Written Answers Nos. 95 to 101
95. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress to date in determination of application for carer's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26343/14]
View answerI can confirm that the Department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question in 2012. The application was refused by a deciding officer on the grounds that the care recipient was not so disabled as to require full time care and attention as prescribed in regulations. He was notified of this decision on 11 March 2013, the reasons for it and of his right of review or appeal. There is no record of any review or appeal being received and there is no new application registered from the person in question.
It is open to the person in question to make a new application to the Department for carer’s allowance and it will be dealt with as soon as possible.
96. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Social Protection the vocational training a person must undertake in order to qualify for the child care employment and training support scheme; the reason a person completing a Tús placement cannot avail of the scheme while a person doing a community employment scheme can avail of the subsidised child care; the reason for the disparity in qualifying; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26346/14]
View answerCommunity Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme. The aim of CE is to prepare disadvantaged and unemployed persons for employment by providing work experience and vocational training opportunities for participants within their communities. To support participation on a Community Employment (CE) Scheme, an applicant who needs childcare can apply to take up a childcare place on the Childcare Employment and Training Support Scheme (CETS).
Tús provides short-term placements in the community for those who are unemployed and childcare supports similar to CE are not available. However, Tús participants are eligible for the After-School Childcare Scheme (ASCC).
97. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Social Protection when the review of the domiciliary care allowance application will be complete in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26349/14]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on 18 November 2013. The application was disallowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on 4 February 2014 advising of the decision.
The person concerned subsequently requested a review of that decision. An appeal was also lodged against the decision. As part of the appeal/review process, the application including any new information supplied was forwarded for further consideration by one of the Department’s Medical Assessors.
The application was reviewed by another Medical Assessor on 14 May 2014, who having examined all the information supplied, advised that in their opinion the child was not medically eligible for the allowance. Having reviewed the application in its entirety, the deciding officer considered that a revision of the original decision was not warranted and confirmed this in writing on 16 June 2014. The file will now be forwarded to the Social Welfare Appeals Office for further consideration.
99. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will publish a list of all landowners in County Cork who were corresponded with in respect of their lands being designated for the protection of the hen harrier; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26294/14]
View answerFor data protection reasons, I do not propose to name the individuals from County Cork notified of the hen harrier Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designations in November, 2007. I can advise that my Department issued individual notifications to some 745 persons with addresses in County Cork, who were identified as having an interest in these sites. This group included land owners and land users and any other person identified as having an interest in these sites. My Department uses a variety of data sources to identify such persons, including the Property Registration Authority, the land parcel identification system used by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and information on lands subject to forestry grants.
100. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will provide the cost to the Exchequer each year from 2009 to 2014 of the amount paid by his Department under the terms of settlements which included confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses. [26175/14]
View answerMy Department was established on 2 June 2011 and the Deputy will appreciate that the information sought by him can only be provided from that date. I am advised that, since 2 June 2011, my Department has not entered into any settlements that included the prerequisite of a confidentiality agreement or a confidentiality clause.
101. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the educational provisions that are in place for civil servants wishing to maintain or develop a proficiency in the Irish language; the financial support that is provided for civil servants wishing to pursue such an education during the working day or evening; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26248/14]
View answerA Service Level Agreement is currently in place between my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform under which my Department is responsible for the provision of Irish language training and proficiency assessments for the civil service. The purpose of this agreement is to support civil servants in developing their proficiency in the Irish language and to enhance the capacity of the civil service to provide services to the public through Irish. This agreement is particularly important in the context of the Official Languages Act 2003 and the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030. Under the agreement, my Department is responsible for ensuring inter alia that the provision of Irish language training programmes is sufficient to meet organisational requirements. I should point out that Foras na Gaeilge currently has a contract in place with Gaelchultúr Teo. for the provision of Irish language training to the public service. From 2011 to date, I understand that over 800 public servants have attended courses run by Gaelchultúr Teo.
As regards the financial supports available to civil servants attending courses, it is my understanding that such arrangements are governed by training policies developed by each individual Government Department to suit their own circumstances.
