Written Answers Nos. 236-254
236. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of appointments made to State boards under her Department's remit since March 2011; the number of positions that have been advertised; the number of applications to the boards; the number of appointments to the board that were drawn from the applications; the current number of vacancies on each board; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28982/13]
View answerThe statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Board, the Pensions Ombudsman (which does not have a board) and the Social Welfare Tribunal.
Citizens Information Board
I have made three appointments to the Citizens Information Board since coming into office.
Mr. Eugene McErlean was appointed with effect from 7 September 2011. This followed a public request for expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced individuals in line with the procedures for appointment to State boards and bodies agreed by Government in May 2011. In response to this public request for expressions of interest, 172 applications were received through the Public Appointments Service (PAS) and the appointment was made following a rigorous selection process in accordance with the legislation governing appointments to the board.
The other two appointments did not require public advertisement as one was the Department’s representative to the Board, Ms. Fiona Ward, first appointed on 1 November 2011, and the other was the CIB’s staff representative to the Board, Mr. David Stratton, who was appointed on 5 November 2012. These appointments were made in accordance with the governing legislation: the Comhairle Act 2000, as amended by the Citizens Information Act 2007.
There are currently two vacancies on the Citizens Information Board. A public request for expressions of interest in March 2013 resulted in 76 applications being received through the Public Appointments Service (PAS). Appointments will be made in accordance with the legislation on completion of the selection process.
Pensions Board
Under the current structure, there are two vacancies on the Pensions Board. No appointments have been advertised or made by me to the Pensions Board since I took office.
The Public Service Reform Programme provides for a critical review of the integration of the regulatory functions of the Pensions Board with the Financial Regulator, and the merging of the Pensions Ombudsman with the Financial Services Ombudsman. The Critical Review Group established to carry out this review has finalised its report, the recommendations of which have been accepted by Government.
The key recommendation from the critical review in relation to Board membership is that the governance of the Pensions Board will be restructured with two distinct arms, one of which will be a three-person Pensions Commission, including an independent Chair, to provide oversight of pensions regulation, and the other a separate unpaid Pensions Council with a majority of members representing consumer interests and which will advise the Minister on pensions policy.
The relevant legislative measures to implement the changes to the governance structure of the Pensions Board are being provided for in the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013, which is currently progressing through the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Social Welfare Tribunal
The Board of the Social Welfare Tribunal is appointed for a three year term. It consists of a Chairperson and four ordinary members, two of whom are nominated by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and two by the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC), in accordance with legislation.
There have been 6 appointments to the board since March 2011. One of the ICTU members of the Tribunal resigned in 2011 and, on ICTU’s nomination, a replacement member was appointed from 24 October 2011.
All appointments were due for renewal on 4th October 2012. Four members of the previous board, and one new person nominated by IBEC, were appointed to the new board, by me, effective from the 5th of October 2012. Both bodies had forwarded their nominations, which I duly approved and appointed. The Chairperson is sourced by the Department of Social Protection by way of a recommendation from the Labour Court with regard to a particular candidate’s suitability. The Chairperson, who was re-appointed in 2012, has held the position since 2003. He is a former Rights Commissioner with extensive experience in dispute resolution and has been proven to hold all of the qualifications, skills and competencies necessary for the position.
None of these positions were filled on foot of public applications as, due to the nature of the work of the Tribunal, they are not subject to the new procedures. The Tribunal deals with entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance where a claim is refused because it is considered to be connected to a trade dispute. The board is therefore made up of individuals deemed to be representative of both employers and employees, hence the nominations from both IBEC and ICTU. The Chairperson, in the position since 2003 and with all the necessary experience, qualifications and skills, had indicated his willingness to continue in the role and was duly reappointed.
The revised Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies does not apply to the Social Welfare Tribunal due to its structure and purpose.
There are no vacancies on the Board of the Tribunal.
237. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason carer's allowance has been refused in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow when the person has medical certificates and evidence to say that the caree needs full time care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28987/13]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 4th December 2012. The person concerned was refused carers allowance on the grounds that the care recipient is not so disabled as to require full time care and attention as prescribed in regulations. She was notified of this decision on 27th of February 2013. Additional medical evidence was received on 15th of March 2013 and forwarded to the Department’s medical assessor for consideration. However, this information did not alter the opinion of the medical assessor and the decision remained unchanged. The person in question was notified of this revised decision on 8th of June 2013 the reasons for it and of her right of appeal.
238. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will set out in tabular form the number of recipients who have been granted the respite care grant and the number of recipients who have received payment of same in 2011, 2012 and 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28995/13]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is collated by my Department annually for inclusion in the Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services report which is laid before the Dáil when published and copies lodged in the Oireachtas library. Furthermore these reports are available to the public at www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Annual-Statistical-Information-Reports.aspx .
The number of recipients of Respite Care Grant who are not in receipt of any other Carer’s payment, are detailed in the table below for 2011 and 2012. With regard to the number of recipients of this payment in 2013 this will not be available until early 2014 when collation of information for the 2013 Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services report commences.
I am also informed that there are approximately a further 65,000 Respite Care Grant recipients annually who qualify for payment automatically under the terms of the relevant scheme.
Stand-alone Respite Care Grant Recipients 2011 and 2012
|
- |
2011 |
2012 |
|
Respite Care Grant |
4,847 |
4,301 |
239. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Social Protection the length of time it is taking to process appeals for disability payments (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28997/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 14th May 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.
240. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Social Protection if an application for carer's allowance for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15 will be expedited; the reason for the delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29018/13]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 8th May 2012. This application was referred to one of the Department’s medical assessors who was of the opinion that the caree in question was not medically eligible for carer’s allowance. The application was also sent to a social welfare investigative officer for assessment of means. A letter issued on the 11th of May 2013 refusing the allowance on medical grounds only and informing the applicant of her right to review or appeal. There is no record of any review or appeal being requested to date.
241. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection the total number of places available under the rural social scheme; the number of places filled; the number of persons currently waiting to obtain a place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29032/13]
View answer249. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to provide additional placements for the rural social scheme for Counties Cavan and Monaghan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29248/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 241 and 249 together.
The purpose of the rural social scheme is to provide income support for farmers and those engaged in fishing who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. Participants are engaged for 19½ hours per week to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. The scheme currently provides work opportunities for 2,600 participants and 130 supervisory staff of which 120 participants and 6 supervisors are engaged in Counties Cavan and Monaghan. All places are currently allocated with funding for 2013 amounting to €45m. This does not allow for the recruitment of additional participants above the numbers stated above. Matters relating to recruitment and the maintenance of panels to fill vacancies should they arise are dealt with by each of the 35 Implementing Bodies engaged by the Department. The Department does not collate data on the numbers of persons on such recruitment panels.
242. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 445 of 11 June 2013, what is the position where the child is normally resident with each parent for an equal amount of time, that is, where a child spends Sunday to Saturday, week on/week off with each parent; the way the child can be considered to be normally resident with one parent over the other in this case where the child is equally resident with each parent; if the payment can be split between both parents in this situation; if the payment cannot be split where the child is normally resident with each parent for an equal amount of time, is it not the case that one parent is being unfairly treated in view of the fact that they would be without a payment when the child is living with them and that this would not be in the best interests of the child; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29153/13]
View answerAs stated in the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 445 of 11 June 2013, the main principle underlying decisions in relation to who receives QCI payments in the social protection system is that of the normal residence of the child. Where the child is resident part of the time with each parent the child is generally considered to be normally resident with the parent with whom the child spends most of the time.
Insufficient details have been provided in the question to establish the specific circumstances in the case referred to and as my Department tried but was unsuccessful in contacting the Deputy to get further details such as the name and PPSN of the claimants, we cannot ascertain the specific circumstances in this case as they were assessed for the purpose of the claim. If such details are provided, the circumstances of the case can be considered further.
243. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) is eligible for a community employment scheme. [29170/13]
View answerThe eligibility criteria for the community employment scheme require that an applicant must have been receiving a jobseeker’s payment for 12 months at the time of making his or her application. As the person concerned finished receiving jobseeker’s payments on 1st September 2012 she does not meet the criteria, and is therefore ineligible for the community employment scheme.
244. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the length of time people have to wait to receive carer's allowance; the average length of time persons have to wait from the time they apply to when they actually receive a final decision of either granting them, refusing them or seeking further information from them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29173/13]
View answerThe Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. The waiting lists and processing times for carer’s allowance were unacceptable in 2012 but significant improvements have been made in the past year by my Department. The backlog of carer’s allowance applications has been eliminated and processing times have improved greatly, with new applications now being actioned on receipt and applications received in the last 6 months are now decided within 8 weeks.
The total number carer’s allowance applications which were awaiting decision at mid-June 2012 were approximately 11,600. At present, the number is approximately 2,900 cases. Most of these applications are already processed and are awaiting further information from customers or are part of the appeals process. The aim is to action new applications within a week of receipt. It should be noted that the processing time for individual applications can vary depending on the complexity of the applicant's circumstances and the information they provide in support.
245. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a carer's allowance appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 11; and the timescale in which the appeal will be decided. [29174/13]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision.
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 Appeals Officer has agreed to review the case. The person concerned will be contacted when the review of her appeal has been finalised.
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.
246. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure that all letters sent out to social welfare applicants regarding their claims have the name of a departmental official on them to ensure that applicants can properly deal with queries or concerns they may have regarding their claims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29202/13]
View answerMy Department processes over 2 million applications annually in respect of various schemes and services. These applications are processed by deciding officers who are appointed under legislation to make decisions on a customer’s eligibility. The relevant legislation provides that decisions on social welfare claims must be set out in writing and signed by the deciding officer.
Other communications, including those requesting additional information or verifying a customer's continuing eligibility, may be system generated and automatically issued to customers. While some of these may not be signed by an individual officer, contact details for the relevant scheme areas are always included in such communications for ease of access, should the customer have a query.
My Department is committed to providing a professional, efficient and courteous service to all customers. The level of service that customers can expect when dealing with my Department is set out in the Customer Charter and Action Plan 2013 – 2015 which is available on the Department's website at www.welfare.ie.
247. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of invalidity pension applications that went to appeal, and were granted under special provision by her Department only to be immediately subject to a medical review, in 2012 and to date in 2013; if her attention has been drawn to the concerns this is causing applicants who have been awaiting their claim for a long period, some for a year or two; if she will immediately review this policy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29203/13]
View answerInvalidity Pension is a payment for people who satisfy the contribution conditions and who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity. Medical Assessors review a medical report in line with evidence based medical protocols and Departmental guidelines to determine medical eligibility for the scheme. A person’s continuing medical eligibility for the scheme can be reviewed at any time.
Where a case is pending appeal and there is a change of circumstances or additional evidence available, a deciding officer will first review the claim to see if a revised decision is warranted before the case is sent to the SWAO for determination.
A structured programme to address backlogs in appeal applications has been underway in this scheme area since November 2012. The term ‘special projects’ is a temporary one in use during this period to reflect cases which had been at least 1 year on illness benefit but which were initially disallowed invalidity pension because they were deemed not to satisfy the condition of being expected to be incapable of work for a further year. Since November 2012 approximately one thousand of these cases have been awarded and paid. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of those awarded in 2012 and those awarded in 2013. These cases were awarded on the basis that they satisfied the condition of being incapable of work for 1 year prior and 1 year after date of application however due to the delay in claim processing these are now appropriate for a review of continued medical eligibility.
These cases arose as a direct result of the backlog elimination and will not continue to occur once the appeals cases are cleared.
This practice is not intended to cause worry or concern to invalidity pension recipients it is simply to ensure that recipients continue to satisfy the medical eligibility conditions.
248. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) in County Cork is entitled to illness benefit; if not, the social welfare payments available to them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29205/13]
View answerPayment of illness benefit, to the person concerned, was disallowed by a Deciding Officer following an examination by a Medical Assessor of the Department who expressed the opinion that he was capable of work.
I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an appeal was registered on 06th March 2013 and 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 on 19th June 2013. The person concerned has been notified of the arrangements.
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.
250. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection the provisions that will be put in place to mitigate the loss of income and subsequent financial hardship for a person (details supplied) currently on a community employment scheme in County Longford who is due to lose her lone parent's allowance from July 2013. [29257/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2010, which was enacted on 21 July 2010, provided for significant reforms to the One-Parent Family Payment. The purpose of these reforms is to tackle long-term poverty and welfare dependency among OFP recipients and to provide these customers with access to the Department’s INTREO services. This will provide them with the necessary supports to increase their employability, thereby, moving them closer to the labour market.
The person concerned was awarded One Parent Family Payment with effect from 18th December 2008 and is currently in receipt of €172.30 per week. Her payment will cease on 3rd July 2013 as her youngest child is over 17 years of age. The person concerned is currently participating on a Community Employment Scheme. She will receive an increase in her CE payment of €29.80 in respect of her Dependent Child.
251. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the total number of uncertified sick days taken by employees in her Department; the average uncertified sick days per employee taken; the total certified sick days taken by employees; the average certified sick days per employee; the total sick days taken by employees; the average total sick days and median overall sick days per employee in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. [29278/13]
View answerThe details requested by the Deputy are set out in the table below. From the information available it is not possible to provide a median figure per employee for the specified years in the time available.
|
- |
2012 |
2011 |
2010 |
2009 |
|
Number of staff in Department* |
7,141 |
5,315 |
5,207 |
5,105 |
|
Total number of working days lost due to sick leave |
89,013 |
71,680 |
64,377 |
69,323 |
|
Average number of working days lost per employee |
12.57 |
13.49 |
12.36 |
13.58 |
|
Total number of uncertified (self- certified) working days lost due to sick leave |
6,162 |
5,501 |
5,412 |
5,722 |
|
Average number of uncertified (self- certified) working days lost per employee |
0.86 |
1.03 |
1.03 |
1.12 |
|
Total number of certified working days lost due to sick leave |
82,851 |
66,179 |
58,965 |
63,601 |
|
Average number of certified working days lost per employee |
11.60 |
12.45 |
11.32 |
12.45 |
*The number of staff in the Department is the number of staff in the Department on the 1st January of the following year (e.g. The staffing quoted for 2012 is the number in place on 1st January 2013).
253. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 395 of 11 June 2013, the alterative social protection payment a person (details supplied) in Dublin 3 may claim to support their family; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29324/13]
View answerThe person concerned should contact his Social Welfare Local Office or Citizens Information Centre at the earliest available opportunity whereupon he can discuss any possible further entitlements outlined in this regard.
254. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an appeal for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29403/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 05th June 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 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.
