Written Answers Nos. 151-159
151. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when an appeal will be determined in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9001/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 2nd 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 14th February 2013 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.
152. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will confirm that interim arrangements are in place for persons who must retire at age 65 and who no longer can avail of a transition pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9135/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 provided for changes to State pension provision. SPT will cease to be paid from 2014 which will standardise the payment of pension at age 66. In addition, the age at which State pension (contributory) (SPC) will be payable will increase to 67 years from 2012 and to 68 years from 2028. The State pension (transition) (SPT) is paid for a maximum of 12 months and is available to people who retire from work on reaching age 65 provided they satisfy the necessary PRSI contributions criteria and that they do not work for that one year between age 65 and 66.
Figures indicate the numbers applying for SPT from employment are low. In 2011, 12,052 SPTs were awarded. The total number of SPT recipients in 2011 was 12,110. This compares to 296,995 recipients of SPC in 2011. Of the SPTs awarded in 2011, 1,478 (12.3%) were awarded SPT directly from employment while almost half, 5,850 (48.5%) were already in receipt of another social welfare payment. A person who retires from work on reaching age 65 and who does not have sufficient PRSI contributions to qualify for SPT may apply for another social welfare payment, depending on their individual circumstances.
Raising State pension age and the abolition of SPT is a necessary step in ensuring the sustainability of pensions into the future and to address the challenges of changing demographics such as increasing life expectancy. It is important that those who need to or wish to continue in employment after State pension age should, as far as is possible, be facilitated and supported. Longer working can play an important role in ensuring that our pensions system is sustainable in the future and it can also be beneficial to the individual.
153. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on an appeal of a domiciliary allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9137/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 9th October 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 1st February 2013 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.
155. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress in respect of an appeal for carer's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9149/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 17th January 2013. 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 appeal in question will be referred in 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.
156. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Social Protection when an application for jobseeker's will be finalised in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9150/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who proposes to hold an oral hearing in this case on 20th March 2013. The person concerned has been notified of the arrangements for the 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.
157. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Social Protection if there is any financial assistance available for a person wishing to do a training course (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9154/13]
View answerFunding may be available under the Technical Employment Support Grants Scheme (TESGS) in instances where the Employment Services Officer (ESO) identifies that the jobseeker has a support need in order to enter/re-enter the labour market. I would advise the individual concerned to contact the ESO in his area, whose contact details can be obtained from the Department’s Local Office in Carrigaline to discuss the viability of providing financial assistance towards the specified training course.
159. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider a complaint in relation to the operation of the JobBridge programme (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9161/13]
View answerA number of controls are in place to address the type of issue referred to in the question. These controls are designed to try to ensure that the internship does not displace an existing position; that it provides appropriate training and development experience; and that appropriate mentoring and support is provided to the Intern.
First, the Standard Agreement signed and agreed to by both the intern and the host organisation upon commencement clearly states the terms of the internship; including the expected working hours, which can range from 30 – 40 hours (maximum) per week and the specific learning outcomes the intern will gain over the course of their internship. Second, to ensure that both the host organisation and intern are abiding by the spirit and the rules of the scheme, the Department of Social Protection is involved in the ongoing monitoring of internships. This involves the regular review of monthly compliance reports and the conducting of random monitoring site visits to facilitate discussions with both parties to the Internship. Of the 1,235 monitoring visits conducted to date, encouragingly 97% of visits were of a satisfactory nature with remedial action taken in the remaining 3% of cases. Third, each host organisation’s allocation of Interns is based on it’s total number of employees. More details on this and the other stringent Host Organisation criteria are available on www.JobBridge.ie. Finally, under the current guidelines upon the conclusion of an internship position a cooling off period of 6 months must elapse before a host organisation can re-advertise either this position or another placement in the same area of activity.
Any individual, who suspects that an internship may be in breach of the scheme’s criteria, including cases of suspected displacement, quality issues or lack of appropriate mentoring and support, may contact the JobBridge team. All such matters are fully investigated. Recent independent research undertaken as part of an external evaluation of JobBridge by Indecon Independent Economic Consultants indicates that displacement of existing paid jobs occurs in only a very small number of cases and accounted for just 3% of the overall number of placements. Some 40 cases of suspected displacement have been investigated by the Department since July 2011. Following investigation, it was found that these allegations were substantiated in 4 cases and those organisations were disqualified from participating in JobBridge. Of the 2 cases of alleged displacement investigated in Co. Kerry neither could be substantiated.
If the individual to whom the Deputy refers is aware of a specific instance of displacement, I would invite her to contact the JobBridge team directly via the ‘Contact Us’ section of the JobBridge website (www.jobbridge.ie) to provide specific details and enable an investigation to be made.
