Tuesday, 13 Nov 2012

Written Answers Nos. 121-142

Sick Pay Scheme Expenditure

Questions (121)

Barry Cowen

Question:

121. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps that she has taken to reform the sick pay scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49893/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The position remains that the range of complex issues associated with the possible introduction of a scheme of statutory sick pay, including such matters as the provision of possible compensatory mechanisms for particularly vulnerable employers, the extent of coverage of such a scheme, the appropriate rate of payment involved and how a scheme would be enforced, continue to be examined in the Department. As I have made clear previously, all of these issues need to be addressed to the satisfaction of the Government before any decision could be taken on the possible introduction of a statutory sick pay scheme.

Social Welfare Benefits Waiting Times

Questions (122)

Robert Troy

Question:

122. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps she has taken to address waiting times in social welfare payments and appeals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49911/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing qualification criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of illness-related schemes, can take longer to process. Similarly, means-tested payments can also require more detailed investigation and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision making process. As part of the Department’s programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology, have been implemented in recent years. Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised.

In addition, the staffing needs of the Department are regularly reviewed, having regard to workloads and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources. For example, ten additional staff are being assigned to deal specifically with a backlog in the carers claims area. The Department will continue to source available staff to fill critical 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. I wish to assure the Deputy that prompt processing of claims remains a priority for me.

In relation to appeals, there are ongoing efforts to reduce the processing times. The Department has appointed 15 additional Appeals Officers since 2010. In addition, a further 10 Appeals Officers, formerly employed by the Community Welfare Services (CWS) of the Health Services Executive joined the Office as part of the integration of the CWS appeals services into the Social Welfare Appeals Office, bringing the total number of Appeals Officers now serving in the Office to 41. The Office has also improved its business processes and IT supports.

I am assured by the Chief Appeals Officer that she is keeping the methods of operation by which the Social Welfare Appeals Office conducts its business under constant review, and that the processes are continuously being enhanced to reduce the backlogs in the Office and, overall, to reduce the processing times for dealing with appeals.

Social Welfare Code Review

Questions (123)

John McGuinness

Question:

123. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to address lone parent family distress in budget 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49891/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The number of one-parent family payment (OFP) recipients stood at 88,620 in September, 2012. This year the cost of the OFP scheme is estimated to be €1.06 billion. The Government will consider the level of expenditure on all my Department’s schemes, including OFP, for 2013 in the context of the forthcoming Budget. The OFP has played an important role in providing income support to lone parents. Changes have been made to the payment since its introduction in 1991, reflecting the changes taking place in society, the labour market and the expectations and realities of parents’ lives, and particularly of mothers, in terms of work and care.

The aim of the reforms to the OFP scheme, which are currently underway are to prevent long-term dependence on social welfare support and facilitate financial independence among parents; recognise parental choice with regard to the care of young children, but with the expectation that parents will not remain outside of the labour force indefinitely.

The Government recognises that the best route out of poverty for lone parents is through paid employment. The reforms underway to the OFP scheme will allow lone parents to access the supports and services provided by the Department through INTREO. Through this service clients will be offered an integrated service with access to activation supports. The service is based on a case management approach that leads the client through a continuum of interventions with the ultimate objective of assisting the client to find sustainable employment.

Question No. 124 answered with Question No. 116.

Question No. 125 answered with Question No. 106.

Question No. 126 answered with Question No. 110.

Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility

Questions (127, 130, 145, 150)

Billy Kelleher

Question:

127. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans for the future of rent supplement in budget 2013; its future operation and in particular its relationship with local authorities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49905/12]

Sandra McLellan

Question:

130. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will bring forward her rent limits review scheduled to take place in June 2013 in view of reports of increases in rents since the start of 2012. [49839/12]

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

145. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason she does not introduce rent controls and legal penalties on landlords who discriminate against tenants in receipt of rent allowance in view of (details supplied); if she will achieve her stated aim of reducing rents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49918/12]

Thomas Pringle

Question:

150. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason she does not introduce rent controls and legal penalties on landlords who discriminate against tenants in receipt of rent allowance in view of (details supplied); if she will achieve her stated aim of reducing rents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49919/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 127, 130, 145 and 150 together.

There are currently approximately 89,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €436 million for the scheme in 2012.

Revised maximum rent limits came into force on 1 January 2012 and are in place until June 2013. These limits were set after an analysis of the most up to date market data available. It is essential that rents are allowed to stabilise from a natural balance of supply and demand, rather than as a result of a rent control funded by the taxpayer.

The Equal Status Acts 2000-2011 prohibit discrimination in the provision of services that are generally available to the public whether provided by the state or the private sector. Refusal by landlords to accept rent supplement tenants does not, however, fall within the area of discrimination as provided for under the equality legislation.

The fact that approximately 89,000 people are currently in receipt of rent supplement of which 42,000 have been awarded during 2012 shows that a significant number of landlords are accommodating applicants of the scheme and that rent supplement recipients are able to access accommodation within the current limits, which is in operation since 2004, and the new Housing Policy Initiative. In March 2012, the Government approved in principle to transfer responsibility for the provision of rental assistance to persons with a long term housing need from the Department of Social Protection, currently provided through rent supplement, to housing authorities using a new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP).

A multi-agency steering group chaired by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has been established to develop proposals to give effect to this transfer. It is planned that pilot testing of HAP arrangements will commence during the second half of 2013 with general roll out and commencement of transfers from January 2014.

The Department will continue to monitor the impact of the rent limits throughout the country but at this stage I have no plans to alter the current approach, in terms of introducing legislation to impose rent controls on residential properties or to bring forward the rent limit review. The Government will consider the appropriate level of expenditure on rent supplement in 2013 in the context of the forthcoming Budget.

Question No. 128 answered with Question No. 107.

Disability Allowance Payments

Questions (129)

Seán Crowe

Question:

129. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will arrange for a review of all agency arrangements for all persons in receipt of disability allowance living in residential care in view of concerns raised by Inclusion Ireland. [49849/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I am aware that, in their pre-budget submission, Inclusion Ireland calls for a review of agency arrangements for all persons in receipt of disability allowance living in residential care and to implement the revised Regulations governing agency arrangements set out in Statutory Instrument Number 378 of 2009. These Regulations provide for the payment of social welfare benefits and pensions to a person other than the claimant or beneficiary. A person may be either nominated by the claimant or beneficiary to act as agent and receive the payment on his or her behalf or be appointed by the Minister. The Regulations specify the circumstances in which the Minister may appoint an agent and also set out the duties and responsibilities of the appointed person.

In relation to the disability allowance scheme specifically, the Regulations as set in Statutory Instrument Number 378 of 2009 and previous legislation governing agency arrangements are fully implemented. In May 2012 a letter issued to the agents of these customers who reside in approximately 75 residential care centres reminding them of their responsibilities and duties under the above Regulations.

Issues with the agency arrangements are raised with the Department from time to time and the Department endeavours to resolve them having regard to the best interest of the customer.

If the Deputy or Inclusion Ireland have concerns about any specific case, cases or residential institution, they should forward the details to my Office and I will arrange to have it investigated by the Department.

Question No. 130 answered with Question No. 127.

Question No. 131 answered with Question No. 106.

Child Benefit Payments

Questions (132)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Question:

132. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of child benefit recipients not in receipt of any means-tested social welfare payment. [49836/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

There were 597,333 families in receipt of child benefit on 31st December 2011. At that time, there were 213,784 families in receipt of qualified child increases across the various means tested schemes administered by the Department of Social Protection. A table is attached detailing the number of families in receipt of a qualified child increase by means tested scheme. These data show that some 64% of families who receive Child Benefit are not in receipt of a social welfare means tested payment. That percentage falls to approximately 60% if the 28,876 people on Family Income Supplement on 31st December 2011 are included from the calculation.

Means Tested Social Welfare Schemes	Total Families With Children
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	384
Jobseeker's Allowance	71,465
One-Parent Family Payment	90,177
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	10,420
Farm Assist	4,359
Pre-Retirement Allowance	223
Back to Work Allowance	56
Back to Work Enterprise Allowance	4,421
Back to Education Allowance	5,336
Disability Allowance	12,781
Blind Pension	209
Carer's Allowance	13,953
Totals	213,784

Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility

Questions (133)

Brian Stanley

Question:

133. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to concerns raised by the National Advocacy Service that community welfare officers are not willing to pay rent supplement to persons with disabilities who are leaving residential care; her views on whether this is making independent living impossible for some; and her response to same. [49856/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

There are currently approximately 89,000 persons in receipt of rent supplement, with €436 million provided by the Government for 2012. I am aware of the comment made by the National Advocacy Service. There are no specific exemptions to qualification for rent supplement for persons with disabilities with all customers being treated equally. Entitlement to rent supplement is subject to a number of qualifying conditions, one of which is that at the time of application for a rent supplement a claimant must:

- have been residing in private rented accommodation, accommodation for homeless persons or in an institution for 6 months within the preceding 12 months of the date of claim, or have had an assessment of housing need carried out within the 12 months preceding the date of claim and have been deemed by a housing authority to be eligible for and in need of social housing support.

Rent supplement is payable where a person has left institutional care and satisfies the conditions of the scheme. If the person concerned requires specialised housing due to the nature of their condition Department officials are empowered to pay rent supplement in excess of the prescribed rent limits, thereby fully supporting independent living.

There have been instances where applications for rent supplement have been made where the applicants have either remained in intuitional care or have moved from one institution to another. Rent supplement is not payable where an applicant is resident in an institution. An institution is defined as a hospital, convalescent home or home for persons suffering from physical or mental disability or accommodation ancillary thereto and any other similar establishment providing residence, maintenance or care for the persons therein.

Under these circumstances, the responsibility for meeting the accommodation needs of the person concerned would be met by the body or organisation which is providing the maintenance and care of the individual.

Rent Supplement Scheme Applications

Questions (134)

Michael Colreavy

Question:

134. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will re-introduce the freefone number for callers to the central rents unit and allocate case officers to specific geographic regions. [49840/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

We are examining all the communication channels for the Rent Unit with a view to improving customer service. With the introduction of email addresses for the unit, customers now have access to the Rent Units beyond the traditional CWO clinic times (sometimes with public access limited to two and a half hours, three times a week). The means that customers can now email the unit outside of office times at a time that best suits them. Also documents relating to the rent claim can now be attached to the email therefore reducing the expense for the customer and the turnabout time for the claim.

The Department keeps the operational and organisational process of the Unit under review with a view to managing operational efficiency and maximising service to the customer.

Social Welfare Code Issues

Questions (135)

Dessie Ellis

Question:

135. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on any progress made and the nature of negotiations that she has had with energy and other suppliers with a view to receiving greater value under the household benefits package without cutting the scheme. [49855/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The household benefits package includes a free electricity or gas allowance, a telephone allowance and a free television licence. There are some 400,000 customers in receipt of the household benefits package. Between 2005 and 2011 the number in receipt of the electricity allowance rose by 20%. The cost of the package was almost €370 million in 2011. My Department has engaged in discussions with utility companies and achieved some discounts for the Department in respect of both electricity and telephone payments. However, it is important to note that my Department, in facilitating payment of electricity and telephone bills for certain categories of social welfare recipients, is not procuring the service directly. As my Department’s household benefit package only covers a proportion of utility bills, recipients must remain free to choose their own supplier and in this way obtain better value for money. The 400,000 recipients remain individual customers of their respective utility companies, responsible in law for the payment of their bills. This limits the ability of my Department to obtain greater savings.

I appreciate the important role that these schemes play in promoting social inclusion and preventing isolation of older people and people with disabilities. All of the schemes operated by my Department, including the household benefits package were examined in the context of the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure and continue to be kept under review given the on-going need for savings and to target expenditure at those most in need.

Child Care Services Provision

Questions (136, 149)

Mick Wallace

Question:

136. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection the outcome of her visit to Sweden to examine child care; her plans to progress the model and proposals of the interdepartmental subgroup on school-age child care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49914/12]

Mick Wallace

Question:

149. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress that has been made to date on the development of her plan for a Scandinavian style child care system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49915/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 149 together.

The role of the Inter-Departmental Group (IDG) on School-Age Child Care is to define the best model for the provision of school-age child care to meet the needs of the customers of the Department, including those of lone parents. The model will seek to address the child care requirements of children aged between 7 and 12 years (inclusive) both during the school term and the school holidays.

Extensive work has been completed by the Group to quantify the level of school-age child care that is 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 also been carried out of existing child care schemes and of the capital investments already made by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in this sector. Based on these findings the IDG are engaged in detailed discussions to define an effective school-age childcare model and to determine the level of funding required. Once completed, the proposals will be submitted to Government for their consideration.

I recently visited Sweden to study a number of items of interest to me. I am particularly interested in the Swedish childcare system and what Ireland can learn from that model. There are many aspects of the Swedish childcare system that are very impressive. My visit to a Reggio Emilia-inspired pre-school was one such example. The school is very much a central part of the community and allows parents to avail of work and/or educational opportunities while their children are being cared for.

The Swedish childcare model is a very comprehensive and expensive system. A more detailed examination of this and other international systems would be required to establish the most appropriate model for Ireland.

Questions Nos. 137 and 138 answered with Question No. 110.

Question No. 139 answered with Question No. 117.

Early Retirement Scheme

Questions (140)

Gerry Adams

Question:

140. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the impact that the early retirement scheme has had on the administrative functions of her Department; her plans to sanction the recruitment of additional staff; and if so, when, and the number of same. [49834/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

Since 2009 just over 450 staff in my Department availed of early retirement schemes while other staff left or retired as normal. Obviously, this has had some impact on service delivery in my Department. However, the Department moved very quickly to fill critical vacancies arising from retirement, and since 2009 almost 900 staff have been assigned to my Department to fill these vacancies and additional posts that were approved to deal with the increased volume of claims due to the downturn in the economy. The majority of these staff have been sourced through the redeployment and transfer of staff from other Government Departments. In addition, in order to begin the roll out of the Public Services Card on a nationwide basis, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform gave sanction to the Department for the provision of up to 150 additional clerical officer posts. The sanction is subject to resources being sourced from redeployment panels in the first instance, and where resources are not available, the temporary recruitment of temporary clerical officers through the Public Appointments Service

The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, having regard to workloads, management priorities and the competing demands arising, with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department. I can assure the Deputy that my Department will continue to source staff to fill critical vacancies by way of lateral transfer and redeployment, taking account of the Employment Control Framework target, as determined by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Question No. 141 answered with Question No. 106.

Rent Supplement Scheme Expenditure

Questions (142)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

142. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the hardship and distress caused to applicants for local authority housing who are forced to rely on rent support in respect of private housing and are subject to a maximum rent which is applicable throughout County Kildare notwithstanding the market variations for such rent and in view of the fact that in certain parts of the county rent levels vary dramatically arising from the demand; if she accepts the existence of such variations and the need to adjust the levels of rent support in accordance with the actual market situations wherein some cases rent levels are higher than in many parts of Dublin city and county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49859/12]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

There are currently approximately 89,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €436 million for 2012. The aim of rent supplement is to provide short term income assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. The maximum rent limits were set after an analysis of the most up to date market data available. For all counties, major urban population centres were tested as part of the rents review to ensure that rent supplement applicants can access temporary housing arrangements whilst seeking employment opportunities. The emphasis of the rent limit review was to ensure that maximum value for money for tenants and the taxpayer was achieved whilst at the same time ensuring that people on rent supplement are not priced out of the market.

Analysis shows that for County Kildare, there are properties available within the maximum rent limits for rent supplement recipients. The number of rental properties available in North Kildare is somewhat lower than the numbers available in the rest of the county and therefore impacts on the number of accommodation units available for rent supplement. The purpose of the rent limit review was to ensure availability of accommodation for rent supplement tenancies and not to provide rent supplement tenants with access to all housing in all areas.

Latest figures show that there are approximately 4,300 rent supplement recipients in County Kildare. When compared with Census 2011 household data this shows that 36% of properties rented from private landlords are in receipt of rent supplement in County Kildare showing that it is possible to secure accommodation within the rent limits. The Department will continue to monitor the impact of the rent limits throughout the country.