Written Answers Nos. 88-94
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Written Answers Nos. 88-94
89. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will review as a matter of urgency an application for rent allowance and supplementary welfare payments in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow as all of the information requested has now been submitted. [5794/14]
View answerThe client in question was awarded jobseeker's allowance from 31 January 2014, having being in receipt of a supplementary welfare allowance from 16 January 2014. The client was asked to supply further information in relation to her rent supplement claim on 4 February 2014 and a decision on entitlement will be made on receipt of same.
90. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 84 of 30 January 2014, if she will outline exactly where in primary legislation the back to education allowance is provided for; if she will provide a copy of the secondary legislation, statutory instrument or directive that provides for the rules and regulations that apply to its administration; if she will provide a copy of the non-statutory rules and guidance that applies; the basis these rules have in law; if she will specifically address the reason a person (details supplied) was told that they could take a break from a course and the BTEA they were receiving and resume in another semester by a social welfare office; if she will intervene to ensure this person receives the allowance that officials in her Department previously told them they were entitled to; if she will provide any examples of advisory leaflets or publicity material on the BTEA that outlines the semester issue highlighted here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5806/14]
View answerSchemes, such as the back to education allowance (BTEA), are introduced under powers conferred on the Minister for Social Protection under the Social Welfare Acts to provide and fund a range of support programmes and schemes for people in receipt of a certain social welfare payments. The rules applying to BTEA are not contained in primary or secondary legislation but in operational guidelines prepared by the Department and sanctioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. The guidelines for BTEA are published and available on the Department’s website – www.welfare.ie.
The reason the person detailed was not approved for BTEA is that a single semester is not considered to be full-time education as set in the operational guidelines. The person in question received BTEA for two and a half academic years until she ceased her course of study in early 2013. The general advice given to customers in such circumstances, i.e. if they cease to continue with a course of study and then wish to resume that course of study at a later date, is that BTEA can only be restored for a full-time course of study supported by a letter furnished by a third level institution confirming the circumstances and the customer’s registration as a full-time student. As stated before, BTEA will not be paid for a single semester. I have asked an official from my department to make further enquires with the person concerned and local officials to determine if BTEA can be restored in the circumstances. Paragraph 3.2 of the guidelines provide that any person who is not satisfied with the decision may request in writing a review by an officer of the relevant Social Welfare office enclosing a new evidence in support of the review.
91. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 84 of 30 January 2014, the number of schemes and payments in her Department that are paid out with non-statutory rules and guidance not based in primary legislation as she recently indicated applied for back to education allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5807/14]
View answerThe table lists the various social welfare schemes and payments that are provided for on a statutory basis and on a non-statutory basis. In general, the weekly income replacement payments, such as State pensions, illness and disability benefits, jobseekers payments etc., are provided for on a statutory basis. However, other schemes which provide a variety of services free of charge or at reduced rates, e.g. free travel, household benefits package, require more flexibility in their operation and are considered best provided for by way of administrative guidelines, rather than in primary legislation.
In addition, the Department operates a range of schemes and services which provide opportunities and incentives for jobseekers and other social welfare recipients to take up education, training and employment opportunities. Access to these types of opportunities is not automatic. For instance, in order to avail of a Community Employment scheme there would need to be such a scheme in operation in the person’s locality, a place would need to be available on such a scheme and the person would also be required to attend an interview in order to assess his or her suitability for participating in such a scheme.
By their nature therefore, these types of courses and programmes require a lot of flexibility in their operation and they are also considered best provided for by way of administrative guidelines, rather than in primary legislation.
|
Social Welfare Schemes set out in Primary Legislation |
Non-statutory Social Welfare Schemes |
|
State Pension (Transition) |
National Fuel Scheme |
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
Free Travel |
|
State Pension (Non-Contributory) |
Household Benefits Package |
|
Widows, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension |
Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance |
|
Widow’s Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s Non-Contributory Pension |
Community Employment Scheme |
|
Death Benefit under the Occupational Injury Benefits scheme for widows, widowers, surviving civil partners and orphans |
Rural Social Scheme - RSS |
|
Bereavement Grant |
Tús - Community Work Placement Initiative |
|
Widowed or Surviving Civil Partner’s Grant |
Back to Work Enterprise Allowance |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
Short-Term Enterprise Allowance |
|
Child Benefit |
Part Time Job Incentive Scheme |
|
Family Income Supplement |
Work Placement Programme |
|
Guardian’s payment (Contributory) |
Jobbridge, The National Internship Scheme |
|
Guardian’s payment (Non- Contributory) |
Back to Education Allowance |
|
Maternity Benefit |
Training and Development Option |
|
Adoptive Benefit |
Part-Time Education Option (PTEO) |
|
Health and Safety Benefit |
Springboard |
|
Jobseekers Benefit |
Jobsplus |
|
Jobseeker’s Allowance |
The Wage Subsidy Scheme |
|
Farm Assist |
The Reasonable Accommodation Fund for the Employment of people with disabilities |
|
Pre-Retirement Allowance |
The Disability Awareness Training Support Scheme |
|
Illness Benefit |
Job Initiative Scheme |
|
Partial Capacity Benefit |
Gateway |
|
Invalidity Pension |
Technical Assistance & Training Fund |
|
Disability Allowance |
Technical Employment Support Grant |
|
Blind Pension |
Activation and Family Support Programme |
|
Carer’s Benefit |
School Meals – local projects scheme |
|
Carer’s Allowance |
- |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
- |
|
Respite Care Grant |
- |
|
Injury Benefit |
- |
|
Disablement Benefit |
- |
|
Medical Care |
- |
|
Treatment Benefit |
- |
|
Rent Allowance for tenants affected by the De-Control of Rents |
- |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
- |
|
Rent Supplement |
- |
|
Mortgage Interest Supplement |
- |
|
Diet Supplement |
- |
|
Exceptional Needs Payments |
- |
|
Urgent Needs Payments |
- |
|
School Meals – urban scheme |
- |
92. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to introduce legislation to allow the civil registration for granddaughters or grandsons when death occurs as a result of an accident to a mother (details supplied). [5813/14]
View answerThe loss of a child in any circumstances is an extremely tragic event for a family and I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to those families who have lost children. The procedures governing the registration of deaths are provided for under Part 5 of the Civil Registration Act, 2004. When a death occurs it is registered 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. These are the only circumstances under which a death can be registered.
Section 28 of the Civil Registration Act, 2004 provides for the registration of stillbirths. A still born child is defined under the Act as “a child who, at birth, weighs not less than 500 grammes or has a gestational age of not less than 24 weeks and shows no sign of life and ‘‘stillbirth’’ shall be construed accordingly”. Section 28 (7) of the Act provides that, if a coroner ascertains that a body is that of a stillborn child, he or she shall notify a registrar in the functional area of the authority in which the body is located of the stillbirth and shall give to the registrar, in as far as he or she can ascertain them, the required particulars in relation to the stillbirth, and the registrar shall register the stillbirth in such manner as an tArd-Chlaraitheoir may direct.
While understanding that the loss this family suffered is a tragic one it would not be workable to establish and maintain a separate register of deaths in such cases. It is not intended, therefore, to amend the Civil Registration Act, 2004 to allow for the registration of deaths without a medical certificate or a coroner’s certificate stating the cause of death.
93. Deputy Seán Conlan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan has been waiting over two months on the outcome of an appeal against the decision to refuse them jobseeker's allowance; the current waiting time for an appeal in respect of jobseeker's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5829/14]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was received in that office on 27 November 2013 and was registered on 9 December 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 14 January 2014 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 average time taken to process Jobseeker's Allowance (payments) appeals in 2013 was 26.7 weeks for those requiring an oral hearing and 20.5 weeks for a summary decision. The average time taken to process Jobseeker's Allowance (means) appeals in 2013 was 29.7 weeks for those requiring an oral hearing and 21.2 weeks for a summary decision.
Appeal processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation. They include all activities during this period including time spent awaiting any clarification from the appellant, time in the Department for comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal put forward by the appellant, and any further investigation, examination or assessment by the Department’s Inspectors and Medical Assessors that is deemed necessary. While this process carries an inherent delay in terms of finalising an appeal, it also crystalises the flexibility and accessibility of the appeals system. By its nature and because it is a quasi-judicial function, the processing of appeals takes time and reflects the fact that, by definition, the appeal process cannot be a quick one.
There has been a rapid and sustained increase in the number of appeals received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2009 which has placed extraordinary pressure on the office. Up to 2009, the average number of appeals received was 15,000 per annum whereas in 2012, the number of appeals received peaked at 35,484, reducing to 32,777 appeals in 2013. In order to manage this increasing workload, significant resources and efforts have been put into reducing backlogs and improving appeals processing times for appellants, including the assignment of 15 additional Appeals Officers, in addition to 10 former Community Welfare Service Appeals Officers who joined the appeals office in 2011, bringing the total number of serving Appeals Officers to 41; reviewing and improving business processes; and implementing a new operating model within the appeals office. A major programme of process redesign and modernisation is also underway in the Department in relation to many of its scheme areas, aimed at reducing backlogs and reducing the time taken by the Department to respond to requests from the appeals office for submissions in relation to appeals.
In addition to the improvements in processing times mentioned above, these measures have also led to a significant increase in the number of appeals finalised in the appeals office from 17,787 in 2009 to 38,421 in 2013. An additional 5,863 appeals were finalised in 2013 compared to 2012. Good progress has also been made in reducing the number of appeals on hand from 20,414 at 1 January 2013 to 14,884 at 27 January 2014.
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.
94. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Social Protection when an application for carer's allowance will be finalised in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5839/14]
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. Every effort will be made to hear the case as quickly as possible and the appellant will be informed when arrangements have been made. 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.
