Written Answers Nos. 293-308
293. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the options that are available for self employers that wish to take on an employee for a vacant post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11243/17]
View answerThe Jobsplus incentive is designed to encourage employers and businesses to focus their recruitment efforts on those who have been out of work for long periods, or on young people seeking employment. It provides employers with two levels of payment - €7,500 or €10,000 over two years, paid in monthly instalments, provided the employment is maintained. The rate of payment depends on the length of time the person employed has been on the Live Register.
The incentive is open to all eligible employers in the private, community and voluntary sectors, including those who are self-employed. It is available to all employers filling new positions or vacancies that arise as a consequence of natural turnover.
Employers can find out more information and register for JobsPlus on the www.jobsplus.ie website.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
294. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the service provided by the Jobs Ireland telephone service available to employers; the way this service operates; the details of recent changes to the service; the way in which employers are advised to best make use of this service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11244/17]
View answerJobsireland.ie is a free online jobs site that enables employers to post job opportunities and jobseekers to search and apply for these opportunities online. At 20 years old, the original site was showing its age. For example, although it enabled jobseekers to search for job opportunities based on job type and location, it wasn’t possible for employers to search for suitable jobseekers on the site.
Accordingly, my Department issued a tender last year for the development and implementation of a new service that would enable both employers and jobseekers to search for each other using competencies and skillsets as well as the traditional job-type classifications. As part of the new service, candidate profiles will be automatically matched to job specifications posted by employers. Candidates can also use the site to apply for the jobs advertised. The system will also integrate my Department’s Intreo service.
Following the procurement process, a young Irish tech company is building and delivering the new service on a phased basis. There were some teething problems with the first phase implementation, but performance issues have largely been resolved. The Department continues to work with the supplier to enhance the service and to add new functionality over the coming months.
In addition to the online service, the Department’s National Contact Centre provides a telephone service to assist employers and candidates. The original service operated from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. In response to an increase in queries, additional staff were assigned to deal with phone queries and operating hours were extended to 9am to 5pm daily.
Employers can contact the JobsIreland team on LoCall 1890 800024 or Tel: +353 (0)1 2481398. Rates charged for the use of Lo-Call numbers may vary among different service providers. JobsIreland phone service details are available on the ‘Contact Us’ section of the website www.jobsireland.ie and on www.welfare.ie home page by clicking ‘Contact Us’ and then ‘Employer Engagement Support Network’.
295. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Social Protection the penalty clauses that apply to his Department under the agreement with Turas Nua and Seetec; the circumstances in which they arise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11257/17]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is a service that supports people who are long-term unemployed (over 12 months) and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. Contractors are paid via a combination of an initial registration fee and thereafter only on the basis of job sustainment fees: which are only paid in respect of each period of 13 weeks the former jobseeker is in sustained employment, up to a maximum of 52 weeks (i.e. a maximum of four payments).
Failure by a provider to deliver the service to the satisfaction of the Department may result in the application of penalties by the department. Contractors are subject to regular inspections, assessment of their performance against contracted targets and surveys of customer satisfaction. If the service is not being delivered to the department’s satisfaction and/or if the employment placement targets as set out in the contract are not being achieved this may result in the application of penalties by the department through the retention of fees. Fees may be reduced by up to 15% until the underperformance is addressed. In addition, ultimately the Department has the right to terminate the contract in such circumstances.
No such penalty clauses apply to the department.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
296. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for a domiciliary care allowance for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11275/17]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received in respect of this child on the 23rd November 2016. The applicant was notified on the 1st March 2017 that their domiciliary care allowance claim has been awarded from 1st December 2016. The first payment of the allowance, along with arrears due, will issue on the 21st March 2017.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
297. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a domiciliary care allowance for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11283/17]
View answerAn application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received on behalf of the child concerned on the 26th July 2016. The original decision in the case was not to allow the application, as it was considered that the child did not meet the qualifying criteria. Following a review of that decision, the applicant has been notified that DCA has now been awarded in this case.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
298. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a disability allowance for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11286/17]
View answerI confirm that my department was notified by the Social Welfare Appeals Office on the 16 February 2017 that the appeal for this gentleman was upheld and was deemed to be medically suitable for the scheme.
His file has been passed to a deciding officer (DO) to implement the appeals officers’ decision. As the person concerned omitted to fully complete the form, the DO sent these to be completed and returned. On receipt of these documents, his eligibility will be determined. The person concerned will be notified in writing once full entitlement has been established.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.
299. Deputy Michael D'Arcy asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount spent by his Department and other Government agencies in helping workers of a company (details supplied) take their case to the European courts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11300/17]
View answerThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) delivered a judgement on 25 April 2013 arising from an investigation of complaints under Directive 2008/94/EC on the protection of employees in the event of the insolvency of their employer and the resultant contractual obligations that derive under the transposition of that Directive by the Irish Government.
The ECJ found in favour of the plaintiffs who were 10 former Waterford Crystal workers. The ECJ ruled that the Irish Government had failed to transpose the Directive in such a manner as to protect the rights of the plaintiffs to old-age benefits under a supplementary pension scheme established by their employer.
This case was taken by the plaintiffs against the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, and the Attorney General. It would not be normal practice for my Department to spend money to assist people in taking a case against the State. Therefore, in this case, I can confirm that my Department did not spend any money to assist the Waterford Crystal workers to take their case to the ECJ.
I do not have any information to confirm if other government agencies assisted the Waterford Crystal workers in taking their case to the European courts. If any such assistance was provided that would be a matter between the workers and the agency involved.
I hope that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
300. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are specific programmes or schemes under the remit of his Department that support those 40 years of age and over that are long-term unemployed enter or return to third level education to reskill and retrain; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11313/17]
View answerThe Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) Grant, payable by the Department of Education and Skills, represents the primary support for persons pursuing education. My Department provides income support in the form of the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) scheme for people on certain social welfare payments who wish to participate in full- time education. The scheme provides an approved recipient with a weekly payment while they are participating in full-time education.
A person wishing to pursue BTEA must satisfy a number of conditions. These include being in receipt of a prescribed social welfare payment for a specified time period, commencing the first year of a full-time course of study leading to a recognised qualification in a recognised college and, in general, progressing in the level of education held by the person, with reference to the national framework of qualifications.
A person must be at least 21 years of age and in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for 3 months if pursuing a second level course, 9 months for third level study or 12 months if pursuing the Professional Masters of Education.
In general, BTEA can be approved where the course of study leads to a higher qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications other than that already held by the applicant up to a level 8.
A jobseeker who is interested in returning to education should make an appointment with a case officer in their Intreo Centre to discuss the BTEA, as part of their personal progression plan.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
301. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons that have applied for an exceptional needs payment to date in 2017, in tabular form; the number that have been awarded a payment; the number that have been refused a payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11314/17]
View answerUnder the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) 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. The Government has provided €31.5 million for exceptional needs payments (ENPs) and urgent needs payments (UNPs) in 2017.
There is no automatic entitlement to a payment. The ENP scheme is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.
Statistics are maintained relating to payments under the ENP scheme, however they are not maintained on the number of applications or the outcome of those applications. There have been 15,100 ENP payments made to 25 February 2017.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
302. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of households by county that have had their rent increased above the prescribed rent supplement limit, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11315/17]
View answerThe rent supplement scheme, for which the Government has provided €253 million for in 2017, plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme currently supporting approximately 46,000 tenants.
In recognition of the on-going rental market difficulties, my Department implements a targeted case-by-case policy approach that allows for flexibility where landlords seek rents in excess of the rent limits. Since the introduction of this flexible approach, almost 11,200 persons at imminent risk of homelessness have been supported through increased rent supplement payments. A county breakdown of these payments is provided in the following tabular statement.
The Deputy will be aware that the strategic policy direction of the Department is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of being a short-term income support with the introduction of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme, which from 1 March, 2017, is now available nationwide. HAP was first piloted in the Limerick area in early 2014, with the number of HAP recipients (c. 1,600) in Limerick City and County now exceeding the number of rent supplement recipients (945). In addition to the ongoing transfer of tenancies from rent supplement to HAP, the majority of new applicants in Limerick seeking State support towards their rent are being supported under HAP rather than rent supplement. This activity is reflected in the low number of increased payments provided under rent supplement in this area.
In tandem with the revised rental limits introduced in July 2016 and on-going transfers to HAP, my Department continues to implement a targeted, flexible, case-by-case approach where rents may exceed the appropriate maximum limit ensuring where possible that rent supplement tenants can retain their homes.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Tabular Statement
Total Cumulative Increased Rental Payments by County as at 28 th February, 2017
|
County |
Cumulative Awards under National Tenancy Sustainment Framework |
Cumulative Awards under protocol with Threshold |
Total no. of increased payments by County |
|
CARLOW |
75 |
75 |
|
|
CAVAN |
66 |
66 |
|
|
CLARE |
60 |
60 |
|
|
CORK |
454 |
97 |
551 |
|
DONEGAL |
- |
- |
|
|
DUBLIN |
4,320 |
2,570 |
6,890 |
|
GALWAY |
207 |
3 |
210 |
|
KERRY |
206 |
206 |
|
|
KILDARE |
558 |
3 |
561 |
|
KILKENNY |
136 |
136 |
|
|
LAOIS |
119 |
119 |
|
|
LEITRIM |
101 |
101 |
|
|
LIMERICK |
17 |
17 |
303. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the evaluations he will carry out on JobBridge, Springboard and MOMENTUM in view of the recent European Commission review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11351/17]
View answerIn 2015 my Department initiated a rolling, multi-annual evaluations programme, using econometric and qualitative methods, of Pathways to Work programme and process reforms. This includes large-scale annual customer satisfaction surveys. It draws upon an episodic administrative database, the Jobseekers’ Longitudinal Database (JLD), capturing jobseekers spells of unemployment and exits to employment, training and education, from 2004.
The two major evaluations currently under way using the JLD are the evaluation of the Intreo ‘one-stop-shop’ service for jobseekers, and of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA).
As part of this evaluation programme, the JobBridge evaluation report was published in October 2016. It had 3 elements: a rigorous counterfactual impact evaluation (that used cohort-building techniques to continuously assess impacts); a survey (response rate: 33.5% of all participants and 23.3% of all host organisations); and a cost-benefit analysis. Key findings included:
- Individuals similar to those who participated in JobBridge had a 36.6% probability of securing employment within one year, whereas the JobBridge interns’ probability of securing employment within one year increased to 48.4% (an 11.8 percentage point difference and a 32% increase in the probability of becoming employed).
- The overall economic cost-benefit analysis, taking account of increased employment and incomes, indicates a positive economic net benefit.
- Amongst interns, there was broad agreement that the internship provided them with new job skills and an opportunity to gain quality work experience. However, there was dissatisfaction with the value of the top-up payment and some aspects of the administration of the scheme.
Following publication of the evaluation in October 2016, I announced my intention to replace JobBridge in 2017 with a new work experience programme that better reflected the improved labour market and addressed certain criticisms of the scheme. The design of the scheme will be informed by learning from the evaluation, by proposed design principles as recommended by the Labour Market Council, and by consultation with stakeholders.
In relation to Springboard and Momentum, which are operated under the aegis of the Department of Education and Skills, there have been formal evaluations undertaken of both programmes in recent years. The latest statistics for Springboard show that 80% of participants between 2011 and 2015 are no longer on the Live Register.
The above information was supplied to the European Commission during the drafting of the 2017 Country Report on Ireland.
304. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to make any changes to the free travel pass; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that many persons are concerned regarding this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11396/17]
View answerThe free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approx. 874,000 customers with direct eligibility with an annual allocation of €80 million. The scheme is available to all people aged over 66 living permanently in the State. To qualify for the scheme, applicants who are under age 66 must be in receipt of a qualifying payment. These 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.
I have no plans to introduce any measures which would reduce the benefit of the pass to beneficiaries, or to reduce the number of people who qualify and I am fully committed to its retention. I am aware that the free travel pass is a valuable support for older people and people with disabilities, and that it has a significant role in preventing their isolation and promoting social inclusion.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
305. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount his Department spent on public relations consultants and all matters relating to public relations costs in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11435/17]
View answerThere has been no expenditure by my department on public relations consultants in 2016.
Concerning matters relating to public relations costs, expenditure of €395 was incurred on an Effective Press Release Writing course delivered by the Public Relations Institute of Ireland in September 2016.
306. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will expedite a request for a review of an application for disability allowance in respect of a person (details supplied), in view of the medical evidence provided in their case. [11438/17]
View answerThis man has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 12 October 2016. The first payment will be made by her chosen payment method on 22 March 2017.
Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments or in respect of outstanding overpayments (if applicable).
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
307. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will give consideration to removing the year 2000 rule to community employment schemes, which is proving to be a barrier to recruitment. [11447/17]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, I brought a Memo to Government last week and obtained approval to publish my Department’s review report on CE and the other work schemes, and to progress the various changes that were recommended. I will be publishing the review report shortly.
The changes proposed to the Community Employment (CE) scheme include moving the reference year. Currently participation on CE prior to the 3rd April 2000 is not counted. It is proposed to move this reference date to 1st January 2007. This will mean, when it is implemented, that more people will be able to avail of CE schemes as they will not have reached their maximum duration as any time on a scheme prior to 2007 will not be counted.
As part of the roll out of the new measures, my Department will consult with key stakeholders in the coming weeks and implementation of the new measures will be progressed subsequently.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
308. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11458/17]
View answerThe person concerned was requested to supply additional information to the department so that a decision could be made on their application for Jobseekers Allowance. The department has now received that information and is in a position to make a decision on the application which will be done today. The Intreo Office concerned will be in contact with the applicant to advise of that decision.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
