Written Answers Nos. 661-679
661. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which her Department and agencies under her remit facilitate persons wishing to engage with their services through the Irish language; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21910/21]
View answer662. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection if all forms issued by her Department and agencies under her remit are available in both the Irish and English languages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21928/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 661 and 662 together.
My Department and bodies under its aegis are committed to providing a high standard of service in either Irish or English to its customers. The Department is aware of its obligations under the Official Languages Act 2003 and our commitments as set out in our Irish Language Scheme 2019-2022.
Currently, the Department has 200 staff in our various Departmental offices across the country that are available to provide services through Irish. In situations where staff are unable to deal with a person through Irish, an interpretive service is offered to the customer. This service, which can be arranged at very short notice, can be provided either by 3-way phone call, or in-person where required. My Department also avails of a written translation service whereby documentation can be translated into Irish on request. All digital platform services and information within www.MyGovid.ie www.MyWelfare.ie and www.WelfarePartners.ie are available to our customers in both Irish and English. No digital service can go live without both languages being fully available and functional. All relevant corporate documents like the Department's Statement of Strategy and the Annual Report are published on gov.ie simultaneously in both languages.
In addition, my Department is committed to the continued development and training of staff to facilitate the provision of services through Irish and continues to encourage staff to avail of the range of training supports to enhance fluency in the Irish language.
Agencies under my Department's remit are also fully aware of their responsibilities under the Official Languages Act 2003. Where a service through Irish is required by a customer, this is provided either directly by staff, or through the use of my Department's Translations and Interpretive Services. Similarly, all relevant information, leaflets and forms are available in Irish on the relevant websites of the bodies, or on request.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
663. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the back to school clothing and footwear allowance by €35 for all children. [21979/21]
View answerThe back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) 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 scheme operates from June to September each year.
The allowance is payable in respect of eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom an increase for a qualified child increase is being paid and eligible children between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and in respect of whom an increase for a qualified child is being paid.
The rates of payment for the 2021 scheme are €150 for eligible children aged 4 to 11 and €275 for children aged 12 years and over in second level education. In 2020, payments were made to 143,300 families in respect of 264,453 qualified children at a cost of €54.1m.
Based on the total number of children in respect of whom payments were made on the scheme in 2020, the estimated full year cost of increasing the BSCFA rates by €35 is €63.4 million, an increase of €9.3m or 17% on the 2020 figure.
Any increases to the rates of payment for the BSCFA scheme would have to be considered in a budgetary context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
664. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a dedicated phoneline or email service for community employment workers, community employment projects and community employment sponsors to clarify questions regarding operating under Covid-19 restrictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22025/21]
View answerThe Community Employment Scheme is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis.
As the Deputy is aware, my Department has continued to provide funding and support for CE schemes since the onset of the Covid-19 emergency in March 2020. During each period of Level-5 restrictions, CE participants, whose contracts were due to end during these restrictions, have had their contracts extended for the duration of these restrictions. In early March 2021, Minister Humphreys and I announced funding for a further CE contract extension for participants, up until 2nd July 2021.
If a CE sponsoring authority is seeking clarification on funding or general CE queries, they should contact the Department's Community Development Officer in Intreo offices assigned to their CE scheme.
However, if the Deputy is referring to clarification on the provision of essential services throughout the Covid-19 restrictions, then this is a matter for, the Minister for Health. The Health, Preservation and Other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, Act, which gives the Minister for Health power to make regulations was signed into law on 20th March, 2020. The list of essential services is contained in legal regulations prepared by the Minister for Health and are published on the Government website, Gov.ie.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government continues to issue guidance to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. The latest restrictions are set out in section 31a of the Health Act 1947 which deals with Temporary Restrictions relating to COVID-19 and which will apply until 4th May, 2021.
CE sponsoring authorities can also refer to Pobal’s website where they can access a link that provides information and resources for the Community and Voluntary Sector on operating safely during Covid-19.
CE sponsoring authorities are the legal employers of their supervisors, assistant supervisors and participants. As employers, it is the responsibility of CE sponsoring authorities to ensure adherence to national public health guidelines during the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic when determining the essential services that can continue to be delivered.
Therefore at this time, it is not considered necessary to provide a dedicated Covid-19 phone line or email service for CE sponsoring authorities for this specific purpose. CE sponsoring authorities can continue to have access to the Department's network of Community Development Officers in addition to the existing email contact points already in place. The Department will continue to provide support and information through existing channels.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
665. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 1204 of 21 April 2021, the date on which she wrote to the Pensions Council requesting that it consider the issue of pension costs in Irish schemes including issues with regard to the transparency of these costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22032/21]
View answerI believe it is important that consumers have comprehensive and transparent information on costs and charges on pensions so that they can decide if investments represent value for money. Consequently, on 4 March 2021, I wrote to the Pensions Council asking them to consider the merits of introducing an initiative similar to the Cost Transparency Initiative in the UK for pension providers in Ireland.
Additionally, I asked the Council to consider whether such an approach is effective on a voluntary basis, or operates better on a mandatory basis such as is in place in Denmark and the Netherlands.
I look forward to hearing of the Pensions Council's deliberations on the matter.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
666. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to address the 13 weeks requalification anomaly by early intervention and referral of persons on partial capacity benefit six months in advance of the expiry date of their payment as recommended in her Department’s review of partial capacity benefit; the reason for the delay in addressing this anomaly; the financial supports currently in place for persons approaching the end of their three-year payment period and who are facing the loss of their payment for 13 weeks as they are reassessed; the analysis her Department has carried out into the number of persons affected by the 13 week reassessment period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22036/21]
View answerPartial Capacity Benefit (PCB) is a scheme which extends the illness benefit and invalidity pension schemes to recognise and respond to the reality that some people with disabilities have a capacity to engage in open market employment while continuing to need to receive some income support from the State.
People in receipt of Invalidity Pension or Illness Benefit (for a minimum of six months) who wish to return to work are eligible for PCB if their capacity for work is reduced as a result of their medical condition.
The personal rate of payment of PCB is based on a medical assessment of a person’s restriction regarding their capacity for work and whether the person was in receipt of Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension (i.e. their existing rate of payment). After the medical assessment, if a person's disability is rated as moderate, severe or profound their payment continues at 50, 75 or 100 per cent of their existing rate, respectively.
The duration a person can be in receipt of PCB is linked to the payment they moved from, subject to a maximum of 156 weeks. In the case of Illness Benefit, the maximum duration of the underlying payment of 624 payment days continues to apply and the maximum period allowed on PCB matches that maximum duration. Customers who were previously in receipt of Invalidity Pension may be paid PCB for a maximum of 156 weeks.
The Department contacts customers at 24 and 13 weeks in advance of the expiry date. The correspondence issued outlines options for the customer to consider prior to the payment ceasing. A reapplication for PCB is a new application and must meet all the eligibility criteria.
PCB has been designed so that:
- participation on the scheme is voluntary;
- there is no restriction on the type of work to be undertaken nor any requirement that a person must only undertake work that is of a ‘rehabilitative' or 'therapeutic' nature;
- there is no restriction on the number of hours that can be worked;
- there are no restrictions on the amount that can be earned from employment;
- a person who participates on the PCB scheme may return to an Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension payment if, for example, the employment ceases or if the person cannot continue to work;
- a person on the PCB scheme, with an underlying entitlement to Invalidity Pension, will retain their Free Travel Pass for a period of five years.
Apart from the above, the Department also provides support under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, available through local Intreo centres. The Department may also make an exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income. Details are available at:
https://www.gov.ie/en/service/ed9724-supplementary-welfare-allowance-supplements-swa/
The early engagement recommendation in terms of PCB was envisaged in the context of other significant changes to the scheme, which included, for example, the introduction of:
- two new payment types i.e. to classify PCB short-term illness as an ‘in-work support’ and to classify PCB long-term illness as an ‘income support’;
- an upper earnings limit to be imposed for long-term illness PCB Benefit;
- a change whereby support for Illness Benefit clients becomes conditional on producing a time-bound phased ‘return to work plan’);
- involving the person, their employer and their GP;
- an alignment of the duration a person can be in receipt of the payment to the ‘return to work plan’;
- In the case of PCB short-term illness, two payment scales to apply (75% and 50% aligned to client’s return to work plan duration);
- a process of for highlighting disability allowance for candidates who may be in a position to work a limited number of hours per week. (The increases to the earnings disregards for both the disability allowance and the blind pension in Budget 2021 may make this a better option for some customers. These increases are to commence from June of this year);
- an improved approach to communications relating to the scheme.
While work is ongoing to further improve the operation of the scheme, there has been an increase in the numbers of persons availing of the payment. There was a 19.6% increase from March 2019 to March 2020 and a smaller increase of 5.2% (during the period of the pandemic) from March 2020 to March 2021. Some 3,172 persons are now availing of the scheme.
667. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 1183 of 21 April 2021, the number of persons employed through the JobsPlus scheme; and the number of employers involved in the scheme from January 2020 to date in 2021, by month. [22088/21]
View answerJobsPlus is a subsidy paid to employers who recruit long-term unemployed people for new positions in their workplace. Employers can avail of JobsPlus when filling new positions or positions that arise as a consequence of natural turnover and they can receive a subsidy of €7,500 or €10,000 per employee. The value of the grant is dependent on the age of the new employee and their duration of unemployment, over the two-year period of employment.
Below is the number of Employers and Employees employed through the JobsPlus scheme from January 2020 to date by month. Numbers on this scheme have been impacted by COVID public health restrictions in place since March 2020.
|
2020 |
EMPLOYERS |
EMPLOYEES |
|
January |
1752 |
2090 |
|
February |
1633 |
1962 |
|
March |
1593 |
1896 |
|
April |
465 |
573 |
|
May |
396 |
474 |
|
June |
474 |
564 |
|
July |
558 |
659 |
|
August |
571 |
675 |
|
September |
660 |
780 |
|
October |
710 |
826 |
|
November |
676 |
796 |
|
December |
712 |
843 |
|
2021 |
EMPLOYERS |
EMPLOYEES |
|
January |
633 |
751 |
|
February |
522 |
622 |
|
March |
485 |
578 |
668. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of each contract entered into by her Department and the agencies under her remit to deal with Covid-19 management and reaction; and the name of the contractor in each case. [22146/21]
View answerSince January 2016, details of public contracts over €25,000 are published quarterly by my Department, in accordance with the principles of freedom of information.
In the management and response to the public health crisis caused by COVID-19, some contract modifications and additional drawdowns on existing contracts were required (for example, to undertake advertising of the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and COVID-19 Call Centre helplines). In order to facilitate PUP, it was necessary to divert Department IT staff and IT contractors from existing work and contracts to pandemic-induced work such as the processing of PUP claims.
Details of all new contracts entered into in response to the public health crisis caused by COVID-19 are set out in tabular format below:
|
Contract Details |
Contractor |
Value (excl. VAT) |
|
Provision of laptop peripheral devices for people working from home |
Datapac |
€770 |
|
Provision of laptop peripheral devices for people working from home |
Data direct |
€13,181 |
|
Covid-19 PPE Equipment and Supplies |
Matbel Ltd |
€23,760 |
|
Purchase of two printers for mass printing |
IT & Electronics Services Ltd |
€24,170 |
|
Provision of laptop peripheral devices |
DCB |
€31,058 |
|
To purchase two guillotines for mass printing |
Neopost Ireland Ltd |
€31,570 |
|
Purchase of two Folders/Inserters/Envelopers |
Pitney Bowes |
€32,838 |
|
Covid-19 Signage |
The Printed Image |
€36,552 |
|
Covid-19 PPE Equipment and Supplies |
J&C Hendrick Ltd |
€46,780 |
|
Provision of laptop peripheral devices |
IP Connect |
€48,746 |
|
Provision of laptop peripheral devices |
Bechtle |
€56,542 |
|
Webex Licences for increased use of online meetings |
Vodafone |
€71,763 |
|
Supply of Laptops |
PFH Technology Group |
€72,500 |
|
Covid-19 PPE Equipment and Supplies |
Codex Ltd. |
€81,002 |
|
Emergency procurement of printing services |
Azure Ltd |
€84,020 |
|
Provision of laptop peripheral devices |
IT Quotes |
€115,755 |
|
Supply of Laptops |
Dell |
€136,900 |
|
The Supply of Call Centre Services due to pressure on Department's income support line- April |
Abtran |
€139,000 |
|
The Supply of Call Centre Services in support of COVID-19 services- October |
Abtran |
€139,000 |
|
Supplementary Request for Tender (sRFT) for Management Support and Assistance in the establishment and ongoing operation of two new business units (i) the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme area and (ii) the new Jobseekers National Processing Unit |
Bearing Point Ireland Ltd |
€160,000 |
The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council and the Social Welfare Tribunal. Details of new contracts entered into by the Citizens information Board are set out in tabular format below:
|
Contract Details |
Contractor |
Value (inc. VAT) |
|
To provide technical support in the rapid development and rollout of the ‘Request A Call Back service’ hosted on the CIB website, as an effective alternative customer pathway for Citizens Information Service customers, following the suspension of local drop-in services and unprecedented demand levels on the national Citizens Information Phone Service. |
Enclude |
€12,950 |
|
Provision and installation of COVID-19 related control measures e.g. sanitising dispensers, stands and gel, polycarbonate guards and signage. |
Universal Graphics |
€5,810 |
|
Provision and installation of COVID-19 related control measures e.g. sanitising dispensers, stands and gel, polycarbonate guards and signage. |
3 Rock |
€645 |
No new contracts were entered into by either the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council or the Social Welfare Tribunal in response to COVID-19.
669. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the policy with regard to the continuation and payment of the pandemic unemployment payment after 30 June 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22155/21]
View answerThe Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme is due to remain open until 30th June 2021 and the Government will continue to keep all aspects of the scheme under review. Future decisions will be informed by the trajectory of the pandemic and the wider implications for the reopening of society and the economy.
I trust that this clarifies the position at this time.
670. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age who are in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment by county. [22156/21]
View answerThe table beneath details the number of people under 25 in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment on April 27th 2021 by county.
|
County |
No of Recipients |
|
Carlow |
976 |
|
Cavan |
1,448 |
|
Clare |
2,492 |
|
Cork |
10,857 |
|
Donegal |
3,833 |
|
Dublin |
29,176 |
|
Galway |
6,034 |
|
Kerry |
3,762 |
|
Kildare |
4,785 |
|
Kilkenny |
1,955 |
|
Laois |
1,501 |
|
Leitrim |
629 |
|
Limerick |
3,838 |
|
Longford |
537 |
|
Louth |
2,734 |
|
Mayo |
3,046 |
|
Meath |
4,160 |
|
Monaghan |
1,153 |
|
Offaly |
1,416 |
|
Roscommon |
1,272 |
|
Sligo |
1,473 |
|
Tipperary |
2,662 |
|
Waterford |
2,383 |
|
Westmeath |
1,765 |
|
Wexford |
2,958 |
|
Wicklow |
2,921 |
|
Unknown |
172 |
|
Total |
99,938 |
671. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age on the pandemic unemployment payment who have self-certified as students. [22157/21]
View answerAs of April 27th 2021, 40,853 people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment are students; 34,727 of these being under 25. The Deputy should note that this is based on a combination of self-certified information provided by the recipients, and checks performed against administrative files from the Higher Education Authority, and should therefore be considered as an estimate only.
672. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the actions taken by her Department to date to implement EU Council Recommendation, A Bridge to Jobs, Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee dated 30 October 2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22158/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the experience of past recessions indicates that youth employment tends to be significantly impacted by any labour market shock. This is because many employers operate a "last in-first out" protocol when reducing their labour force. Moreover, in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on our youth is driven by the tendency for many younger people to work in some of the sectors most severely impacted by the pandemic; namely accommodation and food and retail.
Prior to the pandemic, seasonally adjusted youth unemployment (15-24 year olds) stood at just over 11% in December 2019. Latest estimates from the CSO however, show that by the end of March 2021, this figure had increased to almost 15%. These estimates exclude those in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). Including all those in receipt of the PUP gives a COVID-19 adjusted unemployment rate estimate is 59.2 % for young people at the end of March.
It is important to note a significant number of PUP recipients are students. As of end-March 2021, it is estimated that 47,000 PUP recipients are students, with almost 90 percent of these in the under 25 cohort. Using international measures of unemployment, set by the International Labour Organisation, students are generally not counted as unemployed, as they are not considered part of the labour force. Therefore, the inclusion of recipients of PUP, including students, in the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of youth unemployment artificially inflates this measure.
We know that jobs of many persons currently on PUP will not be permanently lost due to the pandemic. Many will return to previous employment once restrictions ease, as they did during previous easing of restrictions during 2020. However, others will require assistance and support to return to employment, reskill and to find new jobs.
This is why the European Council believed it was important to reinforce the existing Youth Guarantee to aid in alleviating the labour market impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on young people. This aim is complementary to our objectives in Government. As Minister for Social Protection, I welcomed the Council of the European Union’s recommendation of a reinforced Youth Guarantee.
Central to the reinforced programme is the extension of the widening of the youth age bracket to include young people aged 25-29. As part of activation services provided by my Department via Intreo, young people under 25 receive the most intensive engagement. My Department intend to extend this up to age 29, as per the new reinforced Youth Guarantee, and are currently exploring the necessary system changes to allow for this to be put in place.
Under the July Jobs Stimulus, my Department, along with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, are putting in place the following measures to support persons including young persons back to employment:
- Expanding the caseload capacity of Intreo Centres, with the assignment of 100 job coaches to provide enhanced employment services and supports.
- Increasing the benefit of the JobsPlus recruitment subsidy to employers who hire young people, by expanding the young person rate from under 25 to under 30 years of age. Under this scheme an employer receives the JobsPlus subsidy of €7,500 once they employ a young person who has been unemployed for just 4 months. A higher subsidy of €10,000 is paid for recruitment of a person who was long term unemployed (over 12 months).
- Providing access to additional full-time and part-time education, including targeted short-term courses, with over 35,000 new education and training places for those currently unemployed.
- Providing incentives to employers to take on more apprentices, with the provision of a grant of €3,000 to employers for each new apprentice recruited.
- Facilitating access to the Back to Education Allowance and Back to Work Enterprise Allowance to those displaced by the pandemic and in receipt of PUP, by waiving the usual qualifying period of 3-9 months.
A core element of the reinforced Youth Guarantee is to support young people in gaining valuable work experience and developing the right skills for a changing world of work. My Department is at an advanced stage in developing a new Work Placement Experience Programme for those out of work for at least six months, regardless of age. This programme will seek to encourage businesses provide jobseekers with the necessary workplace skills to compete in the labour market and to help break the vicious circle of “no job without experience, no experience without a job”. I expect to launch the Programme as soon as public health restrictions allow in 2021.
In addition, the reinforced Youth Guarantee notes the value in supporting apprenticeships as a means of training young people and providing stable labour market integration. Last week, my colleague, Minister Harris, launched the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025. The Action Plan sets out a five-year strategy to deliver on the Programme for Government commitment of reaching 10,000 new apprentice registrations per year by 2025. The plan provides a roadmap to a single apprenticeship system and new supports for employers and apprentices, which will prove attractive for many young people.
These efforts will be further bolstered by Pathways to Work 2021-2025, which is currently being finalised by my Department. Pathways to Work, is the Government’s national employment services strategy. It will set out how an expanded Public Employment Service will utilise its existing and expanded capacity to deliver effective services in a post-COVID labour market. Publication is expected in the coming months, following the launch of the Government's Economic Recovery Plan.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
673. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of the implementation of the pensions auto enrolment system; the expected commencement date for the implementation of the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22159/21]
View answerThe Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce a pension auto-enrolment system. The objective of this commitment is to address the low proportion of employees in Ireland with supplementary pension cover, which includes both occupational and personal pensions.
The rate of supplementary pension coverage in Ireland is around 55% of the working population (CSO, Pension Coverage Survey 2020) and it is estimated that this reduces to less than 35% when the private sector is considered in isolation. Many of these people will become reliant on the State pension for all or most of their income in retirement and accordingly, may face a significant unwanted drop in income.
Although the Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018 to 2023 provided for the development and implementation of an Automatic Enrolment (AE) retirement savings system by 2022, this Government recognises the exceptional strain that both employers and employees are now under as a result of the Covid-19 emergency. Therefore, the Government will seek to gradually deliver an AE system, based on the following principles:
- There will be a phased roll-out, over a decade, of the contribution made by workers.
- Matching contributions will be made by both workers and employers and the State will top up contributions.
- There will be an opt-out provision for those who choose to opt out.
- Workers will have a range of retirement savings products to choose from.
- There will be a charges cap imposed on pension providers.
The Department of Social Protection continues to work on the design of the AE system. There are five main areas where work is ongoing so as to produce design options. These areas relate to:
- the scope and role of a Central Processing Authority for the system;
- the nature and functions of Registered Providers of savings products;
- the investment framework and funds to be offered by Registered Providers, including the design of the default fund and the pay-out phase;
- the design of the State financial incentive; and
- the phasing of implementation.
In progressing this work, the Department is receiving technical support from the European Commission’s DG Reform which assists EU member states implementing administrative and institutional reforms.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
674. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of the bodies and advisory structures under the aegis of her Department which are subject to the transparency code; if all such bodies and advisory structures are abiding by the provisions of the code; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22160/21]
View answerThe Department adheres to the policy and principles of open government. Designated Officials under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 are listed here:
https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/73a5e7-regulation-of-lobbying-act-2015/
A critical element of public policy formulation is the availability to Ministers of expertise, skills and knowledge from persons outside of the public service. Often, this process is formalised by the establishment of a task force, working group, etc., to focus on a particular policy issues.
Given the importance and value of the work carried out by such groups in terms of the promotion of economic and social priorities, it is essential that the incentive for all key stakeholders to participate in and engage with such work is fully supported. These bodies must adhere to a transparency code established under Section 5(7) of the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. This means that the relevant bodies must adhere to standards of transparency in the Code.
There are two such bodies under the aegis of the Department. As per the Transparency Code, the Labour Market Advisory Council publishes agendas, minutes and relevant documents here:
https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/c4ef43-agendas-minutes-and-associated-documents-labour-market-advisory-coun/
The Pensions Commission also adheres to the Transparency Code. Information about its activities is published here:
https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c72c6-the-commissions-work/
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
675. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to extend the school meals programme into the summer months in 2021 for all current participants. [22165/21]
View answer677. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of providing free school meals to all children participating in summer provision or DEIS summer camp programmes in summer 2021. [22167/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 675 and 677 together.
The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,557 schools and organisations benefiting 227,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.
The funding available to schools is based on the school year (September to May/June, i.e., 180 days or 36 weeks for primary schools and 165 days or 33 weeks for secondary schools). If the existing provision was to continue for the summer months in 2021 (9 weeks for primary schools and 13 weeks for secondary schools), the additional cost would be €17.2m.
Funding for the provision of meals for the DEIS Summer Camp Programme is not currently included in the School Meals Programme. I am aware, from discussions with my colleague the Minister for Education, that in order to support the alleviation of learning loss and the transition of learners back to in-class education, an enhanced programme of summer provision for children with additional needs and those who are experiencing educational disadvantage, similar to what was provided in summer 2020 is being developed. The details of how it will operate will be worked through with the education partners in the coming months.
The cost of provision of school meals will therefore be determined by the number of pupils partaking in a summer provision programme to be announced, the details of which are currently being worked through.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
676. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of children participating in the school meals programme; and the number of children participating in the hot meals programme. [22166/21]
View answerThe school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,557 schools and organisations benefitting 227,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.
As part of Budget 2019, funding was provided for a pilot scheme from September 2019, providing hot school meals in primary schools at a cost of €1m for 2019 and €2.5m in 2020. The pilot involved 37 schools benefitting 6,744 students for the 2019/2020 academic year and was aimed primarily at schools with no onsite cooking facilities. 32 schools involved in the pilot continue to provide hot school meals for the 2020/2021 academic year. Three of the pilot schools have reverted to a cold lunch and two have left the scheme.
In Budget 2021, I announced that an additional €5.5m would be provided to extend the provision of hot school meals to an additional 35,000 primary school children, currently receiving the cold lunch option. 189 schools have been selected and officials from my department are currently engaging with these schools to commence the provision of hot school meals.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
678. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a schedule of proposed changes to the delivery of public employment services; her plans to retain the personal service that is customer focused and meets the needs and ambitions of the client; the reason the changes have been proposed; the business case for the proposals; and if her attention has been drawn to correspondence (details supplied). [22168/21]
View answerAs part of the July jobs stimulus, the Government committed to increase the capacity of all elements of the Public Employment Service.
My Department therefore shortly intends to issue a Request for Tender (RFT) to expand local employment type services into four geographical areas where a Local Employment Service does not currently exist. The specific lots will be detailed in the request for tender, which will be published shortly.
The forthcoming RFT will place due emphasis on the quality of services to be provided, while expanding the capacity of the Public Employment Service (PES). Tenders will be assessed based primarily on the quality of their respective proposals. This initial competitive procurement process, required to comply with EU procurement rules, will have no impact on the contracts of existing providers in other areas and it is expected that local community and voluntary organisations will be in a strong position to respond to the RFT.
In relation to the specific issues raised, in practice the annual "cost met" funding approach requires a level of scrutiny of day-to-day expenditure, which places an undue administrative burden on both the employment service provider and my Department. Such an approach diverts valuable resources away from supporting clients and as such does nothing to enhance employment outcomes for the long-term unemployed. Moving to a multiannual funding approach, which pays for each jobseeker referred to the service, with a guarantee on the minimum number of referrals and with a strong emphasis on quality of service provision, is more likely to deliver enhanced outcomes for those availing of the service.
Separately, the current contracts for all contracted PES provision expire at the end of 2021. My Department, in light of the significant challenge facing the Public Employment Service, is therefore preparing to procure, in a manner that is compatible with procurement law, sufficient high-quality capacity to meet expected demand for employment services.
Organisations with strong experience in the delivery of similar services at a community and local level will be in a strong position to respond to the RFTs when they issue.
679. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Social Protection if the qualified adult allowance under the contributory pension for a person (details supplied) can be backdated to when they turned 66 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22180/21]
View answerFollowing review, the Increase for qualified adult (IQA), payable with State pension (contributory) in this case, has been backdated to 24 January 2020, six months from the date of receipt of the original IQA application. The person concerned was notified in writing of this decision and the arrears due to her on 26 April 2021.
Current social welfare legislation on late claims stipulates that claims received on or after 5/6 April 2012 may only be backdated for a maximum of six months.
Backdating of a late claim beyond six months will be considered in circumstances where the failure to claim arose as the result of either incorrect information having been supplied by my Department, or the claimant’s serious incapacity by illness or infirmity. In either case, relevant documentary evidence should be provided by the person concerned.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
