Written Answers Nos. 159-167
159. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the monetary value of all work contracted out under the aegis of his Department to external agencies or consultancies for work completed or investigations undertaken in human resources and industrial relations to include the hiring and interviewing of staff and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23956/17]
View answerTo date in 2017 my Department has not paid external agencies or consultants for any work in relation to investigations undertaken in human resources or industrial relations including hiring or interviewing of staff.
160. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will grant a carer's allowance to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23396/17]
View answerI confirm that my department received an application for Carer’s Allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 19 July 2016. It is a condition for receipt of a CA that the person being cared for must have a disability whose effect is that they require full-time care and attention.
This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continuous supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself and likely to require that level of care for at least twelve months.
The evidence submitted in support of this application was examined and the deciding officer decided that this evidence did not indicate that the requirement for full-time care was satisfied.
The person concerned was notified on 16 February 2017 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
161. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps he will take to tackle the reported delays in maternity benefit payments. [23397/17]
View answer162. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on whether the reported delays in maternity benefit need to be tackled as an emergency in view of the fact that it is the only source of income for women whose employers do not pay for their maternity leave. [23398/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 161 and 162 together.
Maternity benefit claims are processed in leave commencement date order. The average time to process a paper claim is 6 weeks. Processing claims by leave commencement date order ensures that those whose maternity leave has already started, or is due to start soon, receive priority. Once a decision is made and the claim has been awarded, and where the leave has already commenced, payment issues on the following Monday and this payment will also include any arrears due to the customer at that point.
I accept that there is a delay in the processing of maternity benefit claims and my Department is working hard to bring the position up to date. To alleviate delays, additional staff have been assigned and staff are working overtime. Further additional staff have been assigned this week and will commence processing claims immediately. I want to assure customers that every effort is being made to ensure all claims are processed as quickly as possible.
The Department also facilitates online applications for maternity benefit and an automated decision is made where the customer submits all necessary information and where the detail provided can be validated. I would ask the Deputy to encourage women who are planning maternity leave to use this channel, if possible, as it provides the most effective method of applying for maternity benefit.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
163. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if an exceptional needs payment will issue in the case of persons (details supplied) with particular reference to the insolvency of the persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23425/17]
View answerFurther to Parliamentary Question No. 288 of 14 February 2017, the decision to refuse an application for an exceptional needs payment in the case of the second person concerned was reviewed on request and the decision of the designated officer upheld. There are no outstanding applications for an exceptional needs payment in the case of the persons concerned.
It is open to the persons concerned to submit a fresh application for an exceptional needs payment if they do not have sufficient means to meet their needs. They should include all relevant documentation in support of their application. A decision will issue on completion of assessment of their application.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
164. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount spent by bodies and agencies under the aegis of his Department on renting car park spaces in the years from 2011 to 2016, inclusive, and to date in 2017, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23472/17]
View answerThe statutory bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Social Welfare Tribunal. With the exception of the Citizens Information Board, none of these bodies incurred costs in renting car park spaces in the period from 2011 to date.
The following table sets out the amount spent by the Citizens Information Board on the renting of car park spaces for the period in question.
Citizens Information Board:
|
YEAR |
AMOUNT SPENT ON RENTING CAR PARK SPACES |
|
2011 |
€3,288 |
|
2012 |
€3,900 |
|
2013 |
€3,200 |
|
2014 |
€3,800 |
|
2015 |
€3,700 |
|
2016 |
€3,835 |
|
2017 (to date) |
€1,000 |
The following revised reply was received on 23 May 2017:
The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Social Welfare Tribunal.
The table below sets out the amount spent by the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Authority on the renting of car park spaces for the period in question. No such costs were incurred by the other bodies listed.
AMOUNT SPENT ON RENTING CAR PARK SPACES
|
YEAR |
Citizens Information Board |
Pensions Authority |
|
2011 |
€3,288 |
€9,732 |
|
2012 |
€3,900 |
€5,698 |
|
2013 |
€3,200 |
€554 |
|
2014 |
€3,800 |
€0 |
|
2015 |
€3,700 |
€0 |
|
2016 |
€3,835 |
€0 |
|
2017 (to date) |
€1,000 |
€0 |
165. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to fully retain the free travel scheme; his further plans to make changes to the scheme in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23480/17]
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. 880,000 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 am keenly 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 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 hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
166. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of community employment schemes in the Dublin North area; the number of persons availing of these schemes, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23494/17]
View answerThe number of Community Employment schemes and number of participants in the Dublin North Division are set out in Table 1.
Table 1 - Dublin North CE figures as at 15 May 2017
|
Number of Schemes |
No of Participants |
|
59 |
1,459 |
A breakdown of the table is as follows:-
|
CE Area |
No of Projects |
No of Participants |
|
Dublin 5 |
9 |
207 |
|
Dublin 9 |
7 |
171 |
|
Dublin 11 |
17 |
358 |
|
Dublin 13 |
3 |
55 |
|
Dublin 17 |
12 |
347 |
|
Dublin North County – Fingal |
9 |
282 |
|
Meath (Part of) |
||
|
Ashbourne/Ratoath |
1 |
16 |
|
Stanmullen |
1 |
23 |
|
Total |
59 |
1,459 |
In Quarter 3 2017, 15 projects and 319 participants relating to Dublin 15 will transfer to the Dublin North Division following the introduction of a new IT system.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
167. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of payments made under the back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme in 2016; the cost of these payments; the estimated number of individual payments to be made in 2017; and the estimated overall cost of these. [23495/17]
View answerThe back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when children start school each autumn.
End of year records show that under the 2016 BSCFA scheme, payments were made to over 154,000 families in respect of some 283,000 children at a cost of over €39.8 million. The Government has provided €37.4 million for the scheme in 2017. The reduced provision in 2017 arises from a projected decrease in the number of claimants arising from the reduction in the Live Register.
The 2017 BSCFA scheme will operate from June to September. Similar to arrangements in previous years, the majority of the BSCFA payments will be automated with no application form required.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
