Written Answers Nos. 391-406
391. Deputy Josepha Madigan asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans, if any, to restore the telephone allowance to pensioners and if so, in what time period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20853/16]
View answerThe overall concern in recent years has been to protect the primary social welfare rates. Expenditure on pensions at approx. €6.976 billion is the largest block of expenditure in the Department in the Estimate for 2016, representing approximately 35% of overall expenditure. Due to demographic changes, my Department’s spending on older people is increasing year on year. Maintaining the rate of the State pension and other core payments is critical in protecting people from poverty.
The decision to discontinue the telephone allowance was estimated to provide annual savings of €48 million. These savings meant that my Department was able to retain the other valuable elements of the household benefits package such as the electricity and gas allowance and the television licence. My Department will spend approximately €227 million this year on these elements of the household benefits package for over 419,000 customers.
The cost of the telephone allowance scheme had risen significantly each year, as the number of eligible customers grew, arising from the increased number of pension recipients. In 2007 there were some 316,000 people receiving the telephone allowance compared to almost 396,000 at the end of September 2013, an increase of 25%, or an average increase of nearly 4% per annum.
Any decision to restore the telephone allowance would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
392. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when an application will be processed for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20856/16]
View answerI confirm that my Department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 14 April 2016.
It is a condition for receipt of CA that where the care recipient is aged less than 16 years, domiciliary care allowance (DCA) must be in payment in respect of them.
An application for DCA in respect of the care recipient is still under consideration by my department. Once a decision is made on the DCA application, the CA application for the person concerned will be processed without delay. If DCA is awarded, a decision will then be made on entitlement to CA and the person concerned will be notified of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
393. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Social Protection when payment will be issued to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20858/16]
View answerI confirm that my Department was notified by the Social Welfare Appeals Office on the 4 July 2016 that the appeal for the person in question was upheld and that he is deemed to be medically suitable for the scheme.
His file has been passed to a deciding officer to implement the appeals officer’s decision and the person concerned will be notified in writing once full details of his entitlement have been established.
394. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person who does not engage with JobPath can be threatened to have their social protection payment stopped if they remain actively available for and seeking work, thereby satisfying jobseekers criteria; the reason participation in JobPath is mandatory if persons remain willing to engage with other job activation measures and schemes; the reason persons who are engaged with JobPath are not eligible for referral for TÚS, CE or Gateway, particularly if positions become available in their area; if persons are willing to participate on other schemes, the reason participation on JobPath is mandatory; if persons have already completed the training being made available to them through the JobPath programme, his views on whether it is beneficial to them to complete the same training again and why then can they not refuse to engage in JobPath if it is deemed to be of no real benefit to them; the way participation can be mandatory if a person is expected to travel 50 km to attend training; if he will review the way in which this scheme is being offered to persons; the amount Turas Nua is being paid per participant to operate this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20861/16]
View answerAll jobseekers are required to engage with the department’s activation service and this obligation applies irrespective of whether the service is provided by the department’s own case officers or those employed by the Local Employment Service or by JobPath. Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help them address barriers to employment and to assist them in finding jobs. Each person is assigned to a personal advisor who assesses a person’s skills, experience, challenges and work goals. A “personal progression plan” is drawn up that includes a schedule of activities, actions and job focused targets. Participants are also provided with a range of training and development supports including online modules, career advice, CV preparation and interview skills. They spend a year on JobPath and if they are placed into a job they continue to receive support for at least three months, and up to twelve months, while in employment.
During the compilation of each client’s personal progression plan, the personal advisor reviews a client’s training history and, where appropriate, recommends further training. The development of a client’s personal progression plan is a collaborative process between client and personal advisor. There may be instances whereby a personal advisor recommends the enhancement of client’s qualifications e.g. to learn new skills in a work area that is rapidly changing such as IT development.
In general, and JobPath is not an exception, job-seekers are not allowed to participate in two employment activation supports at the same time. Given the need to manage the allocation of places effectively, my Department does not facilitate or encourage jobseekers to leave one scheme early in order to take up a place on another scheme. Participation in other schemes remains an option once a person completes their JobPath engagement.
JobPath is a payment by results model and all initial costs are borne by the companies. JobPath is so structured that the companies will not be able to fully recover their costs until they place sufficient numbers of jobseekers into sustainable jobs. It is not intended to publish the individual payments to the JobPath companies as these are commercially sensitive and to do so would place the State at a disadvantage both in terms of the contracts now in place and any future procurement that may be undertaken.
The JobPath contracts provide that a person should not have to travel more than 60 minutes in normal circumstances to attend an appointment. Where a person has transport difficulties the JobPath company can assist the person with travel arrangements including the reimbursement of reasonable travel costs.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
395. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of labour activation participants in the Cork South Central constituency in each of the years 2013 to 2016 to date by scheme in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20895/16]
View answerInformation relating to a claimant’s address is not currently coded to the geographical location of the address. As such it is not possible to accurately report persons on labour activation or employment support schemes living in a particular area, below county level, at present.
396. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of labour activation participants in County Cork in each of the years 2013 to 2016 to date by scheme in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20896/16]
View answerThe following table details the number of recipients of labour activation and employment support payments in County Cork by scheme and year for the Deputy’s information.
|
Recipients of an Activation or Employment Support Scheme Payment in Co Cork at the end of December 2013, 2014 and 2015 and at 31 May 2016 |
||||
|
Year |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
31 May 2016 |
|
Community Employment |
2,198 |
2,190 |
2,090 |
1,989 |
|
Rural Social Scheme |
166 |
171 |
171 |
170 |
|
Tús |
832 |
888 |
843 |
865 |
|
Gateway |
764 |
740 |
259 |
N/a |
|
Back To Work enterprise Allowance |
2 |
0 |
795 |
770 |
|
JobBridge |
532 |
517 |
356 |
241 |
|
Back to Education Allowance |
2,042 |
1,985 |
1,709 |
914 |
|
Partial Capacity Benefit |
169 |
181 |
210 |
214 |
|
Short-Term Enterprise Allowance |
43 |
36 |
27 |
38 |
|
Part-Time Job Incentive |
31 |
36 |
23 |
240 |
|
Totals |
6,779 |
6,744 |
6,483 |
5,403 |
397. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount his Department or agencies under its remit spent on legal and other fees fighting the case that the Waterford Glass workers were forced to take to the European Court of Justice to obtain justice (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21045/16]
View answerThe information sought is being compiled by my Department and will be forwarded directly to the Deputy at the earliest opportunity.
398. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of increasing the lifetime participation on community employment for persons under 55 years of age from 156 weeks to 182 weeks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21073/16]
View answerCommunity Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged with an opportunity to engage in part-time work and training within their communities on a temporary, fixed-term basis.
The pattern of participation on CE is dependent on the individual circumstance of each person and the length of time s-he has been in receipt of a CE-qualifying social welfare payment. The current participation patterns have been in place since CE commenced in 1994. In general, a person must be 12 months or more in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment to be eligible for one year on CE. If a person is three years or more in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment, and over 35 years of age, they are eligible for three consecutive year’s participation on CE.
The CE budget allocation for 2016 is €376.5m and it allows for 23,752 participants and 1,375 supervisory staff. The effect of extending participation time limits on CE would be to decrease the number of places available, rather than increase the cost. The current eligibility rules and maximum durations allowed for participants are strictly enforced to allow the maximum number of people to benefit from the opportunity of a CE placement.
The Department keeps the eligibility criteria for CE places under on-going review to ensure that they are effective in targeting long-term unemployed jobseekers and other specific disadvantaged groups.
399. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Social Protection when a file held since 14 April 2016 will be released to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21081/16]
View answerI confirm that my Department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 3 December 2015.
The application was referred by a deciding officer (DO) to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) on 14 April 2016 to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. The SWI has confirmed that the case will be investigated as soon as possible. Once the SWI has reported, a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
In the meantime, if the means of the person concerned are insufficient to meet his needs he should apply for a means-tested supplementary welfare allowance from the local community welfare service.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
400. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection if the customer charter is in operation at Swords Intreo office; if the charter will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21169/16]
View answerThe Department’s Customer Charter and Action Plan 2013-2015 sets out the level of service customers can expect when dealing with the Department and its commitment to provide a professional, efficient, courteous and timely service to its customers. My Department is committed to ensuring that a customer service ethos is embedded in everything it does and is embraced by everyone in the organisation.
Significant effort is made to ensure that the highest levels of customer service standards are provided by individual staff members and by the organisation, including a strong focus on customer service training for staff. The Customer Charter and Acton Plan is operational across the Department’s network of Intreo Centres, including Swords Intreo Centre. Work is underway on the draft Customer Charter and Action Plan 2016-2018, due to be published later this year.
The Department welcomes feedback from its customers through its Comments and Complaints system. If a customer is dissatisfied with the quality of service received, they can make a complaint in person at the Department’s public offices, by telephoning on LoCall 1890662244, by email to the Quality Customer Service Team at qcs@welfare.ie, on line by visiting the Contact Us area of our website www.welfare.ie, or in writing to Quality Customer Services, Social Welfare Services, College Road, Sligo.
Their complaint will be dealt with promptly, fairly and impartially. It will be acknowledged within three working days and dealt with within fifteen working days, where practicable. If the customer is unhappy with the outcome of the investigation, they can request to have the complaint reviewed by another officer, explaining why they are not satisfied with the response received. If, after a review, they are still not satisfied with the outcome, they can contact the Office of the Ombudsman, 18 Lower Leeson St, Dublin 2 or by email at ombudsman@ombudsman.gov.ie.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
401. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans for the Christmas bonus in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21172/16]
View answerThe Christmas Bonus was abolished in 2009. The Bonus was partially reintroduced in 2014 with the payment of a 25% Bonus. A 75% Bonus was paid last December to some 1.2 million long-term social welfare recipients, including pensioners, people with disabilities, carers and the long-term unemployed, in recognition of their financial dependence on their social welfare payments.
There is currently no provision in the 2016 Revised Estimates for the payment of a Bonus. This was also the case in 2014 and 2015 when a Christmas bonus was subsequently paid. I will be seeking approval from my Government colleagues in the coming months for the payment of a Christmas Bonus this year.
402. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending the free travel scheme to include young persons in receipt of domiciliary care allowance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21194/16]
View answerThere are currently approximately 853,000 people in Ireland in receipt of free travel at an annual cost of €80 million per annum.
The free travel scheme is available to all people aged over 66 living permanently in the State. Applicants who are under age 66, including those with learning disabilities, must be in receipt of a qualifying payment in order to qualify for the scheme. The qualifying payments for those aged under 66 are invalidity pension, blind pension, disability allowance, carer’s allowance or an equivalent social security payment from a country covered by EC Regulations or one with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement. Free travel is provided for people in receipt of carer’s allowance to facilitate their caring role and support their social inclusion.
Allocation of funding for free travel is not based on the numbers on each qualifying scheme but on expected passenger numbers who avail of their free travel pass. Payments are calculated on the basis of fares foregone at a reduced rate to take account of travel generated by the free travel scheme and as such it would be very difficult to accurately give an estimated cost of extending the free travel scheme to include young persons in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance, particularly as such fares are generally reduced already by the service provider.
Any decision to extend the free travel scheme to persons who are not in receipt of a primary qualifying payment would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
405. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications in Louth and east Meath for carer's allowance in the past six years; the number of those applications which have been unsuccessful; and the reasons given for turning down applications. [21207/16]
View answerCarer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has a disability such that they require that level of care.
A breakdown of applications from Louth and East Meath is not readily available. However, the following is a breakdown for all applications from 2010-2016.
|
Year |
Applications |
Disallowances (**) |
|
2010 |
18,212 |
7,860 |
|
2011 |
17,758 |
6,421 |
|
2012 |
15,493 |
8,603 |
|
2013 |
14,989 |
12,410 |
|
2014 |
17,759 |
8,688 |
|
2015 |
18,929 |
9,808 |
|
2016* |
9,130 |
4,005 |
*End June 2016
** These figures include applications which were disallowed but which may subsequently have been awarded either on a deciding officer review of additional evidence or following a successful appeal.
Again, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of specific disallowance reasons for cases that were disallowed. Applications may be refused for any one or a multiple of the following reasons:
|
Reasons for Disallowance |
|
The applicant’s means exceeding the statutory limit; |
|
The applicant not providing full-time care and attention; |
|
The care recipient not requiring full-time care and attention; |
|
The care recipient being under 16 years of age and Domiciliary Care Allowance not being in payment in respect of them; |
|
The applicant not being habitually resident in the State; |
|
The applicant failing to supply evidence, documents, information or certificates required for the purpose of deciding the claim; |
|
The applicant failing to co-operate with a social welfare investigation; |
CA is currently in payment to 65,258 carers. According to records available to my department, 1,957 of these carers reside in Co. Meath and 1,893 reside in Co. Louth.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
406. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied) under the family income supplement scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21214/16]
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 convene an oral hearing on this case.
Every effort will be made to hear the case as quickly as possible and the appellant will be informed when arrangements for the oral hearing have been made.
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.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
