Tuesday, 30 May 2017

Invalidity Pension Payments

Questions (292)

Brendan Griffin

Question:

292. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an application for an invalidity pension for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25801/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

The lady referred to has been awarded invalidity pension with effect from 6 April 2017. Her first payment and arrears due from 6 April 2017 to 31 May 2017 will issue to her nominated bank account on 1 June 2017. The lady in question was notified of this decision on 23 May 2017.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Paternity Leave Costs

Questions (293, 306)

Thomas P. Broughan

Question:

293. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Social Protection the first year cost and full year cost of increasing paternity leave by one week, two weeks, three weeks and four weeks, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25815/17]

View answer

Willie O'Dea

Question:

306. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year cost of increasing maternity and paternity benefit by one, two, three, four, five and six weeks, respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25885/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 293 and 306 together.

The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of maternity benefit is approximately €10 million for each extra week. The table estimates the additional cost of increasing the duration of maternity benefit above its current 26 week duration at the current weekly rate of €235.

Estimated annual cost of increasing the duration of maternity benefit based on 2017 rates

	Weeks/€	Weeks/€	Weeks/€	Weeks/€	Weeks/€	Weeks/€
No. of additional weeks	1	2	3	4	5	6
Estimated cost (€m)	10	20	30	40	50	60

These estimates are on a full year basis and assume that any increase in duration is implemented at the beginning of the year. It should be noted that this costing is subject to change over the coming months in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2017.

The Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 which was enacted in July 2016 introduced a new scheme of paternity leave and an associated social welfare payment of paternity benefit from 1 September 2016.

Approximately 12,750 paternity benefit claims have been awarded since the commencement of the scheme in September. This would indicate a take up of around approximately 19,000 in a full year. However there were approximately 7,500 paternity benefit claims awarded in the first four months of this year from 1 January 2017 to 26 April 2017. This would indicate a take up of around approximately 22,500 in a full year. However neither figure takes account of the fact that fathers can take their paternity leave up to 6 months after their child is born. For example, fathers whose child was born on 28 February 2017 can take their leave at any time up to 1 September 2017. As such, current figures for paternity benefit claims awarded do not include fathers who will apply and take their leave in the remaining months available to them.

Given the flexibility afforded to fathers and the scheme cycle it will be 18 months from the commencement of the scheme before the department will have an accurate figure for the take-up of paternity benefit in a full year. The estimates below are based on this proviso.

The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of paternity benefit is approximately €5.5 million for each extra week. The table below estimates the additional cost of increasing the duration of paternity benefit above its current two week duration at the current weekly rate of €235.

Estimated annual cost of increasing the duration of paternity benefit based on 2017 rates

	Weeks/€	Weeks/€	Weeks/€	Weeks/€	Weeks/€	Weeks/€
No. of additional weeks	1	2	3	4	5	6
Estimated cost (€m)	5.5	11	16.5	22	27.5	33

Question No. 294 answered with Question No. 275.

Live Register Data

Questions (295)

Anne Rabbitte

Question:

295. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of permanent child care workers (details supplied) his Department anticipates will sign on the live register in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25847/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The exact information requested is not available for permanent child care workers in childcare facilities.

However, my department has data on the broader category of “childc are and related occupations” which includes both those who work in childcare facilities – temporary or permanent - and other child care workers.

The tables show the number of people who were on the Live Register with a previous occupation code of ‘child care and related occupations’ at the end of May, June, July, August and September for years 2012 to 2016 inclusive, by county.

Totals	-	-	-	-	-
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	5,967	6,048	6,154	5,980	5,718
June	6,619	6,927	6,810	6,749	6,381
July	7,678	7,989	8,030	7,853	6,959
August	7,592	7,915	7,865	7,778	6,931
September	6,348	6,677	6,594	6,482	5,504

Carlow	-	-	-	-	-
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	102	110	105	104	95
June	107	118	112	123	100
July	121	130	133	133	106
August	126	128	129	133	100
September	109	109	102	117	88
Cavan
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	126	117	120	119	98
June	143	128	138	136	112
July	153	138	163	154	130
August	154	142	160	156	132
September	126	126	137	125	110
Clare
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	177	195	198	183	197
June	193	216	212	209	197
July	221	241	221	229	209
August	210	236	213	231	204
September	196	199	193	204	160
					Cork
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	465	488	449	424	403
June	566	609	551	512	519
July	693	749	702	682	604
August	679	727	672	639	611
September	526	557	496	500	369
Donegal
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	397	371	421	412	340
June	460	447	452	471	385
July	548	533	541	530	426
August	523	555	541	519	423
September	392	429	454	418	340
Dublin
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	1,129	1,083	1,079	1,091	1,120
June	1,182	1,208	1,164	1,256	1,161
July	1,262	1,279	1,283	1,349	1,215
August	1,291	1,277	1,290	1,358	1,213
September	1,173	1,203	1,174	1,237	1,090
Galway
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	327	312	349	341	334
June	362	393	398	397	396
July	422	447	474	454	460
August	412	437	471	452	462
September	336	382	381	366	346
Kerry
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	241	244	222	228	201
June	267	267	253	250	215
July	333	333	314	292	235
August	335	325	307	282	238
September	259	256	244	216	195
Kildare
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	184	196	174	162	154
June	198	208	180	163	160
July	227	214	208	179	158
August	227	212	211	186	162
September	197	205	186	171	136
Kilkenny
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	108	102	100	120	96
June	119	101	107	131	104
July	123	116	125	141	108
August	121	113	121	144	108
September	116	105	111	118	82
Laois
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	130	137	153	139	164
June	137	146	175	171	180
July	167	179	202	216	202
August	166	175	196	216	204
September	143	140	168	184	166
Leitrim
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	51	48	54	43	37
June	70	62	54	49	44
July	91	76	77	75	44
August	85	71	73	74	45
September	53	51	55	52	38
Limerick
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	233	220	217	214	200
June	243	225	244	214	234
July	279	272	307	264	265
August	281	278	292	270	264
September	249	230	248	220	202
Longford
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	92	74	84	81	80
June	97	85	90	82	93
July	115	92	109	109	114
August	113	93	110	107	122
September	88	82	93	80	72
Louth
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	248	248	268	221	225
June	269	277	280	232	239
July	301	312	306	269	258
August	299	302	290	266	254
September	274	279	267	216	203
Mayo
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	176	208	226	196	188
June	206	261	252	226	237
July	273	310	309	271	256
August	277	325	290	272	255
September	204	254	216	220	192
Meath
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	205	199	187	188	173
June	213	209	206	198	188
July	218	234	230	219	188
August	222	229	223	212	186
September	205	209	200	189	165
Monaghan
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	117	136	143	134	130
June	135	177	165	152	153
July	150	206	184	175	162
August	158	194	183	168	162
September	135	173	161	153	128
Offaly
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	147	132	121	131	97
June	175	158	146	153	101
July	199	188	191	198	103
August	181	175	181	198	99
September	143	140	130	142	89
Roscommon
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	123	120	118	124	118
June	149	139	145	136	140
July	177	177	186	182	163
August	172	184	174	182	168
September	119	130	127	130	137
Sligo
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	108	109	111	111	116
June	105	122	116	125	131
July	122	142	134	141	136
August	127	137	138	146	150
September	104	119	121	129	106
Tipperary
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	306	343	373	407	388
June	347	416	416	476	462
July	426	473	503	557	494
August	425	477	501	545	486
September	347	389	409	431	362
Waterford
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	158	159	161	140	142
June	172	180	173	169	159
July	199	221	213	195	184
August	194	221	213	188	179
September	166	173	175	160	147
Westmeath
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	120	150	159	149	151
June	138	163	157	158	148
July	156	177	167	175	164
August	163	180	167	181	158
September	147	139	149	167	128
Wexford
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	271	280	269	266	260
June	296	310	288	290	288
July	360	377	362	358	316
August	351	371	366	351	306
September	293	308	311	292	255
Wicklow
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
May	226	267	293	252	211
June	270	302	336	270	235
July	342	373	386	306	259
August	300	351	353	302	240
September	248	290	286	245	198

Disability Allowance Applications

Questions (296)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

296. 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. [25848/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

I confirm that my Department received an application for disability allowance from this lady on 30 March 2017. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Disability Allowance Applications

Questions (297)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

297. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a disability allowance for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25850/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

I confirm that my Department received an application for disability allowance from this lady on 12 April 2017. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Disability Allowance Applications

Questions (298)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

298. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a disability allowance for a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25851/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

This man has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 1 February 2017. The first payment was made by his chosen payment method on 10 May 2017. Arrears of payment due issued on 17 May 2017.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Personal Public Service Numbers

Questions (299)

Jim Daly

Question:

299. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which a person applying for permission to remain here on the basis of being the spouse of an Irish national would obtain a PPS number; the process involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25855/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The legislation governing the issue of a PPS number is the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended. Sections 262(2) and (2A) provide that:

(2) The Minister may, subject to subsection (2A), allocate and issue a personal public service number to each person who is the subject of any transaction with a specified body.

(2A) The Minister shall not allocate and issue a personal public service number to a person unless the Minister is satisfied as to the identity of the person to whom such number is to be allocated and issued.

Where a person is born in the State, a PPS number is automatically allocated at the time of birth registration.

Where a person comes to the State and requires a PPS number, they must attend and apply in person at a PPS number allocation centre. The required documents for the allocation of a PPS number in these circumstances are acceptable evidence of identity and acceptable evidence that a PPS number is required in order to carry out a transaction with a specified body (a State organisation specified in legislation as authorised to use PPS numbers). In addition, evidence of address is required so that notification of the PPS number will be received by the person.

Details relating to the specific documents required and the location of PPS number allocation centres are available on the Department’s website at www.welfare.ie, from Departmental Intreo and branch offices, and from Citizen’s Information Centres.

I hope that clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Disability Allowance Applications

Questions (300)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

300. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a disability allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25876/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

This gentleman submitted an application for disability allowance on 8 February 2017. The application, based upon the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds and the person in question was notified in writing of this decision on 25 April 2017 and of his rights of review and appeal. No request for review or appeal was received.

If the person in question believes they may qualify, it is open to him to reapply by completing and submitting to the Department the relevant application form (DA1).

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Disability Allowance Applications

Questions (301)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

301. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a disability allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25879/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

This lady submitted an application for disability allowance on 27 January 2017.

The application, based upon the evidence submitted, was refused as she failed to provide information regarding her income. On this basis my department were unable to determine her means. She was notified in writing of this decision on 16 May 2017 and of her rights of review and appeal.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Disability Allowance Applications

Questions (302)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

302. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a disability allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25881/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection

I confirm that my Department received an application for disability allowance from this gentleman on 27 March 2017. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Treatment Benefit Scheme

Questions (303)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

303. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection his plans to extend the treatment benefit scheme; if he has conducted an analysis of the cost of extending the treatments available under this scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25882/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

As outlined in the Programme for Government and announced in Budget 2017, I have extended eligibility to the treatment benefit scheme, to include the self-employed, who were not previously covered.

From 27 March, self-employed contributors with sufficient PRSI contributions at class S, or class S combined with other previously reckonable classes of PRSI, are entitled to a range of treatment benefits. Currently, this covers a free annual dental exam, a free optical exam once every two years and a grant of up to €500 or 50% towards the cost of a hearing aid. The treatments available under the optical and dental schemes will be extended from October 2017, to include the previously available provision of glasses, as required every two years and a once yearly dental scale and polish or periodontal cleaning.

It is estimated that some 450,000 self-employed contributors including their dependant spouses will be eligible for treatment benefit for the first time as a result of this change.

Almost 500,000 treatment benefit claims were received in 2016 and it is anticipated that there will be a significant increase in demand when the benefits available under the scheme are extended from October this year. The increased cost is estimated at €51.5 million in a full year. Financial provision for this anticipated increase in demand has been made in the estimates budget for this and coming years.

Any further extension to the benefits available under the treatment benefit scheme would have to considered in a budgetary context.

Bereavement Grant

Questions (304)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

304. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of restoring the bereavement grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25883/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

In recent Budgets my Department has protected primary social welfare rates. Abolishing the bereavement grant provided a significant annual saving and allowed my Department to protect other core social welfare payments such as the State pension.

The number of bereavement grant claims in 2013 was 23,716, and this represented an increase of approximately 4% on 2012. Based on a similar yearly increase each year since 2013, it is estimated that the number of bereavement grant claims that might arise in 2018, were the scheme to be re-introduced, would be in the region of 28,858, with that number likely to increase in future years. The estimated cost of re-introducing the grant at a rate of €850 for 28,858 recipients would be €24.53 million.

Any decision to reinstate the Bereavement Grant would have to be considered in the context of overall budgetary negotiations.

It is worth noting that there are a range of supports available for people following bereavement which provide more significant support than the grant. These include weekly-paid widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner’s (contributory and non-contributory) pensions, which are based on contributions or a means test, and a once-off widowed or surviving civil partner grant of €6,000 where there is a dependent child. A number of social welfare payments, including State pension, continue in payment for six weeks following a death. In Budget 2016, the Government increased the payment after death period to 12 weeks for carer’s allowance. Guardian payments are available where someone cares for an orphaned child. A special funeral grant of €850 is paid where a person dies because of an accident at work or occupational disease.

Additionally, the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. Under the SWA scheme, the Department of Social Protection 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 from their weekly income, which may include help with funeral and burial expenses. The Government has provided €31.5 million for exceptional and urgent needs payments in 2017.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Social Welfare Schemes Expenditure

Questions (305, 307)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

305. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full year cost of increasing the back to school clothing and footwear allowance by 25% and 50%, respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25884/17]

View answer

Willie O'Dea

Question:

307. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated full-year cost of extending the fuel allowance by one, two, three, four, five and six weeks, respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25886/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 305 and 307 together.

The costings sought by the Deputy are detailed in the following tables.

Table 1: Cost of increasing the duration of the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance

% Increase in Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance	Cost in 2018, €m
25% increase	12.5
50% increase	17.6

Table 2: Cost of increasing the duration of the Fuel Allowance by varying numbers of weeks

Number of weeks	Cost in 2018, €m
1 week	8.80
2 weeks	17.60
3 weeks	26.40
4 weeks	35.20
5 weeks	44.00
6 weeks	52.85

It should be noted that these costings are subject to change over the coming months in the context of emerging trends and associated revision of the estimated numbers of recipients for 2018.

State Pensions

Questions (308)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

308. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department has conducted an analysis of the cost of index linking increases in the State pension to the cost of living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25887/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

Social welfare legislation provides for the carrying out of an Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund every 5 years. The fourth such Review is currently being undertaken by external consultants (KPMG) on behalf of my Department.

The Review will project the income and expenditure of the Fund over a 55 year period, taking into account policy, economic and demographic changes since the previous review was undertaken. In providing an assessment of the financial “health” of the SIF, the findings of the Review will contribute to the development of policy for social insurance benefits generally. To allow for comparisons between different options for indexing benefits, the Review will include projections based on various indexation approaches, one of which is indexation in line with price increases (CPI).

It is expected that the current Actuarial Review will be published in August of this year.

Unemployment Data

Questions (309)

Willie O'Dea

Question:

309. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of jobless households; the way in which this compares with the European average; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25888/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

According to the Eurostat Labour Force Survey, in 2016 there were 170.76 million households in the EU (excluding households composed solely of students or solely of inactive people aged 65 and over). Of these, some 29.49 million households (17.3% of the total) were jobless - that is, no adult in the household was working.

For Ireland, the total number of relevant households was 1,440,600, and of these some 253,000 (17.6% of the total) were jobless.

Although the figure for Ireland has fallen from a high of 23% in 2012 as a result of the economic recovery, government remains concerned about aspects of household joblessness that go beyond the standard measures of unemployment and receipt of jobseekers’ payments. Relevant groups, not normally considered to be unemployed, include economically inactive lone parents, people with disabilities, and the adult dependants of unemployed people, all of whom might benefit from closer attachment to employment and the labour market. A range of policy reforms has been taken affecting these groups, and further reforms are being considered in consultation with representative bodies for those involved. These policy developments will be set out in an Action Plan for Jobless Households, to be published in the next few weeks.

Departmental Advertising Campaigns

Questions (310)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

310. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the rationale behind the recent advertising campaign to report social welfare cheats; and his views on whether this campaign demonises recipients of social welfare, the vast majority of whom are not there by choice. [25903/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The Department administers over 70 separate schemes and services, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. In 2016, over 82 million individual payments were made to people across all age groups and to employers. The scale of its operations and expenditure demand that a robust and integrated range of control and anti-fraud measures are in place. Measures to prevent and detect fraud and enhance controls across the Department’s various schemes are set out in the Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy which covers the period 2014 – 2018.

The recent fraud campaign was designed to:

- Promote discussion on the topic of social welfare fraud and challenge the perceptions of those who see it as a victimless crime;

- Encourage reporting of suspected/known social welfare fraud;

- Demonstrate that the Government and the Department takes the issue of social welfare fraud very seriously and that it will investigate and prosecute, where this is found to be warranted; and

- Demonstrate that the Department is very conscious of its obligations, as one of the largest spending Departments in the State, and the importance of protecting the integrity of the social welfare system.

The cost of the advertising campaign was €165,988 excluding VAT. It included all design and advertising costs associated with the campaign (print advertising, national and regional radio advertising, outdoor and online/digital advertising). No additional costs arose in staff resources, website development or the provision of the telephone reporting facility.

Since the launch of the campaign on 18 April last, 3,377 reports had been received from members of the public. This compares with 2,034 reports received for the same period in 2016, an increase of over 66%. These reports will be examined over the coming weeks and referred to the relevant scheme areas for appropriate follow-up action where this is warranted.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Citizens Information Services

Questions (311)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

311. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on the desirability of independence of the State and its agencies as an attribute, characteristic, feature and principle in the corporate governance of citizens information services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25904/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The independence of individual Citizens Information Services (CIS) companies is in no way undermined, or compromised, by its requirements to have appropriate and robust governance arrangements in place, which are compatible with the statutory and financial oversight needs of the Citizens Information Board (CIB) as the funding State body.

The countrywide network of 42 local CISs delivers information to citizens on a wide range of public and social services. Each CIS is established as a limited company, with a voluntary board of management (Board of Directors). The powers and responsibilities of each Board are outlined in the company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association and underpinned by Company Law. Boards of Directors are responsible for ensuring that the company delivers its aims and objectives, using available resources to best effect.

In accordance with the principles of good governance, each CIS Board is accountable to CIB for the funding it receives. CIB in turn is accountable to the Government for its substantial annual grant of public monies and for ensuring that the services made available under its remit are delivered to a consistently high standard to all who need and rely upon them.

In 2017 CIB is set to receive €54 million of State funding, of which €13.8 million is allocated to the network of 42 CIS services.

Effective accountability is dependent on establishing clearly defined roles and responsibilities against which achievement and success in service delivery can subsequently be measured. For this reason, there are annual service agreements in place between CIB and each of its delivery partner services, setting out the commitments both parties make to each other, including the range of services to be provided. The agreements cover generic items such as service delivery, governance, financial controls, HR practices, reporting guidelines, evaluation and monitoring and enable CIB to assess if quality services and best value are being delivered across the network. It also enables CIB to identify where service weaknesses or gaps exist.

In the circumstances, it would be irresponsible of CIB not to ensure that each CIS has in place adequate working governance arrangements to manage and monitor its expenditure on the basis that its funds are entirely comprised of taxpayers’ money.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times

Questions (312)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Question:

312. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Social Protection his views on whether the current backlog and processing time for social welfare claims is acceptable; the steps he is taking to alleviate the backlog; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25906/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. Each scheme area is continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure customers are responded to and claims are processed as quickly as possible.

However, the Department has experienced some difficulty in recent times with the maternity benefit scheme, where it has not been possible to process all claims in advance of their maternity leave commencement date. Corrective actions have been taken and good progress is being made, with the number of expectant mothers who are impacted reducing significantly week by week.

Schemes that require medical and other supporting documentation can take some time to properly assess, particularly as the opinion of one of the department’s medical assessor’s is routinely required. Increasing numbers applying have also been a feature of these schemes in recent years. In addition to the increased volumes, there has recently also been a significant increase in the complexity and length of time required to process applications.

Efforts continue across all schemes to improve processing times, with a noticeable improvement in processing times for carer's allowance over the last twelve months, the average time to award reducing from 22 weeks in May 2016 to 12 weeks in April 2017.

As part of its programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology, have been implemented by my Department in recent years. Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised. Staffing levels are also kept under continuous review to ensure the best use of available resources.

Carer's Allowance Delays

Questions (313)

John Curran

Question:

313. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps he is taking to reduce the processing time for applications for carer's allowance; his plans to reduce the target time of 12 weeks to process these applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25957/17]

View answer

Written answers

Minister for Social Protection

Carer'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.

This means that the care recipient requires from another person continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continual supervision in order to avoid being a danger to him/herself and is likely to require such full-time care for at least 12 months.

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.

The current processing times for Carer’s Allowance (CA) applications is 12 weeks. Applications for CA in 2016 were 20% higher than in 2015.

Reducing these waiting times is a priority for my Department and we are working hard to make this happen. As part of its programme of service delivery modernisation, a range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology, have been implemented by my Department in recent years. Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximised.

In addition, staffing needs are regularly reviewed, having regard to workloads and the competing demands arising, to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources. Where additional staffing is deployed to a scheme, there is a time-lag involved while those staff are trained and build up expertise. My Department has seen a significant reduction in CA processing from 22 weeks at the end of May 2016 to 12 weeks at the end of April 2017 and expects the processing times for the CA scheme to reduce further over the next few months, as recently assigned staff get up to speed with the work involved in claim processing.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.