Written Answers Nos. 56-62
56. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to set out the position on an application for disability allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; if this can be expedited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33506/15]
View answerThe application for disability allowance, based upon the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds and the person in question was notified in writing of this decision on 7 July 2015.
The person in question requested a review of the decision by a deciding officer (DO) and submitted additional evidence for consideration. The review has now been concluded by a DO but the outcome is that the decision to refuse on medical grounds has been confirmed. The person in question is being notified directly of the outcome of this review. They will also be advised of their right to appeal this decision to the independent social welfare appeals office.
In the meantime, if the person’s means are insufficient to meet their needs they should apply for means-tested supplementary welfare allowance from their local community welfare service.
57. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to explain the reason a person (details supplied) in County Galway was refused a disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33515/15]
View answerFollowing submission of further medical evidence and a review of his medical eligibility by a deciding officer, the person concerned has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 1 April 2015. The first payment will be made by his selected payment method on 7 October 2015.
Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments or in respect of outstanding overpayments (if applicable).
58. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to set out the number of persons who have applied for the back-to-work enterprise allowance; the number who were successful; the number who have launched their own business; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33519/15]
View answerThere are two schemes to assist people on certain social protection payments who wish to become self-employed; namely the Short Term Enterprise Allowance and the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance.
The Short Term Enterprise Allowance provides immediate access to those who qualify for jobseekers benefit wishing to set up a business. Payment under the scheme is at the same rate and for the same duration as their entitlement to jobseekers benefit.
The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance is designed to provide a monetary incentive for people who are on social welfare payments to develop a business while allowing them to retain a reducing proportion of their qualifying social welfare payment over two years; 100% in year 1 and 75% in year 2.
Under both schemes, those taking up self-employment must first have their self-employment project approved as viable and sustainable by local development companies. At the end of August, 2015 there were 472 people availing of the Short Term Enterprise Allowance and 11,738 people availing of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance. The Department does not collect information on the number of applications received or rejected.
59. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if a meeting will be arranged with senior officials in her Department to discuss the future of an organisation (details supplied) in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33522/15]
View answerThe Walk Peer project was one of 14 disability activation projects (DACT), in the Border, Midlands & West region, which were jointly funded (€7m) by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Department of Social Protection (DSP), from the end of 2012 to April 2015.
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.
In relation to WALK Peer, the project 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.
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.
To this end, DSP commissioned Indecon International Economic Consultants to undertake an independent evaluation of the DACT project. The evaluation report will be examined by an inter-Departmental group, comprising the National Disability Authority and representatives of Departments who have commitments under the upcoming Comprehensive Employment Strategy for people with disabilities.
As this group will be considering the evaluation report findings and next steps, rather than meeting DSP officials, representatives from some of the DACT projects, including the WALK Peer project, will be afforded an opportunity to engage with the interdepartmental working group.
60. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection in view of the increase in youth unemployment from 19.9% to 20.2% to set out the impact of the new measures introduced by her Department to address the urgent need to accommodate the young people of Ireland in the workforce; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33524/15]
View answer74. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to set out the extent to which youth unemployment is being specifically targeted and alleviated, unilaterally and with the help of the European Union institutions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33636/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 60 and 74 together.
Notwithstanding some variation in unemployment from month to month, over the past three years youth unemployment has been significantly reduced. From a peak of 31.2% in June 2012, the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate has fallen to 20.7% as of August, reflecting the impact of government policy and the overall improvement in the labour market.
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 in particular. This is the rationale behind the Government’s Pathways to Work strategy and the Youth Guarantee implementation plan.
As Ireland already had many of the recommended component parts of a Youth Guarantee under services such as Intreo, Youthreach, VTOS, PLC programmes and JobBridge 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. In addition as part of our commitment to engage with 100,000 long-term unemployed people through the Intreo/JobPath process during 2015 we are prioritising engagement with the c 25,000 young people who are already long term unemployed. In implementing these processes DSP making extensive use of the services of Local Employment Services and Job Clubs.
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.
In addition we have recently introduced new programmes specifically for young people including JobsPlus youth – an employment subsidy for unemployed people under 25 years of age which is payable after four months of unemployment, and First Steps – a work experience programme for very disadvantaged young people. It should be noted that some of the initiatives planned under the Guarantee required primary legislation to allow positive discrimination on age grounds in the provision of employment services and supports.
Given the recent introduction of changes systemised data is not readily available on employment outcomes on all programmes specifically for those jobseekers under 25. However, some indicative figures are available. For example,
- a follow-up survey, published by SOLAS in 2013 of FÁS Trainees who exited training in May/June 2012, found that 36% of full-time trainees under 25 had gained employment.
- An Indecon report surveyed JobBridge interns who had finished their internships by end August 2012. The survey indicated that 39% of young participants progressed into employment immediately on completion of the internship and that the proportion in employment rose to about 60% five months after completion. Analysis of administrative data on those under 25 who have completed a JobBridge internship more recently shows a similar progression rate to employment immediately on completion of the internship, at 37%.
- JobsPlus provides subsidies to employers for the full-time employment of those formerly long-term unemployed on the Live Register. Currently there are 4,901 participants benefitting from JobsPlus, 664 (13.5%) of whom are under 25. It is too early to know what might be the employment outcomes once the JobsPlus subsidy expires.
The Department of Social Protection has initiated an extensive impact evaluation programme which will assess, using counterfactual econometric methods, the impacts of programmes and processes on employment outcomes. This will include the longer-term employment outcomes for young jobseekers under 25.
61. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when an application for disability allowance will be finalised for a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33591/15]
View answerI confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for disability allowance from the above named person on 10 September 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.
Any person who is awaiting a decision on their disability allowance application may apply for means-tested supplementary welfare allowance from their local community welfare officer.
62. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when an application for a carer's allowance will be finalised for a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33592/15]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 10 September 2015. The application will be processed as soon as possible and, once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
