Wednesday, 17 Dec 2014

Written Answers Nos. 39-48

Community Employment Schemes Funding

Questions (39)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

39. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 45 of 11 December 2014, if she will provide a table including the overall training budget of each division in her Department; the number of community employment schemes and participants in each division in her Department; and the number of participants with respect to whom the budget allocated was exceeded in each division in her Department. [48628/14]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

The training budget for Community Employment (CE) in 2014 is €5.896m. The budget for each Division is set out in Table 1.

Table 1: CE Training Budget by Division

Division	Training Budget 2014 (€)
Dublin Central	644,045
Dublin North	489,362
Dublin South	405,473
Mid-Leinster	395,029
Midlands North	407,158
Mid-West	435,696
North-East	385,903
North-West	434,282
West	539,340
Cork-Central	414,653
South-West	379,824
Midlands South	509,714
South East	455,839
Total	5,896,319

The number of CE schemes and the number of participants in each Division (as at the end of November 2014) is set out in Table 2.

Table 2: The number of CE Schemes, and number of participants by Division

Division	No. of CE Schemes	No. of CE Participants
Dublin Central	109	2,711
Dublin North	67	1,708
Dublin South	71	1,511
Mid-Leinster	68	1,656
Midlands North	66	1,609
Mid-West	87	1,694
North-East	51	1,501
North-West	84	1,734
West	106	2,163
Cork-Central	67	1,517
South-West	69	1,528
Midlands South	101	1,855
South East	93	1,848
Total	1,039	23,035

The training budget is based on a notional per capita allocation of €250 per CE place and this budget is held within the DSP region. Flexibility can be applied to exceed the average rate per place within a scheme - and between schemes - once the overall Divisional budget is not exceeded. In allocating the budget to schemes, DSP Officers also take into consideration whether the training can be accessed at no cost or at a low cost from the Education and Training Boards.

Further details on the training grant and conditions are available in the CE Operation Procedures.

Rent Supplement Scheme Data

Questions (40, 41)

Peadar Tóibín

Question:

40. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when rent allowance thresholds in County Meath will be brought in line with rental market values in the country; and the action she will take to ensure no person or family will be left homeless over Christmas. [48630/14]

Pearse Doherty

Question:

41. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown, in tabular form, over the past five years of the number of persons in receipt of rent supplement by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48665/14]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 41 together.

The Implementation Plan on the State’s Response to Homelessness published in May 2014 is the Government’s Strategy to bring about an end to involuntary long-term homelessness by the end of 2016. My colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government recently announced the provision of 260 additional emergency beds in Dublin to be available before Christmas to ensure that any person sleeping rough between now and Christmas will have a bed available should they choose to avail of it. Arrangements are also being made to provide the necessary accommodation in other urban areas, including Cork where an additional 20 beds are being provided.

In terms of the rent supplement scheme, the Department is currently reviewing the maximum rent limits, which will be finalised shortly. I am acutely aware of the difficulties people are experiencing in maintaining affordable rented accommodation in areas of high demand in the current market, including areas of county Meath. However, raising rent limits may not be the solution to the problem as it is likely to add to further rental inflation and could impact, not alone on rent supplement recipients, but also on many lower income workers and students. I am keeping the matter under close review.

There are approximately 71,800 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €344 million for 2014. A breakdown of recipients per county since 2008 is provided in the following tabular statement. There are currently over 1,700 rent supplement recipients in Meath, of which 520 were awarded this year, which represents over 30% of the total awarded.

Emergency actions are being undertaken in the Department through the increased use of flexibility in relation to the administration of the rent limits, including under the Interim Tenancy Sustainment Protocol operating in Dublin. A notice reminding all Community Welfare Service staff of their statutory discretionary power to award a supplement for rental purposes, for example, when dealing with applicants who are at risk of losing their tenancy was circulated in July 2014 and a further instruction issued last week.

Staff are increasing rent supplement payments as necessary and are actively engaging with the relevant local authorities and local various organisations involved in homelessness. The Department is reviewing the local arrangements in place to strengthen the existing framework to ensure that the necessary supports continue to be provided in a consistent manner.

I advise that where a person in receipt of rent supplement is at risk of losing their tenancy they should make contact with the Tenancy Protection Service provided by Threshold in Dublin on 1800 454 454 or their local Community Welfare Service throughout the country.

Tabular Statement - Rent Supplement End of Year Recipient Numbers per County:

County	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	End Nov. 2014
Dublin	24,119	31,261	33,818	34,423	32,584	29,541	26,640
Cork	8,538	10,603	10,988	10,732	9,878	9,020	8,319
Kildare	3,275	4,161	4,409	4,447	4,338	4,135	3,703
Galway	3,733	4,989	4,829	4,615	4,134	3,983	3,591
Wexford	2,870	3,763	4,055	4,102	3,700	3,179	2,665
Limerick	2,942	3,669	3,896	3,833	3,323	2,984	2,507
Louth	1,887	2,426	2,563	2,734	2,549	2,422	2,242
Wicklow	2,066	2,699	2,613	2,719	2,495	2,381	2,115
Tipperary	2,082	2,572	2,680	2,609	2,199	2,094	1,937
Donegal	3,282	3,470	3,194	2,977	2,411	2,047	1,790
Meath	1,453	2,213	2,552	2,723	2,143	1,941	1,742
Kerry	2,252	2,398	2,339	2,278	2,037	1,888	1,726
Mayo	2,585	3,077	3,012	2,928	2,435	1,900	1,622
Westmeath	1,275	1521	1,623	1,671	1,592	1,588	1,529
Waterford	2,126	2,267	2,332	2,098	1,773	1,556	1,437
Clare	1,441	1780	1,937	1,961	1,722	1,547	1,359
Kilkenny	1,092	1,472	1,577	1,619	1,365	1,210	1,076
Carlow	1,161	1,498	1,484	1,440	1,239	1,108	1,074
Offaly	833	1,053	1,273	1,349	1,240	1,124	1,042
Laois	706	979	1,151	1,178	1,097	1,085	1,020
Roscommon	1,042	1,286	1,276	1,275	997	802	685
Longford	706	789	715	623	511	507	466
Sligo	733	822	787	698	591	542	457
Cavan	874	1,115	1,029	843	519	455	400
Monaghan	509	640	598	488	438	395	358
Leitrim	456	507	530	440	374	354	329
Total	74,038	93,030	97,260	96,803	87,684	79,788	71,831

Money Advice and Budgeting Service

Questions (42)

Pearse Doherty

Question:

42. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown, by location, of the current waiting times for an appointment with the Money Advice and Budgeting Service; the number of staff in each branch over the past five years; the number of full-time staff who have been recruited to the service over the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48667/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), under the aegis of the Citizens Information Board (CIB), assists people who are over-indebted and need help and advice in coping with debt problems, in particular those on low incomes and people living on social welfare payments. In 2014 funding of some €18.6 million was provided to MABS.

Information on the waiting times in each MABS office is compiled on a quarterly basis and posted to the www.mabs.ie website. The most recent statistics available, compiled to end of September 2014, record that the average waiting time from first point of contact to first appointment with a money adviser is some 2.53 weeks. This is a national average and can vary between offices.

In 2013, 15 additional temporary staff were assigned to MABS local services for the establishment of the Approved Intermediary Service for the purpose of processing Debt Relief Notices as part of the new insolvency service arrangements.

The following table shows the average waiting times at MABS local offices, together with the staffing compliment in each office for the period 2010 – 2014 inclusive.

Company	Waiting time 2014 Average (end Sept 2014 )	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
	Weeks	wte*	wte	wte	wte	Wte
Arklow & District	2	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5
Athlone	1	2.25	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Ballymun	3.4	5.92	5.92	5.9	5.9	5.4
Blanchardstown	3.2	5.09	5	5.25	5.25	5
Bray	0.8	5	5	5.5	5.5	5.5
Carlow	1	5.1	5.02	5.2	5.2	5.7
Cavan	1.2	4	4	4	4	4
Charleville	2	4	3	3	3	3
Clare	2.2	4	4	4	4	4
Clondalkin	3.8	5	5	4	4	5
Cork City	1.8	9.8	7.8	6.8	6.8	7.3
Cork North	2.8	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.4
Cork West	2.6	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5
Donegal North	9.8	5.5	5	5	5	5
Donegal South	4.4	2	2	2	2	2
Donegal West	0.4	2	2	2	2	2
Drogheda	2.2	3	3	3	3	3
Dublin 10 + 20	2	5.25	5.4	5.5	5.5	5.9
Dublin 12 Area	2.2	4.2	4.3	5.1	5.1	4.2
Dublin North City	5.6	4	4	4	4	4
Dublin North East	2.8	4	4	3	3	4
Dublin South East	2	3.6	3.6	3.6	3.6	4
Dún Laoghaire	0.8	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Dundalk	0.8	3	3	3	3	3
Dundrum/Rathfarnham	2.4	4.7	4.1	4	4	4.1
Fingal	3.2	4.5	5	4	4	4.5
Finglas Cabra	1	5	5	5	5	4.9
Galway North	1.8	4.5	3.5	3.2	3.2	3.2
Galway South	2.4	7	7.5	7	7	7
Kerry	1.8	7	7	7	7	7
Kildare	3.6	6.85	6.85	6.85	6.85	6.85
Kilkenny	1.4	4	4	4	4	4
Laois	1.6	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.5
Leitrim	3.8	2.7	2.5	3.1	3.1	2.6
Liffey South West	1	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.2	5
Limerick	9.4	6	6	6	6	6
Longford	0.8	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
Mayo North	3.6	3	3	3	3	3
Mayo South	6	3.3	3.5	3.3	3.3	3
Meath	2.4	4	4	5	5	4
Monaghan	1.8	3	3	3	3	3
Mullingar	1.4	4	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.8
Offaly	2.4	3	3	3	3	3
Roscommon	2.4	3	3	3	3	3
Sligo	3.8	4.5	3.5	3.5	3.5	3
Tallaght	3	4	5	5	5	5
Tipperary North	2.4	3.5	3.5	4.5	4.5	3.5
Tipperary South	1.2	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.7
Waterford	0.8	9	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.7
Waterford West	1.2	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.2	2
Wexford	1.4	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5	4.5
Total	(average) 2.53	222.6	214.29	213.6	213.6	213.75

*wte - whole time equivalents

Community Work Initiatives

Questions (43)

Jerry Buttimer

Question:

43. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on amending the Tús scheme so that participants have the option of continuing with their placement beyond the initial 12-month period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48746/14]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

Tús, the community work placement initiative introduced during 2011, was set up to provide short-term, 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 opportunity to return to the labour market. To date, over 23,000 jobseekers have participated on this initiative.

The duration of the Tús contract was set to reflect a number of inter-related elements. These include the need to ensure that the 8,000 or so placements available remain open to those on the live register for more than 12 month, which currently number in excess of 170,000; that weaknesses in other work programmes resulting from long duration placements are not replicated in Tús and that scare resources are optimised to the benefit of jobseekers. In addition, Tús fulfils the objectives set out in the Government’s activation policies in Pathways to Work. Regular rotation of placements also ensures that the opportunities provided by Tús remain accessible to a greater number of jobseekers.

As with all programmes and schemes funded and managed by the Department, the operation of Tús will be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that it reflects changes in underlying activation policies and the recovery in the overall labour market.

Pension Provisions

Questions (44)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

44. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 54 of 10 December 2014, the reply to which states that to qualify for a full contributory pension the person must have at least 520 paid contributions and satisfy a yearly average of 48 contributions, if where time has been taken off in certain years for maternity leave or where a person has been let go from employment due to a decline in business, resulting in a gap in weekly contributions, this will be taken into account when the person reaches pension age when calculating their pension contributions; and in the event that a person takes early retirement at the age of 53 or 54, what he or she must do to ensure they will continue to get credited up until their pension age at 66 years. [48757/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The State pension (contributory) is a very valuable benefit and is the bedrock of the Irish pension system. Therefore, it is important to ensure that those qualifying have made a sustained contribution to the Social Insurance Fund over their working lives. This is particularly important given the challenges to the future sustainability of the State pension, with increased numbers of older people living longer.

When assessing whether an individual is entitled to a State pension (contributory), and to ensure that they can maximise such entitlement, all contributions (whether paid or credited) from when they first enter insurable employment until pension age are taken into account.

To qualify for a state pension (contributory) a person must -

- have at least 520 paid contributions and

- satisfy a yearly average condition (a yearly average of 48 contributions paid or credited is required for a full rate State pension (contributory), and reduced rates of payment may be payable for pensioners with lower averages).

Once over 16 years of age, the date a person enters into insurable employment is the date used for averaging purposes.

In the case of mothers on maternity leave, credits are awarded to workers who go on maternity benefit. Furthermore, the homemaker’s scheme was introduced in 1994 to make qualification for State pension (contributory) easier for those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties. The scheme allows up to 20 years spent caring for children under 12 years of age or incapacitated persons to be disregarded when a person’s social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes.

The State pension (contributory) is intended to reward those who have paid PRSI during their working lives, and/or have remained engaged with the labour force when they were not in a position to make such paid contributions (e.g. due to unemployment or illness). If a worker becomes unemployed or incapable of work, s/he will generally be awarded credited contributions for the duration of their social welfare claim(s), or they may sign for jobseekers credits and these credited contributions are also used in the calculation of the yearly average for pension purposes.

If a person decides to retire at 53, and they do not qualify for a social protection payment nor sign for jobseekers credits, they may qualify for a lower rate of State pension (contributory) than a person who worked up to their 66th birthday. Alternatively, they may qualify for the means-tested State pension (non-contributory), the maximum personal rate of rate of which is €219.

The yearly average test has been in existence since 1961 when contributory pensions were first introduced. As stated in reply to question no. 54 of 10 December 2014, it is planned to replace this method of calculating pension entitlements with a ‘total contribution approach’. The proposed date for this reform is 2020, but this may be subject to change.

Departmental Investigations

Questions (45)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

45. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the breakdown of the savings of €64,000,000 that the 20-man Garda unit has saved her Department so far this year, of which €23,000,000 was attributed to fraud; if all this money has been recovered; if the Revenue Commissioners have examined the cases where moneys were recovered; if she will use this money to reinstate the benefits cut to those most in need; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48761/14]

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection

The secondment of 20 Gardaí to the Department to assist the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) with fraud investigation work only took effect from last Friday, 5th December, having been agreed earlier this year with the Minister of Justice and Equality and An Garda Síochána. In the circumstances, it is too early to predict with any certainty the precise additional financial savings that will arise from their secondment.

The figure of €64 million refers to savings generated by the SIU resulting from their investigations up to the end of November 2014. It includes a figure of €23 million relating to overpayments established in respect of 2,113 case investigations.

As of the end of November 2014, a total of 3,972 cases of fraud have been investigated resulting in the cessation of or a reduction in a social welfare payment. Control savings of €41 million have been generated from these case investigations. These savings represent the value of prevented expenditure over a future period that would have been incurred if this investigative and control work had not been carried out.

The Department’s policy is to ensure that every effort is made to prevent overpayments but, where they occur through fraud, every effort is made to recover the amounts due. In 2013, there were a total of 84,702 overpayments with a value of €127 million while the total value of recoveries was €70.7 million. People who have been overpaid social welfare payments have a liability to refund that money as they have been in receipt of money to which they were not entitled.

A social welfare debt will not become statute barred for recovery. It remains with a debtor for all future entitlement payments and can be collected thereafter from any remaining estate.

Prize Bonds

Questions (46)

Mattie McGrath

Question:

46. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the reason the prize bond company, when issuing prize bonds, requires proof in the form of photo identification and proof of PPSN; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48519/14]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

The Minister for Finance and the National Treasury Management Agency ("the NTMA") are each a 'specified body' for the purposes of sections 262 to 270 and schedule 5 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended.  This provides the power to the NTMA, acting on behalf of the Minister for Finance, to request holders of State Savings products to provide their PPS Number for the purposes of verifying the identity of such holders and to serve as a unique identifier of such holders, who may hold multiple State Savings products, including Prize Bonds, and/or multiple issues of such State Savings products. 

The NTMA, acting on behalf of the Minister for Finance, and its agents, An Post and the Prize Bond Company, use the PPS Number for the sole purpose of the administration of State Savings products and accounts. Personal data provided by holders (including photo identification and PPSN) are processed for the purpose of the administration of State Savings products and accounts, including meeting EU Savings Directive obligations and anti-money laundering requirements under the Criminal Justice Act 2010 as amended.

Central Bank of Ireland Investigations

Questions (47, 48)

Clare Daly

Question:

47. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance the reason a company (details supplied) was fined only €105,000 for breaching the Consumer Credit Act 1995, despite the fact that it has a turnover of €4.5 billion. [48552/14]

Clare Daly

Question:

48. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance the legal firm that advised the Central Bank of Ireland regarding their determination in relation to the breaches of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 by a company (details supplied); and if his attention has been drawn to conflicts of interest there. [48553/14]

Written answers

Minister for Finance

I propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 48 together.

The Central Bank has informed me that in any circumstance where it engages an external law firm to assist it, the Bank will ensure prior to the engagement of the firm that all appropriate checks are carried out, including a check to ensure that no concerns regarding conflicts of interest arise.

I have asked the Bank for further details in relation to these questions and it has not been able to respond in the time available. However, I will arrange for the information to be supplied to the Deputy when it becomes available.