Written Answers Nos. 701-720
701. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on a disability allowance appeal by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42416/21]
View answerThe person concerned submitted an application for disability allowance (DA) on 13 July 2021. Their application, based upon all the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds as it was not found that the person concerned was substantially restricted in taking up employment.
The person concerned was notified in writing of this decision on 5 August 2021 and was also notified of their right to request a review of this decision or to appeal it to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).
The person in question has lodged an appeal with the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO). All the relevant papers requested by that Office are being prepared and will be submitted by the Department shortly. The SWAO will be in touch with the person in due course in relation to the progress of the appeal.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
702. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on an application for an invalidity pension by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42417/21]
View answerThe person concerned has been awarded invalidity pension with effect from 15 July 2021. Payment will issue to her nominated bank account on 16 September 2021. Any arrears due from 15 July 2021 to 15 September 2021 (less any overlapping social welfare payment) will issue in due course. The person concerned was notified of this decision on 01 September 2021.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
703. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on a invalidity pension appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42418/21]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that Office on 30 July 2021. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 17 August 2021.
The case is being referred to an Appeals Officer, who will make a summary decision based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
704. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Social Protection the breakdown of the estimated €3.9 million (details supplied) current spending related to implementing the new direct provision system; the number of budgetary cycles the spending will be take place over; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42430/21]
View answerI welcome the fact that my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has brought the White Paper to end Direct Provision and to establish a new International Protection Support Service to Government, which will meet the Government commitment to end direct provision. This White Paper outlines a model for developing a new International Protection Accommodation and Support System that will be implemented between now and the end of 2024.
My Department is committed to supporting this process of change and my officials will continue to work with colleagues in Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth as we move to implement this new model.
The new model proposes a two-phase approach to accommodating applicants for international protection. In Phase 1, my Department will continue to provide Daily Expenses Allowance, as the income support payment to protection applicants while they stay in the Reception and Integration centre. The estimated cost for daily expenses allowance in the first 4 months in the Reception and Integration centre to my Department is €3.7m. These costings have been developed based on the assumption that the new model needs to have capacity to meet the needs of 3,500 applicants per year, of whom one-third will be children.
In Phase 2, applicants will move out of the Reception and Integration Centres to accommodation in the community. While it is envisaged that my Department will provide a payment channel for the new International Protection Payments on behalf of Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, it is that Department which will retain the policy and budget for the payments. The estimated cost to my Department of administering this payment channel is €0.2m per year.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
707. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on an application for disability allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42443/21]
View answerI confirm that an application from the person concerned for disability allowance (DA) was received by the Department on 6 July 2021.
The processing time for individual DA claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of the three main qualifying criteria, the person’s circumstances and the information they provide in support of their claim.
The application has been referred to a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) for a report on the person’s means and circumstances. Once the SWI has submitted his/her report to DA section, a decision will be made on the application and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
708. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on a pandemic unemployment payment scheme appeal by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42444/21]
View answerThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 1 September 2021. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the appeal will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if necessary, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
709. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider the extension of the duration of community employment schemes where appropriate for workers who feel that they were unable to benefit fully from the training and opportunities to gain experience normally afforded by a scheme due to restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will investigate whether the terms for one such group of workers in a facility (details supplied) can be extended. [42448/21]
View answerThe Community Employment Scheme (CE) 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.
My Department has supported CE schemes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. CE participants, whose contracts were due to end during the periods of restrictions, have had their contracts extended for the duration of those restrictions.
In June this year, I announced that the existing CE participants' contract extension date would be further extended until 29/10/2021 and that the conclusion of these places would be undertaken on a coordinated and phased basis. Over 11,000 CE and Tús participants are benefiting from this latest contract extension up to the end of October next. This approach will give participants time to complete training and work experience, while also supporting the delivery of important community services.
While the extension of placements helps to alleviate immediate pressures, it is important to note that CE placements are intended to be temporary and subject to time limits. This is to ensure the continued availability of places on CE schemes for other candidates. The current extensions will therefore be reviewed as the economy re-opens and we would hope that we can return to a normal level of throughput in order that places will be available to new candidates including those displaced from employment due to COVID-19.
I will continue to support and improve the programme for the benefit of the CE participants and the valuable contribution being made to local communities through the provision of services while ensuring places are available for the those who are long term unemployed.
The Deputy may be interested to know that the CE scheme to which he referred currently has 2 vacancies and candidates will be in place to fill these vacancies shortly.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
710. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will investigate the issues facing rural community employment schemes (details supplied) in terms of the difficulties in the recruitment of community employment workers by these rural community groups; if community employment scheme participant eligibility will be reviewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42472/21]
View answerThe Community Employment (CE) 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. Those who are unemployed and in receipt of an eligible payment for 12 months or more, are regarded as long-term unemployed. This includes time spent on the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP).
I am very aware of the challenges caused by the Covid-19 public health restrictions and the adverse impact on a number of rural and urban CE schemes in recruiting new CE participants. My Department supported CE schemes since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, by ensuring that contingency measures were in place to support CE schemes.
This included the extension of CE participant contracts that were due to end during the periods of restrictions. The measures introduced helped to mitigate recruitment challenges for CE schemes while supporting the ongoing delivery of important community services throughout the period. I and my Department are very aware of the need to continue to support CE schemes during the current recovery period.
One of the measures included in the Pathways to Work Strategy announced by Government in July, 2021 was an increase in the capacity of the Public Employment Service in Intreo Offices and contracted services to further support jobseekers through the provision of job search advice and assistance. This increased capacity will support persons who jobs are permanently lost due to COVID as well as those unemployed pre-pandemic. These additional resources will be central to meeting the increased demand for services, given the impact of the pandemic on employment and will support the increased demand for new candidate referrals to fill existing and new CE vacancies. In this regard, I would encourage CE projects to remain in close contact with the Department's Community Development Officers.
Under Pathways to Work, the Government announced 3,000 additional places on Employment Support Schemes, including Community Employment. Of the additional places, 1,475 places have recently been assigned to existing CE schemes. These new places will be available to existing and more recent long term unemployed persons, including those whose employment was adversely affected as a result of Covid-19.
I am fully committed to the future of CE and will continue to support and improve the programme for the benefit of both the CE participants and the valuable contribution being made to local communities throughout the country, while ensuring that these placements are available for the current cohort of long term unemployed.
711. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will clarify if sick benefit entitlements will be adversely affected for persons who were in receipt of PUP payments over the past 18 months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42577/21]
View answerEntitlement to illness benefit or other PRSI dependent payments will not be adversely affected for persons entitled to and in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP). PRSI contributions are attributed to persons on PUP at the same value as they were paying while employed immediately before commencing PUP.
I hope that this clarifies the position at this time.
713. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if an application for a supplementary welfare allowance will be reviewed in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42613/21]
View answerThe person concerned made an application for an Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) on 10/08/2021. This claim was disallowed as it was determined, based on the application and supporting documentation provided, that the need was not exceptional and it was considered reasonable that the person concerned had sufficient means to cover the costs of the items from their household income.
The Designated Person issued a letter dated 25/08/2021 to the person concerned advising her of the outcome of her application and affording her the option of seeking a review of the decision.
A Reviewing Officer has now reviewed the person’s application. The Reviewing Officer found that the Designated Person complied with the legislation and guidelines in disallowing the application on the basis the person concerned has household income of over €800 per week and an amount of almost €4,000 in her bank account. The decision to disallow the application was therefore upheld by the Reviewing Officer and the person concerned was informed of the outcome in writing on 07/09/2021.
If the circumstances of the person concerned have changed since her last ENP application it is open to her to submit a new application by contacting her local Community Welfare Service by phone at (01) 6016360 or by email at KildareCWS@welfare.ie.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
714. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Social Protection if a student (details supplied) is eligible for jobseeker’s allowance given that the course is designed to allow for flexible and blended learning to explicitly allow students to study and work simultaneously; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42627/21]
View answerJobseekers Allowance is a means tested income support payment for people who are unable to obtain full time employment and satisfy the scheme’s statutory conditions. The revised estimated expenditure for the Jobseekers Allowance scheme in 2021 is approximately €1.64 billion.
Social welfare legislation provides that students who are attending a full-time course of study are not eligible for the Jobseeker's Allowance. A person must satisfy, amongst other things, the conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking full-time work in order to be eligible for a Jobseekers payment.
In general, the level of commitment required to participate in a full-time course of education is not consistent with the jobseeker’s schemes requirement to be available for full-time employment and genuinely seeking such work. However, decisions are made based on the circumstances of each case.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
715. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection when a carer’s allowance will be made payable in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42671/21]
View answerCarer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care.
I am advised that there is no current application registered for the person concerned for CA. If the person in question wishes to make an application, she should complete and return an application form (CR1) to CA section in the social welfare services office, Longford, as soon as possible.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
716. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the way an alleged overpayment of maternity benefit has occurred in the case of a case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42690/21]
View answerThe person concerned applied for and received the full standard 26 weeks of Maternity Benefit in 2020, amounting to €6370.
However, she returned to employment during her Maternity leave period, and as a result she was not qualified for receipt of Maternity Benefit for that period.
An overpayment of €1,225 (5 weeks at €245) was assessed. That decision was unsuccessfully appealed to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office and their decision was communicated to the appellant by letter dated the 12th November 2020.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
717. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Social Protection the steps being taken to facilitate remote working within her Department in particular to encourage remote working for those who live in the regions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42714/21]
View answerCivil Service departments and offices have been working in line with Government Covid-19 guidance, which provided for home working to continue where possible. As an essential service, staff in my Department have continued, throughout the pandemic, to work both on site in office premises and remotely to deliver for our customers across our nationwide network of offices. The number of staff who are working remotely at any one time across all regions is approximately 3,300 or 50% of the total staffing number and has remained relatively constant through the Covid-19 restrictions.
The Government has now published Ireland’s plan for the next phase of the response to the pandemic - COVID-19: Reframing the Challenge, Continuing Our Recovery and Reconnecting. Under this plan, the advice to work from home unless absolutely essential to attend the workplace is being withdrawn. This means that people can return to the workplace on a phased basis from 20th of September.
The Government has also confirmed its support of blended working in the Civil Service and, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is developing an overarching central framework to support consistency of implementation of blended working across the Civil Service. Key considerations of the development of this policy is the potential improvements in work life balance and regional development across the State.
This framework will inform the development of organization-level blended working policies tailored to the specific requirements of each Department / Office, whilst ensuring a consistency of approach across key policy areas. In conjunction with this framework an application process is also currently being developed to allow staff to apply for blended working into the future.
In line with this approach, it is intended, subject to business needs and individual suitability, to make blended working part of the way that my Department will work on a more permanent basis. To this end, my Department will develop a blended working policy based on the framework being developed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and will aim to implement this policy in early 2022.
719. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which her Department and public bodies and agencies under her remit are accommodating requests for persons to work from home. [42764/21]
View answerCivil Service departments and offices have been working in line with Government Covid-19 guidance, which provided for home working to continue where possible. As an essential service, staff in my Department have continued, throughout the pandemic, to work both on site in office premises and remotely to deliver for our customers across our nationwide network of offices. The number of staff who are working remotely at any one time across all regions is approximately 3,300 or 50% of the total staffing number and has remained relatively constant through the Covid-19 restrictions.
The Government has now published Ireland’s plan for the next phase of the response to the pandemic - COVID-19: Reframing the Challenge, Continuing Our Recovery and Reconnecting. Under this plan, the advice to work from home unless absolutely essential to attend the workplace is being withdrawn. This means that people can return to the workplace on a phased basis from 20th of September.
The Government has also confirmed its support of blended working in the Civil Service and, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is developing an overarching central framework to support consistency of implementation of blended working across the Civil Service.
This framework will inform the development of organization-level blended working policies tailored to the specific requirements of each Department/Office, whilst ensuring a consistency of approach across key policy areas. In conjunction with this framework an application process is also currently being developed to allow staff to apply for blended working into the future.
In line with this approach, it is intended, subject to business needs and individual suitability, to make blended working part of the way that my Department will work on a more permanent basis. To this end, my Department will develop a blended working policy based on the framework being developed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and will aim to implement this policy in early 2022.
The position in relation to the relevant bodies under the aegis of my Department is as follows:
1. Citizens Information Board (CIB)
All CIB staff members are currently working remotely. CIB has committed to developing a remote working policy in line with central arrangements.
As CIB does not have a long-term remote working policy at present, no applications for permanent remote working have been received.
2. Pensions Authority:
All Pensions Authority employees continue to work from home pending further guidance from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform regarding a return to the office.
Where required, employees return to the office to undertake essential IT, administration and facilities management work. The Pensions Authority is currently developing its longer-term remote working policy and procedures in line with DPER guidance as it becomes available. No employees have applied to work from home permanently or from a hybrid model yet.
720. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will outline the rationale for the averaging rule as it applies to State pension calculations; if she accepts that this rule has the effect of reducing the total pension award of persons who take on temporary part-time work at an early age; if there are any plans to review this rule, process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42812/21]
View answerWhen the contributory pension was introduced in 1961 many workers had not been given the opportunity to build up social insurance contributions for all their working life. As such, the yearly average, and banded payments, were used to calculate the rate of payment - otherwise people would have had to wait and contribute for a considerable number of years to achieve a reasonable pension payment in retirement. The yearly average mechanism is set out in detail as part of the Operational Guidelines for State Pension Contributory published on the Department's web site at http://www.gov.ie/en/publication/4f38a6-operational-guidelines-state-pension-contributory/.
A policy to introduce the Total Contributions Approach (TCA) to pensions calculation was adopted by Government in the National Pensions Framework in 2010. In January 2018 the Government agreed to a proposal that allowed pensioners affected by the September 2012 changes in rate bands to have their pension entitlement calculated by an interim “Total Contributions Approach” (TCA) which would include up to 20 years of a new HomeCaring credit. This approach significantly benefited many people, particularly women, whose work history included an extended period of time outside the paid workplace, while raising families or in a caring role. The interim TCA ensured that the totality of a person’s social insurance contributions - as opposed to the timing of them - would determine their final pension outcome.
Those who reached state pension age after September 2012 had their pension entitlement reviewed under the interim TCA method with 56% of women reviewed receiving an increase while 24% of men reviewed also received an increase. Those who have reached state pension age since January 2018 have had their pension entitlement assessed under yearly averaging and the interim TCA with the most beneficial payment being awarded to them.
As part of the Programme for Government, a Commission on Pensions was set up to look at sustainability and eligibility issues with the State Pension and the Social Insurance Fund. More broadly, it has also been considering the issue of retirement ages in employment contracts and how the pension system can further accommodate carers, who are predominantly women. The Commission will set out options for the Government to address issues such as qualifying age, contribution rates, total contributions and eligibility requirements. The Commission formally submitted its report to me earlier this week.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
