as Registrar of Companies and Registrar of Friendly Societies. There are no plans to pursue a legislative amendment at this point in time. |
With regard to the hiring of outside consultants by Agencies, this is a day-to-day matter for the individual Agencies concerned for which I have no responsibility. I have referred this aspect of the question to the Agencies for direct reply to the Deputy.
177. Deputy Damien English asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide in tabular form, the total number of inspections that has been undertaken by the National Standard Authority of Ireland for spot checks on fuel dispensing units and weighting scales in 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; the number of compliant inspections; the number of cases brought and the number of convictions as a result of these cases; if he will outline the total cost of these inspections for each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49357/12]
View answerDue to the volume of information requested by the Deputy, my Department has been unable to collate the information within the timeframe given. I will endeavour to provide the information to the Deputy as soon as possible.
178. Deputy Damien English asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide in tabular form the total number of inspections by the National Employments Rights Agency for compliance with relevant employment legislation and terms and conditions in 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; the number of compliant inspections; the number of cases brought and the number of convictions as a result of these cases; the total cost of these inspections for each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49365/12]
View answerThe National Employment Rights Authority aims to achieve voluntary compliance with employment law through the provision of education and awareness, inspection of employers’ employment records and enforcement where necessary. While every effort is made to secure compliance, some employers either refuse or fail to rectify the breaches identified and/or pay money due to their employees. These employers are referred for prosecution.
Where people have concerns that workers may be exploited or are receiving less than their statutory entitlement the matter should be reported to NERA for investigation. Information Officers of the Workplace Relations Customer Service phone service on 1890 80 80 90 also provide impartial information on a wide variety of employment rights legislation to both employees and employers by telephone, in writing and by email.
NERA does not keep records in relation to the marginal costs incurred in carrying out an inspection. The figures for costs included in the table below are the total costs incurred by NERA in relation to the discharge of the entirety of its functions, namely in relation to information, inspection, enforcement, prosecution and protection of young persons.
|
* |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 (to 31 Oct) |
|
Inspections |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
No. of Inspections concluded |
8,859 |
7,164 |
5,591 |
3,660 |
|
No. Compliant Inspections |
7,628 |
5,248 |
3,970 |
2,627 |
|
Prosecutions |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
No. of Prosecutions initiated |
87 |
89 |
56 |
34 |
|
No. of Convictions |
16 |
25 |
28 |
18 |
|
NERA Cost |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
Pay |
€6,544,897 |
€5,614,194 |
€5,276,713 |
€4,512,470 |
|
Non-pay |
€1,391,386 |
€1,320,224 |
€1,360,613 |
€805,650 |
|
Total Cost |
€7,935,786 |
€6,934,977 |
€6,637,326 |
€5,318,120 |
|
Staff |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
Total staff |
119 |
108 |
104 |
104 |
|
Number of Inspectors |
71 |
66 |
61 |
58 |
179. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if and when a work permit will be renewed or is requested in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49390/12]
View answerIn June 2011 this person applied for an employment permit. This permit issued on 23 June 2011 and will expire on 6 January 2013. There is currently no record in my Department for a renewal of this permit.
180. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide in tabular form the number of public servants in receipt of annual gross public sector pensions of between 0 to 10,000 euro, 10,001 to 20,000 euro, 20,001 to 30,000 euro, 30,001 to 40,000 euro, 40,001 to 50,000 euro, 50,001 to 60,000 euro, 60,001 to 70,000 euro, 70,001 to 80,000 euro, 80,000 to 90,000, 90,000 to 100,000 euro, 100,001 to 110,000 euro, 110,001 to 120,000 euro, 120,001 to 130,000 euro, 130,001 to 140,000 euro, 140,001 to 150,000 euro, 150,001 to 160,000 euro, 160,001 and above; and if these figures include local authorities, vocational educational committees, commercial semi State companies, non-commercial State agencies/bodies public sector retirees. [49827/12]
View answerThe Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is providing the data on numbers of retired civil servants from all Government Departments, including my own, in the ranges of pensions, as sought by the Deputy.
Within my Department payment of pensions is administered only in respect of former members of the Labour Court and the Competition Authority under The Labour Court (Members) Superannuation Scheme, and the Competition Authority (Members) Scheme respectively. A breakdown of pensions paid within the bands sought by the Deputy is as follows:
|
Pension between |
No. |
|
€ 0 - €10,000 |
3 |
|
€10,001 - €20,000 |
8 |
|
€20,001 - €30,000 |
5 |
|
€30,001 - €40,000 |
4 |
|
€40,001 - €50,000 |
3 |
|
€50,001 - €60,000 |
0 |
|
€60,001 - €70,000 |
1 |
|
€70,001 - €80,000 |
1 |
|
€80,001 - €90,000 |
1 |
|
Total |
26 |
Of the 26 currently in receipt of a pension, 13 are former members of the Labour Court, six are spouses of former members of the Labour Court and seven are former members of the Competition Authority.
I have asked the non-commercial State agencies under the aegis of my Department to respond directly to the Deputy.
181. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on an application for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details provided) in Co. Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49052/12]
View answerI confirm that the Department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on 18 June 2012. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
