Written Answers Nos. 190-204
190. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of times he has met at chairperson level with each of the agencies and companies for which his Department is the parent Department between his appointment as Minister and January 2019; and the dates of these meetings in tabular form. [45732/19]
View answerThe attached table sets our the meetings I have had involving Chairpersons of agencies and companies under the aegis of my Department from my appointment as Minister, to date.
|
Agency/Company |
Number of Meetings |
Dates |
|
Bus Eireann |
7 |
12-09-2016 05-12-2016 21-01-2017 30-01-2017 21-04-2017 23-08-2018 08-08-2019 |
|
CIE |
4 |
04-07-2016 05-12-2016 09-08-2018 08-08-2019 |
|
Shannon Group |
3 |
24-01-2019 20-06-2019 31-10-2019 |
|
daa |
7 |
30-06-2016 21-11-2016 05-04-2017 18-09-2017 13-11-2017 22-08-2018 20-09-2019 |
|
Dublin Bus |
5 |
30-08-2016 16-09-2016 26-04-2018 09-08-2018 08-08-2019 |
|
Dublin Port |
3 |
30-03-2017 20-03-2019 05-06-2019 |
|
Fáilte Ireland |
3 |
14-11-2016 15-11-2018 11-04-2019 |
|
IAA |
7 |
25-08-2016 21-11-2016 19-10-2017 20-12-2017 23-04-2018 24-09-2018 20-06-2019 |
|
Irish Rail |
6 |
08-09-2016 06-12-2016 28-06-2017 02-10-2017 09-08-2018 08-08-2019 |
|
NTA |
5 |
30-05-2016 13-01-2017 04-05-2017 09-08-2018 08-08-2019 |
|
RSA |
2 |
25-07-2016 10-04-2019 |
|
Sport Ireland |
4 |
02-03-2017 02-06-2017 20-10-2017 11-07-2019 |
|
TII |
3 |
08-08-2016 14-02-2019 18-09-2019 |
|
Tourism Ireland |
2 |
19-06-2017 20-12-2018 |
191. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the reason for the delay in the large sports infrastructure fund. [45736/19]
View answerThe Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund opened for applications on 19th November 2018 and the closing date for receipt of applications was 17th April 2019.
72 applications were received in total. Details of all applications received have been published on the Department's website. The detailed evaluation process has also been published on the Department's website.
As set out in this evaluation process, applicants were given an opportunity to provide corrected and amended documentation, where necessary, in support of applications. This part of the process is now complete and detailed assessment work of the applications has commenced. In view of the detailed information contained in each application I expect that it will be towards the end of this year before any allocations are announced.
192. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a driver test will be expedited for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45737/19]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, this is primarily a matter for the Road Safety Authority. I have forwarded this question to the Authority for direct response. Please contact my office if no reply is received within 10 working days.
193. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to a full orbital route plan for the north ring road in Cork city. [45765/19]
View answerAs Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding in relation to the national roads programme. Under the Roads Acts 1993-2015, the planning, design and construction of individual national roads is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.
Noting the above position, I have referred the question to TII for a direct reply. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 working days.
194. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will report on the investigation that Tusla undertook recently of a charity (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45682/19]
View answerI understand that the Deputy is referencing a report that appeared in the Irish Examiner on Thursday, 31 October, which referenced an inspection by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency of the service in question.
Matters relating to inspections of services are an operational matter for Tusla. I have requested that Tusla respond to the Deputy directly on this issue.
195. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount spent on social media platforms in 2019 advertising the national childcare scheme; the platforms they were advertised on; and the spending per platform with demographics targeted. [45695/19]
View answerSo far, €32,759.81 (inc. VAT) has been spent on social media posts to raise parental awareness of the National Childcare Scheme and the entitlements it will provide. One third of this spending (€10, 919.93) went to Instagram, and two thirds (€21,839.88) to Facebook.
These posts were targeted towards the 18-40 age bracket as well as the HKWK (House Keepers with Kids) demographic.
Entirely separate to this, Department officials maintain a dedicated National Childcare Scheme Facebook page which the Department uses to publicise the latest news on the Scheme to both providers and parents. Our following and engagement on this platform has been completely organic and all work on it has been internal within the Department, with no payments to external or third party providers.
196. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if registration for a person (details supplied) will be expedited; the status of the matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45758/19]
View answerThe Early Learning and Care and School Age Childcare Capital Funding Programme is administered by Pobal, on behalf of my Department.
I understand that Pobal are in on-going contact with the applicant to resolve outstanding issues with her application, including Tusla registration. I understand that Pobal expects these issues to be resolved shortly.
197. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will examine the case of a crèche (details supplied) and extend the deadline for displacement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45774/19]
View answerOfficials in my Department are currently compiling the information as requested by the Deputy. This information will be supplied to the Deputy in no later than 10 working days. I have asked my officials to follow up on this to ensure delivery as a matter of urgency.
198. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the cost of holding an event (details supplied); and the costs associated with advertising, design work, photography, event staging, venue hire, print and online media advertising and public relations in tabular form. [45686/19]
View answerThe announcement of successful projects under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2019 took place in Killawalla Community Hall, Co. Mayo on 30th October 2019. On foot of the announcement, 156 rural towns and villages across the country are set to benefit from €15 million in funding under the scheme.
Officials from my Department worked with Mayo County Council and the local community to stage the event in Killawalla. Other than €455.78 incurred in relation to photography services, my Department incurred no expenditure in relation to the event.
199. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the cost of making a video (details supplied); the Department that funded the video; the number of meetings he and senior staff had with Accounting Officers and staff from other Departments, including Accounting Officers who were involved, including by giving instructions and advice in promoting the video; and the details of each meeting in tabular form. [45745/19]
View answerMy Department was established in July 2017 with an important mandate to promote rural and community development and help to build vibrant sustainable communities across the country.
My Department is achieving this through a range of funding schemes and initiatives and has, as outlined in its published Statement of Strategy, prioritised communicating with the general public in relation to the range of supports available to assist communities and those in rural Ireland.
For example, my Department administers the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, a €1 billion investment by government in rural Ireland over the period 2019 to 2027. We are also delivering schemes such as the LEADER 2014-2020 Programme (€250 million) and Community Development Programmes, to which my Department will allocate €158 million in 2020 alone.
As part of my Department’s ongoing communications strategy, we have undertaken a number of measures to meet our communications objectives, including:
- The staging of a series of Rural Opportunity events held across the country in early 2019, attended by the public and community and voluntary representatives, with a view to raising awareness of the supports available across Government; and
- The delivery of a complementary supporting programme of workshop events entitled "Helping Hands” held in regional locations which set out to assist less experienced community groups and organisations in accessing funding schemes and programmes.
In order to build on this progress, my Department recently commissioned a series of videos detailing 10 case-studies which highlight key rural and community schemes and programmes operated by this Department. The video referred to by the Deputy is the first in that series.
The videos were funded directly by my Department at a cost of €26,610 with a further €5,000 allocated (€500 per video) for online promotion. Production services for the videos were sourced through a tendering process overseen by the Office of Government Procurement. No other Departments were involved directly in the preparation, production or promotion of the videos.
200. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a decision has been made on an illness benefit appeal by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45584/19]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred on 27 September 2019 to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
201. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her plans for auto-enrolment will include an early drawdown option for a mortgage deposit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45597/19]
View answerI am pleased that the Government recently approved significant elements of my design for an automatic enrolment retirement savings system. These include key decisions in relation to the target membership, the contribution rates, the policies in relation to opting-out and re-enrolment, the administrative arrangements and organisational approach and the investment options.
As stated in the 'The Roadmap for Pensions Reform', the Government proposes to begin implementation of a supplementary retirement savings system, known as Automatic Enrolment (AE), by 2022. AE will see a transition from the current and purely voluntary system to one which will, subject to certain parameters, automatically enrol employees into a quality assured retirement savings system. The saver will maintain the freedom of choice to opt-out.
In relation to an early drawdown option for a mortgage deposit, while such an approach may appear reasonable and improve the attractiveness of AE for some people, the core policy objective of AE is to ensure adequate retirement savings. Therefore, facilitating early access to pension savings could potentially compromise overall retirement adequacy. In this regard, it is worth bearing in mind that early access to pension funds for house deposits or for other similar reasons is not currently possible for those with existing supplementary pensions in Ireland.
Given that allowing people to access their pensions early is contrary to achieving the policy goal of pension adequacy, the Government has decided that a limited number of ‘Savings Suspension periods’ will be facilitated in the AE system for members who wish to temporarily cease making contributions. These savings suspension periods could be used when a person wishes to save for a house deposit, for instance. In such cases, employer and State contributions will also cease.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
202. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the timeline and target dates for delivery in order to ensure that an auto-enrolment pension system will be in place by 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45598/19]
View answer203. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the resources, financial and otherwise, that have been allocated to ensure that an auto-enrolment pension system is in place by 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45599/19]
View answer211. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if there is a draft or other budget for establishing the proposed central processing agency for auto-enrolment; the person of body who will be responsible for overruns of the proposed budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45755/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 202, 203 and 211 together.
I am pleased that the Government recently approved significant elements of my design for an automatic enrolment retirement savings system. These include key decisions in relation to the target membership, the contribution rates, the policies in relation to opting-out and re-enrolment, the administrative arrangements and organisational approach and the investment options.
As stated in the 'The Roadmap for Pensions Reform', the Government proposes to begin implementation of a supplementary retirement savings system, known as Automatic Enrolment (AE), by 2022. AE will see a transition from the current and purely voluntary system to one which will, subject to certain parameters, automatically enrol employees into a quality assured retirement savings system. The saver will maintain the freedom of choice to opt-out.
There are five main areas where work is on-going so as to produce design options for Government to consider. These areas relate to: the scope and role of the Central Processing Authority; the design of the State financial incentive; the nature and functions of the Registered Providers; the investment framework and funds to be offered by Registered Providers, including the design of the default fund, and also the pay-out phase; and the phasing of implementation.
In relation to the operational arrangements of the CPA, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection was successful in obtaining technical support from the EU-Structural Reform Support Service (EU-SRSS). This European Commission service provides targeted support to member states implementing administrative and institutional reforms. In this regard, my officials are being assisted by the EU-SRSS in developing proposals on the design, scope, governance, and financing costs of the CPA, which will be prepared for Government before the end of the year. Thereafter, once the CPA design is selected and approved by Government, legislation will have to be drafted and enacted. The intention is that work on the legislation will commence in 2020.
With regard to the issue of a State financial incentive, while the issue of tax incentives within wider supplementary pensions is under the remit of the Department of Finance, the issue of financial incentives for private pensions formed part of the Interdepartmental Pensions Reform and Taxation Groups (IDPRTG) Consultation on Supplementary Pensions Reform. On the basis of the findings from this review, the responses to the Strawman consultation, and ongoing research and consultation with experts from around the world, a set of options on the design of a State incentive for AE will be brought to Government in the first quarter 2020.
In relation to the nature and functions of the Registered Providers, the wider investment framework for AE and the pay-out phase, a set of proposals on these will also be submitted to Government for its consideration in the first quarter of 2020.
In terms of the resources allocated to achieve this commitment, a full time ‘Automatic Enrolment Programme Management Office’ (PMO) has been established within my Department. In addition, an Inter-departmental ‘Automatic Enrolment Programme Board’ has been set up to provide the strategic direction for the development of the AE system. Furthermore, as the AE system is implemented, additional resources will be put in place as and when required and appropriate.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputies.
204. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the date the new national action plan for social inclusion will be published; the reason for the ongoing delay in publishing same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45600/19]
View answerThe new social inclusion strategy "Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2019-2025", is being finalised and I expect that it will be published shortly.
