Written Answers Nos. 383-406
384. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress made to date in determination of an application for jobseeker's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; when payment will issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52504/12]
View answerThe jobseeker’s allowance claim of the person concerned has been awarded, her first payment issued on 23 November 2012.
385. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Social Protection when an appeal hearing date for illness benefit will be offered to a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52509/12]
View answerPayment of illness benefit, to the person concerned, was disallowed by a Deciding Officer of the Department following an examination by a Medical Assessor who expressed the opinion that he was capable of work. An appeal was registered on 7th November 2012 and the Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that, in accordance with statutory requirements, the Department was asked for the documentation in the case and the Deciding Officer’s comments on the grounds of the appeal. In that context, an examination by another Medical Assessor will be carried out. The person concerned will be notified when arrangements for the examination have been completed.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
386. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5. [52534/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 21st August 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
387. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the number of staff in her Department or in bodies which fall under the remit of her Department whose annual remuneration including salary, pension and benefits at 31 December 2011 fell into bands of €400,000 and above, between €300,000 to €399,999, between €200,000 to €299,999 and between €150,000 to €199,000; and if she will provide a breakdown of the positions held by the staff in relevant pay brackets. [52535/12]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is as shown in the table below.
The information provided is in respect of basic salary only as there are no other allowances or benefits in payment to the staff members concerned. In addition, their pension entitlements are based on the standard civil service model pension schemes.
It should be noted that the Pensions Board is self-financing and that consequently there is no cost to the Exchequer in relation to salary involved.
|
Organisation |
€400,00 + |
€300,000 -€399,999 |
€200,000 -€299,999 |
€150,000 - €199,999 |
Position held |
|
Social Protection |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
2 |
Secretary General & Deputy Secretary General |
|
Pensions Board |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
1 |
Chief Executive |
|
Citizens Information Board |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
- |
|
Office of the Pensions Ombudsman |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
Nil |
- |
388. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has made any contacts requesting staff whose annual salary is more than €200,000 in her Department or in any body under the remit of hers Department, to waive 15% of their salary or such amount in excess of €200,000 whichever is the lesser; if she has, the date on which he first made this contact; the number of staff who acquiesced to the request for the waiver; the number of staff who refused the request for the waiver; and the number of staff who have not responded to the request for the waiver. [52536/12]
View answerNone of the staff in my Department or the agencies that operate under its aegis, namely the Pensions Board, the Citizens Information Board and the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman, are in receipt of salaries in excess of €200,000.
389. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when an appeal in respect of domiciliary will be granted in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52556/12]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, including that adduced at oral hearing, disallowed the appeal of the person concerned.
Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of the Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by the Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts.
Following the submission of additional evidence the Chief Appeals Officer agreed to review the case. The Chief Appeal Officer has a number of reviews under consideration at present and this case will be finalised shortly.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
391. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [52574/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on 29th June 2012. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
392. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress of the roll out of the public services card; and her views on the duration of the validity of these cards. [52598/12]
View answerThe Department of Social Protection has developed, in conjunction with a number of other Government Departments, a rules based standard for establishing and authenticating an individual’s identity for the purposes of access to public services.
This programme of work, which is known as the Standard Authentication Framework Environment or SAFE for short, also provided for the introduction of a Public Services Card (PSC) to enable individuals to gain access to public services more efficiently and with a minimum of duplication of effort, while at the same time preserving their privacy to the maximum extent possible
There are 4 main sub-programmes to the PSC Project:
1. PSC design and delivery: The projects to design, develop and deliver the PSC along with the capability to issue, interact with, manage and provide customer support for the card,
2. SAFE Registration development: The projects to develop and deliver the SAFE registration business processes and the ICT systems within the Department to support them (and generate PSC requests),
3. DSP Deployment: The projects to deploy the functionality in the Department’s offices, register clients and issue cards to them, and
4. Future use: Projects to oversee the future development and use of the PSC and its infrastructure, including possible use for on-line and financial services both internally and in other public service bodies.
The first two programmes of work are essentially complete for issue of the standard PSC. The detailed project plan to produce a PSC containing the Free Travel application (PSC-FT) and a variant suitable for issue to juveniles is currently being finalised. The DSP’s main focus now is on the deployment of the registration process throughout the Department’s offices and rapidly increasing its ability to issue standard PSC’s.
A PSC is currently issued following a “face-to-face” registration process which involves the capture of an individual’s photograph and signature, the verification of identity and current address as well as the capture of additional data such as answers to security questions to be used in ensuring the future integrity of customers’ data.
Letters which are issuing from the Department to a number of customers in relation to registration for their PSC ask them to bring proof of identity and evidence of current address with them.
The roll-out of the SAFE registration functionality on a national basis began in June this year, following recruitment and training of staff. The creation of a SAFE registration environment in a local office involves improving the technical connectivity, installing new equipment and training staff in these offices to support the registration process. To date, this process has been completed in 41 DSP Offices with 72 SAFE Stations in production and some 500 staff have been trained. The total number of Public Services Cards issued now exceeds 60,000.
Work is continuing on developing the required bandwidth, installing the appropriate equipment and training staff across the remainder of the Department’s local office network. In addition, a number of dedicated public services card registration centres are being progressed. One such centre has already opened in Gandon House on Dublin’s Amiens Street and others will start to come on stream over the coming months.
On the specific issue of the validity period of the cards, this was determined with regard to two issues in particular: the security of the data held electronically and the physical resilience of the card. After receipt of external expert advice including comparison with other cards, the validity period for the PSC was set at 7 years. This initial policy will be kept under review and changes to it may occur depending on practical experience of the cards’ durability in the field.
394. Deputy Seán Conlan asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures being taken to address the backlog of applications for disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52601/12]
View answerDisability allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability who are aged over 16 and under 66. The disability must be expected to last for at least one year and the allowance is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and a habitual residency test.
The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim. In addition, a request for a review or an appeal by a person adds to the length of time taken to deal with the claim.
Approximately 380 disability allowance applications are received for processing each week and, at the end of October, there were 7,338 applications awaiting decision.
A major service delivery modernisation project has been recently completed for disability allowance to improve the efficiency of administration and to help deal with the increased volumes. This involved the deployment of information technology solutions and associated business process re-organisation.
An in-depth business process improvement initiative will shortly be commenced and a programme will be put in place to ensure that there is adequate capacity to deal with the weekly intake and to eliminate the backlog of new applications. In the meantime, temporary staff have been assigned to disability allowance section to support the modernisation project and to assist in reducing the backlog.
Any person who is awaiting a decision on their disability allowance application may apply for means-tested supplementary welfare allowance from their local community welfare officer.
395. Deputy Seán Conlan asked the Minister for Social Protection the measures being taken to address the backlog of applications for carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52602/12]
View answerI acknowledge that the time taken to process carer’s allowance claims at present is not satisfactory but I am satisfied that the Department is taking appropriate action to resolve the situation.
Carer’s allowance section has recently completed a major service delivery modernisation project to improve the efficiency with which it processes applications from clients for carer’s allowance. The project involved the development of IT functionality and associated business process re-organisation. Full deployment of the new system for Carer’s Allowance was completed in June 2012.
Initial focus was placed on clearing the backlog of CA applications awaiting scanning and registration. An additional 4 temporary staff were allocated to this effort. Over July and August 2012, 4,414 applications were scanned and registered - clearing the scanning backlog completely. Applications are now scanned within a day or two of being received. The focus then moved to the processing of new applications. Processing of applications was divided into two streams. One concentrates on dealing with new application intake and processes these without delay and the other on the backlog which is ring-fenced with a clear and targeted plan for its elimination. The 4 temporary staff originally allocated to scanning duties were reassigned to CA application processing to support this plan. Implementation of the plan commenced on Monday 3 September. During the month of September 2012 1,147 CA applications were received, while 1,317 were decided. In October 2012 1,061 CA applications were received, while 2,520 were decided.
Under the initial plan, elimination of the backlog of CA applications was targeted for the end of May 2013. However, within the current month, a further additional 10 temporary staff have been assigned to CA section. This further injection of resources brings the target for elimination of the backlog of CA forward to the end of March 2013.
The allocation of available resources to this task continues to be monitored and managed to ensure that the backlog is eliminated in the quickest possible time.
397. Deputy Seán Conlan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason for the delay in processing an application for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52605/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 5th April 2012. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
398. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Social Protection when a final decision will issue on an appeal for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; if she will expedite the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52615/12]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 7th February 2012. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
400. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal for illness benefit in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; when a decision will issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52734/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 17th July 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on the 6th September 2012 and the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
401. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal against the decision to refuse an application for domiciliary care allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52738/12]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 6th November 2012, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
403. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide data in terms of the number of appeals being processed by the Appeals office in the past 6 months; if she can provide details in tabular format of the various benefits; the number of these that are approved and the number that are refused; if she is satisfied with the time taken to process appeals; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52770/12]
View answerThe number of appeals decided by Appeals officers and their outcome by scheme type for the period 1st May 2012 to 31st October 2012 is given in the following table.
The current average turnaround time for appeals dealt with by way of a summary decision is 27 weeks, and for those requiring an oral hearing is 40 weeks.
There has been a rapid and sustained increase in the number of appeals received from 2009 to date which has placed extraordinary pressure on the Social Welfare Appeals Office. Significant resources and efforts have been put into reducing backlogs and improving processing times for appellants, including the assignment of 15 additional Appeals Officers, retaining 8 retired experienced officers for 18 months ending December 2011, improving business processes and implementing a new operating model.
As a result of these measures, there has been significant increase in the number of appeals finalised from an average of 13,500 in 2009 to 34,027 in 2011 and, when compared to 2011, the processing times have reduced by an overall 10.2 weeks in the nine months to September 2012 (the oral hearing time is down by 12.5 weeks and the summary decision time is up by 2.3 weeks).
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.
Table - Outcome of Appeals Processed 1 st May 2012 to 31 st October 2012
|
Scheme |
Allowed |
- |
- |
Partially Allowed |
- |
- |
Allowed Revised Decision |
Disallowed |
- |
- |
Total Processed |
|
- |
O. H.1 |
Sum Dec2 |
Total |
O.H. |
Sum Dec |
Total |
- |
O. H. |
Sum Dec |
Total |
- |
|
Adoptive Benefit |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
|
Blind Pension |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
13 |
|
Carers Allowance |
176 |
154 |
330 |
52 |
797 |
68 |
309 |
173 |
226 |
399 |
1106 |
|
Carers Benefit |
12 |
10 |
22 |
3 |
47 |
5 |
47 |
8 |
12 |
20 |
94 |
|
Child Benefit |
30 |
36 |
66 |
8 |
368 |
23 |
96 |
38 |
241 |
279 |
464 |
|
Disability Allowance |
566 |
564 |
1130 |
31 |
2,214 |
49 |
454 |
363 |
672 |
1035 |
2668 |
|
Illness Benefit |
108 |
66 |
174 |
7 |
538 |
10 |
747 |
152 |
202 |
354 |
1285 |
|
Domiciliary Care |
265 |
181 |
446 |
8 |
917 |
19 |
512 |
160 |
292 |
452 |
1429 |
|
Deserted Wives Benefit |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
|
Deserted Wives Allowance |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
|
Farm Assist |
11 |
4 |
15 |
8 |
91 |
10 |
25 |
22 |
44 |
66 |
116 |
|
Bereavement Grant |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
31 |
0 |
9 |
0 |
30 |
30 |
40 |
|
Family Income Supplement |
6 |
9 |
15 |
2 |
73 |
5 |
53 |
6 |
47 |
53 |
126 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
288 |
386 |
674 |
2 |
990 |
4 |
194 |
107 |
205 |
312 |
1184 |
|
Liable Relatives |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
19 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
17 |
19 |
24 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
50 |
28 |
78 |
17 |
286 |
23 |
133 |
93 |
92 |
185 |
419 |
|
Maternity Benefit |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
6 |
9 |
12 |
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
7 |
10 |
17 |
8 |
101 |
11 |
6 |
22 |
51 |
73 |
107 |
|
State Pension (Non-Con) |
5 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
40 |
0 |
41 |
20 |
14 |
34 |
81 |
|
State Pension Transition |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
7 |
8 |
|
Occupational Injury Benefit |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
|
Occupational Injury Benefit (Medical) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Disablement Pension |
52 |
6 |
58 |
19 |
6 |
25 |
35 |
58 |
42 |
100 |
218 |
|
Incapacity Supplement |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
|
Guardian's Payment Con |
4 |
3 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
8 |
17 |
26 |
|
Guardian's Payment Non - Con |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
11 |
|
Pre-Retirement Allowance |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance (Means) |
129 |
54 |
183 |
54 |
37 |
91 |
723 |
256 |
704 |
960 |
1957 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance |
185 |
214 |
399 |
45 |
35 |
80 |
478 |
250 |
451 |
701 |
1658 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
45 |
45 |
90 |
11 |
7 |
18 |
274 |
79 |
269 |
348 |
730 |
|
Respite Care Grant |
24 |
20 |
44 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
37 |
29 |
45 |
74 |
156 |
|
Insurability of Employment |
8 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
26 |
38 |
64 |
86 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
197 |
323 |
520 |
38 |
41 |
79 |
505 |
270 |
1435 |
1705 |
2809 |
|
Treatment Benefit |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Survivor's Pension (Con) |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
13 |
|
Survivor's Pension (Non-Con) |
2 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
16 |
|
Widow's Parent Grant |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
- |
2181 |
2117 |
4,298 |
318 |
209 |
527 |
4,714 |
2170 |
5173 |
7343 |
16,882 |
1 O.H. – decided following Oral Hearing
2 Sum Dec – decided by Summary Decision
