Wednesday, 1 Mar 2017

Written Answers Nos. 218 - 228

Departmental Staff

Questions (218)

Kevin O'Keeffe

Question:

218. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of specific positions that have been available in a certain period (details supplied). [10638/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

From the 8 August 2016 to date, 6 permanent Clerical Officers have been assigned to the Abbeycourt Intreo Office in Cork. During the same period 2 permanent staff members (1.6 posts) left the office.

One-Parent Family Payment Payments

Questions (219)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

219. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the position in respect of a one-parent family allowance in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10663/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

With reference to PQ No. 166 which advised that a one parent family payment was awarded in the case of the person concerned and payment was available for collection at the nominated post office on 16/2/17, all arrears were paid to the person concerned on 23/02/2017. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

State Pensions

Questions (220)

Seán Haughey

Question:

220. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason the increase in the State pension announced in budget 2017 only takes effect in March 2017 and not on 1 January 2017 as in previous years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10664/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

On Budget Day, I announced the first general increase in the weekly rates of payment since 2009, which builds on the €3 increase which was introduced for pensioners in Budget 2016. A €5 increase in the weekly rates of payment for all social welfare recipients will come into force this month, with proportionate increases for qualified adults and those on reduced rates of payment. Approximately 1.5 million people will benefit from this increase, from pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents, maternity and paternity benefit recipients and jobseekers.

The cost of this increase is €284.5 million. To pay the increase from January would cost in the region of €349 million. Given the available resources, it was not possible to provide for this increase from January. To pay the increase from January would have meant either an increase of less than €5 per week or excluding certain groups from the increase, which I was unwilling to countenance. Accordingly, the €5 increase in weekly payments for pensioners will begin from next week.

In addition, it should be noted that an 85% Christmas Bonus was paid in December to over 1.2 million long term social welfare recipients, including all pensioners. For a single person in receipt of a State Pension Non-Contributory of €222 per week, this was worth €188.70.

Social Welfare Benefits Reviews

Questions (221)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

221. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection if there has been a review of the impact of the reductions applied to welfare benefits for persons under 26 years of age in terms of homelessness, destitution and suicide; and if not, his plans to conduct such a review. [10671/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

Lower weekly rates for younger jobseekers were first introduced in the Supplementary Budget in 2009 and further extended in subsequent Budgets up to 2014. The rationale for these rates is to prevent young unemployed people from entering longer term welfare dependency by providing a strong financial incentive to take up a job, or a training or education programme. It should be noted that jobseekers who are under 26 years of age who have children are not subject to the reduced rates of jobseeker's allowance.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) publishes poverty rates for all young people aged 15 to 24 inclusive. They do not separately report poverty rates for young people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance.

The consistent poverty rate for all young people aged 15 to 24 was 15.6% in 2015. The ‘at risk of poverty rate’ for that cohort which was 28.3% in 2012, fell to 27.7% in 2015 and the ‘deprivation rate’ for that cohort fell from 32.5% to 31.0% in the same period.

Poverty is strongly linked to unemployment. The number of young people under the age of 26 on the Live Register has fallen from 48,900 to 29,300 over the two years from December 2014 to December 2016, a reduction of 40.1%. Similarly, the monthly unemployment rate for 15 to 24 year olds fell from 20.3% to 15.2% over the same period, a reduction of 25%.

It is positive that unemployment among young people is falling at a faster rate than among the general population. I am determined that we help more young people in the most effective way possible, by supporting them into the workforce, education or training.

For that reason, on Budget Day 2017 I announced additional incentives for young people to participate in education. From September 2017 when a young jobseeker participates on the Back to Education scheme, he or she will be entitled to receive the full maximum rate of jobseeker's payment, which will then be €193 per week, as against the €160 which they are currently on. This is the largest single increase in the social welfare package and demonstrates our commitment to young jobseekers who seek to enhance their skills.

As part of my Budget 2017 package, I also announced changes to the minimum contribution for young persons in receipt of rent supplement and reduced rates of weekly social welfare from January 2017, of which there are approximately 500 cases.

The minimum rent contribution which a young single person aged 18-24 years receiving a payment of €100 per week is expected to pay has been reduced from €30 to €10 per week. The minimum contribution for those young people in receipt of a weekly payment of €144 or €160 per week has been reduced from €30 to €20 per week. Similarly, reductions have been applied to the rate of contribution for couples. The minimum contribution for these persons will remain at these new lower levels when the increase in the weekly payment rates is applied in March 2017.

Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, the Department may make a single Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income- including support towards rent deposits. In 2016, the Department made approximately 2,800 payments of rent deposits/rent in advance at a cost of almost €1.8 million, of which almost 570 payments at a cost of over €371,000 were made to persons aged under 26 years. This form of assistance is very important to those on low incomes who are at risk of, or who are homeless, or who rely on the private rented market to meet their housing needs.

The review of jobseeker's allowance rates for young persons under 26 years of age which is currently underway will examine the effectiveness of the reduced rates in encouraging young jobseekers to avail of education, training, employment programmes and opportunities.

I am committed to ensuring my Department identifies effective measures to incentivise and support young people in finding and securing sustainable jobs. The best way to do this is through engagement processes and by incentivising them to avail of educational and training opportunities, thereby enhancing their employment prospects.

Question No. 222 answered with Question No. 209.

Disability Statistics

Questions (223)

Margaret Murphy O'Mahony

Question:

223. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Social Protection the deprivation rate for persons with a disability here; how this compares with the EU average; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10722/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

In the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), disability is based on the concept of global activity limitation. This is defined as a “limitation in activities people usually do because of health problems for at least the past six months”. The latest EU-SILC data available shows that severe material deprivation for people (aged 16 years and over) who are limited in their normal activities due to a health problem was 15% in Ireland in 2014, as compared to the EU average of 12.1%. Ireland ranks 18th of the 28 member states.

EUROSTAT has not, as yet, published comparable data across the Member States for 2015. The recently published SILC report from CSO for 2015 showed a slight increase over the year in “basic deprivation” (a broader definition than the EU's “severe deprivation” measure) from 51.3% to 53.2% for people in households headed by a disabled person. However, these figures (like other statistics for very small groups in the survey) have been volatile in recent years. This is due to smaller sample sizes. It is not possible to say with certainty whether the changes over the year are statistically significant and indicative of a sustained trend.

Given the continuing economic recovery throughout 2015 and measures introduced in the Budgets since 2015, it is reasonable to expect future figures to show improvements. I will continue to work with my Government colleagues to ensure that the economic recovery is experienced in all regions and by all families, households and individuals.

The Government’s strategy for addressing poverty and social exclusion is set out in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion. The Plan identifies a wide range of targeted actions and interventions to achieve the overall objective of reducing consistent poverty. The Department will review the Plan this year, as it reaches the end of its current term, with a view to developing an updated plan for future periods. The Department will also review the national social target for poverty reduction. This review will be undertaken in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

The Government is committed to increasing the employment opportunities for people with a disability. The Comprehensive Employment Strategy for people with disabilities adopts a cross-government approach that brings together various measures, to be taken by different Departments and State agencies, in a concerted effort to address the barriers and challenges that impact on the employment of people with disabilities. The six strategic priorities are to: build skills, capacity and independence; provide bridges and supports into work; make work pay; promote job retention and re-entry into work; provide co-ordinated and seamless support; and engage employers. These priorities are incorporated into the Pathways to Work Strategy and this ensures that there is an integrated focus on supports that enable people with disabilities to participate in employment where they have the capacity to do so.

My Department provides a range of specific income, activation and employment supports for people with a disability. For instance, the partial capacity benefit scheme enables recipients of invalidity pension and illness benefit to take-up employment, on a voluntary basis, while continuing to receive income support. The Department manages a supported employment service (EmployAbility) which provides a dedicated job-coaching service for people with disabilities. Intreo services are also available to provide employment support services for people with disabilities who wish to engage with the service on a voluntary basis. There is also a focus on supports available to employers who employ people with disabilities such as the Wage Subsidy Scheme and the Workplace Equipment Adaption Grant Scheme.

Carer's Allowance Payments

Questions (224, 225)

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

224. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) who applied for carer's allowance in June 2016 will receive their back payment to the date on which they applied; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10731/17]

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

225. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on whether it is satisfactory that a person (details supplied) has to wait seven months to have their carer's application reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10732/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 224 and 225 together.

My Department received an application for carer's allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 27 January 2016.

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 person can be considered to be providing full-time care and attention where they are engaged in employment, self-employment or on training courses outside the home for a maximum of 15 hours per week, provided that they can show to the satisfaction of a deciding officer that adequate care has been provided for the care recipient in their absence.

This application was refused on 26 May 2016 as the person concerned was engaged on a Vocational Training Opportunity Scheme (VTOS) which involved full-time education amounting to 30 hours per week.

The person concerned requested a review of this decision on 30 May 2016 and submitted additional evidence to show that she had ceased education after her exams on 3 May 2016. On foot of this information the decision was revised and CA was awarded from 5 May 2016.

The person concerned was notified on 2 June 2016 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.

She requested a further review on 25 July 2016, of the date from which her claim was awarded. Following this review the decision remained unchanged. The person concerned was notified on 24 February 2017 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office.

My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. Reducing these waiting times for new applicants is a priority for my Department. New applications for CA in 2016 increased 20% on 2015. My Department is working hard to reduce the waiting time for reviews as well as new applications.

If the means of a person are insufficient to meet their needs while waiting for the outcome of an application or a request for a review, it is open to them to apply for a means-tested supplementary welfare allowance from their local community welfare service.

In this case, both the person concerned and her cohabitant were in receipt of a weekly social welfare support during the period in question.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Departmental Staff Data

Questions (226)

Michael Fitzmaurice

Question:

226. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of staff currently employed in the carer's section in the social welfare office in Longford; his plans to increase the number of staff who are employed in this section; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10733/17]

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

Currently, there are 73.5 full-time equivalents (77 people) assigned to the Carers section.

My Department, like all Government departments and agencies, is required to operate within a staff ceiling figure and a commensurate administrative staffing budget, which for this Department has involved reductions in staff numbers.

Within these constraints, the Department is focusing on prioritising the filling of critical posts. The staffing needs for all areas within the Department, including the Carers Section, are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, management priorities and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department.

My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. Applications for the Carers Allowance scheme in 2016 increased by 20% over 2015. During 2016 additional resources were provided to the section in order to improve the waiting times for new applications which has resulted in a significant reduction in processing times from 20 weeks at the end of January 2016 to 11 weeks at the end of January 2017. It is expected that processing times for the scheme will reduce further.

Diplomatic Representation

Questions (227)

Clare Daly

Question:

227. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on recent discussions and contact with the Egyptian authorities regarding the release of a person (details supplied), the unacceptable continuance of the person's detention and the urgent need for the person to be returned home. [10642/17]

Written answers

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

This long-running and complex consular case continues to be a top priority for the Government and we are doing everything possible to ensure that the Egyptian authorities are in no doubt about our determination to see this young man returned to his home and his family at the earliest possible time.

The reality is that it is the Egyptian authorities that are detaining this citizen, and only the Egyptian authorities can make the decision to return him to Ireland.

The Taoiseach has been in contact directly and personally with Egyptian President el-Sisi on numerous occasions about this case, and he has repeatedly called on him to exercise his powers under Egyptian law to resolve this case. For my own part, I have had a large number of contacts on this case with my Egyptian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, including face-to-face meetings, telephone calls and letters. I discussed the case most recently with Minister Shoukry when I met him in Paris in January, and I will continue to avail of every opportunity of contact with Minister Shoukry to underline our concerns for the rights and welfare of our citizen.

In recent days there have been further official-level contacts between my Department and the Egyptian authorities on this case and I had a further contact in this regard with Egypt’s Ambassador in Dublin, Soha Gendi, on Friday last, 24 February.

The consistent line from the Egyptian Government has been and remains that the separation of powers must be respected, that the Egyptian Government cannot interfere in the judicial process, and that the President can only use his discretionary powers to return this individual to Ireland after the trial process has concluded.

In parallel with our efforts to secure this citizen’s return to Ireland, my Department is continuing to dedicate substantial resources to the provision of consular assistance and support for this citizen and his family. Officials from our Embassy in Cairo are following up on issues relating to this citizen’s welfare and, in this context, intend to pay a further consular visit to this individual in the coming days.

I and my colleagues in Government and our officials at every level will continue to do everything possible and appropriate to apply pressure on Cairo on this young man’s behalf both directly and through and with EU and international partners.

Flood Relief Schemes

Questions (228)

Brendan Ryan

Question:

228. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the timeframe for the completion of the flood relief work on the Dodder River, Dublin; the timeframe for different phases; the details of each phase; the current projection for the completion of work. [10555/17]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

The works on the River Dodder are being undertaken in multiple phases. Significant works and investment have been undertaken to date on this scheme with works continuing in 2017. The Scheme is being undertaken with Dublin City Council acting as the Contracting Authority and the Office of Public Works acting as the funding agency and undertaking the works using its direct labour force.

All phases of works have been completed on the tidal section of the scheme, which now protects approximately 1,000 buildings (approximately 80% residential). Works are ongoing on the Ballsbridge to Donnybrook section where the risk is from fluvial flooding and which, when complete, will protect approximately 1,520 buildings (90% residential). Further sections upstream have been identified for possible future works but these are not part of the current Scheme.

The Scheme will be substantially completed by quarter four 2017. The breakdown of works is as follows:

Completed to Date:

Phase 1 - Ringsend Bridge to London Bridge

Phase 2a – London Bridge to Newbridge

Phase 2b – Newbridge to Lansdowne Road Dart Station

Ongoing:

Phase 2c - Lansdowne Road Railway Bridge to Ballsbridge: To be completed by Q2 2017.

Phase 2d - Ballsbridge to Anglesea (Donnybrook) Bridge: To be completed by Q4 2017

Phase 2e - Anglesea Bridge to Smurfit Weirs. To be completed by Q4 2017.