Written Answers Nos. 504-519
504. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will issue arrears of jobseeker's allowance to a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34345/13]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has partially allowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned was notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision on 11 July 2013.
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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
505. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the changes, if any, that have been made to jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's benefit eligibility for employees who have been temporarily laid off or put on short time since 2011; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34359/13]
View answerJobseeker's benefit is a weekly payment to people out of work and covered by social insurance. If a person does not qualify for jobseeker’s benefit they may qualify for means tested jobseeker's allowance. In 2012, my Department spent over €738 million on the jobseeker’s benefit scheme and at the end of 2012 there were some 85,000 recipients of jobseeker’s benefit. For the same period my Department spent €3.05 billion on the jobseeker’s allowance scheme and at the end of 2012 there were 294,000 recipients of jobseeker’s allowance.
Where an employee is put on short time working by their employer they may be entitled to the Systematic Short Time Scheme. Under this scheme the number of days an individual is working has been reduced systematically each week so that they are now working less than the normal working week in the employment concerned. For the days a person is not working they may be entitled to a social welfare payment.
In order to qualify for this scheme short-time working must be systematic in that there must be a clear repetitive pattern of employment each week. Persons temporarily laid off are not classified as short-time but may claim jobseeker’s benefit subject to the same conditions as any other worker.
The main changes to the jobseeker schemes that affect workers on short time or those who have been temporarily laid off since 2011 are as follows:
- Budget 2012 provided for a change in payment week for jobseeker’s benefit. Where a benefit recipient is working part-time or in casual employment their benefit entitlement is now calculated with reference to a 5 day, rather than a 6 day, week. This measure does not impact on the systematic short-time scheme, which has always been based on a 5 day working week.
- Budget 2012 also provided that Sunday working is now taken into account when calculating the amount of jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s allowance to be paid. This measure only impacts where a recipient works on a Sunday.
- Budget 2013 provided that, from April 2013, the duration for which jobseeker’s benefit is paid will be reduced from 12 months to 9 months for recipients with 260 or more contributions paid and from 9 months to 6 months for recipients with less than 260 contributions paid. This measure may reduce the duration of benefit to which a short-time worker will be entitled.
506. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection the position on an invalidity pension appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [34369/13]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned was notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision on 8 July 2013.
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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
507. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection the action she has taken following the European Court of Justice ruling earlier this year that the State was in breach of its obligations under the terms of the EU insolvency directive regarding the pension entitlements of Waterford Crystal workers. [34385/13]
View answerThe ruling by the European Court of Justice was in response to a reference by the High Court seeking clarification of the interpretation of European law emanating from EU Directive 2008/94EC on the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer.
Following the ECJ ruling, the matter will now revert to the High Court for consideration. Given this matter remains before the courts, it would not be appropriate that I comment further on any aspect of or possible issue arising from the case at this time.
Careful and detailed consideration is of course being given to the ruling of the European Court of Justice, and will be given to the outcomes of the case before the High Court.
508. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the name, costs, date of commission, date or expected date of publication and name of the external consultant of all external reports commissioned by his Department since March 2011. [34409/13]
View answerThe Department will compile the information sought and will revert to the Deputy at the earliest possible opportunity.
510. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite a carer's allowance appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath. [34501/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 20 June 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
511. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, a breakdown of the fees and expenses paid to each member of each State board, to include the chair and board members, and the number of members on each State board under the aegis of her Department. [34519/13]
View answerThe statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Citizens Information Board, the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Pensions Board and the Pensions Ombudsman (which does not have a board).
A breakdown of fees and expenses paid to each member of the boards in 2012 is outlined in the following table.
2012 Year
|
Agency/ Board |
Member |
Fees - € |
Expenses - € |
|
Citizens Information Board |
Noeleen Blackwell Michael Butler Laurie Carr (term ended March 2012) Pat Fitzpatrick Josephine Henry Sylda Langford (Chairperson) Eugene McErlean Michael McGaune Martin Naughton Sandra Ronayne John Sheehy David Stratton (appointed November 2012) Sean Sweeney Patricia Walsh (term ended March 2012) Fiona Ward Margaret Zheng (term ended August 2012) |
Nil 5,985 1,443 5,985 5,985 Nil 5,985 5,985 5,985 5,985 5,985 Nil 5,985 1,443 Nil Nil |
Nil Nil Nil 1,171 Nil Nil Nil 3,195 Nil Nil 2,998 Nil 2,435 Nil Nil Nil |
|
Social Welfare Tribunal |
Colin Walker - Chairperson Michael Carr Don O’Higgins Fergus Whelan Chris Rowland |
Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil |
Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil |
|
Pension Board |
Jane Williams- Chairperson Kevin Finucane Noreen Deegan Brendan Johnston John McHale Terence Noone Emer O’Flanagan Rosalind Briggs Don O’Higgins Phelim O’Reilly Rachel Ryan Mary Walsh Niall Walsh Robin Webster David Owens Patricia Murphy |
11,970 Nil 7,695 7,695 Nil 7,695 7,695 7,695 7,695 7,695 1,283 7,695 7,695 7,695 Nil Nil |
Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 874 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil |
Citizens Information Board
1. Noeleen Blackwell and Sylda Langford waived their Board fees and received no payments in 2012.
2. David Stratton, CIB staff representative and Fiona Ward, as representative of the Department of Social Protection are not eligible to receive any payments.
Pensions Board
1. Kevin Finucane waived his Board fees and received no fee payments.
2 . Rachael Ryan waived her Board fees with effect from March 2012.
3. John McHale received no Board fees and resigned from the Board in February 2012.
4. David Owens and Patricia Murphy, as representatives of the Department of Social Protection and Department of Finance (i.e. serving civil servants) do not receive a fee.
Note:
The Social Welfare and Pensions Miscellaneous Provision Act 2013 provides for the restructuring of the Pensions Board with two distinct arms; one of which will be a three-person body, 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. This will be implemented in the coming months.
512. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the annual salary of all non-commercial State-sponsored bodies' chief executive officers under the aegis of her Department. [34535/13]
View answerThe non-commercial State-sponsored bodies that operate under the aegis of the Department are the Pensions Board and the Citizens Information Board. The Office of the Pensions Ombudsman also comes within the remit of the Department.
Annual salaries (post-Haddington Road Agreement) are set out in tabular form.
|
Agency |
Annual Salary |
|
CEO Citizens Information Board |
€ 112,577 |
|
CEO The Pensions Board |
€ 136,496 |
|
Pensions Ombudsman |
€ 112,924 |
513. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, a list of all professional fees, including but not limited to legal, consultancy, IT related, advisory, advertising and accountancy; the company name and the amount invoiced between 1 June 2012 and 31 May 2013. [34551/13]
View answer515. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide the annual saving to the Exchequer of a 20% reduction in all professional fees, including but not limited to legal, consultancy, IT related, advisory, advertising and accountancy; the company name and the amount invoiced between 1 June 2012 and 31 May 2013. [34583/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 513 and 515 together.
The details of professional fees paid my Department for the period 1 June 2012 and 31 May 2013 are set out in the following table.
|
Company |
Category |
Amount (€) |
|
Accenture |
IT |
€1,065,222 |
|
Arthur Cox Solicitors |
Legal |
€3,703 |
|
BearingPoint Ireland Ltd. |
IT |
€3,865,764 |
|
Compasspoint Ltd. |
Project Management |
€3,852 |
|
Core International |
IT |
€41,362 |
|
Deloitte & Touche |
Other |
€46,845 |
|
Eustace Patterson Ltd. |
Other (policy) |
€31,530 |
|
Eversheds |
Legal |
€32,182 |
|
Fujitsu (Ireland) Ltd. |
IT |
€55,779 |
|
Gunne |
Valuation |
€6,386 |
|
Hewlett Packard Ireland Ltd. |
IT |
€536,285 |
|
Hyperion Systems Ltd. |
IT |
€19,832 |
|
Indecon International Economic Consultants |
Evaluation |
€48,982 |
|
Inpute Technologies Ltd. |
IT |
€47,106 |
|
John B O’Connor & Co. Solicitors |
Legal |
€258 |
|
KPMG |
Actuarial |
€128,750 |
|
LK Shields Solicitors |
Legal |
€5,177 |
|
Matheson Ormsby Prentice Solicitors |
Legal |
€32,800 |
|
McCourtney Auctioneers Ltd. |
Valuation |
€14,008 |
|
Naked Objects Group Ltd. |
IT |
€236,113 |
|
Nolan Farrell & Goff Solicitors |
Legal |
€22,297 |
|
Oonagh Gearty |
Legal |
€1,824 |
|
Paul Anthony McDermott BL |
Legal |
€1,030 |
|
PricewaterhouseCoopers |
Consultancy |
€26,780 |
|
Professor MX Fitzgerald |
Adjudication |
€316 |
|
Rits |
Consultancy |
€3,886 |
|
Technical Guidance Ltd. |
Policy Review |
€1,030 |
|
Terence Lyons & Co. Solicitors |
Legal |
€36,705 |
|
Tomkins & Co. |
Trademarks |
€3,896 |
|
Total: |
€6,319,700 |
The potential savings to the Department by reducing these fees by 20% would be €1,263,940. The Legal category above may include payments in respect of legal settlements with third parties.
514. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, a breakdown of all third level courses, training programmes and courses and accompanying cost for the 2012-13 academic year, 1 September 2012 to 30 June 2013, provided for employees of her Department. [34567/13]
View answerThe Department is committed under its Learning and Development Strategy to provide opportunities for the education and development of its staff. The Department recognises that investment in learning leads to improved performance and productivity, increased employee engagement and better customer service.
Business areas offer development opportunities to staff through internal training, courses delivered externally or the Refund of Fees scheme.
From 1 September 2012 to 30 June 2013, staff attended 96 different external course types at a cost of €300,387.
The Department also operates the Refund of Fees scheme to encourage staff to pursue higher educational achievement outside of normal business hours. The scheme operates within the parameters of Department of Finance Circular 23/07. In the 2012-2013 academic year, 97 staff will participate in the scheme resulting in a total cost, when all fees are refunded, of €233,947.
|
Training method |
Cost for academic year 2012/2013 |
|
External training |
€300,387 |
|
Refund of Fees |
€233,947 |
The full list of courses under both external training and the Refund of Fees scheme for the period in question are listed in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1
External Courses: 1 September to 30 June 2013
|
Course |
Effectiveness |
|
Absence Management |
Measuring the Effectiveness of Training |
|
Accounting Procedures |
Media Skills |
|
Administering Team Foundation Server 2010 |
Mediation Training |
|
Advanced Access |
Money Skills - Lunchtime Talks |
|
Agewise |
MS Office User Specialist |
|
Agile Data Warehouse Design |
MS TechEd |
|
Agile Methodologies |
MS VISIO 2010 |
|
Agile Project Management |
Requirements Engineering |
|
Agile Project Management Seminar |
IT Project Management |
|
Business Process Improvement |
Non Violent Crisis Instructor |
|
C# Programming Introduction |
Management Training |
|
C# Programming |
Occupational First Aid Course |
|
Certificate in Leadership in the Public Sector |
Outlook Personal Productivity |
|
Clear and Critical Thinking |
Pensions Training |
|
Computing |
Plain English Seminar Training |
|
Configuring Windows & Training |
Plain English Writing |
|
Configuring Windows 8 |
Planning for retirement |
|
Conflict Management |
PO Leadership & Competency Devpt |
|
Courtroom Skills |
PQ Process |
|
Custom SharePoint 2010 |
Procurement in Public Sector |
|
DCCM Training |
Programming Introduction |
|
Deaf Awareness |
Programming with C# |
|
Developing Research Outputs |
Project Management |
|
Developing Web Apps Using VS 2008 |
Project Management & Engineering Agile Project Course |
|
Dispute Resolution |
Agile Project Course |
|
ECDL CTP Training Programme |
Project Management for Team Members |
|
Editing Skills |
Public Financial Management |
|
Effective Interviewing Skills |
Quality in Social Research |
|
Energy Conservation |
Rent Supplement |
|
EU Presidency Training |
Requirements Engineering Course |
|
Excel Intermediate Training |
Risk Based Auditing/Planning |
|
Facilitation Skills Training |
Safe Pass System Training |
|
First aid |
Safety Representative |
|
Freedom of Information |
Scoping and Delivering IT Projects |
|
Future of HR in Public Sector |
Senior Management Training |
|
Gaeilge (FETAC) Course |
SharePoint 2010 |
|
Health and Safety |
SQL Training |
|
IDEA |
Team Building Training Course |
|
IIA/ FAP Conference |
Train the Trainer |
|
ILM Certificate in Leadership |
Training Needs Analysis |
|
InDesign Pro Skills |
VDU Assessor Training |
|
Industry Matters Conference |
Visio Professional 2010 Customised Course |
|
Intro. to Programming(2667A) |
Web Design Training |
|
Introduction to Corepay |
Web Design with XHTML |
|
Introduction To Internal Audit |
Workplace Dis Man Programme |
|
Leadership |
Writing for the Web |
|
Lean Six Sigma for Public Sector |
XML Design & Build |
|
Working successfully within Team Training |
Table 2
Refund of Fees: Academic year 2012/2013
|
Course |
|
|
Accounting |
Information systems & management |
|
Adult guidance |
Information technology |
|
Adult learning & development |
Irish |
|
Applied social research |
Irish law |
|
Arts |
IT |
|
Business administration |
Law |
|
Business management HRM |
Leadership & Management |
|
Business studies |
Personal and professional development |
|
Business/commerce |
Psychology |
|
Computer science |
Psychology & social science |
|
Computing & IT |
Psychology/counselling |
|
Counselling & psychotherapy |
Public accounts |
|
ECDL |
Public management |
|
Forensic accounting |
Science in IT management |
|
Human Resource Management |
Social science |
|
Humanities |
Statistics |
|
Inclusion/disability studies |
Training and continuing education |
|
Information systems |
Women/gender/society |
516. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the annual saving to the Exchequer of a 1%, 5%, 7%, 10%, 12%, 15%, 17% and 20% reduction in travel and expenses for her Department. [34599/13]
View answer517. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the annual saving to the Exchequer of a 5%, 7%, 10%, 12%, 15%, 17% and 20% reduction in training and development for her Department. [34615/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 516 and 517 together.
The information requested by the Deputy is provided in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1: Travel and Subsistence, 2013 REV Estimate
|
Department of Social Protection |
2013 |
|
Travel and Subsistence - Total 2013 Estimate |
€5,692,000 |
|
1% Reduction Saving |
€56,920 |
|
5% Reduction Saving |
€284,600 |
|
7% Reduction Saving |
€398,440 |
|
10% Reduction Saving |
€569,200 |
|
12% Reduction Saving |
€683,040 |
|
15% Reduction Saving |
€853,800 |
|
17% Reduction Saving |
€967,640 |
|
20% Reduction Saving |
€1,138,400 |
Table 2: Training and Development, 2013 REV Estimate
|
Department of Social Protection |
2013 |
|
Training and Development - Total 2013 Estimate |
€1,169,000 |
|
5% Reduction Saving |
€58,450 |
|
7% Reduction Saving |
€81,830 |
|
10% Reduction Saving |
€116,900 |
|
12% Reduction Saving |
€140,280 |
|
15% Reduction Saving |
€175,350 |
|
17% Reduction Saving |
€198,730 |
|
20% Reduction Saving |
€233,800 |
518. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the annual saving to the Exchequer if all her special advisers' pay was capped at the first point of the principal officer grade; and if she will provide a list of all salaries, post-implementation of the Haddington Road agreement paid to her special advisers. [34631/13]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy in relation to the salaries of my special advisers is set out in the following tabular statement:
|
Title |
Annual Salary Post Implementation of the Haddington Road Agreement |
Savings if the salary is Capped at the 1st Point of PO Scale |
|
Press Advisor |
€75,647 (1st point of PO scale) |
N/A |
|
Special Advisor |
€119,572 |
€43,925 |
As my special adviser was previously employed in the private sector on a salary package that was more than twice the highest point of the Principal Officer (standard) scale, I sought sanction from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for remuneration in excess of the applicable pay scale grade. A single point salary of €127,796 was sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform effective from 29 July 2011 which represented a reduction of over one third in my special adviser’s previous salary in the private sector at that time. The salary has been reduced in line with the Haddington Road Agreement as shown in the table.
519. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection when an invalidity pension appeal will be approved in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34658/13]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to hold an oral hearing in this case on 13 August 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
