Written Answers Nos. 503-523
503. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age in receipt of disability allowance who have been supported to take an education, training and-or work experience place under the Youth Guarantee programme in both 2014 and 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13412/16]
View answerInformation on the numbers of young people under 25 years of age in receipt of Disability Allowance who have been supported to take an education, training and or work experience place under the Youth Guarantee programme is not available in a readily accessible format and cannot be disaggregated at this point in time.
Under the Youth Guarantee the main innovation in dealing with young people on jobseekers’ payments relates to earlier engagement with this group than is normal under the general activation arrangements for unemployed people through INTREO. This means that young people on jobseekers’ payments are referred to a caseworker, and are engaged with more systematically in terms of their rights and responsibilities, at an earlier date than older unemployed people. For such young jobseekers, engagement with activation measures through the Intreo service is a mandatory condition for continued receipt of welfare payments.
Any young person with a disability is at all times free to avail of the INTREO service on a voluntary basis and a complete range of activation supports for people with disabilities is available at Intreo Centres. Young people with a disability, requiring activation/intervention supports, are referred immediately to a caseworker within Intreo or at the Local Employment Service (LES). There was thus no need to apply the new engagement arrangements to young people with disabilities.
A caseworker working with a young person with a disability can arrange access for that young client to the full range of services and programmes that are available to young people on jobseekers’ payments. This includes access to programmes such as JobBridge, the Back to Education Allowance, and SOLAS training for unemployed people. The Department is also currently considering how people with disabilities might best be included in any future iteration of the Momentum programme.
Over and above these general programmes, a caseworker dealing with a young person with a disability can arrange access to a range of additional services and supports that are specific to people with disabilities and are not available to other young jobseekers. These supports include EmployAbility, the Wage Subsidy Scheme, Community Employment, and Employment Supports including the following; Workplace Equipment Adaptation Grant; Job Interview\Personal Reader Grant; Employee Retention Grant Scheme; Disability Awareness Support Scheme.
Young people with disabilities also have access to the full range of SOLAS training courses for unemployed people and to Specialist Training Programme provision specific to their needs.
I hope this answers the Deputy's question.
504. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware of the dispute between the Citizens Information Board and Limerick Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, resulting in the withdrawal of funding and threatening the service delivery to MABS (details supplied); if he will intervene to resolve this dispute as soon as possible and fully restore the funding to Limerick MABS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13431/16]
View answerThe Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), which operates under the aegis of the Citizens Information Board (CIB), provides assistance to people who are over indebted and need help and advice in coping with their debt problems. CIB has been allocated state funding of €50 million for 2016, of which €20.6 million is allocated to the network of MABS companies.
The Chief Executive Officer of CIB is the Accounting Officer for budgets distributed to each individual MABS company. As such, the CEO is required to comply with strictures that are imposed in the provision of that funding and to satisfy themselves of the propriety of the actual expenditure by each MABS company, in keeping with requirements of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. These requirements are set out in service agreements with each individual MABS company and cover standard items including service delivery, governance, financial controls, Human Resource practices, reporting, evaluation and monitoring.
The funding allocation for Limerick MABS for 2016 amounts to €376,545. So far this year, Limerick MABS has received €94,136. Unfortunately, Limerick MABS is not in compliance with its service agreement. For this reason, CIB has suspended further funding and has sought a plan from Limerick MABS setting out how it intends to comply with the terms of its agreement.
Engagement is currently ongoing between CIB and Limerick MABS to resolve the matter so that funding can be restored to Limerick MABS as soon as possible.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
505. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware that under the partial capacity benefit scheme persons are automatically discontinued for a period of 13 weeks; his proposals to change this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13443/16]
View answerThe Partial Capacity Benefit scheme was introduced by my department in 2012. Its aim is to address a previous limitation of the welfare system by explicitly recognising and responding to the reality that some people with disabilities do have a capacity to engage in open market employment while continuing to need some income support. The scheme is open to people who are in receipt of Illness Benefit (IB) for a minimum of six months, or are in receipt of Invalidity Pension (IP).
The scheme is designed to incentivise such people to return to the workplace. PCB allows a person to return to work (if they have reduced capacity to work) and continue to receive a payment from the Department. There is no restriction on earnings or number of hours they can work and participation in the scheme is voluntary. A recipient of PCB can opt to revert to IB or IP if, for example, their employment ceases or they find they cannot continue to work.
Subject to the normal reviews, payment of PCB will continue as long as the person has an underlying entitlement to payment of IB or IP. Therefore, when a person in receipt of IB exhausts their entitlement the payment of PCB ceases, they may (in line with IB requalification conditions) requalify for PCB having accrued 13 additional relevant PRSI contributions.
There are no current plans to change the qualification conditions for PCB or the duration of payment.
506. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to provide mandatory and comprehensive anti-racism training to all of his Department's front-line staff. [13453/16]
View answerAll forms of discrimination, covered by equal status and employment equality legislation (including racism), are addressed in the current induction programme which is delivered to all new entrants to the Department by Staff Development Unit (SDU).
Equality and diversity are further dealt with in the Department’s Customer Service training course with a focus on unconscious bias and the promotion of the Department’s culture and core values of public service, customer focus and total professionalism. In addition, the principles of natural justice underpin all decision-making and services provided by the Department. These principles are reflected throughout the ‘One DSP’ training curriculum being delivered to all front-line staff.
SDU also promotes the e-learning course “Delivering Equality in Public Services: An Introduction for Frontline Staff”, available on the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission website. A link to this course is provided for staff via the SDU website.
In addition, all regions within the Department have the option to procure external providers to supply training where a need is identified locally.
SDU is also represented on the Migrant Consultative Forum and is engaging with relevant stakeholder groups on enhancing anti-racism and diversity awareness elements of customer service training in the Department.
507. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Social Protection if payments associated with the humanitarian assistance scheme for victims of flooding can be paid directly to the flood victim or if they must be paid directly to a builder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13467/16]
View answerIn early December 2015, the Department of Social Protection activated its humanitarian assistance scheme, administered by the local Community Welfare Service (CWS), to assist householders affected by flooding following the severe weather conditions. Since December 2015, support has been provided under the scheme to 544 households with expenditure of over €1.27 million.
The records available show that 90% of payments under the humanitarian assistance scheme since December 2015 have been made to the applicant with 10% paid to a nominated payee. Social welfare regulations provide for the payment to be made to a nominated payee on behalf of the customer. This arrangement is entered at the customer’s request and subject to the consent of the Department.
If the Deputy has a query regarding a specific case, he should provide the details for review by the Department.
509. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection when an application for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) will be processed; when a decision will be issued; the reason for delay in processing the application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13476/16]
View answerI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 3 March 2016. Unfortunately, there are currently delays in the processing of new applications. Additional resources have been provided to the CA section in order to improve the waiting times for new applications and they are working hard to make this happen.
Frequently, delays are outside the control of the Department and are caused by the customer failing to fully complete the claim form or failing to attach the supporting documentation that is requested on the application form.
This application will be processed as quickly as possible and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. In the meantime, both the person concerned and her spouse are in receipt of a weekly social welfare support.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
510. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Social Protection the waiting times for the processing of individual applications for social protection payments; the way he will reduce these waiting times; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13499/16]
View answerMy Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing qualification criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of illness, disability and caring schemes, can take longer to process. Similarly, means-tested payments can also require more detailed investigation and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision making process.
Delays can also arise when the application form is not competed fully or supporting documentation is not provided at claim stage; if information is required from social security organisations in other jurisdictions and where additional information has been requested from the applicant but remains outstanding. For example, pension claims on hand for more than three months typically occur in the case of EU/bilateral pensions where information from other jurisdictions is awaited or, in the case of self-employed, there may be outstanding PRSI liabilities. These delays impact on the award of household benefits in many cases as these secondary payments are linked to the award of the primary benefit.
My Department’s Intreo service integrates employment and income supports and provides for a streamlined and personalised service to clients in accessing job opportunities and availing of supports to enable them to get back to work at the earliest possible opportunity. The Intreo centres also include a single integrated decision-making team that integrate and streamline the processes formerly undertaken by the different agencies now amalgamated into my Department. Already clients are seeing the benefits of the integrated decisions process in the form of shorter decision times and in the reduced recourse to supplementary welfare payments.
There is no backlog in family income supplement (FIS), new claims are processed promptly within 2/3 weeks and renewals are processed in advance of the previous claim period ending.
Treatment benefit is also processed without delay, usually within 1 to 1.5 weeks of receipt.
90% of Illness Benefit claims are processed within 7 days.
Both carer’s allowance and disability allowance, which are means-tested schemes, are experiencing some delays presently. Delays are also occurring in domiciliary care allowance. This primarily is due to an ongoing increase in new claim intake over the past few years to all three of these schemes and the complexity attached to processing of these applications. In addition, there is reluctance, sometimes, on the part of applicants to give full information at application stage thereby slowing down the processing of their application and in some cases necessitating a visit by a Departmental investigative officer.
Reducing these waiting times is a priority for my Department. As part of its programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology, have been implemented in recent years. Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised. The move towards on-line services has begun and a considerable expansion of these facilities will occur in the next year or so.
In addition, staffing needs are regularly reviewed, having regard to workloads and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
512. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if the correct level of one-parent family payment will be recalculated in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13516/16]
View answerFollowing a recent request for a review and on receipt of relevant documentation, a review of entitlement in the case of the person concerned was carried out. Means have been revised with effect from 24 March 2016 and arrears outstanding will be processed and included in the next payment.
513. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if a position regarding overpayment can be reviewed in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13518/16]
View answerAll customers of the Department are made aware at point of application of their obligation to inform the Department of any change of circumstances. In 2014 during a routine review it transpired that the circumstances of the person concerned had changed which resulted in an overpayment. The person concerned was advised at the time that she could appeal the decision to the social welfare appeals office. No appeal was submitted. The overpayment has now been fully recouped.
514. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Social Protection how many adults and children are referred and funded by the new communities unit; how many of these had a housing needs assessment; and if they are on the social housing waiting list. [13529/16]
View answerThe New Communities Unit (NCU) in my Department offers assistance to families who are primarily non-Irish, homeless and generally without recourse to any weekly income. The main focus of this unit is to ensure that families receive an income maintenance payment, under the terms of the relevant legislation, from my Department. In addition non-Irish homeless families have been referred to this unit directly by the Central Placement Service, operated on behalf of the four local authorities by Dublin City Council, and the staff in the NCU have facilitated booking these people into emergency accommodation. This accommodation is sourced and funded by Dublin City Council under Section 10 of the Housing Act (1988). The practice, whereby staff in the NCU act as booking agents in such circumstances, is a residual one from when the NCU was based in the HSE. Officials from my Department are considering the appropriateness and nature of the NCU’s involvement in the delivery of this service at present.
Information in relation to the number of individuals presenting to the NCU seeking emergency accommodation is not retained. Similarly, information concerning the number of persons that have had housing needs assessment completed or have been placed on a housing list, both matters for the relevant local authorities in the Dublin area, is neither collated nor retained by the NCU.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
518. Deputy Frank O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection if data are available on the number of students aged 18 to 20 in full-time second level education who are not eligible for child benefit; the cost of extending child benefit to students aged 18 to 20 in full-time second level education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13567/16]
View answerThe Department does not hold data on children over the age of 18, as this is not required for the administration of the child benefit scheme. Accordingly, the Department does not have details on the number of children aged 18-20 who are in full-time second level education and is not in a position to put a figure on the number of children in this age group who are not eligible for child benefit.
In the absence of detail on the number involved it is not possible to estimate the cost of extending child benefit to this age group.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
519. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Social Protection the number in receipt of family income supplement for each year since 2008; and the projected number this year. [13643/16]
View answerAs requested, the following table outlines the number in receipt of Family Income Supplement from 2008.
|
Table 1 --- FIS Numbers |
Recipients - Families |
|
Year |
Amount |
|
2008 |
27,798 |
|
2009 |
25,963 |
|
2010 |
28,223 |
|
2011 |
28,876 |
|
2012 |
32,307 |
|
2013 |
44,159 |
|
2014 |
50,306 |
|
2015 |
55,913 |
|
2016 |
56,078* |
*As of the 20 May 2016
521. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the grants available to support arts and disability projects that are associated and assisting with mental health recovery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13666/16]
View answerWhile my Department does not operate any scheme that provides direct funding to support arts and disability projects that are associated and assisting with mental health recovery, the Department is currently supporting a pilot project in 4 locations (West Cork, Mayo, Cavan/Monaghan and Galway) that aims to demonstrate how existing mental health teams and the supported employment service (EmployAbility) can collaborate more closely together and thereby achieve improved health, wellbeing and economic outcomes for its participants.
522. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year savings for 2017 by reducing spending on professional fees by 10% in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14115/16]
View answerThe Estimate of Expenditure for the Department of Social Protection for 2017 will not be finalised until the Revised Estimates Volume is published later this year. Based on estimated expenditure for 2016, a saving in the region of €2.45 million would accrue to the Exchequer, if expenditure on professional fees was reduced by 10%. Please note that this includes legal, ICT external service delivery and other advisory and consultancy related expenditure. It does not include medical certification and vision testing fees carried out by health professionals for various social welfare schemes.
523. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year saving for 2017 by reducing spending on travel by 10% in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14131/16]
View answerThe Estimate of Expenditure for the Department of Social Protection for 2017 will not be finalised until the Revised Estimates Volume is published later this year. Based on estimated expenditure for 2016, a saving in the region of €495,000 would accrue to the Exchequer, if expenditure on travel and subsistence was reduced by 10% next year.
