Claire Kerrane
Question:211. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of complaints made in respect of social welfare inspectors in each of the years 2012 to 2019 and to date in 2020. [27956/20]
View answerSocial Welfare Inspections
Questions (211)
Written answers
The information requested by the Deputy cannot be provided within the timeframe available. The Department is now seeking to compile the data sought by the Deputy and will provide the relevant information directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Invalidity Pension
Questions (212)
Kieran O'Donnell
Question:212. Deputy Kieran O'Donnell asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will address a matter regarding the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27959/20]
View answerWritten answers
Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.
The department received a claim for IP for the gentleman concerned on 10 June 2020. The claim was refused on the grounds that the medical conditions for the scheme were not satisfied. He was notified on 25 August 2020 of this decision, the reasons for it and of his right of review and appeal to the independent social welfare appeals office (SWAO).
The additional medical evidence submitted with your representation will be treated as a review request for the gentleman in question. The review of the decision to disallow IP will be processed as quickly as possible and he will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
Fuel Allowance
Questions (213)
Claire Kerrane
Question:213. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection when the fuel allowance will be paid to those in receipt of the State pension paid every second week; the way in which those receiving the fuel allowance as a weekly payment will receive it when they are not receiving their State pension weekly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27962/20]
View answerWritten answers
The fuel allowance is a payment of €24.50 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €686 each year) from October to April, to over 352,000 low income households, at an estimated cost of €261.35 million in 2020. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household.
The Fuel Allowance season for customers in receipt of the State pension begins on Friday 2nd October.
Due to fortnightly payments, State pension customers who were paid last Friday 25th September covering payments due for the 25th September and 2nd of October, received their Fuel Allowance payment. In the case of customers who have opted to receive payment via lump sum these customers received €343 and weekly paid customers received €24.50.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme
Questions (214)
Claire Kerrane
Question:214. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who previously received the back to school clothing and footwear allowance automatically but did not in 2020 as their Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment put them over the threshold; the number of back to school clothing and footwear allowance applicants who were subsequently reviewed following the change to the payment rates of the pandemic unemployment payment; the number who were awarded the payment following the review; and when payments will be made. [27963/20]
View answerWritten answers
The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. The allowance is payable for eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child increase is being paid. It is also payable to those between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid.
The allowance paid for each eligible child aged from 4 to 11 years on or before 30 September 2020 is €150 while an allowance of €275 is paid for each eligible child aged over 12 on or before 30 September 2020. The scheme operates from June to September each year.
This year, the eligibility criteria for back to school clothing and footwear allowance has been extended to include the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment as a qualifying payment for the allowance. Recipients of this payment will also need to satisfy all the other qualifying conditions in order to qualify.
Similar to previous years, the majority of customers are awarded back to school clothing and footwear allowance automatically and notification of the awards issued to these customers in late June. This year 115,000 families have been automatically approved for the back to school clothing and footwear allowance in respect of 211,000 qualified children. Payments amounting to €43m were made to these families in the week commencing 13 July 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment was not amongst the schemes used for automatic selection, so it therefore did not have an effect on numbers awarded the allowance automatically.
The back to school clothing and footwear allowance opened to new applications on 6 July 2020. To date, 43,000 applications have been received. Payments amounting to €7.4m have been made to 18,500 families in respect of 36,500 qualified children from the applications received to date.
A total of 579 applications have been reviewed following the reduction in the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment rates of payment. 266 (46%) of these cases were awarded back to school clothing and footwear allowance following this review and payments have issued from the week beginning 28 September 2020.
Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
Questions (215)
Claire Kerrane
Question:215. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons on each of the three payment rates of the pandemic unemployment payment; the number of new applications for the pandemic unemployment payment since restrictions were introduced in counties Dublin and Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27964/20]
View answerWritten answers
The number of people receiving a Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) by the payable rate for the week ending 2nd October 2020 is set out in Table 1.
The total gross inflow (that is, new PUP claimants) to the PUP for each week since restrictions were introduced for Dublin and Donegal are set out in Table 2. The net weekly change, that is inflows to PUP less outflows (claimants ceasing a PUP claim) is also detailed. Note that any increase in this week’s figures may not reflect the impact of Donegal moving to Level 3 on Friday September 25th . It is expected that this impact will be reflected in the PUP figures in the coming weeks.
Table 1: PUP Recipients by Rate
|
Rate of Payment |
People |
|
€203 |
48,794 |
|
€250 |
38,893 |
|
€300 |
129,455 |
|
Total |
217,142 |
Table 2: PUP inflow since 18th September
|
|
Gross Inflow Week Ending 25/09 |
Gross Inflow Week Ending 02/10 |
|
Gross Inflow |
5,885 |
19,350 |
|
of which Donegal |
132 |
391 |
|
of which Dublin |
2,385 |
12,342 |
|
Net weekly change |
-3,598 |
+10,801 |
Social Welfare Eligibility
Questions (216)
Jackie Cahill
Question:216. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person (details supplied) can be provided with a payment from her Department while they are undertaking an unpaid placement as part of a course; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27975/20]
View answerWritten answers
The person concerned made a claim for Jobseekers Benefit on 4/8/2020 which was disallowed on 29/09/2020 as follows:
To qualify for Jobseeker's a person must be available for full-time work.
The reason for this decision is that the person concerned is registered with Hibernian College, and is expected to complete an average of 37 hours study per week. The decision on the claim is that the person is not available for full-time work while maintaining this level of online learning. A formal notification is being issued to the customer .
It is open to the customer to appeal this decision.
Community Employment Schemes
Questions (217)
Claire Kerrane
Question:217. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of the interdepartmental review into community employment schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27988/20]
View answerWritten answers
The Community Employment (CE) programme is a community centred labour market initiative established for the purposes of social inclusion and activation, to help long-term unemployed people and other vulnerable groups to enter the workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment.
In early 2019, the Government agreed to establish an Interdepartmental Group (IDG) to explore how social inclusion schemes might be organised going forward.
A number of meetings of the IDG took place and a series of follow-up meetings were undertaken with the relevant Departments. There was also a stakeholder consultation process which resulted in a number of submissions that were included in the wider review.
The final IDG report is currently with my Department for consideration and will be submitted to Government in due course.
Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
Questions (218)
John Brady
Question:218. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Social Protection when the payments of arrears will be processed for persons who have been in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment since it was introduced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28010/20]
View answerWritten answers
Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approximately 750,000 people have applied for payment and in some cases, they have done so on a number of occasions as they moved in and out of employment. Consequently, there are over 1 million applications to be examined to determine if arrears are due.
During the month of March, my Department received and processed jobseeker claims equivalent in number to a three year claim-load. These applications were processed as quickly as possible, with almost 59,000 people paid in the first week of the scheme, 283,000 people paid in the following week, and over 507,000 people in the third week of the scheme.
My Department is keenly aware that many people are due some arrears and that every case will be different. In order to address an issue of this scale, the Department is currently developing an automated process, which will examine each case and look at their overall entitlement to payment and match this against their payment history. The work involved is complex as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment system itself evolved from a manual applications system to one where applications were submitted online and paid over two different payment platforms (one from March to July and the second from July to date).
Given the complexity attached to the project, it will take some time yet to complete the necessary development work to review all cases and to determine to what extent, if any, arrears are due to individuals. I can assure the Deputy that this is a priority for the Department and it is hoped to make payments before end of the year . It is intended that awarded and closed cases will be identified for arrears payments at the same time.
I hope that this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
Social Welfare Inspections
Questions (219)
Louise O'Reilly
Question:219. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of complaints made in respect of social welfare inspectors by year from when records commenced by area office in tabular form. [28013/20]
View answerWritten answers
The information requested by the Deputy cannot be provided within the timeframe available.
The Department is now seeking to compile the data sought by the Deputy and will provide the relevant information directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.
Fuel Allowance
Questions (220)
Bernard Durkan
Question:220. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when the free fuel allowance will be awarded in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28060/20]
View answerWritten answers
Fuel allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments towards the cost of their heating needs.
The main eligibility conditions that apply to the fuel allowance scheme are that a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, must satisfy a means test and must either be living alone or with other qualifying persons.
According to the records of my Department, the person concerned is not currently in receipt of a qualifying payment and does not therefore have an eligibility to a fuel allowance payment.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
Fuel Allowance
Questions (221)
Bernard Durkan
Question:221. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when the free fuel allowance will be awarded in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28061/20]
View answerWritten answers
No application for Fuel allowance has been received form the person concerned. I have arranged for a fuel application form to issue to the person concerned. On receipt of the completed application, eligibility for fuel allowance will be examined and the person will be notified in writing of the decision.
Fuel allowance is a means-tested payment to assist householders on long-term social welfare payments towards the cost of their heating needs. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household.
The main eligibility conditions that apply to the fuel allowance scheme are that a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, must satisfy a means test and must either be living alone or with other qualifying persons. The fuel allowance means test is linked to the maximum rate of State pension (contributory). The applicant and spouse/civil partner/cohabitant can have a combined weekly household income of €100.00 above the maximum rates for State pension (contributory) and Increase for qualified adult and still be eligible for fuel allowance.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
Widow's Pension
Questions (222)
Bernard Durkan
Question:222. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when consideration for a widow's pension will be concluded and the pension awarded in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28064/20]
View answerWritten answers
A person claiming Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Contributory Pension must provide evidence they are the legal widow, widower or surviving civil partner. Where the marriage took place outside the state, the person must provide the original marriage certificate as evidence.
The person concerned provided a sworn affidavit as to marriage; however, this cannot be accepted in lieu of an original state marriage certificate. The person concerned was requested to provide an original marriage certificate and they were also advised to contact the relevant Embassy who may be in a position to provide assistance on the matter.
As the person concerned failed to respond to requests to furnish a marriage certificate her claim to Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Contributory Pension was disallowed. The person concerned was notified of the decision by letter on the 17th September and was advised that if she sends in documentary evidence in support of her claim, it will be reviewed by a Deciding Officer. She was afforded the opportunity to appeal the decision to the Independent Chief Appeals Officer, if she was not satisfied with the decision.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
Covid-19 Pandemic Supports
Questions (223)
Bernard Durkan
Question:223. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when Covid-19 support payments are likely to be made in the case of employee directors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28069/20]
View answerWritten answers
Employees and self-employed people who lose their employment as a consequence of the pandemic may apply for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The scheme has been extended until the end of March 2021 to support employees and businesses that continue to be impacted by the pandemic. I have also secured agreement that the scheme will remain open to new applicants until the end of 2020.
Employees must have ceased to earn an income from the employment concerned and lost their employment as a direct consequence of Covid-19. Self-employed individuals, including proprietary company directors, must have suffered a significant reduction in income to the extent that they would be available to take up full-time employment if it was offered to them.
The quickest and easiest way to apply for the payment is online at mywelfare.ie.
I trust that this clarifies the position.
JobPath Programme
Questions (224)
Brian Stanley
Question:224. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in each county that engaged with JobPath in each year since it began; and the number whose employment was sustained for more than 12 months in each county. [28070/20]
View answerWritten answers
JobPath provides the long term unemployed an employment service. This service seeks to support the long-term unemployed to obtain and sustain paid employment. The service is delivered by two companies, Turas Nua Limited and Seetec Limited on behalf of my Department.
Between July 2015 and the end of August 2020, some 276,149 jobseekers had engaged with the JobPath service. This data is presented annually on a per county basis in Table 1. below.
As of 31 August 2020, 63,419 jobseekers had commenced employment during their engagement period with JobPath. Of this number, 57,080 had commenced full-time employment and 6,339 had commenced part-time employment. Of these, almost 22,000 have sustained full time employment for a period of 52 weeks or more. Full-time employment and self-employment is defined as employment of at least thirty hours work per week. This data is presented on a per county basis in Table 2 below.
Job sustainment figures across the entire cohort will increase as more clients complete their engagement with the service and have the opportunity to reach 52 weeks in sustained full-time employment.
Table 1
Jobseekers engaged with JobPath, annually, by county.
July 2015 – End August 2020
|
County |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
Engagements 2015 - 2020 |
|
Carlow |
224 |
1,478 |
1,545 |
1,440 |
797 |
410 |
5,894 |
|
Cavan |
300 |
1,432 |
1,418 |
1,521 |
1,356 |
395 |
6,422 |
|
Clare |
184 |
1,636 |
1,682 |
1,448 |
1,017 |
575 |
6,542 |
|
Cork |
954 |
5,952 |
6,626 |
4,773 |
3,372 |
1,532 |
23,209 |
|
Donegal |
259 |
3,288 |
3,775 |
3,533 |
3,472 |
964 |
15,291 |
|
Dublin |
281 |
12,086 |
16,072 |
13,241 |
12,872 |
3,574 |
58,126 |
|
Galway |
608 |
2,893 |
3,084 |
2,868 |
3,059 |
713 |
13,225 |
|
Kerry |
105 |
2,478 |
2,665 |
1,780 |
1,248 |
827 |
9,103 |
|
Kildare |
385 |
2,952 |
3,130 |
1,958 |
1,374 |
659 |
10,458 |
|
Kilkenny |
198 |
1,245 |
1,531 |
1,144 |
797 |
354 |
5,269 |
|
Laois |
1 |
1,431 |
1,918 |
1,382 |
997 |
400 |
6,129 |
|
Leitrim |
|
915 |
1,034 |
840 |
724 |
263 |
3,776 |
|
Limerick |
394 |
3,341 |
3,441 |
2,821 |
1,633 |
769 |
12,399 |
|
Longford |
529 |
1,200 |
1,342 |
1,158 |
948 |
288 |
5,465 |
|
Louth |
334 |
2,919 |
3,012 |
2,811 |
2,242 |
714 |
12,032 |
|
Mayo |
199 |
1,833 |
2,183 |
2,120 |
2,102 |
391 |
8,828 |
|
Meath |
134 |
1,239 |
1,626 |
1,497 |
1,561 |
434 |
6,491 |
|
Monaghan |
|
912 |
1,091 |
746 |
611 |
194 |
3,554 |
|
Offaly |
102 |
2,112 |
1,837 |
1,566 |
1,230 |
525 |
7,372 |
|
Roscommon |
|
457 |
710 |
704 |
618 |
160 |
2,649 |
|
Sligo |
|
1,004 |
1,129 |
1,089 |
1,033 |
360 |
4,615 |
|
Tipperary |
162 |
2,458 |
3,110 |
2,386 |
1,525 |
613 |
10,254 |
|
Waterford |
441 |
2,452 |
2,544 |
1,786 |
1,231 |
720 |
9,174 |
|
Westmeath |
137 |
2,319 |
2,444 |
2,074 |
1,770 |
519 |
9,263 |
|
Wexford |
229 |
3,684 |
3,761 |
2,180 |
1,653 |
1,206 |
12,713 |
|
Wicklow |
428 |
1,736 |
2,139 |
1,942 |
1,063 |
588 |
7,896 |
|
Total |
6,588 |
65,452 |
74,849 |
60,808 |
50,305 |
18,147 |
276,149 |
Table 2
Jobseekers engaged with JobPath by county, those Moving to Employment and those sustaining Full Time Employment (52 weeks).
July 2015 – End August 2020
|
County |
Number of Engagements July 2015- End August 2020 |
Number of Jobseekers to Commence Full Time Employment |
Number of Jobseekers to Commence Part Time Employment |
Number of Jobseekers to Commence Employment |
Number sustaining Full Time Employment for 52 weeks |
|
Carlow |
5,894 |
1,413 |
126 |
1,539 |
596 |
|
Cavan |
6,422 |
1,089 |
232 |
1,321 |
463 |
|
Clare |
6,542 |
1,412 |
110 |
1,522 |
515 |
|
Cork |
23,209 |
5,510 |
412 |
5,922 |
2,215 |
|
Donegal |
15,291 |
2,045 |
554 |
2,599 |
838 |
|
Dublin |
58,126 |
11,606 |
934 |
12,540 |
4,217 |
|
Galway |
13,225 |
2,379 |
199 |
2,578 |
875 |
|
Kerry |
9,103 |
2,405 |
237 |
2,642 |
761 |
|
Kildare |
10,458 |
2,727 |
322 |
3,049 |
1,150 |
|
Kilkenny |
5,269 |
1,325 |
83 |
1,408 |
503 |
|
Laois |
6,129 |
1,339 |
111 |
1,450 |
550 |
|
Leitrim |
3,776 |
678 |
91 |
769 |
277 |
|
Limerick |
12,399 |
3,188 |
175 |
3,363 |
1,258 |
|
Longford |
5,465 |
992 |
191 |
1,183 |
406 |
|
Louth |
12,032 |
2,366 |
344 |
2,710 |
906 |
|
Mayo |
8,828 |
1,300 |
94 |
1,394 |
461 |
|
Meath |
6,491 |
1,134 |
72 |
1,206 |
404 |
|
Monaghan |
3,554 |
672 |
218 |
890 |
268 |
|
Offaly |
7,372 |
1,523 |
242 |
1,765 |
642 |
|
Roscommon |
2,649 |
413 |
38 |
451 |
169 |
|
Sligo |
4,615 |
805 |
84 |
889 |
300 |
|
Tipperary |
10,254 |
2,329 |
296 |
2,625 |
936 |
|
Waterford |
9,174 |
2,159 |
225 |
2,384 |
858 |
|
Westmeath |
9,263 |
1,761 |
354 |
2,115 |
623 |
|
Wexford |
12,713 |
2,867 |
383 |
3,250 |
1,076 |
|
Wicklow |
7,896 |
1,643 |
212 |
1,855 |
689 |
|
Total |
276,149 |
57,080 |
6,339 |
63,419 |
21,956 |
Early Childhood Care and Education
Questions (225)
Niall Collins
Question:225. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the position regarding an exemption for a preschool place (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27950/20]
View answerWritten answers
The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme is a universal two-year pre-school programme available to all children within the eligible age range.
A child must have reached 2 years and 8 months of age on or prior to 31 August of the relevant programme year to be eligible for the September start date, and a child cannot turn 5 years and 6 months of age during the course of the ECCE programme year.
The child referred to by the Deputy was eligible for the two year ECCE programme from September 2018 to June 2020, and is not eligible for the current ECCE programme year, September 2020 to June 2021.
Expert advice received by my Department indicates that it is children's best interests to transition to primary school with their age group. In certain limited circumstances an overage exemption is granted to children with additional needs to enable them to continue in ECCE for an additional year, but this does not apply to the case referred to by the Deputy.
With regard to the issue of financial supports available for childcare fees, the National Childcare Scheme (NCS) provides subsidies for childcare for children between 6 months and 15 years of age. Information on NCS is available on www.ncs.gov.ie.
Guidance on childcare options is available to parents through their local County Childcare Committees, contact details for which are available on www.myccc.ie.
Child and Family Agency
Questions (226)
Sorca Clarke
Question:226. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the number of referrals made to Tusla that were investigated in 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020, by county in tabular form. [27716/20]
View answerWritten answers
The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that Tula respond directly to the Deputy.
Child and Family Agency
Questions (227)
Sorca Clarke
Question:227. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the number of referrals made to Tusla that were reviewed and deemed not necessary for urgent action by county in 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [27717/20]
View answerWritten answers
The Deputy is referring to an operational matter for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. I have therefore referred the matter to Tusla, and asked that Tula respond directly to the Deputy.
Child and Family Agency
Questions (228)
Sorca Clarke
Question:228. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the number of requests made to Tusla for a new social worker to be allocated by county in 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [27718/20]
View answerWritten answers
I wish to advise the Deputy that my officials have asked Tusla to respond directly to her on this matter.
Child and Family Agency
Questions (229)
Sorca Clarke
Question:229. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the number of requests made to Tusla for a new social worker to be allocated, and the number facilitated by county, in 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [27719/20]
View answerWritten answers
I wish to advise the Deputy that my officials have asked Tusla to respond directly to her on this matter.
Child and Family Agency
Questions (230)
Sorca Clarke
Question:230. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the number of requests made to Tusla for a new social worker to be allocated, and the number not facilitated by county, in 2018, 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form. [27720/20]
View answerWritten answers
I wish to advise the Deputy that my officials have asked Tusla to respond directly to her on this matter.