Written Answers Nos. 160-179
160. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an overpayment of disability benefit in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30742/15]
View answerI confirm that the person concerned was in receipt of disability allowance (DA) from 2002 to 2013.
A review of her entitlement was carried out recently and it was established that the person concerned had means not previously disclosed to this department. These means are derived from a United Kingdom State Pension which was awarded to the person in question in 2007. There is no evidence that the person concerned notified this department of the pension in 2007.
On 27 July 2015, a deciding officer, decided that the person concerned had a reduced entitled to DA from 8 August 2007 to 6 August 2013, because of the means from their UK State Pension. This resulted in an overpayment.
The person concerned was given the right to appeal this decision within 21 days to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. No appeal was received in this case.
161. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding the payment of jobseeker's allowance in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30746/15]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision.
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.
162. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when child benefit will be paid for a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30748/15]
View answerA claim for child benefit was received in respect of the child concerned from his mother in May 2015. She had previously applied for child benefit in respect of this child in June 2014; however the earlier claim was withdrawn as she failed to reply to correspondence issued. Child benefit has now been awarded from July 2014, the month following receipt of the earlier claim. Payment of child benefit including arrears issued to the bank account of the person concerned on 4 August 2015.
The Department is investigating a possible entitlement to child benefit for an earlier period, prior to July 2014. This involves establishing the date of the child’s arrival in the State; further correspondence will issue to the person concerned as soon as these enquiries are complete.
163. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal against the refusal of an invalidity pension by a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; if it will be expedited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30751/15]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision on the 10 April 2014.
Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of the Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by the Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts. I am advised that the person concerned subsequently submitted additional evidence and that the Appeals Officer agreed to review the person concerned appeal on foot of this additional evidence. Regrettably the Appeals Officer did not find any new facts or fresh evidence which warranted a revision of his earlier decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision.
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 on social welfare entitlements.
164. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when an application for jobseeker's allowance will be awarded in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30779/15]
View answerThe person concerned recently made a claim for jobseeker’s allowance which was disallowed on the grounds that he is not habitually resident in the State. He has submitted an appeal against this decision which has been processed and is being forwarded to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) by the Deciding Officer involved in the case. The SWAO will be in contact with the person concerned in relation to developments on the Appeal.
165. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for carer's allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30787/15]
View answerThe application for carer’s allowance in respect of the person concerned was awarded on 11 August 2015 and the first payment was issued to the person’s bank nominated bank account on 20 August 2015.
Arrears of allowance due from 30 April 2015 to 12 August 2015 were also issued to the bank
166. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for a contributory pension appeal by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30790/15]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 16th April 2015. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers have been received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 9 September 2015 and the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on 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.
167. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the action that she is taking to address the extremely high level of youth unemployment, which in summer 2015, the Central Statistics Office reported was at a level of 20.02%, which is the current percentage of youth unemployment for over one year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30812/15]
View answerThe 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. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of productive employment for young people. This strategy has been succeeding, with an increase of over 80,000 in employment over the last two years.
Youth unemployment continues to fall (with a rate of 22.4% in Q2 2015, as compared to 26.9% in Q2 2014). These figures are not adjusted for seasonality; the seasonally-adjusted rate as of August 2015 was 20.7%.
The number of young people who are long-term unemployed has fallen from 35,000 in mid-2012 (46% of all the young unemployed at that time) to 13,000 (31% of all the young unemployed) in mid-2015.
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 jobseekers and young jobseekers in particular. This is the rationale behind the Government’s Pathways to Work strategy and the Youth Guarantee.
The Youth Guarantee sets a medium-term objective of ensuring that young people receive an offer of employment within four months of becoming unemployed. The main plank of the guarantee is assistance to young people in finding and securing sustainable jobs. For those who do not find employment, additional offers are provided for. Most such offers (over 70%) are in further education or training. Others are in community-based employment programmes such as CE, Gateway and Tús, or through the JobsPlus employment subsidy for private employment.
168. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the allowances available to a person (details supplied) in County Kildare who is a widow, living alone and receiving widow's pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30815/15]
View answerIn addition to their widow’s contributory pension, the person concerned is in receipt of fuel allowance, free electricity allowance and free television licence.
The person’s application for living alone increase was disallowed on the basis they had not reached the qualifying age of 66. The decision to disallow the application for living alone increase has been appealed and the appeal has been forwarded to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office. The person concerned will be contacted directly by that office regarding the outcome of their appeal.
169. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the correct amount of jobseeker's allowance being received in the case of persons (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30820/15]
View answerAs outlined in reply to the Deputy’s question number 29976-15 on 16 July 2015, the person concerned is in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance at the appropriate rate (for the client, her partner and one child dependant). Means, which have been reviewed since the reduction in the work pattern, are assessed against this payment in respect of her partner’s income.
170. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update with regard to an application for carer's allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30826/15]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 7 May 2015. Some additional information in relation to the person’s employment was required and has been requested by the deciding officer.
Once this information is received, the application will be processed and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
171. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will review the level of widow's contributory pension in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30878/15]
View answerEntitlement to widow’s contributory pension is based on either the social insurance record of the widow or that of their deceased spouse. Their social insurance records cannot be combined to establish entitlement.
The social insurance record of the person concerned consists of 129 paid and credited insurance contributions in respect of the period between 1974 and 1976. This record is not sufficient to qualify the person for pension in their own right. The Department has contacted the Department of Work and Pensions in the UK requesting the person’s UK social insurance record. When received, pension entitlement based on a combination of Irish and UK social insurance contributions will be examined.
The person concerned was awarded a widow’s contributory pension, under EU Regulations, with effect from the 3 April 2015, based on the combined social insurance contributions paid and credited by the person’s late husband in Ireland and in the United Kingdom.
Payment of this pension has not yet commenced because the person concerned has not yet notified the Department of their preferred payment method which was requested in June of this year. A reminder has recently issued to the person concerned.
173. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will provide funding for a gratuity or lump sum payment to community employment supervisors and assistant supervisors who retire on age or other grounds in advance of the possible introduction of a pension scheme for such workers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30885/15]
View answerThe Department of Social Protection has indicated that it is not in a position to provide funding for a gratuity or lump sum payment to Community Employment Supervisors on their retirement. This has been advised and has been detailed in numerous responses to Parliamentary Questions on this topic.
174. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number who participated in the WALK PEER pilot programme for young persons with disabilities; in view of the success of the scheme in providing employment opportunities, if she will roll-out this scheme nationwide; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30888/15]
View answerI should clarify at the outset that the WALK Peer initiative was not a “pilot programme”. It was one of 14 disability activation projects (DACT), in the Border, Midlands & West region, which were jointly funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Department. WALK Peer supported a total of 119 participants during the lifetime of the project, with 12 participants remaining in education or some form of employment after 12 months.
The objective of the DACT project was to explore a variety of routes towards ensuring that people with disabilities were enabled to avail of progression, education and development opportunities within the world of work. A key criterion applied when selecting projects was that any learning from the projects should be capable, where appropriate, of being mainstreamed in the future.
The Department commissioned Indecon International Economic Consultants to undertake an independent evaluation of the DACT project as a whole. This report is now being finalised and the Department will in the near future be convening a working group, comprising the relevant Departments with responsibilities under the upcoming Comprehensive Employment Strategy for people with disabilities, to consider the findings and next steps.
175. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will examine and expedite a domiciliary care allowance appeal by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30897/15]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on the 20th January 2015. This application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 29th April 2015 outlining the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance.
An appeal of this decision was registered on 3 June 2015 and additional information on this child’s condition/care needs has been supplied. The application together with the new information supplied was examined by another medical assessor who did not consider that the child met the medical criteria for the allowance. Having reviewed the application in its entirety, the deciding officer considered that a revision of the original decision was not warranted and confirmed this in writing on the 7 September 2015. The file has been forwarded to the Social Welfare Appeals Office for their consideration of the appeal.
176. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a back to work allowance application by a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30898/15]
View answerThe Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) scheme supports people receiving certain social welfare payments who wish to pursue self-employment, allowing them to retain 100% of their social welfare entitlement in year one and 75% in year two.
There is no record of the person concerned having any current social welfare claim or of having made an application for BTWEA.
177. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding allowances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30899/15]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence including that adduced at the oral hearing, had decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned on 5 August 2015. Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of the Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by the Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts, or where there has been a change of circumstances which has come to notice since the date of the Appeals Officer's original decision.
I am advised that the person concerned has submitted additional evidence and that the file has been recalled from the Invalidity Pension section. The file will be submitted to the Appeals Officer for further consideration. The person concerned will be contacted when the review of his appeal has been finalised.
If the person’s means are insufficient to meet his needs, he should contact his local Community Welfare Service regarding his possible entitlement to Supplementary Welfare Allowance.
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.
178. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) is only entitled to a reduced social welfare payment; and if there has been a change in policy regarding a person in this position. [30908/15]
View answerSince January 1993 in accordance with the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Social Insurance Provisions), (No. 2) Regulations 1992, (S.I. 448 of 1992) the rate of Illness Benefit payable is dependent on the claimant’s earnings in the governing contribution year. Where the average weekly earnings are €300.00 or more the full rate is payable. Where the earnings are less than this amount a graduated rate is payable.
The person concerned claimed Illness Benefit from 5 June 2015 and, as his average weekly earnings in the 2013 governing contribution year were €208.00 weekly, he was paid Illness Benefit at the graduated rate of €121.40 weekly. He has since opted to become a dependant on his spouse’s Invalidity Pension, the dependent rate increase being €138.10 weekly.
179. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the additional safeguards she has in place in her Department to safeguard against the illegal elicitation of personal data, in the wake of the recent revelations that a rogue private investigator is suspected of using illegal tactics to obtain data belonging to hundreds of credit union customers from officials in her Department. [30909/15]
View answerThe Department takes its responsibilities in relation to data protection very seriously. Every effort is made to ensure that personal customer data is used solely for business purposes and that it is not compromised in any way. The Department has data protection and information security policies, standards, procedures and guidelines in place governing the use of its computer systems and customer data.
The Department is very aware of the threat posed by all forms of bogus callers, including those that could be described as rogue Private Investigators and others who utilise social engineering to attempt to illegally elicit personal data. A range of specific measures are in place to strengthen data protection governance and compliance within the Department.
All members of staff of the Department are regularly reminded of their data protection obligations and the consequences of not adhering to policies such as loss of increment, loss of entitlement to enter promotional competitions and dismissal. Staff members are required to sign annual undertakings that they have read, and will act in accordance with, data protection policies and guidelines.
A number of alerts have issued to all staff notifying them of bogus calls to the Department and giving information on modus operandi and persona adopted by the bogus callers.
A high-level working group is in place to examine, and progress, all aspects of data protection compliance in the Department.
In June the Department ran its annual Data Protection Awareness Week for staff. Activities this year included a very effective short video on social engineering which was developed in-house and made available to all staff; a data protection newsletter issued to all staff; presentations were made to hundreds of staff nationwide which included a section on ‘blagging’ and posters were exhibited in headquarter and local offices drawing attention to the importance of securing customers’ personal data.
Oversight is maintained by logging data accesses which are subject to audit. All allegations of data breaches are fully investigated and the Department cooperates fully with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner in all its investigations.
