Written Answers Nos. 430-449
430. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an additional school bus will be provided for the 42 children in the Watergrasshill, County Cork, catchment area who have to travel to a secondary school in Fermoy, County Cork, in view of the fact that the secondary school in their catchment area does not have the capacity to accommodate them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17320/20]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
In the 2019/2020 year over 120,000 children, including over 14,200 children with special educational needs, were transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres at a cost of over €219m in 2019.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application and payment process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who complete the application and payment process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
A minimum number of 10 eligible children residing in a distinct locality, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the establishment or retention of school transport services, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits.
Because of the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible children and the priority of providing places for eligible children, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places, in these cases Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using a random selection process.
In cases where the Department is satisfied that the nearest school is full, eligibility for school transport will be determined based on the distance that children reside from their next nearest school having regard to ethos and language. If a family has further information in regard to the closest school being full they should contact School Transport Section of my Department. Further information in this regard is available on my Department's website at https://www.education.ie/en/Parents/Services/School-Transport/FAQs.html.
All school transport services are reviewed over the summer months. Arising from this review, routes may be altered, extended or withdrawn depending on the number and location of eligible children who will be availing of school transport for the upcominmg school year.
431. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to provide ASD units to secondary schools and feeder schools in Bray, County Wicklow. [17354/20]
View answerEnsuring that every child has a suitable school placement is a key objective of my Department. Significant resources are allocated each year to ensure that appropriate supports are available for children with special educational needs.
A list of special classes for the current school year, including special classes for children with autism, is available on the National Council for Special Education's (NCSE) website.
Since 2011, the number of special classes in mainstream schools has increased almost threefold, from 548 to 1,618 for the 2019/2020 school year, with 1,353 of these catering for children with autism.
Budget 2020 provided for an additional 265 special class teachers in 2020, which will allow for the opening of additional classes where required.
The NCSE has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide; has well established structures in place for engaging with schools and parents; and seeks to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all children who have been identified as needing special class placements.
The NCSE is planning a further expansion of special class and school places nationally to meet identified need for next year. This process is ongoing.
It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE for the establishment of a specialised provision and where sanctioned, a range of supports, including capital funding, is made available to the school. My Department works closely with the NCSE in this regard.
Wicklow has 54 primary special classes and 14 post primary special classes. This includes 6 new special classes (5 primary and 1 post primary) established for 2020/21 all of which currently have vacancies.
Bray has 9 primary schools, 4 of which have special classes including 3 special classes for children with autism. Bray has 7 post primary schools of which 2 have a special class for children with autism. Bray also has 2 special schools: Marino Special School, which caters for students with Physical Disabilities and Autism, and Newcourt Special School, which caters for students with Multiple Disability and Autism.
Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) throughout the country engage with schools on an ongoing basis in regard to the establishment of new special classes to meet the identified need for special classes in particular areas and will continue to engage with schools in Bray and Wicklow generally to respond to any increases in demand for special classes in the area.
432. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Skills if mature applicants to third level colleges living at home with their parents due to lack of affordable housing options can be means-assessed independently for the SUSI grant and not as dependants on their parents' household income; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17405/20]
View answerThe decision on eligibility for student grant applications is a matter for the centralised grant awarding authority, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland).
For student grant purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students.
A student may be assessed as an independent student (i.e. assessed without reference to parental income and address) if he/she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course, and is not ordinarily resident with his/her parents from the previous 1st October. Otherwise, he/she would be assessed as a dependent student, i.e. assessed with reference to parental income and address.
Only in exceptional cases, where compelling evidence of estrangement from parents/guardians is provided, can candidates who are under 23 be assessed without reference to their parents/guardians income or address. Applicants who do not meet the criteria to be assessed as an independent student for grant purposes, or who cannot supply the necessary documentation to establish independent living for the required period, may still apply to SUSI to have their grant eligibility assessed as a dependent student. The relevant information, including details of parental income, would be required by SUSI to determine grant eligibility as a dependent student.
It is important to note that each year a significant number of student grant applicants are assessed as 'independent' students and awarded student supports on that basis.
There are no plans at present to change these eligibility arrangements.
433. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a decision has been made on an emergency works application by a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17419/20]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that the school in question has made the application under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme to which he refers. The school has been requested to supply additional information in relation to the application and this has not yet been received. A decision on the matter cannot be made until this information has been supplied.
434. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a school (details supplied) moving to new premises; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17432/20]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers opened in September 2019 in interim accommodation in a building at Kill Lane, Kill of the Grange, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, and there is sufficient accommodation to cater for the school for this coming academic year 2020/21.
In relation to the permanent school site, a number of site options have been identified which are now being comprehensively assessed. Once a preferred site option has been identified, negotiations with the landowner in respect of the proposed acquisition of this site will commence.
435. Deputy Joe O'Brien asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration has been given to the creation of a simple back-to-work Covid-19 scheme (details supplied). [16716/20]
View answer437. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to ensure that all those involved in the music industry, such as musicians, giggers, roadies, agents, technicians, sound technicians, ticket sellers and so on, can survive until ready to commence another tourist season; if she will raise the case of many of these professionals who have seen their Covid-19 payments reduced to a level on which many of them cannot survive; and if she can advocate for them. [16924/20]
View answer438. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to maintain Covid-19 payments to artists at the higher rate until such time as the economy has recovered; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17138/20]
View answer439. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to maintain Covid-19 payments at the higher rate to those involved in the entertainment industry until such time as mass gatherings are permitted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17139/20]
View answer445. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if assurances will be given to persons who work in the events industry in cases in which their business is continuously impacted by cancellations and-or reduced capacity; and if there is a provision to allow for the continuation of the pandemic unemployment payment in this regard. [17327/20]
View answer450. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will address the anomaly in the pandemic unemployment payment in the case of musicians who despite having had proven earnings in excess of €350 per week in 2019 are now on the reduced rate of €203. [16513/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 435, 437 to 439, inclusive, 445 and 450 together.
The COVID-19 pandemic unemployment payment was introduced as an emergency measure to meet the surge in unemployment which resulted from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. The Government has set employment recovery as its top priority and the jobs stimulus package to be announced later this month will assist people back into work. Any further changes to the pandemic unemployment payment will be considered in that context.
A two-level payment structure to link the payment to gross prior earnings was recently introduced. Where an employee's gross weekly earnings were €200 or higher there is no change to their rate of payment. If their gross weekly earnings were under €200 the rate of the pandemic unemployment payment was adjusted to €203. Where a person is self-employed their average weekly income for 2018 was used to determine their rate of payment for the pandemic unemployment payment. This is the last tax year for which complete data on self-employed income is available.
The conditions for receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment are that a person must have lost their employment due to the pandemic and are now fully unemployed. A self-employed person must have suffered a collapse in their trading income to the extent that they are available to take up other full-time work. Where a self-employed individual has regular employment or it generates significant income, then they should close their pandemic unemployment payment on the basis that they do not satisfy the conditions for the payment. In cases of doubt where emergency or sporadic work is undertaken, an individual should discuss the matter with the Department.
If a person is ineligible for the pandemic unemployment payment as they are engaged in employment, they may be entitled to support under the jobseekers benefit or jobseekers allowance scheme depending on their individual circumstances. A person in receipt of a jobseeker’s payment may take up employment but they must be unemployed for at least 4 days in 7 consecutive days to be eligible for a payment and continue to satisfy the other qualifying conditions of the schemes. Jobseekers benefit (self-employed) is available for self-employed people who have ceased trading and is not available while a person is engaged in self-employment.
The Enterprise Support Grant has recently been extended and will be made available to small business owners who transition from the pandemic unemployment payment to reopen their business. The grant, of up to €1,000, will be payable to self-employed micro enterprises which employ fewer than 10 people, have an annual turnover of less than €1 million and are not eligible for support from the COVID 19 Business Restart Grant or other similar business reopening grants. The Department is developing the systems to put it into effect and will communicate how to access the grant in the coming weeks.
I trust that this clarifies the matter.
436. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the steps being taken to ensure that long-term youth unemployment does not become a consequence of the Covid-19 recession. [16852/20]
View answerGovernment policy to reduce youth unemployment is twofold:
- to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs; and
- 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, including young people.
Providing education and employment opportunities to young jobseekers forms a central tenet of my Department’s Pathways to Work strategy and has been effective in reducing youth unemployment from a peak of over 30 percent in 2012 to a rate of 9.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. Moreover, Ireland’s youth unemployment rate has been significantly lower than the EU27 rate for a number of years now, which highlights the progress that had been made in Ireland’s labour market recovery in recent years.
However, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting labour market conditions, the CSO estimated youth unemployment to be at 12.8 percent for June, with the COVID-adjusted rate at just over 45 percent. This COVID-adjusted rate is considered to be the upper bound, as all claimants of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment who are not already included on the Live Register are classified as unemployed.
While planning for economic recovery it is crucial that we provide young people with holistic supports to assist them back to work and support new young entrants to compete for job vacancies in a competitive labour market. We must also not forget our disadvantaged youths who were unemployed prior to the pandemic and face significant barriers to work.
Building and enhancing the skills of the workforce will be an important element of economic recovery, having regard to the skills currently in demand and those likely to be in demand by employers in the future. SOLAS are working in partnership with officials in my Department to develop an agile response which brings together and builds on existing further education and training expertise and resources to provide the recently unemployed cohort with the ‘Skills to Compete’ in the labour market. This activation initiative will support young people to develop their transversal skills and increase employability; build digital competency so as to flourish in the changing world of work; and participate in specific training targeting growth sectors and occupations.
Intreo, the public employment service which provides job search and activation supports, will maintain a close relationship with SOLAS and the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) at a national and local level to identify appropriate opportunities for referral to re-skilling and upskilling opportunities for young jobseekers.
440. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to reports that an airline (details supplied) is refusing to sign social welfare forms for workers in order that workers on reduced hours or the temporary wage subsidy scheme can apply to her Department for welfare supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17141/20]
View answerMy Department is aware of the current situation in the airline referred to where workers are being placed on reduced hours and are in receipt of the temporary wage subsidy scheme.
To qualify for a jobseeker’s payment a person must satisfy all of the qualifying conditions for the scheme. Jobseeker’s payments operate on the basis of days of unemployment. A person in receipt of the temporary wage subsidy scheme is considered to be in employment on the days for which it is paid by their employer. Accordingly, jobseeker’s is not payable for any days for which a person is in receipt of the temporary wage subsidy scheme, but may be paid for any days of unemployment where the wage subsidy scheme is not paid.
My Department does not comment on individual cases but I can confirm that officials are engaging with the company referred to by the Deputy to resolve the matter.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
441. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has engaged with an airline (details supplied), workers and their trade unions on the possibility of job losses at the airline. [17142/20]
View answerMy sincere thoughts are with all employers and employees faced with the prospect of forced restructuring and redundancies at this difficult time. Many sectors and industries have been badly affected by the measures the Irish Government, like many other governments across the globe, has had to take in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is probably fair to say that sectors associated with travel, tourism and aviation have been affected more than most.
Having come through previous difficulties, I understand how difficult it must be for the employees involved to now face more renegotiations, restructuring and possibly lay-offs. I greatly respect the efforts of workers and workers’ representatives to ensure that they get the best possible outcome from the situation. I wish to assure the affected workers that my Department is available through its Intreo service to assist them in whatever way we can in terms of income supports and job-seeking over the coming weeks and months.
The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes a number of obligations on employers who are proposing collective redundancies, including an obligation under sections 9 and 10 to engage in an information and consultation process with employees’ representatives and to provide certain information relating to the proposed redundancies. Section 11A of the Act provides that, where an employee believes the employer to be in breach of sections 9 or 10, they may pursue a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission. It is an offence under the Act for an employer to fail to comply with sections 9 or 10.
There is also an obligation under section 12 which makes it mandatory on employers proposing a collective redundancy to notify the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection of the proposed collective redundancy. I received official notification of the proposed collective redundancies in the company concerned in letters dated 23rd March and 19th June 2020, which my officials inform me complied with the requirements under section 12 of the Protection of Employment Act 1977.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
442. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has engaged with an airline (details supplied), workers and their trade unions on the possibility of job losses at the airline. [17143/20]
View answerFirstly, I would like to say that my thoughts are with all of the workers concerned who are faced with job losses at this difficult time. I wish to assure the affected workers that my Department is available through its Intreo service to assist them in whatever way we can in terms of income supports and job-seeking over the coming weeks and months.
The Protection of Employment Act 1977 imposes a number of obligations on employers who are proposing collective redundancies, including an obligation under sections 9 and 10 to engage in an information and consultation process with employees’ representatives and to provide certain information relating to the proposed redundancies. Section 11A of the Act provides that, where an employee believes the employer to be in breach of sections 9 or 10, they may pursue a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). It is also an offence under section 11 of the Act where an employer fails to comply with sections 9 or 10.
There is also an obligation under section 12 which makes it mandatory on employers proposing a collective redundancy to notify the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection of the proposed collective redundancy. My predecessor received official notification of the proposed collective redundancies in the company concerned in a letter dated 21st of May 2020, which complied with the requirements under section 12 of the Protection of Employment Act 1977.
In relation to redundancy payments, it is the employer’s responsibility to pay statutory redundancy entitlements to eligible employees. An employer is only legally obliged to pay the statutory redundancy entitlement as provided for in the Redundancy Payments Act 1967. Any arrangement outside statutory redundancy is a matter for negotiation and agreement between the employees (and their union representatives) and employers through an industrial relations process, which can be assisted by the WRC.
Company law matters are a responsibility of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr. Leo Varadkar, T.D.
The High Court has confirmed the appointment of an examiner to the company concerned. It is for the examiner to consult creditors, potential investors and other relevant parties to devise the most appropriate course of action in the interests of the survival of the company and put that course of action to the court for approval.
In all cases, under the Companies Act, proposals arising from an examinership are brought before the Court, which decides whether to confirm them, with or without modifications, or reject them. Under the Act, the Court cannot confirm proposals unless it is satisfied that a number of criteria are met, including that the proposals are not unfairly prejudicial to the interests of any interested party.
At a hearing, any member or creditor whose interests would be impaired by implementation of the proposals is entitled to object to their confirmation on a number of specified grounds under Section 543 of the Act. The Court will have the final say and, until then, the company is under its protection.
The statutory framework for examinership, including the requirement for Court oversight under the Companies Act 2014, is structured to provide that account is taken of the interests of all stakeholders, including employees, in a company.
If the workers affected have concerns or complaints regarding their employment rights, the mechanism for them to use is the Workplace Relations Commission. The WRC is the organisation which is mandated to secure compliance with employment rights legislation. The Customer Service section of the WRC operates a telephone helpline at 1890 808090. They can provide further information in relation to employment, equality and industrial relations rights and obligations, and how to obtain redress where appropriate.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
443. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to ensure that community employment scheme supervisors are entitled to pensions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17194/20]
View answer480. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to ensure that community employment scheme supervisors are entitled to pensions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17200/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 443 and 480 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, Community Employment (CE) supervisors and assistant supervisors have been seeking for several years, through their union representatives, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme.
It should be noted that CE sponsoring authorities are the legal employers of CE supervisors, CE assistant supervisors and CE participants; the Department’s role continues to be that of CE funder.
The issue was examined by a Community Sector High Level Forum, chaired by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. A number of Departments including my own Department were represented on this group, as were the unions and Pobal.
A detailed scoping exercise was carried out with input from the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) on the potential costs of providing Exchequer support for the establishment of such a pension scheme for employees across the Community and Voluntary sector in Ireland. This exercise estimated a potential cost to the State of between €188 million per annum and €347m depending on the numbers involved. This excluded any provision for an immediate ex-gratia lump sum payment of pension as sought, which could entail a further Exchequer cost of up to €318 million.
Officials from my Department held a series of meetings with CE supervisor representatives to consider related proposals, mindful of the operating environment in which any potential solution will need to exist.
Related discussions also continued between officials from my Department and their counterparts in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER).
444. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if an immediate review will be carried out of the registration of deaths to reduce the time period for registration of deaths in order to provide more accurate information in a timely manner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17321/20]
View answerThe Civil Registration Act 2004, as amended, provides that deaths may be registered at any time following death. Currently, the obligation to register a death rests with the relatives of the deceased, or in their absence, other persons specified in the Act. A death must be registered within three months of the date of death. However, there are no sanctions if a death is registered beyond that time period.
Unfortunately, only four in every five deaths are registered within this timeframe. The manner and operation of the death registration process has been identified by the General Register Office (GRO) as an area requiring reform to ensure it meets with domestic and international public health and reporting requirements for life events. The GRO is leading an inter-agency working group to modernise the way deaths are notified and subsequently registered. This work is timely as it coincides with recommendations made by the National Public Health Emergency Team to reduce the length of time between the date of death and registration.
The working group is nearing completion of its work and I expect that the proposals it will bring forward will be subject to public and stakeholder engagement before being considered by the Government in the autumn. It is likely that legislative changes will then be needed to the Civil Registration Act.
The objective is to ensure that the current timeframe for death registration is reduced to a matter of weeks. To achieve this, significant technological and process changes will be required. The co-operation of medical practitioners and hospital management, as well as that of the relatives of the deceased, will also be needed.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
446. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of serving members of the Defence Forces in receipt of the working family payment; the number for the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16476/20]
View answerThe latest available PRSI data in respect of class H PRSI, the payable rate for non-Commissioned Officers and enlisted personnel of the Defense Forces, refers to 2019; 2020 PRSI data is not yet available.
Accordingly, recipients of Working Family Payment in June 2020 is based on payment of PRSI class H in 2019.
|
Period |
Working Family Payment |
|
2017 |
261 |
|
2018 |
207 |
|
2019 |
174 |
|
end-June 2020 |
121 |
447. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way in which a person can arrange an appointment for a public services card in view of the fact that many are waiting for a public services card to avail of free travel; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16486/20]
View answerThe SAFE registration process, which my Department uses to authenticate a person's identity, is a face-to-face process which results in the issuing of a Public Services Card (PSC).
At the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, my Department temporarily postponed the SAFE registration process. This decision was taken to comply with HSE and WHO guidelines in respect of social distancing. As a result it has not been possible for those who wish to obtain a PSC to get one.
My Department is currently resuming SAFE registration work in Intreo Centres and this will be done in accordance with all relevant guidelines to ensure the health and safety of the Department's customers and staff. I would expect that SAFE registrations will recommence nationwide over the coming weeks and further information will then be made available as to how appointments can be arranged.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
448. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of the calculation of a payment for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16488/20]
View answerMy Department is currently managing a large number of review requests for the PUP rerate at this time and for this reason we are not in a position to respond to enquiries as promptly as we would like.
Following a review of the person’s record, I am pleased to inform you that his PUP has been re-rated back to €350 per week. Any arrears due will issue this week.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
449. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will receive a decision on their possible entitlement to the pandemic unemployment payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16494/20]
View answerWhere a person’s gross weekly earnings were €200 or higher then there is no change to the rate of the pandemic unemployment payment. If a person’s gross weekly earnings were under €200 then the rate of the pandemic unemployment payment has been adjusted to €203 per week which is in line with the standard personal rate of jobseeker's benefit. Where no earnings data was available, either as an employee or a self-employed person, the rate of PUP was reduced to €203 per week.
Any person who feels that the assessment of their earnings, based on returns already submitted to Revenue, is inaccurate can ask for a review of their case. However, it is important to note that my Department will only accept earnings which have been notified to Revenue and subject to PRSI. Customers should clearly understand that any information which is supplied to declare additional earnings will be matched against Revenue records and any discrepancies will be followed up.
In the case of the person concerned, no earnings data was found in respect of their previous employment, and their rate of payment was reduced to €203 as a result. Their case is being re-examined in line with the approach outlined above, and a decision will issue to them in due course.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
