Written Answers Nos. 171-192
171. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will examine an appeal under the carer's allowance scheme from a person (details supplied), given that all medical evidence has been submitted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42777/15]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 6 November 2015. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral appeal 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.
172. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of a disability allowance for a person (details supplied) in County Mayo. [42806/15]
View answerThe application for disability allowance (DA) from the person in question was disallowed by a deciding officer (DO) who decided that she did not satisfy the medical conditions for the scheme. Notification of this decision issued on 3 June 2015. Following a request for a review of this decision and following a review of all the available evidence, a DO upheld the original decision to disallow on medical grounds. The outcome of this review was notified to the person concerned on 5 August 2015.
The person in question has lodged an appeal with the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO). All the relevant papers requested by that Office recently were submitted by the Department and the SWAO will be in touch with the person in due course in relation to the progress of the appeal.
173. Deputy Emmet Stagg asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason for the delay in re-awarding a fuel allowance to a person (details supplied) in County Kildare. [42817/15]
View answerIn order to qualify for a Fuel Allowance, a person on Jobseeker’s Allowance must satisfy certain qualifying conditions including that the person must live alone or with a specified other, e.g. a qualified dependent and/or child. As the person concerned lives with another person, who is not a qualified dependent, and who does not have an entitlement in his own right, there is no entitlement to a Fuel Allowance.
176. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 231 of 6 October 2015, the status of her negotiations with the Social Welfare Branch Managers Association; the response issued to the association relative to its claims, in a comprehensive way; if there is a timeframe to resolve the issues; if further meetings are planned; if there is a need for a third party to assist or accommodate a resolution to the issues raised; the response from the Revenue Commissioners relative to the issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42863/15]
View answerThe PRSI issue in relation to payments by the Department to members of the Social Protection Branch Managers’ Association is, following consultations with the Revenue Commissioners, now being settled. The Department’s decision in this regard has been communicated to the individual Branch Managers and the Department is currently processing refunds of PRSI to Branch Managers for the period 2011 to 2014 inclusive. A refund will also be due in respect of 2015.
Since the 4th of September 2015, the Department has been engaged in separate discussions with Branch Managers in relation to operational matters under the auspices of the Scheme of Conciliation and Arbitration for Branch Managers of Employment Offices and these discussions remain ongoing. The next meeting with the Branch Managers is due to be held shortly. These discussions do not relate to the PRSI issue referred to above.
178. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when a decision on a review of a domiciliary allowance will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42888/15]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on 28 July 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 27th October 2015 outlining the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance.
A review of this decision was requested on 12th November 2015 and an appeal was registered on the 16th November 2015. The application together with the new information supplied with the appeal has been forwarded to a medical assessor for their professional opinion. Upon receipt of the Medical Assessor’s opinion, the case will be further examined by a deciding officer, who will revise the original decision if warranted, or alternatively, forward the case for consideration by the Appeals Office. Such reviews can take up to 12 weeks to complete at present.
180. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the options available to a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny regarding that person's special circumstances. [42923/15]
View answerThe person concerned made a claim to illness benefit from 8 Apr 2015.
Illness benefit is a payment for people who cannot work due to illness and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. One of the PRSI conditions is that a person must have a minimum of 39 reckonable contributions paid or credited in the governing contribution year. Claims made in 2015 are governed by the 2013 tax year, and only PRSI classes A, E, H, and P are reckonable for illness benefit purposes.
According to my Department’s records the person concerned has no paid or credited contributions recorded in 2013 and therefore does not qualify for payment of illness benefit at this time. The person concerned continues to submit medical certs for credit purposes.
Back to education allowance scheme (BTEA) is an educational opportunities scheme for persons in receipt of certain social welfare payments wishing to pursue second or third level courses of education subject to meeting the qualifying conditions. Illness benefit (IB) customers wishing to avail of BTEA must be in receipt of IB for a minimum period of two years. The person concerned does not meet the qualifying criteria for this scheme.
However, the person concerned has been granted permission to pursue a training or educational course without the assistance of BTEA. In considering this permission the person concerned may wish to check with the course provider regarding any funding available to them as they are not in receipt of payment from illness benefit.
Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) provides a basic weekly allowance to eligible people who have little or no income, or where a claim for a social welfare benefit or pension has been made but has not yet been paid. Under the qualifying conditions of the scheme a person will not qualify for basic SWA if they are in full-time education. The person concerned made an application for SWA and was refused as they are in full-time education.
181. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the steps she takes when evidence is brought to her Department that a tenant collects rent supplement fraudulently and fails to pass it on to the landlord, in order to ensure that the payment is made to the person to whom the money is owed. [42925/15]
View answerRent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 63,000 people at a cost of €298 million in 2015.
Under the legislative provisions governing rent supplement, the Department’s relationship is with the tenant; the tenant makes the application for rent supplement and payment is made to the tenant to assist them with their accommodation needs. There is no direct relationship between the landlord and the Department in the administration of the scheme. However, social welfare legislation provides for the payment of a rent supplement payment to a nominated payee such as a landlord on behalf of the tenant. This arrangement is entered at the tenant’s request and subject to the consent of the Department.
It is open to the landlord to bring to the attention of the Department any instance where they suspect that a tenant is receiving rent supplement and is not paying their rent. Where the Department becomes aware that a person is not using rent supplement to meet the accommodation costs, payment of the supplement is generally suspended and the matter investigated. Where a landlord has a grievance in relation to the non-payment of rent by a tenant, s/he may apply to the Private Residential Tenancies Board to have the dispute resolved through the Board’s dispute resolution process.
If the Deputy is referring to a particular case she should provide the details to the Department so that the matter may be investigated.
182. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the legislation that was enacted to introduce the public services card; if a radio frequency identification microchip is embedded within the card and, if so, the legislation that was enacted to allow this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42940/15]
View answerSection 263 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended), provides the legal basis for the issuance and use of the Public Services Card (PSC).
Depending on the variant, a PSC contains one or two secure chips.
All PSCs contain a contact chip, which can exchange information securely with a terminal (and, if the terminal is online, with remote servers), via a reader in which the PSC is inserted. This chip uses cryptographic protocols (using cryptographic keys protected within the secure hardware and by a secure operating system) to allow authentication of the card. It contains a limited amount of data relating to the card and the cardholder. Some of this data are publically available to any terminal capable of reading contact smart cards - broadly, the data that are visible on the face of the card, for example name, PPSN, facial image, card expiration date. Other data are private, for example, nationality and mother’s birth surname. These data are only available to terminals or servers that have been provisioned with secret cryptographic keys in secure hardware by the Department. For security reasons, it is intended to only provide such keys in strictly limited and controlled circumstances associated with the statutory uses of the PSC.
The Free Travel Variant of the PSC also contains a contactless chip, containing high security features, that facilitates free travel for cardholders, using the infrastructure developed by the National Transport Authority (NTA) to support the Leap card. Each of these chips contains a unique identifier, which can only be obtained by a valid Leap reader, primed with a secret key that is stored in a secure chip within the reader. The transmission of the unique identifier between this chip and the Leap reader is encrypted.
183. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection to examine the need for the provision of a comprehensive programme for jobseekers who require upskilling in numeracy and literacy following a PEX analysis at local Intreo centres; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42960/15]
View answerAn assessment of a jobseeker’s literacy or numeracy does not form part of the INTREO Case Management process. Where jobseekers declare a numeracy or literacy difficulty, INTREO Case Officers will guide them towards local Adult Literacy provision. Policy in relation to provision of Adult Literacy services comes under the remit of the Department of Education and Skills.
184. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of participants in activation programmes who, because of their participation, are not included on the live register, by county, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42961/15]
View answerThe table shows the most recent end of month statistics on the number of people availing of a range of programmes targeted primarily at the long-term unemployed (over 12 months on a jobseeker payment) and recipients of other welfare payments, including One Parent Family Payment and Disability Allowance. These data are published by the CSO as part of its monthly Live Register release.
Figures relating exclusively to jobseekers and by county are not readily available.
|
Activation Programmes |
September 2015 |
|
Back to Work allowance scheme – Employee strand (closed to new applications from 1st May 2009) |
0 |
|
Back to Work Enterprise allowance scheme – self-employed strand. |
11,825 |
|
Short-term Enterprise Allowance (Introduced from 1st May 2009) |
469 |
|
Total - Back to Work schemes |
12,294 |
|
Part-time Job Incentive |
411 |
|
TÚS - Community Work Placement Initiative |
7,827 |
|
JobBridge -National Internship Scheme |
4,693 |
|
Gateway (2013) |
2,342 |
|
Other Activation Programmes |
15,273 |
|
Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) |
5,000 |
|
Back to Education Allowance (figures include all schemes but participants from JA & JB are not entitled to BTEA during the summer holidays. Includes MOMENTUM participants from February 2013) |
12,537 |
|
Total - Back to Education Courses: |
17,537 |
|
Community Employment Schemes (excluding Supervisors) |
22,692 |
|
ETB full-time training for the unemployed |
6,478 |
|
TOTAL |
74,274 |
185. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal under the disability allowance scheme by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42962/15]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to hold an oral hearing in this case on 9 December 2015. The person concerned has been notified of the arrangements for the 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.
186. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when a decision on a review of a carer's allowance will issue to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42967/15]
View answerThe person concerned is in receipt of CA at a reduced rate of payment and a review of their entitlement by the Department is currently underway to ensure that the correct payment is being made.
The person concerned has a UK social security pension. When a carer is getting a social security payment from another State, an amount up to the maximum rate of the Irish State contributory pension is exempt from the means test. Any income in excess of that is treated as income. For a single person, a disregard of €332.50 per week is then applied while a disregard of €665 per week applies to a couple.
In order to carry out this review, information was requested from the person in question on 5 October 2015 and some additional information was also requested on 11 November 2015. Once the review is complete, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
188. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made on an application for a disability allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Carlow. [43016/15]
View answerI confirm the department received an application for disability allowance (DA) on 12 October 2015. In order to determine the circumstances of the person concerned, his file was forwarded to his local Social Welfare Inspector (SWI). The SWI will arrange to meet with the person in question as soon as possible.
A decision on his entitlement to DA will be made on receipt of the SWI’s report. The person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
189. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for a carer's allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43017/15]
View answerThe person concerned is currently in receipt of carer’s allowance (CA) in respect of one care recipient. The department received an application for CA from the person concerned on 19 October 2015 in respect of a second care recipient. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
190. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of legal cases currently ongoing against her Department, including State agencies under her aegis; the number of cases that took place during the years 2011 to 2014, inclusive; the cost of those that were contested and what damages were involved; the costs and damages of those that were settled; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43270/15]
View answerThe information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.
191. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the number of employees under her remit who are classified under a contract of indefinite duration; the number of these who are receiving incremental salary payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43286/15]
View answerI am aware of two staff members employed in my Department on the basis of Contracts of Indefinite Duration awarded by the Department.
The Deputy will be aware that since 2011 more than 1,700 posts from the Community Welfare Services and FAS have been transferred to my Department, along with a significant number of staff who joined the Department using the redeployment arrangements agreed under the Public Service Agreements. Some of these staff may have been employed under a Contract of Indefinite Duration awarded by a previous employer, but this information is not currently stored in the central civil service HR management system.
Civil servants on a Contract of Indefinite Duration are treated as unestablished permanent staff, and are therefore paid on the relevant pay-scale and are entitled to receive increments on the same basis as all other staff.
192. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Finance why the Revenue Commissioners do not consider the seaweed bath business to be entitled to the 9% value added tax rate, which was introduced specifically for the tourism business; if the list of businesses which the Revenue Commissioners oversee will be updated in order to allow tourism-focused businesses to obtain the reduced rate of value added tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42344/15]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that the goods and services to which the 9% rate applies are those, and only those, listed in paragraphs 3(1) to (3), 7, 8, 11, 12, and 13(3) of Schedule 3 of the VAT Consolidation Act 2010. Examples of such goods and services include the supply of food and drink (excluding alcohol, soft drinks and bottled water) in the course of catering, hotel lettings, admissions to cinemas and theatres, printed matter, such as newspapers and magazines and hairdressing services. The goods and services to which the 13.5% rate applies are listed in the other paragraphs of Schedule 3 of the VAT Consolidation Act 2010 and include the supply of gas, electricity, solid fuel and home heating oil, photographic services, and beauty services such as seaweed baths, facials and nail treatments which are described in paragraph 21(1) of Schedule 3 as services consisting of the care of the human body.
EU VAT law permitted the application of the 9% rate to goods and services listed in Annex III of the VAT Directive; the treatments in question are not listed in this Annex and could not be included in the 9% category.
