Written Answers Nos. 584-600
584. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 1103 of 6 November 2018, if her Department will advise a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47196/18]
View answerMy officials have reviewed the person's claim and associated files. To date, no application for Partial Capacity Benefit (PCB) has been received. Correspondence between my officials and the Community Welfare Service staff in August stated that on receipt of the application form, it would be prioritised as urgent.
My officials will contact the customer and on receipt of the application, it will be dealt with immediately.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
585. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which she continues to ensure that undue hardship is not caused to recipients of social welfare payments in cases in which payments have been suspended while under review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47197/18]
View answer592. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if, in the course of a review of entitlement to a social welfare payment, provision is made for a basic payment until the outcome is determined in view of the fact that in the past some applicants have become homeless due to failure to meet their rent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47204/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 585 and 592 together.
As advised to the Deputy in response to a parliamentary question he raised in September about this issue, basic weekly supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) may be paid to customers awaiting the outcome of a claim or an appeal for a primary social welfare payment. In certain circumstances, if a person is not eligible for other social welfare payments and their weekly income is below the SWA rate for their family size, a payment may be made to bring their income up to the appropriate SWA rate. The Community Welfare Service (CWS) officer will engage with a claimant to establish eligibility as quickly as possible and limit any delay to payments. If there is a specific risk of homelessness, this should be communicated to the CWS officer at the earliest opportunity.
Staff in the Department are engaged with customers throughout the entire lifecycle of their claim, including on regular reviews for all schemes on an ongoing basis. A person’s entitlement to a social welfare payment is reviewed on a continuing basis to ensure that they continue to satisfy the conditions of the scheme. A person’s means may also be reviewed from time to time. A customer may also request a review of their means in the light of changed circumstances at any time.
Review decisions are not delayed unnecessarily once all the information requested from the customer at the time of review is made available to my Department. Payments are not suspended unless there is a valid reason for doing so, for example the provision of insufficient information by the customer in response to a query, or no reply from the customer. Undue hardship for customers should not arise if there is ongoing co-operation from the customer with the Deciding Officer/Designated Person in my Department.
Continued entitlement to a rent supplement payment from the Department is not linked to entitlement to other social welfare schemes. However, the rent supplement claim may be reviewed following a decision to suspend or disallow a primary social welfare payment as there may be a change to the claimant’s circumstances that could affect eligibility. During a review of a rent supplement claim, the CWS officers will engage with a claimant to establish continued eligibility as quickly as possible and limit any delay to payments.
Any person in this situation is encouraged to contact the Department’s CWS office responsible for their rent supplement claim to discuss their circumstances. Any persons who consider that they have an entitlement to a basic weekly SWA payment should contact the CWS at their local Intreo centre.
If the Deputy has concerns in respect of a particular case, he should bring the details to the attention of the Department and my officials will follow up on them.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
586. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to address the issue of persons, including the self-employed, who have made contributions towards their pension but do not qualify for a payment due to qualification restrictions; if a pro rata pension can be considered in such cases or failing that, a refund of contributions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47198/18]
View answerThere are a number of payments and pensions paid by my department to people over State pension age. One of these is the State pension (contributory), qualification for which is based on a number of criteria, including that a minimum of 520 qualifying contributions have been paid into the Social Insurance Fund. For those who have paid the required contributions at a reckonable rate – including Class S (self-employed) - they will be used in the calculation of their entitlements.
I believe that it is reasonable to require people who seek a contributory pension to have made at least 10 years paid contributions into the Social Insurance Fund which finances it.
Where a person aged 66 or over does not satisfy the conditions to qualify for a State pension (contributory), or qualifies for less than the maximum rate, they may instead qualify for one the following -
The means-tested State Pension (non-contributory) which is a means-tested payment (based on their share of household means) with a maximum payment of 95% of the SPC; or
An increase for a qualified adult (based on their own means), amounting up to 90% of a full rate SPC pension where their spouse has a contributory pension; or
Where their spouse/civil partner is deceased, a widow's/widower's/civil partner's contributory pension, which they may claim either based on their spouse's or their own social insurance record. The qualifying conditions for this require fewer contributions paid (260) than the State pension (contributory), and the maximum personal rate for those aged 66 or over is €243.30, i.e. the same as the maximum rate of the SPC, with allowances (notably the Living Alone Allowance) payable where applicable.
Refunds of PRSI arise when contributions from employers and employees have been paid in error. There are a number of reasons why a person might be paying the wrong PRSI rate, the most common of which is where an employee over 66 working and continuing to pay PRSI, where there is no requirement to do so.
Another case is contributors, who enter insurable employment, either as employees or self-employed, after they have attained the age of 56. If they have no entitlement to a State Pension (Contributory or Non Contributory) then the pension element of the contributions paid by both employed and self-employed contributors may be refunded.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
587. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of recipients of carer's allowance receiving a payment in each of the past three years to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47199/18]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy in relation to the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 is published in the Department's Annual Statistical Report, available at http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Annual-SWS-Statistical-Information-Report.aspx.
I have reproduced the figures for those years in the attached tabular statement, which also includes the equivalent figure for October 2018.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Carer's Allowance recipients at the 31st of December in each of the years 2015 - 2017 and at the 31st of October 2018.
|
Date |
Recipients |
|
31 October 2018 |
78,681 |
|
31 December 2017 |
75,264 |
|
31 December 2016 |
70,459 |
|
31 December 2015 |
63,003 |
588. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for carer's allowance received in each of the past four years to date; the number approved and rejected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47200/18]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy in relation to the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 is published in the Department's Annual Statistical Report, available at http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Annual-SWS-Statistical-Information-Report.aspx.
I have reproduced the figures for those years in the attached tabular statement, which also includes the equivalent figure for January-October 2018.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Carer's Assistance claims processed (annual totals for years 2014 - 2017 and January-October total for 2018)
|
Date |
Registered |
Approved |
Disallowed |
|
Jan-Oct 2018 |
17,401 |
14,125 |
7,648 |
|
2017 |
23,800 |
17,290 |
8,599 |
|
2016 |
22,722 |
19,308 |
11,144 |
|
2015 |
18,929 |
14,378 |
7,920 |
|
2014 |
17,759 |
12,560 |
7,078 |
589. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for a State pension (non-contributory) received in each of the past four years to date; the number approved and rejected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47201/18]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy in relation to the years 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 is published in the Department's Annual Statistical Report, available at http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Annual-SWS-Statistical-Information-Report.aspx.
I have reproduced the figures for those years in the attached tabular statement, which also includes the equivalent figure for January-October 2018.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
State Pension (non-contributory) claims processed annually 2014-2017 and January-October 2018
|
Date |
Registered |
Approved |
Disallowed |
|
Jan-Oct 2018 |
7,656 |
6,790 |
1,875 |
|
2017 |
9,187 |
7,577 |
2,139 |
|
2016 |
9,213 |
8,132 |
2,332 |
|
2015 |
9,732 |
7,675 |
2,188 |
|
2014 |
8,998 |
7,750 |
2,350 |
590. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications for jobseeker's allowance received in each of the past four years to date; the number approved and rejected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47202/18]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy in relation to the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 is published in the Department's Annual Statistical Report, available at http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Annual-SWS-Statistical-Information-Report.aspx.
I have reproduced the figures for those years in the attached tabular statement, which also includes the equivalent figure for January-October 2018.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Jobseeker's Assistance claims processed annually 2014-2017 and January-October 2018
|
Year |
Registered |
Awarded |
Disallowed |
|
Jan-Oct 2018 |
117,499 |
94,021 |
8,009 |
|
2017 |
155,854 |
124,790 |
10,238 |
|
2016 |
171,243 |
136,003 |
11,979 |
|
2015 |
191,781 |
152,807 |
13,225 |
|
2014 |
209,444 |
166,048 |
16,185 |
591. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications received for a domiciliary care allowance in each of the past five years to date; the number approved and rejected in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47203/18]
View answerDomiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) is a monthly payment for a child aged under 16 years with a severe disability, who requires ongoing care and attention, substantially over and above the care and attention usually required by a child of the same age. The payment of €309.50 per month is not means tested. Currently the allowance is paid to over 38,000 parents/guardians in respect of some 42,000 children.
The total expenditure for DCA in 2017 was €152m and a further €61m was paid to customers in June as a Carer’s Support Grant at a rate of €1,700 per eligible child.
The number of applications received, allowed and disallowed over the past 5 years and to date in 2018, are
|
Year |
Applications received in year |
Applications allowed |
Disallowed |
|
2013 |
4,464 |
3,252 (73%) |
2,442 |
|
2014 |
5,743 |
4,445 (86%) |
2,062 |
|
2015 |
6,422 |
5,080 (80%) |
2,102 |
|
2016 |
7,434 |
5,610 (84%) |
1,683 |
|
2017 |
8,197 |
7,473 (83%) |
2,187 |
|
2018 (to 31/10/18) |
7,408 |
6,315 |
1,915 |
Please note that the number of claims processed in any one year will include claims received towards the end of the previous year and may also include repeat claims in respect of the same child.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
593. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which due process and natural justice remains paramount in the context of dealing with social welfare recipients whose cases come under review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47205/18]
View answerMy Department is committed to ensuring that the principles of due process and natural justice are followed in all claim decisions. This applies equally to decisions at initial claim stage and when claims are subsequently reviewed. The Department’s guidelines on Decision Making and Natural Justice are published on the website - www.welfare.ie. This message is reinforced through guidelines, bulletins and staff training.
As part of the process of finalising a decision, the deciding officer or designated person (in the case of the administration of payments under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance provisions), is required to engage with the person concerned and offer them the opportunity to provide additional information in support of their claim. In addition, the customer may seek a review or may appeal any decision made under the Social Welfare Acts to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office.
I understand from my Department that the current processes meet the needs of members of the public and the administration of the social welfare system.
If there is a particular case that the Deputy is concerned about, he should bring it to my attention and I will ask my officials to examine it.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
594. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the degree to which efforts are being made to award State pensions to those men and women whose contribution record was interrupted for family or other reasons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47208/18]
View answerA policy to introduce the Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pensions calculation was adopted by Government in the National Pensions Framework in 2010, as was the decision to base the entitlements of all new pensioners on this approach from around 2020. In advance of this, on 23 January last, the Government agreed to allow pensioners, born on or after the 1st September 1946, affected by the 2012 changes in rate bands, to have their state pension (contributory) entitlement calculated under an interim “Total Contributions Approach” (TCA). The changes also provide for up to 20 years of home caring periods in the calculation of that entitlement, for those who took time out of the workplace for parenting children under age 12, or individuals who needed increased levels of care.
The changes apply to those who reached pension age on or after 1st September 2012 who were awarded less than maximum rate, on post Budget 2012 rate bands. The changes do not apply to anyone already entitled to maximum rate state pension (contributory).
Currently there are approximately 79,000 pensioners in this category and my Department is now in the process of issuing Information Letters to them.
Work on examination of the social insurance records of the pensioners concerned commenced in September. As social insurance records are unique to individual pensioners, this manual examination phase is expected to continue to the end of the year. To date, over sixty temporary staff members have been recruited to work on this phase. Further recruitment will take place in January 2019 when the first pension reviews are expected to get under way and it is anticipated that the first review outcomes will be notified to pensioners during Quarter 1 2019.
Payment of increases, where awarded, will be made immediately after an individual's review is completed. If a pensioner does not qualify for an increased rate, they will continue to receive their existing rate of entitlement.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
595. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the extent to which her Department has direct contact with other jurisdictions with which a bilateral arrangement for social welfare exists with particular reference to the need to ensure a smooth and expeditious process in dealing with claims particularly in which contributions in two or more jurisdictions arise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47209/18]
View answerIreland has negotiated Bilateral Social Security Agreements with a number of counties. The main purpose of these Agreements is to protect the pension rights of people who have worked and paid social security contributions in Ireland and the countries with which Ireland has such agreements. This is achieved by allowing reckonable social security contributions paid in one or more of these countries to be aggregated with Irish full-rate social insurance contributions for the purposes of qualifying for certain contributory payments in Ireland or in these countries.
Liaison arrangements are in place with the relevant authorities of the countries with which Ireland has Social Security Agreements, for the transmission or request of information, in order to compile the full extent of a claimant’s insurance record.
If the Deputy is referring to a particular case and provides my office with details of it, I will have the matter examined.
596. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the Christmas bonus will be paid; the categories of social welfare recipients which will receive same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47210/18]
View answerI was pleased to announce on Budget Day that a 100% Christmas Bonus will be paid to some 1.2 million long-term social welfare recipients, including pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and the long-term unemployed jobseekers, in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on their social welfare payments for all or most of their income.
The Christmas bonus will be paid in the first week of December 2018 to the same categories of recipients as was the case in previous years. The following table lists the schemes that are eligible for the Christmas bonus.
|
State Pension Non-Contributory |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance* |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
|
Widow(er)s' Pension (non-con) |
|
Deserted Wife's Allowance |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance* |
|
Daily Expenses Allowance (formerly Direct Provision Allowance)* |
|
Farm Assist |
|
Community Employment |
|
Rural Social Scheme |
|
Tús |
|
Job Initiative |
|
Back to Work Enterprise Allowance |
|
Back to Education Allowance* |
|
Gateway |
|
Back to Work Family Dividend |
|
Disability Allowance |
|
Blind Pension |
|
Carer's Allowance |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
|
Guardian's Payment (non-con) |
|
Magdalen Commission Scheme |
|
State Pension (Contributory) |
|
Widow(er)s' Surviving Civil Partners Pension (Con) |
|
Occupational Injuries Death Benefit |
|
Deserted Wife's Benefit |
|
Partial Capacity Benefit |
|
Invalidity Pension |
|
Disablement Benefit |
|
Carer's Benefit |
|
Guardian's Payment (Contributory) |
*15 months duration on eligible social welfare payment or scheme is required in order to be eligible for Bonus.
597. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applications in respect of various payments awaiting a decision for more than two months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47211/18]
View answerI regret that the information requested is not readily available in my Department. However, figures for (a) the number of claims pending decision, and (b) the average processing time for claims, are shown in the following tabular statement (where available) in respect of my Department's principal schemes.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Total number of claims pending decision at 31 October 2018 and the average processing time for claims processed in October 2018, by scheme.
|
Scheme |
Total number of claims pending at 31 October 2018 |
Average weeks to award |
|
State Pension (Contributory) - Irish |
5,349 |
7 |
|
Widow(er)'s Contributory Pension |
371 |
2 |
|
State Pension (Non-Contributory) |
1,634 |
11 |
|
Jobseeker's Allowance |
4,322 |
2 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
1,562 |
1 |
|
One-Parent Family Payment |
791 |
4 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance Basic |
638 |
1 |
|
Maternity Benefit |
3,112 |
6 |
|
Paternity Benefit |
1,630 |
6 |
|
Carer's Allowance |
5,644 |
17 |
|
Carer's Benefit |
1,039 |
16 |
|
Disability Allowance |
4,989 |
11 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
2,098 |
6 |
|
Child Benefit |
1,480 |
3 |
|
Working Family Payment |
4,118 |
6 |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
1,578 |
10 |
|
Household Benefits |
935 |
1 |
|
Free Travel |
47 |
2 |
598. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he will report on the housing project launched in Ballymun on 5 November 2018; and if there are other projects similar to this in the greater Dublin area. [46611/18]
View answerIt is presumed that the Deputy is referring to a housing project comprising 42 high-quality homes for social housing use that have been delivered by an approved housing body (AHB), Oaklee Housing, working in partnership with Dublin City Council (DCC). The project was made possible using an innovative combination of capital loan financing provided by my Department through the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) and private finance from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA).
The site at Stormanstown, Ballymun, was privately owned and the AHB engaged the developer on a turnkey basis with full ownership of the site and units transferring to Oaklee Housing on completion. The developer went onsite in February 2017 and the AHB commenced snagging of the scheme at the start of August 2018.
My Department provides a variety of funding programmes available to local authorities and AHBs to deliver social housing. CALF supported construction activity sits in parallel with local authority direct construction and other mechanisms, including leasing. There are other projects similar to this CALF funded scheme in the greater Dublin area. My Department publishes a quarterly Social Housing Construction Projects Status Report, which sets out the continuing progress being made in advancing the national local authority and AHB new-build pipeline. The latest report, setting out the position at end Q2 2018, can be accessed at the following weblink: http://rebuildingireland.ie/install/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Final-Full-Construction-Status-report-Q2-2018.pdf.
599. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of applications submitted to date under the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme; the number of applications that have been approved to date; the number and value of mortgages that have been drawn down to date by local authorities; the average length of time from the point of application to approval; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47023/18]
View answer636. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the lengthy waiting times for applications to be completed under the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme; if his attention has been further drawn to the growing concern amongst many applicants that such delays could jeopardise the sale of a property to them; and the resources that will be made available to local authorities to expedite the process. [47024/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 599 and 636 together.
My Department publishes information on the overall number and value of (i) local authority loan approvals and (ii) local authority loan drawdowns. Information up to Q2 2018, including in relation to number and value of mortgage drawdowns, is available on the Department's website at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/statistics/house-prices-loans-and-profile-borrowers/local-authority-loan-activity, and this information will be updated on a quarterly basis as additional data is compiled.
The Housing Agency provide a central support service which assesses loan applications that are made to the local authorities for the Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan (RIHL) and makes recommendations to the authorities as to whether loans should be offered to applicants. I have asked the Agency to centrally compile figures on the numbers of applications that it has received since the scheme began and also the number of applications it has assessed and recommended for approval. The most recent figures, as at the end of October, indicate that the Agency has received a total of 3,309 applications for assessment since the scheme launched in February. Of these, 619 were deemed invalid, while the assessment of 107 other applications was still in progress. Of the remainder, 1,317 applications have been recommended for approval by the Housing Agency.
Each local authority must have in place a credit committee and it is a matter for the committee to make the decision on applications for loans, in accordance with the regulations, having regard to the recommendations made by the Housing Agency.
Regarding timeframes from the point of application to approval under the scheme, recent requests to local authorities for initial data on timeframes for application processing within their area has found that it takes an average time of circa seven weeks from submitting a completed application to a local authority to receiving approval under the scheme, which is in line with the expected timeframe of 6-8 weeks as set out on the RIHL website. Approvals are valid for six months to allow applicants time to source a property to purchase.
600. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when he plans to publish the tenant purchase scheme review report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47251/18]
View answer602. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when the review of the tenant purchase scheme will be finalised and published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46481/18]
View answer639. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if amendments to the tenant purchase scheme will be introduced to enable tenants who were awarded council houses through Part V regulations to avail of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47091/18]
View answer640. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if the conditions of the tenant purchase scheme will be amended to enable tenants whose principal source of income is a payment from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and who are in a position to purchase their home through their own resources or with family support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47092/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 600, 602, 639 and 640 together.
The Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum and having been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year.
The minimum reckonable income for eligibility under the scheme is determined by the relevant local authority in accordance with the detailed provisions of the Ministerial Direction issued under Sections 24(3) and (4) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014. In the determination of the minimum reckonable income, local authorities include income from a number of different sources and classes, such as from employment, private pensions, maintenance payments and certain social welfare payments, including pensions, where the social welfare payment is secondary to employment income.
In determining reckonable income, the income of all tenants of the house, including adult children that are joint tenants, is included, as is the income of the spouse, civil partner or other partner/co-habitant of a tenant who lives in the house with them, thus ensuring the appropriate level of discount is applied to the purchase price.
The minimum income criterion was introduced in order to ensure the sustainability of the scheme. Applicants must demonstrate that they have an income that is long-term and sustainable in nature. This ensures that the tenant purchasing the house is in a financial position, as the owner, to maintain and insure the property for the duration of the charged period, in compliance with the conditions of the order transferring the ownership of, and responsibility for, the house from the local authority to the tenant.
The provisions of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, are designed to enable the development of mixed tenure sustainable communities. Part V units are excluded from the Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme 2016 to ensure that units delivered under this mechanism will remain available for people in need of social housing support and that the original policy goals of the legislation are not eroded over time. The continued development of mixed tenure communities remains central in promoting social integration.
Local authorities may also, within the provisions of the Regulations, exclude certain houses which, in the opinion of the authority, should not be sold for reasons such as proper stock or estate management. It is a matter for each individual local authority to administer the Scheme in its operational area in line with the overarching provisions of the governing legislation for the scheme, and in a manner appropriate to its housing requirements.
In line with the commitment given in Rebuilding Ireland, a review of the first 12 months of the Scheme’s operation, including the issues referred to, has been undertaken. The review is now complete and a full report has been prepared setting out findings and recommendations. I hope to be in a position to publish the review shortly, following completion of consideration of a number of implementation issues arising.
