Written Answers Nos. 191-206
191. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for a disability allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28460/15]
View answerThe person concerned has been awarded a disability allowance payment with effect from 17 June 2015. First payment will be on 22 July 2015 and any arrears due will follow shortly thereafter.
192. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will review the eligibility for a carer's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare, with particular reference to a medical recommendation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28472/15]
View answerThe Department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 2 April 2015.
The application was refused on the grounds that the care recipient is not so disabled as to require full-time care and attention as prescribed in regulations. The person concerned was notified on 8 June 2015 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.
The additional evidence submitted by you has been passed to a deciding officer for review. The person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome of that review. If the outcome of that review is to confirm refusal of the allowance, the person concerned retains the right to appeal the decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
193. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to increase the State pension and invalidity pension, given that there have been no increases in these since 2009, which is making it difficult for persons to survive on these incomes, given all the extra charges that have been added in recent years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28474/15]
View answerI was pleased to host the Department’s annual Pre-Budget Forum in Dublin Castle on the 3rd of July last. Thirty-seven community and voluntary groups participated in the Forum, which gives organisations representing the community and voluntary sector an opportunity to voice their views and priorities in relation to social welfare expenditure in the context of the forthcoming Budget.
The main business of the Forum was undertaken at six workshops facilitated by Departmental officials. This included workshops based around the themes of Poverty and Social Inclusion; Retired and Older People; and Illness, Disability and Caring. The issues raised at the workshops will feed into our consideration of the forthcoming Budget.
The appropriate rates of welfare supports in the year ahead, including payments made to older people and people with disabilities, will be considered by Government as part of its deliberations on the next Budget. In this regard, it should be noted that a €1 increase in the weekly rate of the State Pension Contributory would cost €20.5 million in 2016, while a €1 increase in the weekly rate of Invalidity Pension would cost €3 million.
194. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for a disability allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28503/15]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 9th July 2015, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
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.
195. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure that a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan is awarded an illness benefit or an interim measure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28510/15]
View answerTo qualify for illness benefit certain statutory PRSI contribution conditions must be satisfied, one of which requires that the claimant has at least 104 reckonable contributions paid. According to departmental records the person concerned has a total of 87 contributions paid to end of 2014.
If the person concerned considers that they have more contributions paid, including any in the current tax year, they should send in evidence of same and the claim will be reviewed.
If the person concerned is unable to meet their needs or the needs of their household they may be entitled to supplementary welfare allowance. Applications for this scheme can be made through the department’s community welfare service at their local intreo office or their local health centre.
196. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a back payment to a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28531/15]
View answerThe client is awarded Jobseekers Allowance from 08/12/2014 and payment in respect of same to include arrears to 07/07/2015, will be paid on the 10/07/2015 to the client's Post Office. The client will receive payment every Tuesday thereafter.
197. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application by a person (details supplied) in County Clare under the disability allowance scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28537/15]
View answerI confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for disability allowance from the above named person on 17 June 2015. 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 disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim.
199. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when arrears of a disability allowance will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Cork; the amount of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28556/15]
View answerThe person in question has been awarded a disability allowance payment at the reduced weekly rate of €164.50 with effect from 26 February 2014. Full details of the means assessment has issued to the person concerned as part of the communication of the decision. First payment was on 1 July 2015 and any arrears due will follow shortly.
If the person in question feels that the means assessed are not correct, it is open to him to request a review of the decision or to appeal it to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.
200. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will consider a revision of the regulations relating to the back to work enterprise allowance to allow claimants of illness benefit to avail of the allowance in advance of being three years on illness benefit. [28589/15]
View answer201. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will consider a revision of the regulations relating to the short-term enterprise allowance to allow claimants of illness benefit to avail of the allowance. [28590/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 200 and 201 together.
The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) is designed to provide a monetary incentive for people who are dependent on certain social welfare payments to develop a business. During the first two years of self-employment, the allowance is paid at 100% for the first year of operating and at 75% for the second year. The Short Term Enterprise Allowance (STEA) provides immediate access to those who have lost their jobs and qualify for jobseeker’s benefit and wish to set up a business. Payment under the scheme is at the same rate and for the same duration as their entitlement to jobseeker’s benefit. At the end of June, 2015 there were 11,621 people availing of the BTWEA and 490 on STEA.
One of the qualifying conditions for BTWEA is that a person must be in receipt of illness benefit for three years or more, there are no plans to change this. STEA only applies to those on jobseekers benefit.
202. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the planned use for the newly refurbished former social protection office (details supplied) in County Mayo; the cost of the refurbishment; the expected ongoing running and maintenance costs of the building; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28611/15]
View answerUpon completion of refurbishment works in Government Buildings in Ballina in February 2014, the Department relocated all staff and public services from the former Social Welfare Office at Bohernasup, Ballina to the new INTREO office at Government Buildings. While the building is still used for the Department’s off-site storage requirements in the area, the Department is a minor tenant in the building and does not hold the information requested. As such, the specific issues raised in the question are a matter for the major tenant, the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, or the Office of Public Works.
203. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons, by administrative division and by age group, currently in receipt of jobseeker's allowance and who have not to date made any PRSI contributions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28619/15]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is not currently available in my Department.
The following information was provided under Standing Order 40A
I replied that “the information requested by the Deputy is not available in my Department”. Expressed more fully, this means that my Department could not reasonably be expected to provide the requested information within the time available to submit a reply, since the data requested are not routinely available in any of the Department’s systems and the significant time and workload required to generate the requested data would fall outside of what could reasonably be expected in a PQ answer.
Nevertheless in this case we will conduct a special exercise to generate the data for the Deputy and provide it to him directly, as soon as is possible and no later than 15 August, with a copy to the Office of the Ceann Comhairle.
204. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in County Galway who were in receipt of a one-parent family payment in each month from January to June of 2015; the number of persons who will see a reduction in their total social welfare payments following the recent changes introduced to the one-parent family payment in June 2015 if there is no change in their work circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28620/15]
View answer205. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection in view of her stated belief that the recent changes introduced by her Department to the one-parent family payment will lead to an increase in participation by lone parents in paid employment, the current level of participation and what she expects this to rise to by 31 January 2016; if there should be a decrease in participation rates, if she will conclude that these reforms have been a failure, and reverse them accordingly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28621/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 204 and 205 together.
The information that the Deputy has requested in relation to the number of persons in County Galway who were in receipt of the one-parent family payment (OFP) during each month from January to June, 2015, and in relation to the number of recipients who were impacted by the recent reforms to the OFP scheme, is currently not available in the Department.
Despite the fact that extensive funding has been committed by the Department to lone parent payments since the 1970s, lone parents remain confined to social welfare dependency and are more at-risk-of-poverty than the population as a whole. The best route out of social welfare dependency and poverty is through paid employment. Research shows that being at work reduces the at-risk-of-poverty rate of lone parents by three-quarters when compared to not being at work.
The purpose of the recently implemented OFP scheme reforms is to maximise the opportunities for lone parents to enter into and increase employment by providing them with enhanced access to the wide range of education, training, and employment supports that make up the Department’s Intreo services. These supports include the recently introduced Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD), which provides a significant incentive for families with children to move into employment, as recently reported by the ESRI.
At present, the level of employment among lone parents stands at 45%. Although it is too early to anticipate what the levels of participation by lone parents in paid employment will be in the months and years ahead, access to the Department’s Intreo services is imperative for transitioning lone parents in order to ensure that their prospects of securing employment and financial independence are further improved.
Any reversal of the OFP scheme reforms would delay the critical interaction between lone parents and the Department’s Intreo services and would potentially increase the barriers they face to entering employment in the future. I therefore have no plans to reverse these reforms. Instead, my priority is to ensure that we, as a society, arrive at a situation where lone parents can avail of the same opportunities to access employment, education, and training as everyone else in order to attain their full potential.
However, I look forward to examining the various supports that are available to all families with children, including lone parent families, in the next Budget. In particular, I will look at the scope for improvements in the child benefit payment as well as in other supports for families that are engaged in both full-time and part-time employment.
206. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of persons, by county, who are 24 years of age or younger and in receipt of a jobseeker's benefit or a jobseeker's allowance, with the numbers for each payment provided separately; the number, by county, who are not participating in any training, education or job activation scheme; the number of dedicated training placements she has made exclusively available to those who are 24 years of age or younger; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28622/15]
View answerTable 1 shows the number of persons on the Live Register at the end of June, by county, who are 24 years of age or younger, classified by payment type.
The only available measure of young persons who are not in employment, education or training (NEET) is from the Eurostat Labour Force Survey (in Ireland the Quarterly National Household Survey, or QNHS). Data from this sample survey are not available at the county level. The most recently published Eurostat data indicate that in 2014, on average, 15.2% of young people aged 15-24 years (or approximately 79,000 young people) were in this situation.
Table 2 sets out the number of training and other programme places set aside for young people in each of the years 2014 and 2015.
The Government’s primary strategy to tackle youth unemployment is through policies to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. However, the Government recognises that as the recovery takes hold, there is a need for additional measures to ensure that as many as possible of the jobs created are taken up by unemployed jobseekers and, in accordance with the EU Council recommendation for a Youth Guarantee by young jobseekers under 25 in particular. This is the rationale behind the Government’s Pathways to Work strategy and the Youth Guarantee plan.
As, under services such as Intreo, Youthreach, VTOS, PLC programmes, and JobBridge, Ireland already had many of the recommended component parts of a Youth Guarantee, the main plank in Ireland is to prioritise access to these existing supports for young people, who become unemployed, with the objective of ensuring that they have an opportunity for employment, further education or work experience within the recommended period of four months as per the EU council recommendation.
In this regard our first intervention is to provide case officer support to help newly unemployed young people find and secure sustainable jobs. Accordingly operating processes are being refined in each of our regions to prioritise the early engagement of young people through Intreo to ensure that all young people receive expert advice and have access to progression options. For those who do not find employment through the process just described, additional offers are provided for. Most such offers (over 70%) are in existing further education or training programmes. Others are in existing community-based employment programmes such as CE, Gateway and Tús. Overall, over 23,300 opportunities were taken up on the relevant programmes in 2014.
Reflecting the impact of government policy, and the overall improvement in the labour market, youth unemployment continues to fall (with a rate of 19.8% in June 2015 estimated by CSO, as compared to 24.1% in June 2014 and with a peak of over 31% in 2012).
Table 1. The number of persons, by county, aged 24 years of age or younger, who were on the Live Register at end June 2015, classified by payment type.
|
County |
Jobseeker's Benefit claimants |
Jobseeker's Allowance applicants |
Applicants for Credits |
Total |
|
Carlow |
34 |
921 |
4 |
959 |
|
Cavan |
45 |
1072 |
5 |
1122 |
|
Clare |
64 |
1007 |
2 |
1073 |
|
Cork |
317 |
3629 |
25 |
3971 |
|
Donegal |
125 |
2670 |
9 |
2804 |
|
Dublin |
766 |
10809 |
68 |
11643 |
|
Galway |
145 |
2052 |
4 |
2201 |
|
Kerry |
96 |
1385 |
9 |
1490 |
|
Kildare |
149 |
2090 |
13 |
2252 |
|
Kilkenny |
48 |
768 |
2 |
818 |
|
Laois |
50 |
1161 |
1 |
1212 |
|
Leitrim |
22 |
347 |
3 |
372 |
|
Limerick |
88 |
2005 |
9 |
2102 |
|
Longford |
27 |
618 |
2 |
647 |
|
Louth |
92 |
2104 |
8 |
2204 |
|
Mayo |
107 |
1336 |
3 |
1446 |
|
Meath |
68 |
1112 |
6 |
1186 |
|
Monaghan |
23 |
400 |
2 |
425 |
|
Offaly |
54 |
1316 |
8 |
1378 |
|
Roscommon |
31 |
418 |
5 |
454 |
|
Sligo |
39 |
640 |
4 |
683 |
|
Tipperary NR |
37 |
950 |
5 |
992 |
|
Tipperary SR |
101 |
1171 |
13 |
1285 |
|
Waterford |
93 |
1462 |
16 |
1571 |
|
Westmeath |
55 |
1283 |
7 |
1345 |
|
Wexford |
130 |
2257 |
11 |
2398 |
|
Wicklow |
76 |
1376 |
12 |
1464 |
|
State Total |
2882 |
46359 |
256 |
49497 |
Table 2. The number of dedicated training placements per annum for 2014 and 2015 made exclusively available to those who are 24 years of age or younger;
|
Programme |
Expected full-year intake |
|
Youthreach/CTC |
3,300 |
|
JobBridge (including developmental internship) |
5,000 |
|
Tús |
1,000 |
|
JobsPlus |
1,500 |
|
Momentum |
2,000 |
|
BTEA (excl Momentum) |
3,300 |
|
BTWEA |
200 |
|
VTOS |
500 |
|
FÁS/Solas |
9500 |
|
CEB youth Entrepreneurship Training and Mentoring supports |
700 |
|
CEB/MFI micro-loans for young people |
150 |
|
International Work Experience and Training |
250 |
|
Gateway |
450 |
|
Community Employment |
500 |
|
Total |
28,350 |
