Thursday, 2 Oct 2014

Written Answers Nos. 52-57

Disability Allowance Applications

Questions (52)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

52. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding disability allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [37523/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Disability allowance (DA) is a weekly allowance paid to people with a specified disability which is expected to last at least one year; who are aged over 16 and under 66 and who are substantially restricted in carrying out employment otherwise suitable to their age, experience and qualifications. DA is subject to a medical assessment, a means test and a habitual residency test.

I confirm that the Department received an application for DA from the above named person on 9 September 2014. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

The processing time for individual DA claims may vary in accordance with the relative complexity in terms of the person’s circumstances in relation to the three main qualifying criteria and the quality and completeness of the information they provide in support of their claim.

Any person who is awaiting a decision on their DA application and who has income needs may apply for means-tested supplementary welfare allowance from their local community welfare service.

Ombudsman's Reports

Questions (53)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

53. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of complaints received over the past three years that were referred to the Office of the Ombudsman; if any of these complaints escalated further to the courts; if she will provide a breakdown of these figures according to officer named complaints and non-officer named complaints; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37551/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Statistics on the number or nature of cases that are referred to the Office of the Ombudsman or to the Courts are not held by the Department.

The number of complaints recorded by the Department from January 2011 to date:

	“Officer Named” Complaints	Non Officer Named Complaints	Total Received
Year 2011	103	1,631	1,734
Year 2012	102	1,465	1,567
Year 2013	171	1,044	1, 215
Year 2014	149	652	801

My Department’s Customer Charter and Action Plan 2013-2015 sets out the level of service customers can expect to receive. The Department monitors its performance through the use of its management information systems and through consultation with customers using a variety of methods, including receiving feedback through the Comments and Complaints system.

If a customer is dissatisfied with the standard of service they receive, they can contact the staff member or section involved to have the matter dealt with. If this does not resolve the issue to their satisfaction, they can make a complaint to the Quality Customer Service Team by telephone, in writing or on line at www.welfare.ie. Their complaint will be dealt with promptly, fairly and impartially. Receipt of the complaint will be acknowledged, and it will be referred to a complaints officer for investigation. A response to the customer normally issues within 15 working days of the date of receipt of the complaint.

If the complaint remains unresolved, the customer is advised of their right of further appeal to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Community Welfare Services

Questions (54)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

54. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form, the number of community welfare officers currently operating by county; the number at October in 2011, 2012 and 2013; if she will also estimate the population served by each CWO to date in 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37552/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

A key objective of the transfer of the community welfare service (CWS) from the Health Service Executive to the Department on 1st October 2011 was to provide a streamlined and consistent service to the customer. When the CWS transferred to the Department in October 2011 there were approximately 760 full time equivalent community welfare officers delivering the full range of community welfare services.

The Department is continuing to examine the operation of all its services, including the CWS, in the context of the Pathways to Work commitments and the development of Intreo services nationally. The Pathways to Work Programme represents a significant reform in the social welfare system and highlighted the need for the Department to focus its resources on the provision of opportunities, supports and assistance to unemployed people. The new Intreo service offers practical, tailored employment services and supports for jobseekers, a model which is currently being rolled out across the country.

Overall, this has resulted in a rebalancing of resources across the Department’s range of activities including the relocation of some staff to main centres, primarily Intreo offices, where a full range of services will be available in one location. As part of this programme of change approximately 430 satellite CWS clinics have been closed and approximately 300 posts have been redeployed to activation and case management support services, the majority coming from the former CWS cohort.

The Department currently has in the region of approximately 460 higher executive officer posts delivering the full range of CWS services. The number of officers serving per county or those as of October 2012 and 2013 are not available.

People claiming supports under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme generally only interact with the Department on an occasional basis, for example, when seeking an exceptional needs payment or in claiming additional supports such as rent supplement, which are usually reviewed once to twice yearly. Statistics are not maintained to allow the estimation of the population served per officer.

The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department and that the services provided are reconstituted, where necessary, to meet the changing needs of Irish society.

Rent Supplement Scheme Administration

Questions (55, 58)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

55. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reductions in the number of people in receipt of rent assistance between 2010 and to date in 2014; the reasons for the fall in numbers; if she will provide a demographic breakdown of the recipients in this category, if figures are available at county, locality or regional level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37553/14]

Finian McGrath

Question:

58. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will increase the rent supplement limits and introduce more flexibility in the limits for tenants who are at risk of homelessness. [37598/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 55 and 58 together.

The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. There are currently approximately 73,500 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.

Maximum rent limits are generally reviewed every 18 months. The most recent review was completed in June 2013 with revised rent limits introduced on 17 June 2013. Despite pressures on the social protection budget, the last review saw rent limits increase in line with market rents in some areas, including Dublin and Galway, with Dublin limits increasing by a weighted average of 9%.

A review of the maximum rent limits is being undertaken within the Department. This review involves a comprehensive analysis of information from a range of sources including rental tenancies registered with the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB), the Central Statistics Office rental indices, websites advertising rental properties, relevant Departments and Agencies, landlord representative groups and non-Government organisations such as Threshold, Focus Ireland and the Society of St Vincent de Paul. Any changes to social welfare supports can only be considered in a budgetary context.

The current difficulties in the rental market and the difficulties faced by prospective tenants, including those seeking access to rent supplement, is a shortage of supply of suitable properties in areas of high demand. The Government has recently launched its Construction Strategy with the aim of increasing housing supply generally.

I can assure the Deputies that officers administering rent supplement throughout the country have considerable experience in dealing with customers and make every effort to ensure that their accommodation needs are met. Discretionary powers are available to staff to award a supplement for rental purposes in exceptional cases where it appears that the circumstances of the case so warrant. A notice reminding staff of their statutory discretionary power to award a supplement for rental purposes in exceptional cases, for example, when dealing with applicants who are at risk of losing their tenancy was circulated in July 2014.

In view of the current supply difficulties, the Department has agreed a protocol with the Dublin local authorities and voluntary organisations so that families on rent supplement who are at risk of losing their accommodation can have more timely and appropriate interventions made on their behalf. Since the launch of this initiative in mid-June 2014, over 120 families have had their rent supplement claims revised by the Department.

The Department’s strategic policy direction is to transfer responsibility for recipients of rent supplement with a long-term housing need to local authorities under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). Officials are working closely with those in the lead Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, in introducing HAP on a phased basis, in the selected local authorities.

The number of recipients on the rent supplement scheme increased from 59,700 in 2007 to a maximum of 97,000 in 2010 and has since decreased to the current figure of approximately 73,500. This reduction is attributable to a number of factors including the rate of unemployment, transfer of recipients to social housing, changes in rent levels and increases to the minimum contribution payable by rent supplement tenants.

Rent supplement recipients by county from 2010 to date are provided in the following tabular statement. A demographic breakdown of these figures is not available.

Rent Supplement: Recipient Numbers by County 2010 to present.

2010	2011	County	2012	2013	End Sept. 2014
33,818	34,423	Dublin	32,584	29,541	27,352
10,988	10,732	Cork	9,878	9,020	8,464
4,409	4,447	Kildare	4,338	4,135	3,811
4,829	4,615	Galway	4,134	3,983	3,631
4,055	4,102	Wexford	3,700	3,179	2,726
3,896	3,833	Limerick	3,323	2,984	2,669
2,563	2,734	Louth	2,549	2,422	2,274
2,613	2,719	Wicklow	2,495	2,381	2,183
2,680	2,609	Tipperary	2,199	2,094	1,960
3,194	2,977	Donegal	2,411	2,047	1,871
2,552	2,723	Meath	2,143	1,941	1,777
2,339	2,278	Kerry	2,037	1,888	1,753
3,012	2,928	Mayo	2,435	1,900	1,664
1,623	1,671	Westmeath	1,592	1,588	1,540
2,332	2,098	Waterford	1,773	1,556	1,394
1,937	1,961	Clare	1,722	1,547	1,380
1,577	1,619	Kilkenny	1,365	1,210	1,140
1,484	1,440	Carlow	1,239	1,108	1,072
1,273	1,349	Offaly	1,240	1,124	1,064
1,151	1,178	Laois	1,097	1,085	1,020
1,276	1,275	Roscommon	997	802	682
715	623	Longford	511	507	479
787	698	Sligo	591	542	463
1,029	843	Cavan	519	455	417
598	488	Monaghan	438	395	365
530	440	Leitrim	374	354	335
97,260	96,803	Total	87,684	79,788	73,486

Mortgage Schemes

Questions (56)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

56. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason for delay in determination of application for mortgage support in the case of persons (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37562/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

As detailed to the Deputy in reply to Parliamentary Question No 118 of 23 January 2014, certain documents were outstanding in relation to the application for mortgage interest supplement from this client. Despite numerous written requests from the Department over a sustained period which were also followed up with phone calls to the client none of the requested documentation was submitted, the claim was closed following a final reminder.Subsequent to the closure of the claim, some correspondence but not all requested documents was received on 22 May 2014. As many of the necessary documentation remains outstanding the claim remains closed.

One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility

Questions (57)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

57. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason one-parent family allowance has been terminated in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37570/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The person concerned was in receipt of one parent family payment from 13 August 2009 to 23 July 2014. Her claim was reviewed by a Social Welfare Inspector in August 2014 when it was brought to the Department’s attention that a person other than the person concerned had attempted to collect her payment from the Post Office. During the review it was established that she had been absent from the State since July 2014. It was also established that the person concerned was cohabiting with her partner and she signed a statement to that effect. Consequently her claim for one parent family payment was disallowed and formal notification of this decision was sent to her on 10 September 2014. It is open to the person concerned to appeal the decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office.