Tuesday, 4 Nov 2014

Written Answers Nos. 1-120

Free Travel Scheme Administration

Questions (101)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

101. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when she will provide funding to a company (details supplied) in County Donegal under the free travel scheme in order that the senior citizens in the Inishowen area can avail of free travel in the same way that their contemporaries can countrywide, in view of the fact that this route is not a new route and is the similar route operated by Lough Swilly company before it ceased operation and should be funded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41658/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for approximately 800,000 people, elderly, disabled and carers, at an annual cost of €77 million.

Funding for the free travel scheme was capped by the previous Government in the National Recovery Plan 2011-2014. To implement this cap on funding during a time in which passenger numbers have been increasing each year the Department has had to impose a freeze on the amounts paid to companies and a complete restriction on the admittance of new companies or routes to the scheme. This has included new companies taking over previously extant routes.

Given the increasing number of recipients and the funding pressures, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and I established an interdepartmental working group to examine and report on the current operation and future development of the free travel scheme. I expect to receive the final draft of the review shortly.

The Government made clear in the “Statement of Government Priorities, 2014-2016” that we are committed to the full retention of the Free Travel Scheme. I appreciate the importance of the scheme to customers, particularly pensioners, and am aware of the implications for travel pass holders in those areas where services have been withdrawn. I have therefore asked officials in the Department to examine ways in which companies could be admitted to the free travel scheme, initially where they are taking over routes for which free travel funding was previously available, including in Donegal, and thereafter on other routes with licensed passenger services.

Question No. 102 answered orally.

Youth Unemployment Data

Questions (103)

Tom Fleming

Question:

103. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide up-to-date statistics for youth unemployment; the progress in addressing this issue; the position regarding the availability of sufficient finances for the youth guarantee scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41706/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Continuing progress is being made in addressing both the rate and duration of youth unemployment. CSO data shows that the youth unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2014 had fallen from 33% in mid-2012 to 27% or 25% when seasonally adjusted. The number of young people unemployed has fallen by 23,400 from 76,000 to 52,600 over the same period.

There has also been an improvement in the duration of youth unemployment. Two years ago, 46% of the young unemployed were more than a year out of work, and this has now fallen to 35%. As a result, the number of young people who are long-term unemployed has almost halved, from 35,200 to 18,500. While this progress is welcome, the current rate is, I believe, unacceptably high.

The Government’s strategy to tackle all forms of unemployment is being achieved through the actions set out in the Action Plan for Jobs and in Pathways to Work. In relation to young people, these overall policies are further supported by the measures set out in the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan published earlier this year.

The Plan provides for enhancing the Intreo engagement with newly unemployed young people, and for building on and adding to the current range of education, training and employment interventions for young people.

Processes and programmes are being progressively rolled out to ensure that all of newly unemployed young people who need most support will receive a Youth Guarantee offer within four months. In addition, during 2014–2015 all existing long-term unemployed young people under 25 will be engaged by the Public Employment Service and will receive a Youth Guarantee offer if still unemployed after four months of this engagement process commencing.

Taking existing and planned provision together, the current estimate of programme uptake by approximately 28,000 young people in 2014 will involve associated programme costs of €336 million. If all Post-Leaving Certificate course and apprenticeship provision were to be included, the total programme uptake of approximately 52,000 has associated annual programme costs of €528 million.

I am confident that the funding is in place to finance these measures. It is being provided, in the first instance, by the Irish Exchequer through the budgetary process. However, we expect to recoup approximately €136 million in relation to expenditure on these programmes over the two years 2014-2015 from European funds (the European Social Fund and the Youth Employment Initiative).

Back to Education Allowance Payments

Questions (104)

Clare Daly

Question:

104. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the steps she will take to ensure that those entitled to a back to education, education or training and development option are able to access the payment where the course is funded wholly or partly by State agencies and leads to improved employment prospects on completion, as outlined by her Department; and to explain why applicants on courses such as the MSc in GIS and remote sensing in Maynooth, County Kildare, which clearly meet that criteria, are being refused. [41702/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The back to education programme (BTEA) provides a wide range of second chance education opportunities for unemployed people, lone parents and people with disabilities. The programme includes an education, training and development (ET&D) option. This option is used to support jobseekers to undertake short-duration, evening, and ad-hoc courses without interruption of the jobseeker’s payment. In the main the type of courses relate personal development, literacy classes or general training courses. Participants on ET&D continue to be paid a jobseeker’s payment, are exempt from engaging in job search but must be available for employment for the duration of the course should an opportunity arise.

The only post-graduate courses covered by the BTEA are higher diplomas in any discipline and the Professional Masters in Education.

This Department does not offer specific supports for students pursuing third-level qualifications outside of the back to education programme. The principal support towards full-time courses, in financial terms, is provided for under the student grant scheme administered by the Department of Education and Skills.

Youth Guarantee

Questions (105)

Paul Murphy

Question:

105. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the measures that have been taken so far on the youth guarantee implementation programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41682/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Thanks in large part to the Government’s Pathways to Work strategy, many of the elements identified at an EU level as being core to a Youth Guarantee are already in place in Ireland. These include personalised delivery of services at public employment offices with targeted recruitment subsidies, internships, places on training and employment programmes and free further education options.

In addition, the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan forwarded to the EU at the start of this year set out our intentions to provide earlier and faster engagement for young people under Intreo and to reserve places on existing programmes, such as TÚS, for access by young people who are already long-term unemployed.

These new and existing initiatives provided 28,000 plus places for unemployed young people during 2014 (this figure excludes apprenticeship and PLC places).

Approximately 14,300 of these places had been taken up at the end of September. The table below details the total take-up for the year-to-date, together with the estimate for full-year intake provided in the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan.

Take-up is expected to rise substantially by year-end, for several reasons.

Firstly, the student intake on programmes such as the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is concentrated in September/October in line with the academic calendar. In addition, the intake of young people to the 2014 iteration of the Momentum training programme has just begun.

Secondly, the passage of primary legislation over the summer to allow positive discrimination on age grounds, enables the launch later this month of the Youth Developmental Internship programme and the enhanced JobsPlus variant for young people.

I am confident that these developments, together with the Autumn intake on education and training programmes, will ensure that the Government delivers on its targets under the Youth Guarantee.

Youth Guarantee Progress YTD:

Programme	Expected full-year intake	2014 YTD	Note
Youthreach/CTC	3,300	1,300	Only CTC starters -- Youthreach figures not yet available for 2014
JobBridge (including developmental internship)	5,000	2,418	As of 14th October
Tús	1,000	1,223	As of 30th September
JobsPlus	1,500	265	As of 30th September
Momentum	2,000	13	2014 intake commencing September-October
BTEA (excl Momentum)	3,300	2319	As of 14th October
BTWEA	200	139	Including 5 persons on STEA
VTOS	500	Not available
FAS/Solas	9500	6,036	Based on SST, Traineeship, Bridging & LTI starters YTD (end September)
CEB youth Entrepreneurship Training and Mentoring supports	700		Not yet commenced
CEB/MFI micro-loans for young people	150	2	31st August
International Work Experience and Training	250		Not yet commenced
Gateway	450	122	26th September
Community Employment	500	438	30th September
Total	28,350	14,293	Excluding where figures are not available

Respite Care Grant Payments

Questions (106)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

106. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will propose an amendment to the Social Welfare Bill 2014 to provide for an increase of €325 in the respite care grant. [41663/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The respite care grant (RCG) is an annual non means-tested payment made to all carers who provide full time care and attention to others and forms part of a range of carer supports provided by the Department. Over €822 million is being provided next year for these direct supports, up nearly €17 million from that provided for in 2014. In 2014, more than 80,000 carers benefitted from the respite care grant at an estimated cost of €122 million.

While I was not in a position to provide for an increase in the respite care grant in this Budget, I did announce a number of welfare initiatives which will benefit carers, pensioners, and people with disabilities who are in receipt of a welfare payment.

These initiatives included the re-introduction of a Christmas Bonus, an increase in Child Benefit, an increase in the Living Alone Allowance and support for welfare recipients with the cost of water services.

The Christmas Bonus was abolished by the previous Government in 2009. I am pleased to say that I am in a position to partially restore the Bonus this year. A bonus of 25% will be paid in early December to all long-term welfare recipients including all pensioners and carers. This is in recognition of the position of vulnerable households and it is important to note that recipients of half-rate carer’s allowance will also get a bonus.

Carers with children will benefit from the increase in child benefit. There will be an increase in the living alone allowance of €1.30 per week from January, bringing the rate up from €7.70 to €9 for pensioners and people with disabilities. The living alone allowance was last increased in 1996.

In line with the Government’s Statement of Priorities, I have introduced a water support payment of €100 to recipients of the Household Benefit Package, to help older people and other vulnerable groups meet the cost of water services.

As well as the measures mentioned above, all existing welfare payments and supports for carers, pensioners and people with disabilities will be maintained in 2015 – there will be no reductions. The measures I announced in the Budget are the first steps in strengthening the safety net for all those who need it.

Work Placement Programmes

Questions (107)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

107. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will amend the rules governing the Tús scheme to remove the element of compulsion in view of the inappropriateness of having a reluctant participant work with vulnerable persons including older persons and persons with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41665/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Tús, the community work placement initiative introduced during 2011, was established to provide short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. As of 24th October, nearly 6.700 jobseekers are engaged on Tús. Since its commencement, over 22,000 have participated on this initiative.

A key feature of Tús is that 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 who have more limited job or work placement opportunities. There are no plans to alter the selection policy for Tús.

In all cases, the implementing bodies engaged by the Department to work with community organisations at local level have regard to the participant’s suitability to work in the delivery of local services, including those involving vulnerable adults or children.

A jobseeker who does not wish to participate on Tús or who does not consider the placement offered to be appropriate to his/her circumstances can discuss other activation options with one of the Department’s case officer. Tús is one of a number of interventions the Department funds and manages to ensure that the priorities set by Government in Pathways to Work are achieved.

Respite Care Grant Payments

Questions (108)

Ruth Coppinger

Question:

108. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to reverse the cuts to the respite care grant in the upcoming Finance Bill. [41685/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The Respite Care Grant (RCG) forms part of a range of illness, disability and carer supports provided by the Department to people with disabilities and those who care for them. The RCG is paid automatically to people in receipt of Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance or Prescribed Relative’s Allowance. Other people who are not in receipt of a social welfare payment but who are providing full time care and attention are also eligible and can apply for the grant to a standalone RCG section. The Grant is paid annually on the first Thursday in June.

Such an annual payment, in a single lump sum with no requirement to satisfy a means test, is not available for any other group nor is there an equivalent payment for carers in any other country in Europe.

The current rate of the respite care grant of €1,375 is still more than twice what it was in 2002 when it was €635, and higher than it was in 2006 at the height of the economic boom, when it was €1,200. I regret I am not in a position to increase the rate of the respite care grant at this time.

The primary emphasis over the past 3 years and in this Budget has been the protection and maintenance of the core rates of payment and to this end it should be noted that expenditure on carers has increased significantly in recent years. The estimated expenditure on carers in 2014 is around €806 million: €557 million on Carer’s Allowance, €21.5 million on Carer’s Benefit, €122 million on the Respite Care Grant and €105 on Domiciliary Care Allowance.

I would also point out that a number of welfare initiatives which will benefit carers and people with disabilities who are in receipt of a welfare payment were announced on Budget day including an increase in the living alone allowance bringing the weekly rate to €9 for pensioners and people with disabilities and a water support payment of €100 to recipients of the Household Benefit Package, to help older people and other vulnerable groups meet the cost of water services. The Christmas Bonus has also been restored to the extent that a bonus of 25% will be paid in early December to all long-term welfare recipients including pensioners and carers.

Social Welfare Payments Administration

Questions (109)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

109. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the way the €100 water allowance will be administered; the number of persons who will be entitled to the water allowance; the estimated cost of this; if those currently receiving the fuel allowance will have to apply for the water allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41711/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

From 2015 a new payment, the water support, will be paid to all those who are eligible for household benefits or fuel allowance.

The payment will be €25 paid every three months to approximately 650,000 households at an annual cost of €66 million. The payment will be made to all those currently in receipt of either household benefits or fuel allowance. Customers will not need to apply for this payment. Customers will receive the payment by the same method currently used for their existing payments, either direct to a bank account or through the post office.

Social Welfare Payments Administration

Questions (110)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

110. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will extend greater supports to former carers in the period following the conclusion of their caring role. [41661/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Where a carer’s caring role ends on the death of the care recipient, payment of the Carer's Benefit or Carer's Allowance continues to be made for a period of 6 weeks after the date of death of the care recipient to allow the carer some time to move to an appropriate income support or return to work.

Information on the type of social welfare income support most appropriate to the former carer’s circumstances is available at the local Intreo office which provides information on all the Department’s schemes and services and information on access to employment supports. Employment Support Officers also offer advice and personal progression plans to those on the live register including former carers.

Defined Benefit Pension Schemes

Questions (111)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

111. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will introduce further legislation to afford greater protection to deferred members during the restructuring or wind-up of defined benefit pensions schemes. [41664/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The Pensions Act provides for the preservation of benefits for members of occupational pension schemes who leave employment before their normal pensionable age for any reason, other than death, provided they satisfy certain qualifying conditions. The preserved benefit is a proportion of the long service benefit to which the member would have been entitled if he or she had remained in employment until normal pensionable age. The preserved benefit which is payable from a defined benefit pension scheme will normally be revalued annually by the lower of 4% or the rate of change in the Consumer Price Index.

Section 50 of the Pensions Act provides for the restructuring of the benefits in a defined benefit pension scheme in situations where the scheme does not satisfy the scheme funding requirement as set out in the Pension Act. In the event that the trustees of a scheme are considering a restructure of scheme benefits under this provision, they can consider adjusting the benefits of both active and deferred scheme members. The Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Act 2013 extended the provisions in section 50 to include a portion of benefits payable to pensioners.

These provisions in section 50 of the Act essentially provide for the sharing of the risk of scheme underfunding across all scheme members. The issue of how these changes might be applied is a matter for the trustees of a scheme who are required under trust law to act in the best interests of all scheme beneficiaries.

Section 48 of the Pensions Act sets out the order (wind up priority order) in which the assets of a defined benefits pension scheme are distributed in the event of the wind up of a scheme. The wind up priority order was amended by the Social Welfare and Pensions (No.2) Act 2013. Prior to these changes pensioner benefits were given priority over the benefits of active and deferred scheme members. The recent changes to the wind up priority order essentially de-prioritises a portion of pensioner benefits in the manner in which the resource of a scheme are distributed on the windup of a pension scheme. These changes make more resources of the scheme available in the initial distribution of assets to active and deferred scheme members The impact of these changes will be determined by the level of funding in a pension scheme at the time of the wind up.

These recent changes to the Pensions Act are underpinned by additional measures which have been put in place by the Pensions Authority to assist pension schemes achieve a sustainable funding position. It is the medium term objective that all defined benefit schemes will achieve a level of funding which will include a funding risk reserve to protect the rights of scheme members against future volatility in financial markets.

There are no plans at this stage to bring forward amending legislation to enhance the present provisions in the Pensions Act in relation to deferred scheme members.

Rent Supplement Scheme Administration

Questions (112)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

112. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she continues to make efforts to address the serious issue of homelessness arising from the inability of families to access affordable rental accommodation which is further exacerbated by the continuous rise in rents in County Kildare and the greater Dublin area in particular, whereby the cap on rent support is now a serious obstacle in the quest for rental accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41679/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

There are approximately 73,500 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.

I am acutely aware of the difficulties people are experiencing in maintaining affordable rented accommodation in areas of high demand, including areas in Kildare and Dublin, in the current market. However, raising rent limits may not be the solution to the problem as it is likely to add to further rental inflation and impact, not alone on rent supplement recipients, but also on many lower income workers, their families and students. I plan to keep the matter under close review.

I can assure the Deputy 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 including through the use of their discretionary statutory powers as necessary. A notice reminding all 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 earlier this year. In light of a particular concentration of the homelessness problem in the Dublin area, the Department has agreed a tenancy sustainment protocol with the Dublin local authorities and voluntary organisations to support families on rent supplement at risk of losing their accommodation. Since the launch of this protocol in mid-June 2014, over 160 families have had their rent supplement claims revised by the Department.

Increasing housing supply and the reactivation of the construction activity is a critical issue for Government and key to restoring stability to the rental market. In this context, it should be noted that the Government recently launched its Construction Strategy 2020.

As part of Budget 2015, Government also announced significant capital investment of over €2.2 billion for social housing for the next three years. In 2014, over €800 million will be invested in a range of housing programmes which represents the first major investment in housing since 2009. An additional €10.5 million will be provided for accommodation and related services for homeless persons, increasing the annual expenditure for tackling homelessness to €55.5 million next year. My colleague, Alan Kelly T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, is also due to publish a Social Housing Strategy shortly.

Anti-Poverty Strategy

Questions (113)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

113. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the actions she will take to tackle the increase in poverty as outlined by Social Justice Ireland; if she will provide data on the number of persons currently below the poverty line; the percentage of the population this represents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41710/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The Social Inclusion Monitor, the official report on progress on poverty using national and EU indicators, reports that the rate of consistent poverty in 2012 was 7.7 per cent, equivalent to 353,000 people. The average rate of consistent poverty since the economic crisis was 6.6 per cent (years 2009-2012), as compared with an average rate of 5.7 per cent in the years preceding the crisis (2005-2008). The at-risk-of-poverty rate, one component of consistent poverty, was 16.5 per cent 2012. The average rate since the crisis is 15.3 per cent, as compared with an average of 16.6 per cent in the years preceding the crisis.

The national social target for poverty reduction is to reduce consistent poverty to 4 per cent in 2016 and to 2 per cent or lower by 2020. The target is to be achieved through implementation of the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion. A key component of Government policy to tackle poverty is to provide adequate income support through the social protection system. In 2012, welfare payments and other social transfers (excluding pensions) reduced the at-risk-of poverty rate from 39 per cent to 16.5 per cent, a poverty reduction effect of 57.7 per cent. If pensions are included, the poverty reduction effect is even greater at 67.2 per cent.

This reflects the substantial State investment in the social protection system, despite the constraints of the economic crisis. A key element of this investment has been the maintenance of core weekly rates of welfare payments since this Government came into office. Budget 2015 provided for additional investment of €198 m in targeted welfare increases and other initiatives, with a further €63.5 million to restore the Christmas Bonus.

Another key intervention in tackling poverty is to reduce unemployment and provide the supports needed through activation to get people back to work. Through Pathways to Work and the Action Plan on Jobs, the Government is putting people into real jobs, while the family income supplement and new back to work family dividend support parents to take up and remain in employment , especially those furthest from the labour market.

Community Employment Schemes Data

Questions (114)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

114. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of community employment participants who will be impacted by the final cessation of concurrent payments in 2015 broken down by CE scheme type, category of payment and the range and average by which persons will see their income drop. [41662/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The Budget of 2012 announced the disqualification from certain welfare payments for welfare recipients while participating on Community Employment (CE). Up until 16th January 2012, certain social welfare payments could be retained in part or in full when participating on CE. The CE personal rate of €208.00 was applicable to these participants (as any dependants were covered under the original social welfare payment).

Those who retained social welfare payments included:

- One Parent Family Payment (partially retained)

- Deserted Wife’s Benefit (fully retained)

- Widow(er)s Pension (fully retained)

- Illness Benefit (fully retained)

- Disability Allowance (partially retained)

- Invalidity Pension (fully retained)

- Blind Pension (partially retained)

As part of Budget 2012, new entrants to CE were disqualified from simultaneously receiving their original social welfare payment and CE allowances with effect from Monday 16th January 2012. From that date, participants receive CE allowances only at a rate equivalent to their scheduled social welfare payment, plus €20, subject to a minimum payment of €208.00 per week. This disqualification was enacted under Section 12 of the Social Welfare Act 2011.

For those participants already engaged on CE at the time of the introduction of this measure it was possible to retain their dual payments under a saver clause in the above legislation. The Department is currently considering this matter and is in the process of collating data on claimants who are currently in receipt of dual payments and will respond in due course to the Deputy.

Rural Social Scheme Eligibility

Questions (115)

Tom Fleming

Question:

115. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will substantially increase the numbers participating on the rural social scheme due to the invaluable service they provide to community groups, to deliver essential social services in rural areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41707/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The rural social scheme (RSS) provides income support for farmers and those engaged in fishing who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. Participants are engaged for 19½ hours per week to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities.

The scheme currently provides work opportunities for around 2,600 participants and 130 supervisory staff. The funds allocated for 2014 amount to €45 million. This level of funding will allow the scheme to continue along the same lines in 2014 as in previous years but does not allow for recruitment above the numbers stated above.

The resources available to the Department for 2015 will not allow for the expansion of the RSS in the manner suggested. The Deputy will be aware that the Department, under a number of its programmes and schemes, supports the development and delivery of a broad range of services to the benefit of communities, rural and urban. In addition to the RSS, some 25,000 placements are provided under community employment, 8,000 through Tús, 1,100 via the job initiative with an additional 3,000 placements becoming available with county and city councils under Gateway. Additionally around 2,700 persons are supported in employment with the Community Services Programme (CSP), the majority of which are rural based.

Labour Activation Measures

Questions (116)

Tom Fleming

Question:

116. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the geographical regions that are identified to implement the JobPath pilot schemes and the number and percentage of long-term unemployed in each region to be facilitated by the scheme; if she will utilise the Leader group and the community and voluntary sectors, due to their experience and proven success, to process these pilot schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41705/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

JobPath is the Government’s new labour market activation service aimed specifically at the long-term unemployed and those most distant from the labour market, with the primary objective of assisting such persons to gain sustained employment.

JobPath will augment and complement both the Department’s own employment services as well as the services contracted under existing arrangements with private registered companies that provide the Local Employment Service (LES) and Job Clubs.

Following the completion of a public procurement process, conducted in accordance with EU and national procurement rules, two preferred tenderers have been selected. The two preferred tenderers are Turas Nua Ltd. and Seetec Business Technology Centre Ltd.

Turas Nua is a new business and is a joint venture between FRS Recruitment (a co-operative recruitment company based in Roscrea) and Working Links (a UK-based well-established provider of employment services to long-term unemployed people).

Turas Nua Limited will operate in counties Carlow, Clare, Cork, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Offaly (part), Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow. There are currently some 80,000 long-term unemployed in these counties.

Seetec is a private company delivering a wide range of employability and skills programmes across both urban and rural areas of England. Seetec will operate in counties Cavan, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly (part), Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath. There are currently some 100,000 long-term unemployed in these counties.

It is intended to refer all current long-term unemployed to JobPath as well as those who become long-term unemployed.

While it is a matter for the preferred tenderers to engage with local companies, both companies have indicated their intention to work with a range of local subcontractors, including local training companies as well as providers of employment services and specialist support services.

Between them the preferred tenderers and their sub-contractors will provide some 1,000 staff, in approximately 100 outlets across the country, to assist the long-term unemployed to obtain employment and to overcome barriers to employment.

Subject to successful finalisation of contracts, it is anticipated that JobPath will commence in mid-2015.

Pension Provisions

Questions (117)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Question:

117. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she is satisfied that the current pension legislation protects the interests of deferred pensioners sufficiently; her plans to improve pension coverage here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41713/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

Pension schemes in Ireland are generally set up under a trust. The management of the scheme is a matter for the employer and the trustees of the pension scheme. The obligation on the sponsoring employer will be set out in the trust deed and scheme rules. The trustees of the scheme are required to act in the best interest of all scheme members.

The Pensions Act provides a framework for the regulation and supervision of occupational pension schemes. Among the key provisions in the Pensions Act are the requirements on the trustees of a pension scheme to maintain sufficient resources in the scheme to meet the liabilities of the scheme in the event of the wind up of a scheme and the requirement to preserve and revalue the benefits of former scheme members who have not reached normal retirement age as set out in the rules of the scheme.

The Pensions Act provides for the preservation of benefits for members of occupational pension schemes who leave employment before their normal pensionable age for any reason, other than death, provided they satisfy certain qualifying conditions. The preserved benefit is a proportion of the long service benefit to which the member would have been entitled if he or she had remained in employment until normal pensionable age. The preserved benefit which is payable from a defined benefit pension scheme will normally be revalued annually by the lower of 4% or the rate of change in the Consumer Price Index.

The Pension Act has been amended on a number of occasions in recent years to help employers and the trustees of pension scheme address the funding challenges facing many schemes. A key element in many of these changes was the sharing of the risk of scheme underfunding among all categories of scheme members. The manner in which these changes are applied is a matter for the employer and the trustees of a pension scheme.

The recent changes to the Pensions Act are underpinned by additional measures which have been put in place by the Pensions Authority to assist pension schemes achieve a sustainable funding position. It is the medium term objective that all defined benefit schemes will achieve a level of funding which will include a funding risk reserve to protect the rights of scheme members against future volatility in financial markets.

There are no plans at this stage to bring forward amending legislation to enhance the present provisions in the Pensions Act in relation to deferred scheme members.

The OECD recommended that the single greatest goal in Irish pension policy should be to increase pension coverage through the introduction of a mandatory or quasi mandatory earnings related scheme and/or by improving financial incentives. This key recommendation was aimed at improving the adequacy of pensions by increasing coverage in the funded part of the pensions system.

In line with the OECD key recommendation and with the Programme for Government, the recent 2014-2016 Statement of Priorities confirmed that the Government will agree a roadmap and timeline for the introduction of a new, universal supplementary pension saving scheme. This decision has been taken in response to the adequacy and sustainability challenges in the Irish pensions system which has become an increasing concern in recent years. Development of this roadmap for a universal pension over the course of 2015 will involve detailed consideration of policy and operational parameters, and will include co-operation across a range of Government departments and engagement with all sectoral interests.

Rent Supplement Scheme Payments

Questions (118)

Mick Wallace

Question:

118. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to increase rent supplement levels, in view of the recent rise in homelessness; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41698/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

There are approximately 73,500 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014.

I am acutely aware of the difficulties people are experiencing in maintaining affordable rented accommodation in areas of high demand, including those in receipt of rent supplement, in the current market. However, raising rent limits may not be the solution to the problem as it is likely to add to further rental inflation and would impact, not alone on rent supplement recipients, but also on many lower income workers and students.

The Department is undertaking a review of rent limits and analysis shows that the impact of increasing limits will yield only a very marginal increase in available supply for rent supplement recipients, with the only certainty that raising limits will increase costs disproportionately for the Exchequer with little or no new housing available to new recipients.

I can assure the Deputy 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 including through the use of their discretionary statutory powers as necessary. In light of a particular concentration of the homelessness problem in the Dublin area, the Department has agreed a tenancy sustainment protocol with the Dublin local authorities and voluntary organisations to support families on rent supplement who are at risk of losing their accommodation. Since the launch of this protocol in mid-June 2014, over 160 families have had their rent supplement claims revised by the Department.

Increasing housing supply and the reactivation of the construction activity is a critical issue for Government and key to restoring stability to the rental market. In this context, it should be noted that the Government has recently launched its Construction Strategy 2020.

As part of Budget 2015, Government also announced significant capital investment of over €2.2 billion for social housing for the next three years. In 2014, over €800 million will be invested in a range of housing programmes representing the first major investment in housing since 2009. An additional €10.5 million will be provided for accommodation and related services for homeless persons, increasing the annual expenditure for tackling homelessness to €55.5 million next year. My colleague, Alan Kelly T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, is also due to publish a Social Housing Strategy shortly.

National Internship Scheme Administration

Questions (119)

Clare Daly

Question:

119. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the changes she plans to make to the operation of the JobBridge scheme to ensure that it is not being used to replace real jobs. [41703/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The aim of the JobBridge scheme is to assist in breaking the vicious cycle whereby jobseekers are unable to get a job without experience, either as new entrants to the labour market following education or training, or as unemployed workers wishing to learn new skills. At any one time, JobBridge will provide up to 8,500 work experience placements for jobseekers, in organisations in the private, public, community and voluntary sectors.

Over 34,000 internship placements having commenced to date. There are currently 6,628 interns on the programme and a further 2,079 positions are advertised on the JobBridge website.

In developing JobBridge considerable care was taken to set conditions to limit any opportunity to exploit the scheme. There is a limit on the duration of internships and on the total number of internships that can be offered by any organisation. A cooling off period of six months is enforced, subject to controlled exceptions. Permanent posts cannot be filled by successive use of internships and internships cannot be used to fill a position which was previously filled by a paid employee.

To ensure that both the host organisation and intern are abiding by the spirit and the rules of the scheme, the Department undertakes ongoing monitoring of internships. This involves the regular review of monthly compliance reports and random site visits to facilitate discussions with both parties to the internship. The Department has conducted over 7,800 monitoring visits to-date, and 97% of these visits have been of a satisfactory nature. To date 44 companies have been disqualified from participating in the scheme due to breaches of the terms and conditions of the scheme.

Any individual who suspects that an internship may be in breach of the scheme’s criteria, including cases of suspected displacement, quality issues or lack of appropriate mentoring and support, may contact the JobBridge team. Further information is available on the Contact Us page of the JobBridge website www.jobbridge.ie. All such matters are fully investigated.

Social Welfare Schemes

Questions (120)

Tom Fleming

Question:

120. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will cease the policy of penalising unemployed persons for taking up casual work and allow them to sign off from days they are working; if she will further cease the penalising of small businesses trying to hire person casually and remove the disincentives whereby a volume of unnecessary paperwork and responsibility is involved in the existing process of casual hire; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41708/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The jobseeker’s schemes provide income support for people who are seeking their first job or have lost work and are seeking alternative employment. A fundamental qualifying condition for both the jobseeker’s benefit and jobseeker’s allowance is that a person must be available for full-time work.

Where a person is employed for up to three days in a week, they may claim a jobseeker’s payment in respect of the remainder of the week, subject to scheme conditionality. Under this system the schemes support over 70,000 persons engaged in casual or part-time work. There are no plans to change the operation of the schemes in this regard.

It may also be noted that if a person signs off from the schemes to take up work for a short period or to go on a short training course, there is now a fast track system in place to ensure they are able to make this transition in an easy and efficient manner. This fast track system allows the individual to quickly sign back on their jobseeker’s scheme and then continue to receive benefits after the work or course finishes.

In relation to employers every effort is made to minimise the impact of necessary administrative procedures associated with the schemes which, it may be noted, provide a substantial support to the functioning of the labour market.