Written Answers Nos. 105 - 112
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Written Answers Nos. 105 - 112
105. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the additional community employment places for community childcare; and if she considers that the recent budget changes regarding lone parents are having an impact on this. [7602/13]
View answerThe 2,000 additional places for the Community Employment (CE) programme announced in Budget 2013 brings the overall number of CE places to 25,300, inclusive of supervisor posts. These places are being drawn down on a phased basis from the end of January to December, 2013. The additional places are critical to the continued improvement of CE, as outlined in the CE Financial Review of Schemes undertaken by this Department in 2012.
The allocation of places will be informed by the population of long-term unemployed persons in each area, the number of claimants on Jobseekers Allowance, One Parent Family Payment and people with a disability in receipt of welfare payments for 52 weeks or more.
Priority will be given to (a) schemes involved in community child care services, social and health care services and drug rehabilitation services that offer training and development opportunities and work experience to CE participants and (b) those schemes with a clear track record in the development and progression of participants towards employment.
An allocation of 500 of the additional places is reserved for child care support.
The Department recognises that there has been a decline in participation of lone parents on CE due to recent budgetary changes. Every effort is being made to encourage take-up of these places. The Department, in collaboration with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, are in the process of improving the provision of training and work experience for CE participants who wish to pursue a career in child care. This will enhance qualifications and progression for CE participants.
In addition, the Department is in the process of rolling out a revised referral process to address the future recruitment and selection of participants for CE schemes.
106. Deputy Peter Mathews asked the Minister for Social Protection when an application for an extension of a community employment scheme will be decided in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 24; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7517/13]
View answerThe person concerned has been a participant in the community employment scheme since 2nd August 2010, and was granted an extension in July 2012 to continue participating in the scheme until 19th July 2013. No request for a further extension for the person concerned has been received to date from the Project Sponsor. As per community employment procedures, extensions for participants are only considered by my Department at the request of the Project Sponsor.
107. Deputy Tom Barry asked the Minister for Social Protection if she plans to amend the Civil Registration Act 2012 to allow for the registration, in Ireland, of the deaths of Irish citizens abroad. [7518/13]
View answerUnder the provisions and procedures governing the registration of deaths in Ireland, which are contained in Part 5 of the Civil Registration Act, 2004, if a death occurs in the State it is the duty of a qualified informant (normally a relative of the deceased) to attend at a registrar’s office and register the death on foot of a certificate of cause of death supplied by a registered medical practitioner. Where a death is referred to a coroner, the death is registered by a registrar on foot of a coroner’s certificate.
In general, only deaths which occur within the State can be registered. However, Section 39 of the Act provides for the following exceptions:
The death of an Irish citizen on board a foreign ship or a foreign aircraft travelling to or from a port, or an airport, as the case may be, in the State;
The death of a person on board an Irish aircraft or an Irish ship;
The death of a member of the Garda Síochána or the Permanent Defence Force or of the spouse or specified members of the family of such a member outside the State while the member is serving outside the State as such member.
Usually, when an Irish citizen dies abroad, the death is registered by the civil authorities of the place where the death occurred, and a certified copy of the death registration is obtainable. This certificate, translated, if necessary, is normally sufficient for all legal and administrative purposes here and for these reasons alone there is no necessity for the death to be registered in the State.
Section 38 of the Act makes provision for the registration of a death of an Irish citizen domiciled in the State in certain specific circumstances. Where the death of an Irish citizen domiciled in the State occurs abroad, the death may be registered here if there was not at the time of the death a system of registration of deaths in the place where the death occurred, or such a system that applied to such a death, or it is not possible to obtain copies of or extracts from civil records of the death, i.e. a death certificate. In other words, if the death could not be registered or if a death certificate could not be obtained, the death can be registered here.
The number of Irish citizens who are domiciled in Ireland and who die abroad is relatively small in the context of total deaths occurring here in any given year. My understanding is that the vast majority of these people were travelling abroad for leisure or business purposes. I am aware that the Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection has recommended amending the current legislation in order to enable deaths of Irish citizens who have died abroad to be registered here.
Any broadening of the current provisions will require careful consideration. It will be appreciated that the number of people who live and die in other countries and who have or are entitled to have Irish citizenship is very large. This would have implications both for the registration process itself and for the vital statistics relating to deaths which are derived from registered events.
This issue is currently being considered in my Department along with a number of other proposed amendments to the Civil Registration Act (2004) and in this regard it is hoped that legislation will be introduced in 2013.
109. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for invalidity pension in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7528/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 16th January 2013, 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.
110. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for invalidity pension appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7529/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 16th January 2013, 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.
111. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider changing the qualifying criteria for free travel in respect of epilepsy patients who risk losing their jobs as a result of transportation difficulties as a result of their illness. [7595/13]
View answerThere are currently in excess of 745,000 customers eligible for free travel and when spousal and companion passes are taken into account, there are over 1.1 million customers with some free travel eligibility. Expenditure on this scheme was frozen at 2010 levels by the previous Government. The available expenditure for the free travel scheme in 2013 is €77 million.
The free travel scheme is currently available to all people living in the State aged 66 years or over, to carers and to customers under 66 who are in receipt of certain disability type payments. The scheme permits customers to travel for free on most CIE public transport services, LUAS and a range of services offered by up to 90 private operators in various parts of the country.
Customers aged under 66 years must be in receipt of a qualifying payment from my Department in order to qualify for a free travel pass. I have no plans to change the current qualifying criteria for the scheme.
Given the increasing number of recipients and the funding pressures, my Department along with representatives from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the National Transport Authority are currently reviewing the free travel scheme. The work of this group is expected to conclude mid-2013.
112. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will approve an increase in rent supplement in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7610/13]
View answerThe rent supplement claim for the person concerned has been re-assessed following a reduction in her primary payment. An Exceptional Needs Payment has issued to the client for all arrears owed and she has been provided with a copy of her new entitlement to rent supplement.
