Written Answers Nos. 327 - 348
327. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection when he will issue a decision on an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer's allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15970/16]
View answerI confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 6 November 2015.
The application was referred to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. Once the SWI has reported, a deciding officer will make a decision as quickly as possible. The person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
328. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will restore the supplementary State transition pension payment scheme; and if he has established an interdepartmental group to examine this and other matters. [15978/16]
View answerThe Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2011 provided for a gradual increase in the State pension age. This process began in January 2014 with the abolition of the State pension (transition) previously available at 65, thereby standardising State pension age for all at 66 years. There are no plans to introduce changes to this legislation which was introduced on foot of a Government commitment included in the National Recovery Plan published in 2010 and in the subsequent Memorandum of Understanding with the EU/ECB/IMF.
Each year more people are living to pension age and living longer in retirement. As a result of this demographic change, the number of State pension recipients is increasing by approximately 17,000 annually. This has significant implications for the future costs of State pension provision which are currently increasing by close to €1 billion every 5 years. The purpose of changes to the State pension age is to make the pension system more sustainable in the context of increasing life expectancy.
In January 2016, and with reference to a number of factors including the increasing age at which a State pension can be drawn, the previous Government established an Interdepartmental Working Group, chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, to consider policy that will support fuller working lives. This Group, on which my Department is represented, is examining the implications arising from prevailing retirement ages for workers in both the private and public sectors. I understand the Group is due to report to Government in the near future.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
329. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason he continues to issue letters to recipients of social protection payments requesting that they change their chosen payment method to a financial institution rather than the local post office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15986/16]
View answer330. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason he continues to issue correspondence to recipients of social protection payments indicating a preference for financial institutions over the post office network, given that the Government is engaged in a well publicised process to secure and develop this network; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15987/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 329 and 330 together.
My Department provides two main options for payment methods for its customers: payments direct to customer accounts in financial institutions or payments in cash at post offices.
Specifically in respect of cash payments at Post Offices, in 2015 my department made over 38 million such payments in cash at a cost of €54 million. These welfare payments through post offices are across all of the department’s major schemes: state pension, jobseekers, one parent family payments, widow/ers or survivors pensions, carers payments, disability payments and child benefit.
I can assure the Deputy that my department is not undertaking any measures which seek to actively influence customer choice in the manner of payment away from cash payments at the Post Office.
I want to emphasise that for the vast majority of my department’s schemes the department’s customers are given the choice of what payment method they wish to receive their social welfare payment. The vast majority of new customers choose to have payments made directly into their accounts in financial institutions which reflects a societal trend towards payment by electronic funds transfer. For example, 83% of new Child Benefit customers and 70% of new State Pension customers chose this option in 2015.
Many of my department’s customers are in employment. My department’s focus must be on our customers and to this end my department’s policy is to make payments to in-work customers directly to accounts rather than customers being inconvenienced by two separate payment methods.
My department has a cohort of jobseeker customers who are classified as casual jobseekers. These are in-work customers who can claim a jobseekers payment for 2 to 3 days per week or who work week on/week-off. These customers were paid by cheque each week. Those customers were paid by cheque due to the changing nature of their work/claiming patterns and the short turn-around time to issue payments. It is important to note that they were not paid via post offices under the department’s existing cash payments contract with An Post.
My department has developed its payment capacity in respect of changing work and claiming patterns and is offering payments direct to accounts in financial institutions for casual Jobseeker customers thereby increasing customer convenience. This is in line with wider departmental policy where the focus is on ensuring that in-work customers are paid by the most convenient method possible.
My department has written to all of these casual jobseekers offering the option of a payment to an account. The vast majority have responded and opted for payment to an account.
If customers wish to continue to be paid by cheque they can make their preference known to their local social welfare office which handles their claim.
The recent “Kerr Report” sets out the challenges that An Post and Postmasters face as they seek to ensure that the post office network remains relevant in the context of the inexorable shift towards electronic payments.
My Department will support the introduction by An Post of a standard bank account through the provision of seed funding to help start the initiative.
My department is engaging as appropriate with the Departments of Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources and Public, Expenditure and Reform in addressing the recommendations of the report.
333. Deputy Frank O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider extending the placement period on Tús – work placement initiative from 12 to 18 or 24 months for those who wish to continue beyond the set 12-month period; the cost of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16020/16]
View answerThe purpose of Tús is the provision of short-term quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than one year in order to break the cycle of unemployment and to improve a person’s opportunities in returning to the labour market. Currently, there are no circumstances under which a person’s term on Tús can be extended.
The Tús budget for 2016 is €121.08 million which allows for 8,000 participants. Extending the period of participation beyond one year would not impact on the cost of the programme but would instead reduce the number of placements available to those who are long term unemployed. Currently the existing 12-month placement period on Tús is adequate to meet the objectives of the initiative whilst also ensuring that as many unemployed people as possible are able to benefit from the initiative.
Tús was introduced as a direct response to the growth in the level of unemployment during the financial crisis. With the ongoing welcome reductions in the live register, a review of work schemes, including Tús, is necessary to ensure that the number and nature of schemes and the conditions governing participation on same continues to be appropriate. I will be considering all of these issues over the coming months.
334. Deputy Bobby Aylward asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will expedite an application by a person (details supplied) under the carer’s allowance scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16042/16]
View answerI confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 17 February 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, the person concerned is in receipt of a weekly social welfare support.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
335. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason the number of Irish overseas election observers has fallen in each of the years 2013 to 2016 to date. [15367/16]
View answer336. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the key criteria and skills necessary for service as an overseas election observer; the criteria used to select observers for specific assignments; if experience and qualifications for a particular mission is the most important factor or if he bases selection lists on the length of time since a person's last assignment. [15368/16]
View answer337. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason he did not send a long-term observer to monitor the June 2016 Mongolian elections despite asking for applications; the target number of long-term and short-term observers he will deploy for the remainder of 2016; his plans to replace observers who have resigned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15369/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 335 to 337, inclusive, together.
International election monitoring missions play an important role in the promotion of democracy and human rights. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade administers a roster of election observers so that Ireland can be represented at an appropriate level in international election observation missions organised, in the main, by the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The current roster was established in May 2013 for a period of five years following a review of the previous roster and a public call for applicants.
Two assessors external to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with a knowledge of election processes and experience of public service, separately undertook the independent appraisal and scoring of the 263 eligible applications for inclusion in the new roster against the four published criteria, which reflected the broad range of skills required for election observation. These were: experience of election observation; knowledge of human rights and/or governance issues; language skills; and experience of challenging environments.
Following the appraisal of all 263 eligible applications, the 200 individuals who achieved the highest scores were selected to serve on the new election observation roster. A reserve panel of the next ten highest scoring individuals was also established, from which replacements would be drawn should any members leave the roster. Taking account of members who have left the roster, and those who have been added from the reserve panel, the current roster complement stands at 199 and the reserve panel has been fully utilised.
For each election observation mission, the EU or OSCE set out their specific requirements and, on the basis of the expressions of interest submitted by roster members, the Department draws up a list of nominated observers. In selecting nominees to be put forward, the specific criteria set by the EU or OSCE, including relevant local and regional experience and language proficiency, form the principal basis for decision-making. Issues of gender balance and length of time since serving on a mission are also taken into account. The EU makes the final selection of observers for EU election observation missions.
Various factors influence the numbers of observers deployed each year. In 2013, 72 observers were deployed, 53 in 2014, and 46 in 2015. A total of 15 observers have been deployed to date in 2016 and a further 8 observers are expected to depart in the near future.
The principal reason for the variation in numbers on an annual basis is the number of elections taking place in any given year where the host authorities have extended an invitation to the OSCE or EU to deploy an observation mission. A further factor can be the postponement of planned elections. Most recently, for instance, the planned parliamentary elections in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia were postponed. Ireland had intended to deploy six short term observers to join a long term observer already deployed. In addition, it has happened that nominated observers, for compelling personal reasons, are unable to travel following nomination. It is therefore difficult to provide a specific target for the number of long term and short term observers to be deployed for the rest of 2016, but the intent would be to reach, and hopefully exceed, the 2015 final outturn.
For the parliamentary elections in Mongolia, we decided that the most effective contribution Ireland could make would be to send short term observers. Five Irish observers will travel to Mongolia this month to oversee the elections.
338. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware of the latest torture allegations that a person (details supplied) has made including details of gruesome treatment being meted out to prisoners; his views that the person's situation has clearly deteriorated; if he will respond to these reports as a matter of urgency; and immediately raise the person's treatment with their Egyptian counterpart. [15402/16]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that this case remains a top priority for the Government and for my Department. We are continuing to pursue every constructive avenue to secure the release of this citizen and we will continue to bring all of our influence to bear on his behalf through all appropriate channels.
I am aware of media references to a letter written by this citizen concerning allegations about the Egyptian prison system. Officials in my Department meet regularly with this citizen’s family and Irish-based lawyers and the fourth such meeting in the past eight weeks took place on 9 June. The media reports of these allegations was one of the matters discussed at that meeting.
As would be the case for any Irish citizen imprisoned abroad, any concern related to ill-treatment would be treated with the utmost seriousness and would be raised urgently with the Egyptian authorities. This point has been consistently reconfirmed to this citizen and his family.
Significant resources continue to be deployed by my Department, both in Cairo and in Dublin, in the provision of comprehensive consular assistance to the citizen at the heart of this case. The Department has arranged exceptionally regular and frequent consular visits to this individual in prison since his arrest, the most recent undertaken by Ambassador Damien Cole on Sunday 29 May. Consular visitation is an important practical tool in monitoring our citizen’s welfare and ensuring that the Embassy in Cairo is well placed to raise any concerns arising directly with the prison authorities.
The Egyptian Government is fully aware of the priority the Irish Government attaches to this case, and there continues to be sustained engagement at all levels with the Egyptian authorities. The key focus of our engagement is to achieve the release of this citizen by the Egyptian authorities at the earliest opportunity and to provide consular support for his welfare while he remains in detention.
The Taoiseach has twice met with President el-Sisi, making clear the Irish Government’s concerns and objectives in this case. Since my appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2014, I have remained in regular contact with my Egyptian counterpart, Minister Shoukry, on the case.
In addition to this dialogue with the Egyptian authorities, the Government has also been engaging on an ongoing basis with European and international partners, who have had citizens detained in similar circumstances, and with the European Union.
Irish Government representatives have worked with this citizen’s legal team in Egypt and supported petitions to the court when asked to do so, including providing formal Government support for an application under Decree 140 and an application for release on bail. Representatives of the Embassy have attended each of the court hearings to date and will be present at the next scheduled hearing on 29 June.
Given that the trial is ongoing, the Government must remain measured and responsible in its public comment. This is entirely consistent with our approach in other consular cases, with our clear objectives in this case and with what we firmly believe to offer the best prospect for a positive outcome for this young man.
339. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware of the planned signing of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the Southern African Development Community, SADC, and the European Union which is due to take place on 10 June 2016; that the agreement will be provisionally applied from 1 October 2016; his views that it will be provisionally applied by the SADC countries without waiting for their parliaments to vote on it; that the provisional application of international agreements is not foreseen in the constitutions or legal structures of most SADC countries; and if he will call for the signing to be suspended until the SADC countries are given appropriate time for the necessary parliamentary scrutiny and until voting on the agreement takes place. [15403/16]
View answerEconomic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and its Member States and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States combine both trade and development provisions. The mandate for their negotiation derives from the Cotonou Agreement of 2000, between the EU and the ACP states. Their central objective is the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty, consistent with the objectives of sustainable development, and the gradual integration of the ACP countries into the world economy.
I obtained Government approval last month for the signing, subject to ratification, of the EU - Southern African Development Community (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement. The Agreement was subsequently signed by Ireland, along with other EU Member States, in Brussels on 1 June, in advance of the formal signing ceremony in Botswana on 10 June.
This Agreement with Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland seeks to put trade at the service of development. It is an instrument for development, jobs and growth in the long-term. It seeks to support further trade diversification and regional integration in Southern Africa.
The EU has agreed with its SADC partners that the Agreement may be applied provisionally, given that the process of ratification by all EU Member States, is likely to be a lengthy one. The Council of the EU has duly authorised the EU to sign and provisionally apply the Agreement. Provisional application of the Agreement is, of course, linked to the legal requirements of relevant signatories and the need to maintain a trading regime between the EU and the SADC signatories which is compatible with the rules of the World Trade Organisation. Where a SADC state does not foresee the possibility of provisionally applying the Agreement before ratification, the Agreement will apply to that SADC state only after it has ratified it in accordance with its applicable constitutional or internal rules. Since the conclusion of the negotiations for the Agreement in July 2014, the EU has been working with the SADC signatories to achieve their ratification by 1 October 2016.
I look forward to active engagement with our SADC partners to ensure that this important trade and development Agreement can achieve its potential to support their development priorities and needs.
340. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount of money his Department spent on purchasing copies of the Public Sector Times magazine in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15417/16]
View answerMy Department did not spend any funds on purchasing copies of the Public Sector Times Magazine in 2015.
341. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount of money spent on daily newspapers in 2015; if this is an appropriate expenditure given the available and far cheaper online alternatives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15433/16]
View answerMy Department spent €22,450 on daily newspapers up to the end of September 2015. This is a reduction from €73,731 in 2011. This reduction was achieved by a move to a greater use of online newspapers and magazines for Headquarters and Missions abroad.
342. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of staff working in his human resources section. [15449/16]
View answerThe Human Resources Unit in my Department is split into two sections: HR1 deals with all matters relating to staff working in the Department’s offices in Ireland; HR2 deals with all matters relating to HQ staff posted to our Missions abroad and also locally-employed staff working in those Missions (80 overseas missions in total).
A small number of staff in the Department’s Development Cooperation Division (DCD) deal with HR matters for HQ staff posted to our Irish Aid key partner countries and also local staff working in those missions.
A total of 27 officers work on HR matters in my Department; 12 in HR1 of which half are availing of flexible working arrangements, 11 in HR2, and 4 in DCD-HR.
343. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the number of staff who work exclusively on constituency matters for him. [15465/16]
View answerOn the commencement of each Dáil, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) issues guidelines setting out the arrangements for the staffing of Ministerial Offices including the permitted staffing levels in the private and constituency offices of Ministers and Ministers of State. These guidelines are expected to be approved by Government shortly.
344. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the changes in the numbers employed in his human resources section following the introduction of PeoplePoint. [15481/16]
View answerMy Department transitioned to PeoplePoint in April 2016. Staff in the Human Resources Unit are continuing to assist officers in the Department based at home and abroad during the stabilisation period of the new arrangements. A review of the Human Resources Unit is also being carried out on how to redeploy our resources more efficiently once the transition to Peoplepoint is fully implemented and stabilised.
345. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 528 of 31 May 2016, if he has an obligation to carry out an audit of compliance with the conditions on which he grants permission through the conducting of unannounced inspections in the context of his statement that the United States of America is fully aware of the need to comply with these strict conditions. [15492/16]
View answerIn accordance with international practice, foreign military aircraft landing in Ireland with the permission of the Government are not subject to searches or inspections. The principle of sovereign immunity applies automatically to such foreign State or military aircraft, in the same way that it applies to Irish State or military aircraft abroad.
Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other States. Bilateral relations between friendly nations are founded on mutual trust; both parties have an interest in maintaining that trust and not undermining it. Details supplied to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade by diplomatic missions in relation to foreign military aircraft are therefore accepted in good faith as being accurate.
Information provided to other States by Irish diplomatic missions seeking diplomatic clearance for flights undertaken by the Air Corps is similarly accepted by those countries to be accurate.
346. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will highlight the death threats to social leaders in Colombia, where 28 social campaigners and trade unionists were murdered and a further nine were massacred in Putumayo in March 2016. [15533/16]
View answer347. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the growing level of State-sponsored violence and intimidation against agrarian protesters in Colombia which has taken the lives of three protesters in June 2016. [15534/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 346 and 347 together.
I am concerned by the recent reports of violence, social unrest and killings in Colombia to which the Deputy refers. The promotion and protection of human rights is a key priority for Ireland and we condemn unreservedly all attacks and threats against human rights defenders and other campaigners for social justice, wherever they take place.
Agrarian protests involving the blockading of roads have been taking place across Colombia, and three protesters were killed in clashes with the police. On 9 June, President Santos said that his government wished to establish a dialogue with the protestors to try to resolve the issue.
Officials from my Department met with Colombian social campaigners in Dublin last month to discuss the recent upsurge in violence against environmental and trade union activists. Colombia faces significant challenges in securing lasting peace and security, particularly in its remote, rural districts. It is clear that, as the peace process between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla group nears its conclusion, there remain elements in Colombian society who oppose peace and who will seek to derail the agreement through violence.
A climate of violence breeds human rights abuses, and only lasting peace can ensure the conditions necessary for the full enjoyment of human rights. In that context, we must acknowledge the enormous progress that has been made in the peace talks between the Colombian Government and the FARC. After over 50 years of violence, the talks are approaching a historic conclusion. Moreover, on 30 March, the country’s second-largest leftist guerrilla group, the ELN, announced that it would also participate in formal peace negotiations with the government. In addition, the third major source of non-state violence, the criminal networks known as BACRIM (Bandas Criminales) which evolved from right-wing paramilitary organisations, are now the target of a major government effort to tackle organised crime and prevent such groups from destabilising the peace process.
Human rights are at the heart of Ireland’s engagement with Colombia. To highlight our concern at attacks and threats against human rights defenders, trade unionists and others, officials from our embassy in Mexico, which is accredited to Colombia on a non-residential basis, meet with human rights groups and government officials during their regular visits to Colombia. In addition, officials from my Department continue to raise our concerns around human rights in Colombia at EU level.
Through the mechanism of the EU-Colombia Human Rights Dialogue, the Union engages with the Colombian authorities in a structured manner across the full range of human rights issues, including as regards human rights defenders and trade unionists, land restitution, economic and environmental issues. It is our firm belief that this policy of engagement, dialogue and scrutiny, which is ongoing, regular and structured, is the best way to promote human rights in Colombia.
A significant proportion of Ireland’s funding to Colombia is focused on supporting human rights initiatives and human rights defenders. In recent years, this has included funding to Christian Aid, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
348. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has requested the British Government to permit a commemoration of the centenary of the execution of Roger Casement at Pentoville Prison, London on 3 August 2016. [15577/16]
View answerAs part of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme, State Ceremonial Events have marked the executions of the leaders of the Rising.
Planning is underway for an event to commemorate the execution of Roger Casement on 3 August. In this context there have been some discussions with the British Government about access to Pentonville Prison in London. However, I would note that Pentonville remains a working prison, and the outcome of those discussions remains to be determined.
As the Deputy will know, Roger Casement's remains were exhumed from Pentonville in 1965 and returned to Ireland. They were re-interred in Glasnevin Cemetery on the 1st March that year after a State Funeral with full military honours.
