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Tuesday, 6 Oct 2020

Written Answers Nos. 543-557

Social Welfare Benefits

Questions (543)

Jackie Cahill

Question:

543. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Social Protection if the Christmas bonus for those in receipt of social welfare will be paid this year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28765/20]

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Written answers

The Christmas Bonus payment is made to long-term social welfare recipients, such as pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, lone parents and long-term unemployed people who rely wholly or mainly on their social welfare payments for financial support.

As is the case every year, the payment of a Christmas Bonus is a discretionary decision made by Government in the context of the annual Budget process and available resources. Any decision to pay the bonus this year will be made in an overall budgetary context, and announced as part of Budget 2021.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Personal Public Service Numbers

Questions (544)

Pádraig MacLochlainn

Question:

544. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of applications (details supplied) for PPSNs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28775/20]

View answer

Written answers

I can confirm that my Department has allocated Personal Public Service Numbers (PPSNs) to the two individuals referred to by the Deputy and letters advising of their PPSNs issued on 5th October 2020.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Questions (545)

Claire Kerrane

Question:

545. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection further to a previous parliamentary question please provide the total amount of additional Covid-19 related Exchequer expenditure for 2021 for her Department; and the breakdown by line items of the additional expenditure. [28795/20]

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Written answers

The 2021 estimates for Covid-19 related expenditure are being finalised as part of the 2021 estimates process and will be published on 2021 Budget Day.

Personal Public Service Numbers

Questions (546)

Michael Ring

Question:

546. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Social Protection when a PPS number will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Galway in view of the fact they made the application some months ago. [28869/20]

View answer

Written answers

I can confirm that my Department has allocated a Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) to the individual referred to by the Deputy. A letter issued to the person concerned on 5th October 2020 with details of the PPSN.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Departmental Contracts

Questions (547)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

547. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has engaged a third-party company in each of the years 2017 to 2019 and to date in 2020 to conduct online and or social media monitoring and or provide reports on social media coverage of her Department; if so, the cost of same; and if the name of the social media platforms being monitored will be provided. [28924/20]

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Written answers

My Department does not engage a third-party company to conduct online or social media monitoring or to provide reports on social media coverage of the Department.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Departmental Staff

Questions (548)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

548. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of staff in her Department on sick leave between March and September by month in 2019 and to date 2020; the pay arrangements that exist for staff on sick leave for an extended period of time; the number of sick days accounted for by her Department over the period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28942/20]

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Written answers

The table below shows the number of staff and sick leave days in my Department between March and September, by month, in 2019 and to date in 2020.

MONTH

YEAR

No of Staff on Sick Leave

No. of Sick Leave Days

March

2019

1082

9368

2020

772

8576

April

2019

947

8540

2020

468

6924

May

2019

931

8833

2020

448

5715

June

2019

827

8181

2020

478

5402

July

2019

909

9227

2020

533

6271

August

2019

886

8814

2020

543

6050

September

2019

1011

8727

2020

572

5180

The administrative arrangements for the Sick Leave Scheme in the Civil Service are set out in Circular 05/2018 – Arrangements for Paid Sick Leave, and operate in conjunction with the Public Service Management (Sick Leave) Regulations (SI 124 of 2014) and Public Service Management (Sick Leave) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 384 of 2015).

The Sick Leave scheme provides for the payment of the following to staff during periods of absence from work due to illness or injury:

- a maximum of 92 days on full pay in a rolling one year period

- followed by a maximum of 91 days on half pay in rolling one year periods subject to a maximum of 183 days paid sick leave in a rolling four year period

Critical Illness Provisions (CIP) may be provided in exceptional circumstances whereby a longer period of sick leave is required to address a critical illness or physical injury. Sick Leave granted under the Critical Illness Protocol is as follows:

- 183 days on full pay in a rolling year period

- followed by 182 days on half pay subject to a maximum of 365 days in a rolling four year period.

Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration (TRR) may be payable to eligible employees, if there is a realistic prospect of a return to work. The following limits apply for the payment of TRR:

- Ordinary sick leave: 547 days on TRR in a rolling 4 year period

- Critical Illness Provisions: 365 days on TRR in a rolling 4 year period with a provision to extend for a further 2 years.

Protected Disclosures

Questions (549)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

549. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if his attention or that of his predecessor has been drawn to a protected disclosure that was not investigated by Tusla or a nominated third party (details supplied); and the reasons for same. [28098/20]

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Written answers

I would like to inform the Deputy that it is not appropriate for me to comment on individual cases under the Protected Disclosures Act, 2014. I can, however, assure the Deputy that the issues raised by the person concerned with my predecessor were examined. Based on the assurances provided, Minister Zappone was satisfied that the issues raised were being actively managed by Tusla. The person who submitted the information was informed accordingly.

Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries

Questions (550)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

550. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the cost of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters by year to date; a breakdown of costs related to salaries, fees, operational costs, legal costs any other costs; the cost of the collaborative forum process and a breakdown of same in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28393/20]

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Written answers

The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters was established by Government on 17th February 2015 (S.I. No. 57 of 2015). In establishing the Commission, the Government noted that the investigation and associated additional demands on the Department of Children and Youth Affairs were estimated to cost €21.5m, exclusive of third party legal costs.

Since its establishment, expenditure of approximately €11.4m has been incurred (to Q3 2020) to support salaries, fees and other operational costs relating to the work of the independent Commission and its engagement with former residents and other witnesses.

Year

Admin

MBH Legal Costs

3rd Party Legal Costs

Grand Total

2015

1,450,421

44,800

-

1,495,221

2016

1,924,283

147,611

1,535

2,073,430

2017

1,865,951

288,340

-

2,154,291

2018

1,923,261

330,736

-

2,253,998

2019

1,942,433

284,088

-

2,226,521

2020 (to Q3)

1,111,988

77,780

-

1,189,768

Total

10,218,337

1,173,355

1,535

11,393,229

In addition, the Department has also directly incurred costs of approximately €2.48 million for the same period in supporting this work and responding to the Commission's interim reports.

This includes the costs associated with the separate Collaborative Forum process to facilitate former residents of these institutions to engage on the issues of concern to them and their families. Costs for this process include an extensive public information campaign to support the call for expressions of interest from former residents, operational costs such as meeting facilities and participant travel, and external facilitation and related supports.

Expenditure

2018

2019

2020

Total

Collaborative Forum

€172,773

€28,232

€26,829

€227,836

Unaccompanied Minors and Separated Children

Questions (551)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

551. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the reason for the small number of unaccompanied minors to be taken in here from the Moria refugee camp following the fire there; and his plans to welcome more minors here. [28416/20]

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Written answers

I thank the Deputy for his question on this pressing matter.

I am extremely concerned with the plight of the refugees in Moria following the fires there, especially young people who are without parents or family in the camp. Ireland has committed to bringing four children from Moria in the coming weeks.

The state’s capacity to bring unaccompanied children to Ireland is determined by the available care placements, and the commitments the state has made to unaccompanied children who are already here.

Due to the level of need among refugees since the destruction of the Moria camp, I am seeking to expand Ireland’s capacity to care for unaccompanied children. My Department and Tusla officials are examining the immediate requirements to fulfil Ireland’s existing commitments, including expansion of care placements and working with Department of Justice officials to identify unaccompanied children who wish to come to Ireland.

Ireland provides care for two groups of unaccompanied children- children who arrive as part of refugee relocation programmes, and children who arrive without parents or guardians to ports of entry and seek asylum. All children who are unaccompanied are received into care under the Child Care Act 1991.

Both categories of child are sometimes referred to as unaccompanied minors or UAMs and are cared for by the same Tusla specialist team called the Separated Children Seeking Asylum Team. The young people are, in the main, young boys aged between 15 and 17 years on arrival.

Separated Children Seeking Asylum (SCSA).

This is the largest cohort of unaccompanied children who come into Tusla care when they present to the immigration authorities at our sea and air ports. The service provided to these children is demand-led, and accurately estimating future demand is challenging, particularly as the effects of Brexit are yet to be seen. The children are received into care at are placed in residential and foster care.

Tusla's Separated Children Seeking Asylum team received 167 referrals in 2019. These referrals include children who arrive unaccompanied at a port of entry but who have an adult relative or friend who lives in Ireland and is willing to care for them. The SCSA team carries out preliminary enquiries to ensure that the person has a genuine relationship with the child, and does agree to care for them before placing the child in their care.

The children who do not have adult relatives or guardians are received into care, and there were 46 of these children in 2019.

Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP)

The Irish Refugee Protection Programme is administered by the Department of Justice and Equality. Since 2017, Tusla has participated in the European Union Relief Projects (EURP) which include IRPP, Calais Special Project (CSP), Malta Relief, Greece Relief. The following is a breakdown of the programmes to date:

41 from France under CSP

6 from Greece Relief under IRPP[1]

8 from Malta Relief under IRPP

8 from Greece under the IRPP in June 2020

I hope I can rely on the Deputy's support in my efforts to receive more unaccompanied young people from Greece under the IRPP programme.

Childcare Services

Questions (552)

Paul McAuliffe

Question:

552. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if he will address a matter in relation to a nursery (details supplied). [28569/20]

View answer

Written answers

My Department has received this correspondence from the Deputy on behalf of his constituent. My staff are currently looking into the issues raised and a formal reply will issue from my office shortly.

EU Directives

Questions (553)

Catherine Connolly

Question:

553. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the cost to his Department to date of all fines paid by Ireland for non-transposition of EU directives into Irish law; the breakdown, by directive of the lump sum cost and the daily cost of each fine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28605/20]

View answer

Written answers

I can inform the Deputy that there are no EU directives as referred to in the question under my Department's current remit.

Youth Work Supports

Questions (554, 555)

Gerald Nash

Question:

554. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if increased investment will be provided to youth work services in budget 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28645/20]

View answer

Gerald Nash

Question:

555. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration the measures he will take in budget 2021 to implement the commitment in the Programme for Government to continue to invest in youth work recognising its value in preventing harm and in responding to the needs of vulnerable families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28646/20]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 554 and 555 together.

The allocations under Budget 2021 are being considered by Government in the context of the annual Estimates process for 2021. As this process is ongoing, the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment at this stage.

In recent years, funding for the provision of youth services has increased on an annual basis. Between 2016 and 2020 the annual current youth funding available to my Department has increased from €51.9m to €61.79.

It is now more critical than ever that our young people are supported as they experience the social, economic, physical and mental health impacts of the pandemic. In recognition of the vital role played by youth work in providing such support to young people, funding levels have been maintained throughout the current challenging period. This has enabled the youth sector to continue to provide supports to young people, particularly to marginalised, disadvantaged and vulnerable young people.

I am committed to supporting this important sector, which has enormous value both to the many young people involved and from a broader social and economic viewpoint.

Student Support Schemes

Questions (556)

Mick Barry

Question:

556. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration his views on the situation faced by minors and young persons who have been born here or who are long-term resident here but are not Irish, EU, UK, EEA or Swiss citizens in terms of discrimination they may face in accessing education, public services and employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28692/20]

View answer

Written answers

I wish to advise the Deputy that I am not in a position to comment as these responsibilities have not yet transferred to my Department. These matters are more appropriate for the attention of my Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality.

The transfer of functions process is ongoing in this regard.

Deportation Orders

Questions (557)

Mick Barry

Question:

557. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration if his Department or agencies under his remit are informed or notified of minors being deported from the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28693/20]

View answer

Written answers

The Department of Justice and Equality is the body responsible for immigration, asylum and deportation issues.

There is no formal notification by the Department of Justice to either the Minister or Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, when a child is deported, either with their family, or in circumstances when they are unaccompanied.

In determining whether to make a deportation order in relation to a person, the Minister for Justice shall have regard to the age of the person and humanitarian considerations.

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