Written Answers Nos. 126-134
126. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Social Protection the criteria involved in assessing non-DEIS schools which qualified for the school meals programme prior to 2005, under the following schemes, school completion programme, designated disadvantaged, home school community liaison, giving children an even break and early start; and if any non-DEIS schools have been included in the scheme since 2005. [8620/14]
View answerThe school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services for disadvantaged children through two schemes. The first is the statutory urban school meals scheme, operated by local authorities and part-financed by this Department. The second is the school meals local projects scheme through which funding is provided directly to participating schools and local and voluntary community groups who run their own school meals projects. The Government has provided €37 million for the scheme in 2014 which will benefit over 205,000 children across some 1,600 schools and organisations.
In recent years priority for new applications for funding has been given to schools which are part of the Department of Education and Skills initiative for disadvantaged schools “Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools”(DEIS).
Existing schools participating in the scheme who have established their food clubs providing support to the children therein continue to receive funding under the scheme. These schools were eligible to join the school meals programme as they were, at the time of application, designated educationally disadvantaged under one of the various Department of Education and Skills initiatives in place at that time. Prior to the introduction of DEIS in 2005, all schools that were part of one of a number of Department of Education and Skills’ initiatives for disadvantaged schools were eligible to participate in the programme, which included Breaking the Cycle, Giving Children an Even Break, the Disadvantaged Area Scheme, Home School Community Liaison and the School Completion Programme. Policy for educational initiatives and criteria for determining educational disadvantage is a matter for the Department of Education and Skills other than the School Completion Programme which is the responsibility of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.
For a period of approximately 2 years after the introduction of DEIS, schools which were part of the educational initiatives as outlined above were permitted to join the school meals programme in respect of children whose families were in receipt of social welfare payments, medical cards or experiencing hardship or difficulties due to particular events or circumstances. In addition, a small number of schools, including special schools providing education to children with disabilities, have been admitted to the school meals scheme since 2005.
127. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason the file pertaining to a person (details supplied) on which an appeal was sought in September has not yet been provided to the appeals office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8627/14]
View answerI confirm that the Department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 16th July 2013 for two care recipients. Based upon all the evidence supplied in support of the application, a deciding officer decided that the care recipients in question were not medically eligible for carer’s allowance. A letter issued to the person in question on the 4th September 2013 notifying him of the decision to refuse the allowance and the reason(s) for it. The person concerned appealed this decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office and submitted further medical evidence on two separate occasions, received in the department on the 29th October 2013 and the 20th November 2013 respectively. Where additional evidence not already seen by the deciding officer is submitted in conjunction with an appeal, it is customary that evidence is referred back to the deciding officer to see if it would have resulted in a different decision.
However, on this occasion, this information did not alter the opinion of the deciding officer and the decision remained unchanged. All the necessary papers were submitted to the Social Welfare Appeals Office for determination on the 18th February 2014. The Social Welfare Appeals Office will be in touch with the person directly regarding the progress of the appeal.
128. Deputy Brian Walsh asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the transfer of unemployment benefits to other EU countries; the eligibility criteria involved; the period of time allowable; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8660/14]
View answerJobseeker’s benefit is not normally payable outside the State. However, EU regulations on the coordination of social security systems provide that a wholly unemployed person who satisfies the conditions for entitlement to unemployment benefits and who goes to another Member State in order to seek employment there can, subject to conditions and limitations, continue to receive their unemployment payments in the other Member State.
In order to qualify to have their benefit exported a person must have been receiving jobseeker’s benefit for four weeks before their departure. Before departing to seek work in another Member State they must notify their local office in advance and apply for portable document U2 which certifies that they retain entitlement to unemployment benefit in their State of residence.
On arrival in the other Member State they must, within seven days, register as a person seeking work with the employment services of that Member State, be subject to the control procedure organised there and adhere to the conditions laid down under the legislation of that Member State. Once notification is received that the person has registered in the other Member State arrangements will be made to continue payments from Ireland for up to three months. A person loses all entitlement to benefit if they do not return to Ireland on or before the expiry of the export period.
129. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if two FÁS workers covering the job of a caretaker who is out sick and a third FÁS worker teaching in a school (details supplied) in Dublin 8, comply with her Department's requirements and the guidelines issued by the Department of Education and Skills. [8718/14]
View answerSchools are no longer the sponsors of Community Employment (CE) schemes and on this basis, CE participants cannot be directly employed by schools to work in areas that are directly related to the educational provision in the schools as this funded by the Department of Education.
In the case of the school mentioned I would state that it does not have a dedicated CE Scheme nor does it have any CE participants allocated to the school premises for caretaking, classroom or other duties. However, I wish to confirm that the Oblates Community Employment Scheme, which is located adjacent to this school, has premises that the school does use for some activities. The Oblate CE Scheme sponsoring committee have confirmed that the work of the participants on their scheme is related solely to the Oblates community hall and surrounding areas and that this work is not related to the school premises, for caretaking, teaching or any classroom duties.
The Department has been advised that the hall is not part of the school premises and that there are two caretakers and a general operative allocated from the Oblates CE scheme to this community hall.
If the Deputy has any further information that requires clarification the Department will welcome the opportunity to do so.
130. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection if she intends changing the rule that participants on the Tús scheme can only participate on the scheme for a period of 12 months; her views on whether there would be a benefit if participants could remain on the scheme for a further period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8723/14]
View answerTús, the community work placement initiative introduced during 2011, was set up to provide short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. This initiative is being delivered through the network of local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta. Tús is designed to break the cycle of unemployment and maintain work readiness, thereby improving a person’s opportunities of returning to the labour market.
The duration of the Tús contract was set to reflect a number of inter-related elements. These include (i) the need to ensure that limited numbers of placements available are opened to those on the Live Register, (ii) that weaknesses identified in other work programmes resulting from longer duration placements are not replicated with Tús, (iii) optimisation of the resources available and (iv) how Tús fits with the objectives set out in the Government’s activation policies in Pathways to Work.
I consider the existing 12-month period on Tús to be adequate to meet the programme’s objectives. It also ensures that as many unemployed people as possible are able to benefit from the initiative. There are no circumstances under which a person’s term on Tús will be extended beyond 12 months. Opportunities are available on community employment where a person is interested in pursuing a work placement that may have a longer duration in order to complete certified training. Time spend on Tús is considered eligible for accessing community employment. As of the week ending 10th January 2014, 7,121 participants were working and in receipt of a payment on Tús. An additional 371 full-time supervisory/team leader personnel have been engaged by the implementing bodies for Tús.
131. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection the method of calculation of the payment for a person in receipt of a widow's pension on the Tús, rural social scheme and community employment schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8724/14]
View answerThe current minimum rate of payment on Tús, the rural social scheme (RSS) and community employment (CE) is €208 per week.
As the Deputy is aware, a key feature of Tús is that all selection is undertaken by random processes conducted at local level by the Department. The selection is focused on those on the Live Register for a year or more and in receipt of a jobseekers’ payment. Persons in receipt of a widow’s pension are, therefore, not eligible for the scheme.
All new entrants to the RSS from 17th September 2012 are paid the equivalent of their existing rate of social welfare payment plus a top-up of €20. RSS participants in receipt of a widow’s pension will retain their pension and receive a top-up of €20 weekly leading to a total aggregate payment of not less than €208 per week.
Persons in receipt of a widow’s pension commencing a CE placement on or after 16th January 2012 receive a CE allowance at a rate equivalent to their original social welfare plus €20 weekly. In such cases, the payment of the pension ceases for the duration of the placement.
132. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection the projected budget to be allocated to the JobPath programme in 2014 and 2015; and the amount of this that will be subcontracted to private sector training companies. [8729/14]
View answer133. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason she is proposing to subcontract the JobPath programme to large private companies; and if existing community and not-for-profit local employment services have been fully informed about the modus operandi and tendering process relating to the JobPath programme. [8735/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 132 and 133 together.
JobPath is the Government’s new labour market activation service aimed specifically at the long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed. JobPath will be delivered by private/third party providers of employment services under contract to the Department. JobPath will augment and complement the Department’s existing employment service capacity as well as that of the Local Employment Service (LES) and Job Clubs, which already operate under contract to the Department, thereby increasing capacity to provide supports to assist jobseekers in obtaining employment. The contracting approach offers the State a number of advantages not least of which are that contractors will have to bear the initial investment costs of the new service and contracting is flexible in responding to changes in service needs.
On 1 July 2013, the Department published a Prior Information Notice (PIN) in which it notified the market that it was considering the potential of contracting private/third party providers of employment services. A PIN is a discretionary and exploratory first step in a procurement process. A consultation process was initiated whereby the Department held two information sessions in late July 2013 at which it outlined its thinking in relation to JobPath and invited responses. These events were attended by over 200 individuals representing a wide range of organisations involved in labour market activation including LES representatives. The Department also set up a dedicated email address to facilitate questions and feedback. A full list of the attendees and a question and answer document were published on the Department’s website (www.welfare.ie). On 7 November 2013, Enterprise Ireland hosted a capacity building and networking event for interested parties of JobPath. This event was also attended by LES representatives.
On 12 December 2013, the Department published a contract notice inviting tenders for the provision of JobPath services. The closing date for receipt of JobPath tenders is 28 February 2014. Tender documentation has been published on www.etenders.gov.ie while information on JobPath is available on www.welfare.ie. LES providers are free to participate in the JobPath procurement process.
The cost of the JobPath service is dependent upon the price agreed following the tendering process. JobPath is a payment by results model and as such the cost of JobPath is also dependent upon the number of individuals that JobPath providers place into sustained employment.
JobPath contractors have not yet been appointed. It is not necessarily the case that contracts will be exclusively with large private companies. Many of the larger companies involved in this activity in other states are not-for-profit and/or voluntary/community companies. The level of sub-contracting that may be involved in the delivery of JobPath will not become clear until the tender evaluation process has been completed.
134. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 142 of 13 February 2014, the number of appeals of decisions not to grant domiciliary care allowance lodged with the social welfare appeals office in the years 2012 and 2013; the number of these appeals allowed and partially allowed in each of those years; and the longest waiting time for a domiciliary care allowance to be decided by the social welfare appeals office during that period of time. [8736/14]
View answerThe details requested by the Deputy in relation to the number of domiciliary care allowance appeals registered in the Social Welfare Appeals Office during 2012 and 2013 and the number of those appeals which were allowed or partially allowed during that period are provided in the table.
With regard to the processing times for domiciliary care allowance appeals, I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that in 2012, the average processing time for a domiciliary care allowance appeal which was decided by way of a summary decision was 32.5 weeks and 41.4 weeks where the appeal was determined by means of an oral hearing. These processing times improved in 2013 to 27.6 weeks for a summary decision and 34.4 weeks for an oral hearing.
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 hands from 20,414 at 1 January 2013 to 14,510 at 17 February 2014.
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. A considerable period of time is added to the process when an oral hearing is required because of the logistics involved in this process. While this process carries an inherent delay in terms of finalising an appeal, it also crystallises 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.
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.
Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals 2012 and 2013
|
Year |
Appeals Registered |
Appeals Allowed |
Appeals Partially Allowed |
|
2012 |
2,186 |
874 |
29 |
|
2013 |
1,688 |
783 |
25 |
