Written Answers Nos. 380 - 395
380. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is aware of the number of social housing units in the area of Fingal County Council where fire safety structural deficiencies have been detected over the past ten years; the number of units per housing scheme or development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22694/16]
View answerI refer to the reply to Question No. 335 on today’s Order Paper. As the Deputy is aware, issues in relation to social housing units, including fire safety deficiencies, are a matter for the relevant local authority.
381. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of politically appointed staff working in his Department, including the names, roles and salaries of each staff member; in the case of special advisers, their qualifications and experience relevant to their roles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22731/16]
View answerAll political appointments to my Department have been and will continue to be made in accordance with the Guidelines and Instructions on Ministerial Appointments for the Thirty-second Dáil. Subject to Government approval, I intend to appoint two advisers, Caitriona Fitzpatrick and Bob Jordan. Ms Fitzpatrick has significant experience in policy research, analysis and formulation, strategic communications and political affairs. Mr. Jordan, as a former CEO of Threshold, is a recognised expert on housing, homelessness and the private rented sector in Ireland with comprehensive and valuable experience at national and European levels. Both individuals have qualifications and experience which are specifically relevant to the key issues covered by my Department.
The roles and duties of Special Advisers are set out in Section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. The information requested regarding numbers and salary is set out in the following table:
Minister Simon Coveney – Political Appointments
|
Job Title |
Grade |
Salary Scale |
|
Special Adviser |
Principal Officer (Standard) Non PPC Scale |
€75,647 – €87,248 |
|
Special Adviser |
Principal Officer (Standard) PPC Scale |
€79,401 – €91,624 |
|
Civilian Driver X 2 |
Civilian Driver Rate |
€631.75 per week |
Minister of State Damien English – Political Appointments
|
Job Title |
Grade |
Salary Scale |
|
Civilian Driver X 2** |
Civilian Driver Rate |
€631.75 per week |
** The salary for Civilian Drivers is €631.75 per week. Drivers who will become members of the new Single Pension Scheme are paid a rate of €665.00 per week.
Both Minister of State English and I have each appointed a Personal Secretary and a Personal Assistant, who are employed by and receive a salary from the Houses of the Oireachtas in accordance with the relevant salary scale.
Minister of State Catherine Byrne, who has shared responsibilities between my Department and the Department of Health has made no political appointments in my Department.
382. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason an application under the capital assistance scheme by a housing association (details supplied) was unsuccessful. [22749/16]
View answerI understand that this project is under discussion at present between Limerick City and County Council and the Approved Housing Body concerned. I expect a fresh proposal to be made to my Department in the near future.
383. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has taken a decision to have those households whose income is above the specified eligibility thresholds removed from local authority housing lists as part of the 2016 social housing assessment; if this decision has been explicitly highlighted by departmental officials in recent briefing meetings with local authority staff in preparation for the social housing assessment 2016; if so, the level of excess household income which would determine whether a household that is €1 above the threshold, a nominal amount above the threshold, or a percentage above the threshold would be removed from the list; the number of households which were removed from the local authority lists in 2013 for having exceeded the household income threshold; and the reason he is not taking into account high rent levels, high child care costs or other household costs when making the income assessments. [22753/16]
View answerThe aim of the 2016 Summary of Social Housing Assessments is to capture the total number of households nationally which are qualified for social housing support and whose housing need is not being met. A household is deemed to qualify for social housing support where it demonstrates its eligibility and need for such support in accordance with the qualification criteria set down in section 20 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 and the Social Housing Assessment Regulations made thereunder.
The Summary process requires housing authorities to review qualified households who are not currently in receipt of housing support to ensure that they still qualify and still require support, and to ensure that the detail of the applicant households is up to date and accurate. At recent information sessions, housing authorities were reminded by my Departmental of the provisions of the relevant regulations.
For the purpose of assessing households under the income eligibility criteria, the Social Housing Assessment Regulations prescribe the maximum net income limits that can be set by each housing authority to be applied in assessing an applicant’s eligibility for social housing support. The 2011 Regulations do not provide housing authorities with any discretion to exceed the thresholds that apply to their administrative areas.
Income is assessed under the Household Means Policy, which applies in all housing authorities. Under the policy, net income for social housing assessment is defined as gross household income less income tax, PRSI and the universal social charge. The policy provides for a range of income disregards, and housing authorities also have discretion to disregard income that is temporary, short-term or once off.
Under Regulation 28 of the Assessment Regulations, a household’s qualification for support may be reviewed at the discretion of a housing authority and Regulation 29 provides that the household’s qualification for support shall be reassessed at the point of allocation of support.
385. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to provide figures on the amount allocated to each local authority to provide emergency homeless assistance in 2016; and to provide a breakdown on a local authority area basis. [22800/16]
View answerMy Department provides current funding to housing authorities, under Section 10 of the Housing Act 1988, towards the cost of providing accommodation and related services for homeless persons. Housing authorities also provide funding, of at least 10% of the cost of any service they are funding, from within their own resources. Under Section 10 funding arrangements, funding in respect of homeless services is made available on a regional basis and a regional allocation is delegated to a lead-authority in each region. Details of these delegated regional allocations for 2016 are set out in the following table.
Delegated Regional Allocation Under Section 10 of the Housing Act, 1988
|
Region |
2016 - € |
|
Dublin |
37,160,000 |
|
Mid- East |
1,200,000 |
|
Midland |
800,000 |
|
Mid- West |
3,500,000 |
|
North - East |
1,000,000 |
|
North- West |
4 25,000 |
|
South - East |
2,500,000 |
|
South- West |
5,000,000 |
|
West |
2,000,000 |
A total of €53.585m of the €70m made available under Budget 2016 has been allocated under the delegated arrangements, leaving some €16.415m million available for assignment on the basis of further needs arising. It is recognised that, given the current pressures being experienced in the housing sector in many regions, some housing authorities will not be able to control the rate of presentation to homeless services nor programme for expenditure on measures such as the utilisation of hotels as emergency accommodation. Consequently, as happened in previous years, housing authorities have been advised that further Exchequer funding may be recouped outside of the delegated arrangements where additional expenditure arises as a result of increased rates of homeless presentation.
386. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government whether the cap of €30,000 imposed on his Department for refurbishment of vacant local authority units has been lifted; the number of applications for funding for vacant social housing refurbishment that were received by his Department in 2015 and in 2016; which local authorities these were from and the number of units; and the number of applications for individual units which were refused. [22801/16]
View answerThe Exchequer funding my Department provides to prepare vacant units for re-letting is available as an additional support over and above what local authorities provide themselves towards such work. My Department’s funding is to support the authorities in tackling those houses that may require a greater level of remediation than the normal level of pre-letting repairs that is the responsibility of local authorities, as part of their ongoing repair and maintenance of local authority housing.
The funding from my Department has a particular focus on returning homes to productive use in a highly energy efficient condition, which contributes to Ireland’s targets to reduce carbon emissions and helps tackle fuel poverty. In that regard, my Department has not imposed a cap of €30,000 for the refurbishment of vacant local authority units; rather, that is the maximum funding my Department provides per unit in supporting local authorities to prepare such units for re-letting in an energy efficient condition. It should be noted that local authorities can and do contribute additional funding where appropriate.
Between 2014 and 2015, my Department provided funding of €60 million to assist local authorities in returning 5,000 vacant units to productive use, with a further €24 million being allocated to date in 2016. The programme will support the remediation of over 6,500 units between 2014 and 2016, on top of units completed by the local authorities themselves outside of the funding support from my Department.
The funding support drawn down per unit from my Department by local authorities is an average of €18,000. This reflects the fact that, as would be expected, the remediation cost ranges widely and the majority of houses require only a modest level of remediation. In recognition of the limited cases where a high level of remediation is required, my Department is also providing Exchequer funding to support local authorities in tackling more seriously derelict social houses. This programme is now underway and I expect that the average cost per unit will be somewhat above €50,000 per unit.
Between the various funding supports available from my Department, alongside the efforts of local authorities themselves, I am satisfied that local authorities are in a position to ensure that all social housing units for which there is a housing need can be returned to use.
In a limited number of cases under the programme to tackle vacant units, clarification is sought where required from local authorities on issues such as housing need, while there is also a small number of cases where the very low level of pre-letting repairs made it more appropriate to deal with the unit under normal local authority pre-letting repairs as part of their repair and maintenance work. Arising from this, while all units proposed for remediation under the 2015 programme have been funded, it is likely that two low cost units will not be funded by my Department in 2016 - in Donegal and in Tipperary - as it is more appropriate to deal with them under normal local authority pre-letting repairs. The number of units supported under the programme to tackle vacant units in 2015 and the numbers sanctioned to date for 2016 are set out in the following table.
The Government’s new housing action plan, the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness which I launched today, includes commitments in respect of the better management of social housing stock, in line with best asset management practices, so that the re-letting of vacant social housing units is achieved with minimal delay.
|
|
Local Authority |
Units Completed in 2015 |
Units Approved for 2016 |
|
1 |
Carlow |
28 |
8 |
|
2 |
Cavan |
28 |
16 |
|
3 |
Clare |
96 |
27 |
|
4 |
Cork City |
281 |
115 |
|
5 |
Cork County |
199 |
69 |
|
6 |
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown |
24 |
0 |
|
7 |
Donegal |
146 |
65 |
|
8 |
Dublin City |
787 |
339 |
|
9 |
Fingal |
139 |
137 |
|
10 |
Galway City |
25 |
15 |
|
11 |
Galway County |
59 |
35 |
|
12 |
Kerry |
103 |
56 |
|
13 |
Kildare |
20 |
8 |
|
14 |
Kilkenny |
23 |
10 |
|
15 |
Laois |
12 |
2 |
|
16 |
Leitrim |
9 |
29 |
|
17 |
Limerick |
52 |
18 |
|
18 |
Longford |
22 |
23 |
|
19 |
Louth |
21 |
6 |
|
20 |
Mayo |
86 |
25 |
|
21 |
Meath |
54 |
33 |
|
22 |
Monaghan |
13 |
7 |
|
23 |
Offaly |
55 |
17 |
|
24 |
Roscommon |
36 |
65 |
|
25 |
Sligo |
39 |
54 |
|
26 |
South Dublin |
27 |
0 |
|
27 |
Tipperary |
115 |
71 |
|
28 |
Waterford |
56 |
13 |
|
29 |
Westmeath |
74 |
14 |
|
30 |
Wexford |
24 |
15 |
|
31 |
Wicklow |
43 |
10 |
|
Totals |
2,696 |
1,302 |
387. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the date for the next meeting with the Northern Ireland Minister for the Environment in sectoral format, as provided for in the North-South Ministerial Council; the issues to be discussed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22859/16]
View answerThe next meeting of the North South Ministerial Council (Environment Sector) is scheduled to take place on 14 September 2016.
While the agenda for the forthcoming meeting has not yet been agreed, recent meetings enabled us to address common challenges in a mutually beneficial way through enhanced co-operation and joint action on a range of environmental issues. These include water and air quality, cross-border waste management, environmental protection and research and drawdown of EU funding for environmental projects. Recent discussions have also explored the potential for even greater collaboration on climate issues and water quality, including water and sewerage services.
Furthermore, in addition to these areas of common interest, I expect that as envisaged at the NSMC Plenary discussion on the recent UK referendum result, Minister Michelle McIlveen, my Northern Ireland counterpart, and I will consider the potential implications of the Leave vote for North/South co-operation in the areas for which we have responsibility.
389. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 218 of 28 June 2016, if voluntary housing associations are required to announce meetings, and, if so, whether these meetings are publicly announced; and if the VHA board members receive training for their positions. [22877/16]
View answerSection 6(6) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1992 makes provision to grant approved housing body (AHB) status to housing associations. AHBs consist mainly of voluntary or co-operative organisations limited by guarantee and registered under the Companies Acts; societies registered under the Industrial & Provident Societies Acts; and/or Trusts incorporated under the Charities Acts.
The holding of meetings and the training of board members are matters for the Boards of such bodies and I have no role in relation to such matters.
390. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the engagement he had with the European Union, relative to the Building Control Act 2007, and Article 46 of Directive 2005-36-EC, on the recognition of professional qualifications; if members of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, who are recognised to practise legally here, and use the suffix MRIAI (Irl), will be recognised to practise in the EU, as part of a review of the directive; if he is pressing this case with the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22907/16]
View answerDirective 2005/36/EC on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications, as amended by Directive 2013/55/EU, sets out a number of routes under which professionals may have their qualifications recognised to practise in other Member States.
The profession of architect is only one of seven professions within the Directive with a system of automatic recognition for qualifications. Professionals in possession of qualifications as listed in Annex V of the Directive are eligible for automatic recognition in other Member States. Annex V comprises the qualifications that meet the stated minimum training conditions necessary for inclusion in the automatic recognition system. In Ireland, the competent authority for the registration of architects is the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), who register the persons who fulfil the competencies set out in the Directive with the MRIAI qualification. As MRIAI is listed in Annex V, architects who hold the MRIAI qualification are eligible for automatic recognition in other Member States. While a professional may obtain automatic recognition, further authorisation or registration requirements may need to be fulfilled prior to being able to practise in other Member States.
For architects whose qualifications may not be listed in Annex V and are not eligible for automatic recognition, recognition may be sought under the general system. Under the general system, a professional can submit their qualifications for recognition to the relevant competent authority, in the Member State in which they intend to practise, who will in turn complete an assessment and reach a decision in accordance with the terms of the Directive. Architects who hold the MRIAI (IRL) qualification fall into this category. These comprise of architects who have demonstrated that they meet the requirements for registration in the State as set out in Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007, having qualified through a number of special entry routes available, or previously available, in Ireland (e.g. the Minister’s List, the Technical Assessment Procedure or the Prescribed Register Admissions Examination). These special entry routes have not been recognised by the European Commission for the purposes of automatic recognition under the Directive.
The RIAI is designated as the registration body for the purposes of Part 3 of the Building Control Act of 2007 and is the competent authority for the purposes of Directive 2005/36/EC (as amended) on the recognition of professional qualifications. Any changes to the arrangements in place for the automatic recognition of architects registered in Ireland are a matter for the RIAI, as the competent authority in Ireland for the registration of architects, and the European Commission. I have no direct role in these aspects of the matter.
391. Deputy Eugene Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps being taken to replace the JobBridge scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21951/16]
View answerAs you may be aware, I recently announced that I plan to replace JobBridge later this year. I believe that economic and labour market conditions have changed for the better since the scheme was introduced in 2011 and that a new scheme should reflect that.
JobBridge has been successful in meeting its objectives over the past five years. It has helped over 21,000, mainly small, employers to provide valuable work experience to over 48,000 unemployed jobseekers. An independent evaluation of JobBridge published in 2013 found that overall satisfaction levels with the scheme were very high, with two thirds of respondents stating that would recommend the scheme to a friend or family member. Levels of abuse of the scheme by employers were very low. Most notably the evaluation found that about 61% of participants progressed into paid employment within a short period of completing their internship. This is a very high progression rate and suggests that JobBridge has helped about 30,000 jobseekers to secure employment.
Notwithstanding these achievements, JobBridge has been subject to a high level of criticism, albeit that much of that is based on anecdote or very small-scale surveys by various interest groups. I intend to respond to these criticisms in the design of a new work experience scheme.
It is, however, important that any new scheme be informed by the best available evidence. It is for this reason that I intend to await the results of a second large scale evaluation of JobBridge which is currently under way.
You may be aware that I have asked the Labour Market Council to work with the Department in the design of the new scheme. I am anxious to finalise the design as quickly as possible and I have asked the Council to respond to me no later than September. I will announce my proposals for a new scheme shortly thereafter.
392. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on the operation of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service dedicated mortgage arrears services launched late in 2015; the numbers of home owners the court mentoring service has helped and the number it has helped to avoid repossession, listed by county; if it is operating in all court areas and, in the case of areas where it is not operating in all court areas, and in the case of areas where it is not operating, the reason they are not included; the amount of funding allocated to MABS; the number of advisers it has employed in each of the past five years; and the projected allocation for 2016. [22088/16]
View answerThe Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS), under the aegis of the Citizens Information Board, assists people who are over-indebted and need help and advice in coping with debt problems, in particular those on low incomes or living on social welfare payments.
A Dedicated Mortgage Arrears MABS (DMA MABS) service has been established within individual local MABS companies. This service is focussing on post–MARP (Mortgage Arrears Resolution Process) cases. It is assisting mortgage holders to assess the options available to them, signposting them towards the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) if appropriate, or negotiating with lenders on their behalf. To date, 24 specialist DMA advisors and 4 Relief DMA advisors (total of 28) have been recruited and are providing services at 24 locations countrywide.
Since the establishment of the service some 1,700 cases have been progressed, 600 of which were new referrals to MABS.
A national network of Court Mentors has been established to provide support to distressed borrowers. Since 1 October 2015, MABS staff are in attendance at every repossession Court nationwide. Positive feedback on the service has been received from legal professionals operating in Court, Court staff (including Registrars), and borrowers themselves. A full list of Court locations with the Court Mentor service is attached at Appendix 1.
It is not possible to determine how many homeowners have avoided re-possession as a result of the Court Mentor service. However, it is known that 319 clients to date have been referred to MABS by the Court Mentor service, of which only 2 have been discharged from MABS due to non-engagement. The balance have been referred to the Dedicated Mortgage Arrears (DMA) Service for specific mortgage advice, or MABS for standard advice, or directed to other appropriate services (such as insolvency or legal services).
The funding provided to MABS services and the number of money advisors employed in the years 2011 to 2016 inclusive is set out in the following table. The figures do not include administrators employed across a number of services.
|
Year |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
Funding provided to MABS |
€18.3m |
€19.1m |
€18.3m |
€17.9m |
€20.6m* |
|
Number of Money Advisors employed |
156 |
156 |
162 |
157 |
185* |
*The funding allocation to MABS for 2016 includes provision for the Dedicated Mortgage Arrears MABS service. The number of Money Advisors employed includes those recruited to the Dedicated Mortgage Arrears service.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Appendix 1
Court Districts Covered by MABS Court Mentor Representatives
|
Location |
|
|
1 |
Athlone |
|
2 |
Bray |
|
3 |
Carlow |
|
4 |
Carrick on Shannon |
|
5 |
Castlebar |
|
6 |
Cavan |
|
7 |
Clonmel |
|
8 |
Cork |
|
9 |
Dublin |
|
10 |
Dundalk |
|
11 |
Ennis |
|
12 |
Galway |
|
13 |
Kilkenny |
|
14 |
Letterkenny |
|
15 |
Limerick |
|
16 |
Longford |
|
17 |
Monaghan |
|
18 |
Mullingar |
|
19 |
Naas Court |
|
20 |
Nenagh Court |
|
21 |
Portlaoise |
|
22 |
Roscommon |
|
23 |
Sligo |
|
24 |
Tralee |
|
25 |
Trim |
|
26 |
Tullamore |
|
27 |
Waterford |
|
28 |
Wexford |
393. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he is aware that the backlog for assessing medical evidence in respect of schemes is causing significant hardship and delays to families awaiting outcomes of assessments of new claims and those supplying further medical evidence; the way in which he will address this backlog; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21926/16]
View answer394. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which he has resourced the team conducting the assessments of medical evidence in respect of social protection schemes; the number of full-time equivalent staff he has working on processing the medical evidence; the number of outstanding claims; the length of time for the backlogs per scheme; the delays citizens can reasonably expect when submitting medical evidence to his Department; the way in which he intends to innovate for families awaiting outcomes of assessments of new claims and those supplying further medical evidence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21927/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 393 and 394 together.
My Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible and to providing a quality service to all claimants. Processing times can vary across schemes depending on the differing qualification criteria. The disability and illness related schemes require a high level of medical evidence which must be assessed by the Medical Assessors and this, together with other qualifying criteria such as means testing, can affect the processing times of claims. My Department continues to engage with general practitioners and others to clarify the medical requirements of our schemes so that adequate information may be provided with the initial claim.
This increases the likelihood of an eligible initial decision and therefore reduces the need for further evidence to be submitted for review at a later stage.
My Department has 27 Medical Assessors (MAs) including the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO). Due to work-sharing, the full-time equivalent number of Medical Assessors currently serving is 23.5 including the Chief Medical Officer and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer. The delay in processing medical assessments is due to a number of factors including the increase in volume of customer claims to particular schemes and the time involved in assessing cases where there is lengthy medical evidence to be considered. Current Medical Assessor resources are focused on ensuring that claims for the various disability and illness schemes are prioritised above other work until the backlog is eliminated.
My Department is also addressing the issue by ensuring that there are sufficient Medical Assessors available to provide a quality customer service. The Department has engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (D/PER) and completed a recruitment competition through the Public Appointment Service (PAS) for the recruitment of new Medical Assessors. Appointments from this competition and from the previous panel are being offered at the moment. My Department intends to conduct a further recruitment competition later in 2016.
Since May 2016, my Department has introduced new workflow monitoring and management processes to improve the efficiency of its Medical Assessors. This is reflected in the attached figures which show a reduction in claims pending medical assessment between 30 April 2016 and 30 June 2016. Table 2 lists the number of people awaiting medical assessment at claim (2a) and review (2b) at the end of each of the last three months.
Table 2(a)
Claims Awaiting Medical Assessment
|
- |
30/04/2016 |
31/05/2016 |
30/06/2016 |
% reduction / (increase) |
|
Carers Allowance |
2891 |
2821 |
2472 |
14% |
|
Carers Benefit |
203 |
14 |
67 |
67% |
|
Disability Allowance |
3322 |
3273 |
2504 |
25% |
|
Domiciliary Care Scheme |
1577 |
1502 |
1854 |
(18%) |
|
Companion Free Travel |
693 |
345 |
580 |
16% |
|
Invalidity Pension |
660 |
813 |
641 |
3% |
|
Respite Care Grant |
64 |
1 |
0 |
100% |
|
Standalone Respite Care Grant |
94 |
0 |
0 |
100% |
|
Total |
9504 |
8769 |
8118 |
15% |
As of 30/6/2016 there were an additional 496 claims for Disablement Benefit awaiting desk or in-person assessment.
Table 2(b)
Customer Request or Control Review (Further Medical Evidence) Awaiting Desk Medical Assessment
|
30/04/2016 |
31/05/2016 |
30/06/2016 |
% reduction April to June |
|
|
Carers Allowance |
334 |
374 |
307 |
8% |
|
Carers Benefit |
18 |
1 |
94% |
|
|
Disability Allowance |
787 |
837 |
749 |
5% |
|
Domiciliary Care Scheme |
69 |
68 |
23 |
67% |
|
Invalidity Pension |
625 |
623 |
625 |
0% |
|
Total |
1833 |
1902 |
1705 |
7% |
(Nil for Companion free travel, Respite Care Grant Schemes)
As of 30/6/2016 there were an additional 53 reviews for Disablement Benefit awaiting desk or in-person assessment.
395. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will receive a decision on an application under the carer's allowance scheme. [21928/16]
View answerI confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 22 April 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, if the means of the person concerned are insufficient to meet her needs, she should apply for a means-tested supplementary welfare allowance from her local community welfare service.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
