Written Answers Nos. 1167-1186
1167. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide figures on school attendance and participation among Traveller children from 2016/2017 or the latest date available and for all years since 2000. [34511/17]
View answerI am advised by the Educational Welfare Service ( EWS ) of Tusla that they do not gather data specifically on school attendance and participation among Traveller children.
Schools are obliged to notify Tusla EWS where children are absent in excess of 20 days in any school year. This applies to all children attending the school (including Traveller children). Similarly, schools make attendance returns on the pupil cohort in their school, however no specific ethnic or other groups are identified in these returns, rather the data is inclusive of all students attending each school.
1168. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the approximate cost of re-introducing the visiting teachers service for Travellers in budget 2018. [34512/17]
View answerI am advised by the Education and Welfare Service of Tusla that in line with Department of Education and Skills policy on the phasing out of segregated Traveller provision, the Visiting Teachers Service for Travellers was discontinued with effect from September 2011.
The Department of Education and Skills advised the funding costs for the final full year of the programme in 2010 was €2,716,737.
1169. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her Department has undertaken studies of school attendance and participation among children living in homeless households; if so, if she will provide figures on school attendance and participation; if not, the reason therefore; and if she will establish such a study. [34513/17]
View answerI am advised by the Education and Welfare Service, (EWS) of Tusla, that they do not gather national or regional data specifically on school attendance and participation among children experiencing homelessness. For many children in temporary accommodation school attendance is maintained, particularly if the family is accommodated close to where the children currently attend school.
Where school attendance becomes a concern referrals are made to Tusla EWS by schools. In these cases Tusla EWS works with the family to support attendance in the child's current school or assists the family to get an appropriate school place close to their temporary accommodation.
Studying school attendance and participation of children living in homelessness would be challenging. In many cases families experiencing homelessness maintain their children's school attendance and don't inform school authorities that the family is experiencing homelessness. Sharing this information with schools is at the discretion of each family.
1170. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when she plans to accept applications from communities seeking funding for resource centres. [34666/17]
View answerTusla, the Child and Family Agency, administers the Family Resource Centre (FRC) Programme. As the FRC Programme is managed by Tusla, it is a matter for that organisation to make decisions regarding the inclusion or non-inclusion of Family Resource Centres to the programme. My Department has no role in accepting applications from any persons who wish to receive funding for the establishment of such a Centre.
It is my understanding that Tusla is currently undertaking an assessment of the distribution of services, including Family Resource Centres, around the country in order to gauge the best possible use of its budget. Applications to the Family Resource Programme can be made at any point. Decisions regarding funding and the use of Tusla's budget is an operational matter for Tusla.
1171. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the LGBT youth strategy; the timeline for completion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34691/17]
View answerThe Programme for Government (2016) gives a commitment to develop a National LGBTI+ Youth Strategy. A specific focus on LGBTI+ Youth will aim to ensure that appropriate measures are taken so that young members of the LGBTI+ Community are not in any way prevented from achieving their full potential.
Better Outcomes Brighter Futures, The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014 – 2020 and The National Youth Strategy 2015 - 2020 will provide a framework within which the strategy can be structured with a focus on appropriate measures to ensure that young people identifying as LGBTI+ are supported in achieving their full potential.
The five outcomes we want for all our children and young people are that they:
(i) Are active and healthy, with positive physical and mental wellbeing;
(ii) Are achieving their full potential in all areas of learning and development;
(iii) Are safe and protected from harm;
(iv) Have economic security and opportunity; and
(v) Are connected, respected and contributing to their world.
An Oversight Committee was appointed to manage the development of the strategy and represents a broad cross sectorial grouping of relevant organisations, bodies and Government Department/ Agencies who will have a role in the development and implementation of the strategy.
The Strategy will be youth centred and in this regard a youth advisory group has also been established. They have had significant input into the work done so far, particularly in relation to developing the branding for the Strategy and the consultations which were held for young people. The youth advisory group are also represented on the Oversight Committee, providing two nominees to the Committee.
Consultations with young people are vital to the development of the Strategy. An online survey on www.spunout.ie was carried out in April and May which attracted approximately 4,000 responses. In addition to this, officials from my Department held seven consultations with young people across the country, one aimed at all young people who wished to contribute to the development of the Strategy and six reserved for young members of the LGBTI+ Community.
Two of these consultations were held in Dublin with the others taking place in Cork, Dundalk, Galway, Sligo and Waterford. A report writer was appointed for these consultations and the report will be published in the coming weeks. Finally a stakeholder consultation was held on June 28th in Farmleigh House, which was attended by representatives from approximately seventy different organisations.
The data arising from these consultations will be used to shape the development of the Strategy and identify priorities for the Oversight Committee to examine in the coming months. The Strategy will be completed by the end of 2017.
1172. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the status of the operation of the area based childhood programme; the projects awarded funding under this scheme, by amount awarded and county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34695/17]
View answerThe Area Based Childhood (ABC) Programme is a joint prevention and early intervention initiative, led by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) in conjunction with The Atlantic Philanthropies (Atlantic). The ABC Programme commenced in 2013 and was designed as a time-bound, co-funding agreement in the amount of €29.7 million to 2017. In late 2016, my Department secured additional funding to ensure that all 13 existing ABC sites are to remain in contract to the end of December 2017. Addendums to contracts have been issued to sites to facilitate these extensions.
There are 13 sites across Ireland participating in the ABC Programme. Eight of these are based in Dublin: CDI Tallaght, Preparing for Life; Youngballymun, Clondalkin Blueskies Initiative, Better Finglas, Dublin Docklands and East Inner City (NCI); Grangegorman and Ballyfermot. The remaining five sites are located in Cork; Louth; Wicklow, Limerick and the Midlands (Laois/Offaly and Longford/Westmeath). The Midlands ABC Programme is funded through the Northside Partnership/Preparing for Life programme.
The following table shows the total agreed grant allocations under the ABC Programme to the end of December 2017. All sites are currently in contract and are operating according to their agreed budgets for 2017.
It is the intention of my Department to seek additional funding in this year’s estimates process, to extend the ABC Programme to the end of August 2018. This extension brings the existing programme closer in line with the expected timeline for delivery of the national evaluation report in 2018. We will utilise the learning from the programme and the findings from the national evaluation to inform the design of prevention and early intervention initiatives that comprehend the Programme for Government Commitments, in order to achieve our shared goal of improving the lives of children and families throughout Ireland.
|
ABC Site |
ABC Grant to 31/12/17 |
Development Funding |
Total |
County |
|
Youngballymun |
€5,635,090 |
€5,635,090 |
Dublin |
|
|
Preparing for Life (including Midlands) |
€3,744,843 |
€3,744,843 |
Dublin, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Longford |
|
|
Tallaght West CDI |
€4,926,750 |
€4,926,750 |
Dublin |
|
|
Better Finglas |
€1,328,927 |
€1,328,927 |
Dublin |
|
|
Clondalkin Blueskies Initiative |
€1,275,331 |
€43,969 |
€1,319,300 |
Dublin |
|
Ballyfermot Partnership |
€818,126 |
€25,686 |
€843,812 |
Dublin |
|
DIT Grangegorman |
€1,055,698 |
€25,000 |
€1,080,698 |
Dublin |
|
NCI Early Learning Initiative |
€1,516,620 |
€1,516,620 |
Dublin |
|
|
Genesis Programme |
€1,790,529 |
€12,850 |
€1,803,379 |
Louth |
|
PAUL Partnership |
€1,597,653 |
€21,265 |
€1,618,918 |
Limerick |
|
SPECS Bray |
€838,000 |
€6,804 |
€844,804 |
Wicklow |
|
Young Knocknaheeny |
€1,800,000 |
€25,000 |
€1,825,000 |
Cork |
|
Total Allocation to ABC Sites |
€26,327,567 |
€160,574 |
€26,488,141 |
1173. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 1934 of 20 June 2017, the number of former Members who applied for board positions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34848/17]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that I do not have this information. Applications for State Board positions are made through the Public Appointments Service.
1174. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Social Protection her proposed changes to the qualifying criteria for a community employment scheme, in particular for persons wishing to roll over to a second year and so on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33633/17]
View answerFollowing the publication of my Department’s Report - An Analysis of the Community Employment Programme - earlier in the year, the Government approved a number of changes to the terms and conditions around participation on Community Employment (CE). The main purpose of these changes is to broaden the availability of CE to a greater number of people on the live register, to standardise eligibility and other conditions regarding the length of time a person can participate on the programme and to promote progression outcomes.
The changes will see the general qualifying age for CE, for those on the live register, reduced from 25 to 21 years. It will also now be easier for previous participants who have exhausted their CE entitlement to requalify, as participation prior to the year 2007 will be disregarded. While participants between 21 and 55 years can avail of one year on the programme, this can be extended on approval by the Department by up to 2 more years, if they are working towards a major award/industry recognised equivalent to support their progression to employment. CE participants age 55 and over can now avail of up to 3 consecutive years on a scheme.
All participants will be given access to training and development and supported with addressing any barriers to employment they may have so as to enhance and maximise their progression opportunities.
There will be an overall lifetime limit of 6 years from 2007 (or 7 years if on a disability payment).
Following consultation workshops with CE stakeholders throughout the country during May and early June, these changes came into effect from Monday 3rd July 2017.
Further changes which will be progressed over the coming months include the roll-out of the ‘two strand approach’ of activation and social inclusion in terms of how CE places are categorised. In addition, a review of the participation of older people on schemes is being undertaken which I expect will be completed by the early autumn.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1175. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of children under 18 years of age who live in consistent poverty. [34186/17]
View answer1176. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Social Protection the percentage of children under 18 years of age who live in consistent poverty before social transfers. [34187/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1175 and 1176 together.
The latest CSO Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) results for 2015 show that the consistent poverty rate for children was 11.5% in 2015, or 139,000 children. This compared to a rate of 12.7%, or 152,000 children, the year before. The 2015 results show that consistent poverty among children fell by 1.2 percentage points in 2015, equating to a fall of 13,000 on the child poverty target.
These figures relate to the situation after the impact of social transfers is taken into account. The Central Statistics Office does not report the percentage of children under 18 years of age that live in consistent poverty before social transfers.
The Government set a child poverty target in 2014 in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: the national policy framework for children and young people 2014-2020 (BOBF). The target was to reduce the number of children in consistent poverty by over 70,000 between 2011 and 2020. From the revised outcome for 2015, meeting this target would now require lifting over 102,000 children out of consistent poverty by 2020.
In support of the child poverty target in Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures, the Government is implementing a whole-of-government approach to tackling child poverty, building on the life-cycle approach adopted in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion, 2007-2016. A range of government departments and other stakeholders are involved in implementing this approach.
1177. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will remove the means-test requirement for households in which a mature student wishes to return to education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34308/17]
View answerThe Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is an educational opportunities scheme for persons in receipt of certain qualifying social welfare payments wishing to pursue second or third-level courses of education in order to improve their employment prospects.
Entitlement to BTEA is conditional on having on-going entitlement to the qualifying scheme payment. The BTEA scheme has been amended in recent years to ensure that the conditions are in line with the qualifying payment. BTEA participants with eligibility based on jobseekers, transitional jobseekers or one parent family payments who engage in part-time work will be assessed in accordance with their primary payment. This measure ensures that only participants who continue to satisfy the means test of their primary payment will continue to receive income support under the BTEA and that resources are directed at those most in need of assistance.
The BTEA was never intended to be an alternative form of funding for people entering or re-entering the third-level education system. The student universal support Ireland (SUSI) grant, payable by the Department of Education and Skills, represents the primary support for persons pursuing education.
A new €500 annual Cost of Education Allowance will be made available to BTEA participants with children from the next academic year in September. This will help parents, including lone parents, to return to education. Additionally the age-related payments will no longer apply to participants of the BTEA and, as a result, students who have a reduced payment on their primary scheme payment will now benefit from the maximum rate of payment from the new academic year.
Overall, the priority for my Department is that the BTEA scheme will be focused, targeted and suitable for the needs of jobseekers and on the future skills needs of the economy. It is only in that context that changes to BTEA will be considered. I have no plans to change the current rules for the Allowance.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1178. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Social Protection the types of job schemes that are available to young persons with learning disabilities and mental health issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34409/17]
View answerMy Department does not fund programmes that are specifically targeted at young people with learning disabilities and mental health issues. However, those aged 18 years or over who are currently in receipt of any of the following payments from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) - Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit (for 6 months or more), may participate in the Community Employment programme.
Community Employment is an employment programme which helps long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce through a return to work routine. The programme assists them to enhance and develop both their technical and personal skills with a view to securing employment in the open labour market.
In addition, the First Steps programme is available to recipients of Disability Allowance and Blind Pension as part of the EU Youth Guarantee and offers a young person aged 18 to 24, who has had little or no experience of working, the opportunity to learn basic work skills and social skills while on a placement in a real work situation.
Further details of these schemes can be obtained from my Department through its Intreo service.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1179. Deputy James Browne asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to address the unemployment blackspots in County Wexford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34416/17]
View answerGovernment policy to reduce unemployment is twofold. First, through policies set out in the Action Plan for Jobs, to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs; and second, through Pathways to Work to ensure that as many of these new jobs and other vacancies that arise in our economy are filled by people taken from the Live Register.
The Pathways to Work 2016-2020 strategy continues to prioritise actions for the newly unemployed and also includes a range of measures for the long-term unemployed. This includes the payment-by-results services of JobPath to engage more systematically with the long-term unemployed; providing targeted wage subsidies under JobsPlus; and reserved places for long-term unemployed jobseekers on employment and training programmes.
The unemployment rate in the South East is still relatively high at 9.3% (Q1 2017) as compared with the national average of 6.7%; data on the official unemployment rate are not available at the sub-regional level. In relation to ‘blackspots’ with a high concentration of unemployment, as identified in the Census, it is important to recognise that DSP services through Intreo are focused on unemployed individuals rather than on areas. This means, nonetheless, that those areas where unemployed individuals are most concentrated will also be the areas that receive a greater share of DSP income support payments and activation and employment services.
The Action Plan for Jobs 2017 includes actions aimed at stimulating regional growth, including the progression, monitoring and support of the eight Regional Action Plans for Jobs, which through public and private sector collaboration seek to build on existing strengths and assets and identify opportunities within each region, and realise the national Action Plan’s regional employment targets.
The South East Action Plan for Jobs is the key policy response for supporting employment growth in the South East region.
The Key Targets for the SE RAPJ are as follows:
- Increase employment in the region by 10%-15% over the period to 2020. This will see the creation of 25,000 new jobs in the region.
- Increase the number of IDA investments in the region by 30-40% up to 2019. This will result in a minimum of 44 additional projects for the region by 2019.
- Achieve an increase of at least 25% in the number of start-ups in the region, and a 25% improvement in the survival rate of new businesses.
- Increase jobs in export-led sectors by 20% across the region by 2020.
- Increase the value of agri-food exports by 85% by 2025.
- Develop the South East as a key destination as part of Ireland’s Ancient East experiences, to achieve a target to grow overseas tourism numbers by an extra 300,000 with 5,000 associated jobs being created.
- Establishing a new Regional Skills Forum to ensure closer collaboration between employers and the education system in identifying and meeting the skills needs of the region and promoting the range of roles and career paths available in the region.
- Developing Smart Specialisms as new sources of growth in the South East, in particular where the region has both a research base and an enterprise base that can exploit emerging technologies from that research.
Progress Reports on the SE RAPJ are being published twice yearly.
- The first progress report for the South East Region was published last December and the second Report was published on 26 June. Both reports show that good progress is being made in the implementation of the Action Plan.
- As a result of a focused collaborative approach and a range of reforms delivered in the region over recent years, the unemployment rate in the South East has fallen from 12.8% in 2015 to 9.3% by Q1 2017.
- 12,400 jobs were created in the South East from the start of 2015 to Q1 2017.
I am confident that the range of measures outlined, and continuing economic recovery, will support further reductions in unemployment both nationally, regionally, and in the blackspot areas.
1180. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on the roll-out of the State’s job matching service, jobsIreland.ie; the reason the launch date was delayed due to technical issues in 2016 forcing employers to re register for the service; the number of complaints received to date about the site; the costs associated with setting up and maintaining the website; and her plans to review the tender process relating to the website [34714/17]
View answerJobsireland.ie is a web service that enables employers to post job opportunities and jobseekers to search and apply for these opportunities online.
Employers are vital to the continuing recovery of the Irish economy and they are important customers of my Department. Private sector companies offer online vacancy services, but at a cost. My Department’s service is fee-free and supports employers to find suitable candidates across a wide range of industry sectors. Unlike commercial services, JobsIreland is integrated with the European-wide EURES service and is also used to support public employment schemes, such as Community Employment.
The new JobsIreland also represents a key step in the ongoing development of the State’s Intreo employment service. The service greatly improves the ability of employers and jobseekers to offer and find employment using the latest technology in a cost effective manner. It is also being integrated with the Department’s Intreo service and will be of benefit to case workers as they support jobseekers in their efforts to find employment. A JobsIreland service has been available since the 1990s and was originally provided on a website operated by FÁS. When my Department took over responsibility for the public employment service it was clear that the website did not provide the range of functionality offered by public employment services in other European countries.
For example, while the old website enabled jobseekers to search for job opportunities based on job type, location and salary, employers could not search for suitable jobseekers - they had to rely on candidates finding and applying for the jobs that they were offering from among the many thousands hosted on the website. In effect, it operated as an online ‘notice board’ rather than an online recruitment tool. In addition, the site itself operated on old technology which was obsolescent.
Accordingly the Department decided to tender for the provision of a new multi-functional service. Tendering procedures were fully compliant with Public Procurement Guidelines. Following an open procurement process via etenders and OJEU, conducted in compliance with public procurement guidelines, the Department selected an Irish vendor to design, build and operate the service. The contract was awarded on the basis of the most economically advantageous tender submitted in response to the requirements set out in the Request for Tender, for a fee of €3.36m to be paid over an initial period of five and a half years to the end of 2021 with an option to extend the contract at the end of this period at a reduced rate. My Department is satisfied that it represented the best value for money and entered into a contract with BDO on the 18th September 2015.
The new service enables employers and jobseekers to search for each other using competencies and skillsets as well as the traditional job type classifications. It also operates in the background to automatically match candidate CVs to job specifications posted by employers and notify both the candidates and the employers when a match is found. Employers and candidates can communicate with each other using system messaging.
It was intended that the first phase of the enhanced JobsIreland service would be introduced on 18th July 2016. As preparation for the switchover, the old service had to be suspended - to facilitate, among other things, the migration of data to the new system. During this time some user access and system performance issues were identified and it was considered prudent to undertake remedial work so as to mitigate the risk of problems appearing in the live environment. The start date for the new service was therefore deferred to 28th July 2016.
Regrettably, this meant that the service was offline for a short period. During that time, employers who wished to post job advertisements were asked to contact staff in the National Contact Centre, who took details from them to facilitate publication as soon as the new service went live.
Some employers didn’t understand why they had to re-register as users on the new site when they were already registered on the old site. Re-registration on the new site was necessary to ensure that an employer could avail of the full service offered by the website. Previously the old system captured very ‘light’ employer details (essentially name and address). Additional information is required in order to validate jobs and employers as real jobs/employers and to match employers with potential candidates, including, for example, industry sector, Company Registration Office and VAT registration numbers. This also provided the opportunity to refresh the employer register and eliminate duplicate entries that have built up over the past twenty years. Similarly job details and skill/competency requirements have to be specified in greater detail if job and candidate matching is to be effective.
My Department worked to minimise the impact of the registration process. In cases where an employer had a live vacancy advertised on the old system, officials contacted them and made arrangements to have them registered in order for that vacancy to transfer and be successfully associated with the new, more complete entry.
The service is being implemented on phased basis which means that there has been some service disruption - implementation of a complex new website in a live environment will inevitably lead to some service disruption. The phased implementation is designed to enable new features to be added while minimising disruption.
Notwithstanding that the level of disruption experienced during the implementation of the new service was greater than anticipated, particularly during the July – November period of 2016, the Department is satisfied that the system is now operating satisfactorily and is providing a much broader and relevant set of functionality to users than was available on the old system. The improved performance is reflected in the fact that there are now over 10,000 jobs advertised on the site – this is the highest level recorded in recent years.
The price and payment schedule for the service has been adjusted to reflect the initial difficulties experienced and the vendor has agreed to extend the service period to compensate for the delays that resulted from these service issues.
My Department has a National Contact Centre which provides employers and jobseekers who use the JobsIreland website with information, advice and support. Anyone needing assistance can contact the Centre by email at jobsireland@welfare.ie or by phone on 1890 800 024 (between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday).
At the time of the site launch in Summer 2016, many customers experienced difficulty in accessing the service; the level of customer enquiries and complaints increased significantly in August 2016 and remained high for the rest of the year, averaging 200 per week. Additional staff was assigned to manage this level of enquiry and to support users in accessing the JobsIreland service. From December 2016 the number of customer enquiries, including complaints, has reduced significantly and has averaged 20 per week for the year to date. This level of query is not considered excessive for a service that is hosting 10,000 job vacancies. There have been 8 official complaints.
1181. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection her views on reports of bogus self-employment (details supplied); and if her Department commissioned a report or instigated analysis of the issues at play. [34715/17]
View answerBogus self-employment is generally taken to refer to the deliberate misclassification of employment status in order to evade income tax and PRSI. Where evidence of non-compliance or deliberate misclassification of employment status is detected, it is addressed as part of normal enforcement of the income tax and social welfare codes by the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Protection. In addition, where details of specific cases are supplied to the Department, the Scope insurability section will investigate and determine the employment status of the persons concerned in line with legislation and the Code of practice for determining employment or self-employment of individuals. My Department adjudicates in the region of 1,000 insurability decisions every year.
An interdepartmental working group, comprising officials from the Department of Social Protection, the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners, has been examining the emergence of new forms of employment arrangements, which are sometimes called ‘disguised employment’. These includes arrangements i) where an individual, who would otherwise be an employee, establishes a company to provide their services employment and ii) where an individual, who is dependent on and under the control of a single employer in the same manner as an employee, is classified as self-employed.
The working group sought the views of interested parties and stakeholders through a public consultation. The consultation received 23 submissions from interested parties, including employers, trade unions, professional bodies and individuals. The working group is preparing a report which will present the views of these organisations and individuals, together with an analysis of the issues arising. I understand that the working group is currently finalising the report.
I look forward to seeing the report and I will then consider, along with my colleague the Minister for Finance, what changes, if any, might be required.
1182. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a domiciliary care allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33586/17]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to convene an oral hearing in this case.
Every effort will be made to hear the case as quickly as possible and the appellant will be informed when arrangements for the oral hearing have been made.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1183. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a claim for FIS by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33593/17]
View answerThe person concerned made an application for Family Income Supplement (FIS) on 27th March 2017. At the time of application, the person concerned had a One Parent Family Payment (OFP) claim pending and FIS could not proceed with assessment until a decision was made on the OFP claim.
OFP was awarded to the claimant on 6th April 2017 and the Deciding Officer (DO) proceeded with assessment of the FIS application. During the FIS assessment, it was noted by the DO that the applicant provided one payslip with the application. However, FIS could not be awarded to the person concerned as the information on the payslip indicated the applicant may not have worked the required number of hours in order to qualify.
The DO wrote to the customer on 6th April 2017 and requested all payslips for February and March 2017 in order to get a more accurate account of the claimant’s work pattern.
The person concerned forwarded 5 payslips dating from 30th April 2017 to 11th June 2017 on 16th June 2017 which was not the requested information from the DO. However, the DO accepted the information from the applicant and proceeded with a further assessment of the FIS claim.
On 21st June 2017, FIS was refused to the person concerned as the number of hours worked were less than 38 hours per fortnight as per the Gross to Date (GTD) figures on the payslip of 4th June 2017.
The DO has now requested a schedule of hours or all payslips from January 2017 to date from the person concerned and when this information is received, a review of the claimant’s FIS will take place without delay.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1184. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a domiciliary care application by a person (details supplied). [33635/17]
View answerThe Department is currently experiencing delays in the processing of Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) claims. We are extremely sorry for any worry or concern this may cause to parents/guardians of children with additional care needs. At present it is taking 20 weeks on average to finalise an application. Applications are processed in date of receipt order. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the extended time required to process claims;
First, there is a significant increase in the volume of applications being received. The numbers applying for DCA have increased significantly since 2009, when the Department took over administration of the scheme from the HSE. The year-on-year increase in volumes over recent years has consistently been in the 15-20% range due to an increase in population and more awareness of the scheme. Over 1,000 claims were received in May, along with a further 700 in June; whereas the average would have been 400 per month a few years ago.
Secondly, following a High Court ruling in 2016, there is now a need for the Department’s medical assessors to provide the deciding officer with a more detailed opinion on the child’s eligibility for the scheme and for the deciding officer in turn to provide more detailed reasons for their decision when communicating this to the customer. These factors have resulted in the time taken to finalise applications increasing significantly and as a result the numbers being processed have reduced and the timescale to finalise each application has increased.
Corrective actions are being taken, with additional deciding officers assigned to work on the scheme. Once these deciding officers become fully operational, the increase in claim processing capacity should allow for an improvement in processing times.
An application for DCA was received from this gentleman on the 17th of February 2017. The application will be considered by a Deciding Officer and the decision notified to him as soon as possible.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1185. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an invalidity pension application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33684/17]
View answerInvalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.
The Department received a claim for IP for the gentleman concerned on the 22 May 2017. A Deciding Officer of the Department wrote to him on the 11 July 2017 requesting confirmation of the date he ceased work. His claim will be finalised as quickly as possible on receipt of the requested information.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
1186. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33689/17]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 25th April 2017. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers have been received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office and the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
