Written Answers Nos. 128 to 138
128. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a carer's allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14392/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 12 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 25 February 2013 and 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.
129. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review the entitlement to invalidity pension in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare in view of the recent refusal of the application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14395/13]
View answerInvalidity pension is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the contribution conditions.
This department received a claim for invalidity pension for the person concerned on 18 December 2012. The application for invalidity pension was disallowed by a deciding officer on the ground that, based upon the medical evidence supplied in support of the claim, the person in question was not medically suitable for invalidity pension. The applicant was notified of this decision, the reason for it and of his right of review or appeal on 20 February 2013.
The person concerned subsequently submitted further medical evidence in support of his claim. This evidence has been forwarded to a different medical assessor for evaluation. On receipt of medical assessor’s opinion, a deciding officer will review the application and the person concerned will be notified of the outcome.
130. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when arrears of jobseeker's allowance will issue in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; the amount of arrears that will issue for the time period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14406/13]
View answerThe person concerned is due an arrears payment of jobseeker’s benefit in the amount of €1,674.30. The arrears will be included with payment for week ending 27 March 2013.
131. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection the timeframe a person has to be habitually resident in the State to be approved for carer's allowance to provide care for a person who needs full-time care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14409/13]
View answerTo be eligible for carer’s allowance, the applicant has to be deemed habitually resident at the point in time when they make their application.
The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1 May 2004. This qualifying condition is applied to all applicants, regardless of their nationality. The effect of the condition is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere would not normally be entitled to social welfare assistance or child benefit payments on arrival in Ireland. The habitual residence condition (HRC), as provided for in section 246 of the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005 (as amended), applies to claims for jobseeker’s allowance, non-contributory State pension, blind pension, non-contributory widow’s and widower’s pensions and guardian’s payment, one-parent family payment, carer’s allowance, disability allowance, supplementary welfare allowance including rent supplement, and child benefit. A person who does not have a right to reside in the State shall not be regarded as being habitually resident in the State. HRC does not apply to exceptional needs or urgent needs payments under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme.
Each case received for a determination on HRC is dealt with in its own right and a decision is based on application of the legislation and guidelines to the particular individual circumstances of each case. The determination of a person’s habitual residence is made in accordance with five factors which are set out in legislation, as follows:
(a) the length and continuity of residence in the State or in any other particular country;
(b) the length and purpose of any absence from the State;
(c) the nature and pattern of the person’s employment;
(d) the person’s main centre of interest, and
(e) the future intentions of the person concerned as they appear from all the circumstances.
These five factors have been derived from European Court of Justice case law, and are generally sufficient to enable the deciding officer to determine whether a person’s present circumstances in Ireland indicate a temporary visit or habitual residence. Any applicant who disagrees with the decision on a case has the right to request a review of that decision and/or appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
132. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a carer's allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick. [14421/13]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance on 23 February 2012 from the person in question in respect of two care recipients. The person concerned was refused carer’s allowance on the grounds that the care recipients are not so disabled as to require full time care and attention as prescribed in regulations; the carer is not providing full-time care to the care recipients; and is working outside the home in excess of 15 hours per week. The person in question was notified of this decision, the reasons for it and of her right of review or appeal.
The person concerned appealed this decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office and submitted further medical evidence in support of the appeal which was received on 21 February 2013. This information has been forwarded to the medical assessor for further consideration. Upon receipt of the medical assessor’s opinion on the additional information a deciding officer will review the case. When the review is completed, a submission will be prepared and her file and papers will be forwarded to the Social Welfare Appeals Office for determination.
133. Deputy Michael Conaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection when the local authority social employment scheme announced in budget 2013 will be rolled out; and the way places on the scheme will be allocated. [14438/13]
View answerThe Government, as part of the Budget package for 2013, announced a number of initiatives focused on providing work opportunities for those currently unemployed. One element of this package is the development of a new initiative with local authorities to provide 3,000 work opportunities in 2013. This is in line with the commitments set out in the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work.
The design of the local authority initiative and the nature of work to be undertaken will be determined by local authorities with the input of a range of stakeholders, including those bodies responsible for the delivery of other schemes funded by the Department. Development work on this new initiative is well advanced with the local authorities and I hope to be a position to agree a number of pilot projects in the coming weeks which will help to inform the final design of this important initiative.
134. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if an appeal for supplementary welfare allowance will be expedited in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14444/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 19 February 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. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 7 March 2013 and 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.
136. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 117 of 5 March 2013, if she will confirm exactly the way north Kildare is defined; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14463/13]
View answer144. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will describe the way, with regard to the setting of rent limits for rent assistance, the objective of providing assistance to all of the persons with a genuine need whilst avoiding a distortion in local rental rates is achieved; the precise mathematical method used by officials in her Department when calculating the appropriate rent limits for a given area, including all the factors that are taken into consideration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14604/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 136 and 144 together.
The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. There are currently approximately 87,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €403 million for 2013.
The Department funds a significant proportion of private sector rented accommodation. Accordingly, it is essential that State support for rents are kept under review, reflect current market conditions and do not distort the market in any way. 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.
The 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. 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. Approximately 56,600 rent supplement claims have been awarded since January 2012, showing that accommodation can be secured within the new limits.
The focus of the review was primarily based on ensuring an adequate level of housing stock is available, using the 40th percentile as the basis for establishing rent limits. The Department used publicly available data sources to ascertain both the market trends and the current asking prices for one, two and three bedroom properties nationally. The following data sources were used:
1. Daft.ie Rental Market Reports;
2. Leading websites advertising properties for rent;
3. CSO Rental Indices;
4. Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) Databases
A snapshot of the PRTB’s database which stores all annual rental values and relevant addresses.
In County Kildare property availability at 40% of the market was examined for areas containing the main population centres (Celbridge, Kilcock, Naas, Newbridge, Clane, Kilcullen, Kildare, Maynooth, Monasterevin, Sallins and Straffan) and also for the whole county.
When answering PQ no 117 of 5 March 2013, the number of rent supplement recipients in the main North Kildare population centres of Celbridge, Kilcock, Leixlip and Maynooth was used. In County Kildare, there are over 4,300 recipients of rent supplement, of which over 1,000 are in these areas.
The full report of the review of maximum rent limits is available on the Department’s website at the following link: http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Policy/ResearchSurveysAndStatistics/Pages/rentreview2011.aspx
Officials in the Department continue to examine the impact of the rent limits on those who claim rent supplement and continue to ensure that accommodation needs for recipients can be met. The next review of rent limits will take place before June 2013 and any changes to the existing limits.
137. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress made within her Department on phasing out the use of locall 1890 numbers that can be extremely expensive when dialled from mobile telephones and introducing 076 numbers, which are generally included in tariff bundles provided by most mobile network operators and are charged at the same rate as national calls, in view of the fact that the number of mobile telephones exceed the number of landlines; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14490/13]
View answer138. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has considered the use of, or implemented, integrated voice response systems in her Department's telephone systems or in the telephone systems of agencies within her remit; if the staff and salary cost savings which might arise have been assessed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14506/13]
View answer139. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department has given any consideration to the use of telephony switchboard services that are shared with another Department or public body in order to reduce costs and increase call handling capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14518/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 137 to 139, inclusive, together.
My Department has been using Lo-call numbers very successfully for its main scheme areas for many years. The Department has, however, been conscious of rising costs and emerging alternatives for some time and is actively planning the migration of Lo-call numbers to the 0761 range provided to us by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Some infrastructure upgrades are required to ensure that new numbers can be accommodated on the telephone network in a seamless integration. The Deputy will be aware that the Department is also integrating former FAS and CWS offices into its voice and data network and the new design has to take account of these changed circumstances.
I am mindful, at all times, of the importance of the telephone to large numbers of the Department’s customers for whom the telephone is the preferred method of communication. Any changes to long-established and well publicised numbers have to be carefully managed and announced far in advance of implementation. I also need to ensure that stocks of published information are run down before being reprinted with new numbers.
The Department implemented Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions along with Lo-call numbers. No staff or salary savings accrued at that time as the Locall numbers were considered to have attracted additional traffic. There is a notional saving in that no additional telephonists were required to deal with the extra calls but an amount has never been calculated and may not be meaningful after this number of years where the higher levels of traffic are now the norm. IVRs still require a staff engagement to deal with callers who cannot navigate through the menus or take the option to go to the telephonist.
My department is fully committed to shared services and minimising costs where possible and all related proposals are welcomed. One such initiative currently underway is with the Revenue Commissioners in relation to sharing data networks in joint locations. My Department has not considered any proposal to share switchboard services with other bodies but is open to doing so in the future.
