Written Answers Nos. 357-379
357. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the status of projects to increase capacity at a school (details supplied); when the projects will commence; when it be will completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58990/21]
View answerThe school building project to which the Deputy refers has been approved funding under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme 2019 to enable the school to build a two-classroom SEN Base. Approval to progress this project to Tender Stage issued in June 2021. The project has been devolved for delivery to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education & Training Board (DDLETB).
Additional costs associated with the Fire and DAC certificates are currently being assessed by DDLETB. When this information has been received in the Department a decision regarding these costs will be conveyed to the ETB which will allow this project to continue to procure for contractors. It is too early at this stage to give an estimated timeline for commencement or completion of this project.
Furthermore, to meet the school's interim accommodation needs, rental for one temporary classroom was approved and is due to be on site by February 2022.
358. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the status of projects to increase capacity at a school (details supplied); when the projects will commence; when it be will completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58991/21]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers was approved funding under my Additional Accommodation Scheme to purchase modular accommodation containing seven classrooms, one science room and one technology room.
This project was devolved to Dublin Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB) for delivery. The project was approved to construction in June 2018 and has since been completed. The Department is currently in the process of finalising the final account details with DDLETB.
359. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the status of projects to increase capacity at a school (details supplied); when the projects will commence; when it be will completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58992/21]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has been in contact with the patron of the school in question and it has been agreed to increase the enrolment capacity of the school to 1,000 pupils. My Department has already approved interim accommodation for this purpose and this devolved project is currently at construction stage.
My Department is engaging with the patron of the school in question in order to put an appropriate permanent accommodation solution in place.
360. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education if consideration will be given to the provision of increased mixed sex primary school places in the Dublin 9 and 11 areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59022/21]
View answer367. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education if she is giving consideration to the provision of increased mixed sex primary school places in the Dublin 9 and 11 areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59085/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 360 and 367 together.
As the Deputy may be aware, the decision-making authority in respect of the status of existing schools, including whether they are single or mixed gender, belongs to the Patron, subject to the agreement of my Department.
New schools are established by my Department to meet demographic need and, generally, such new school provision (primary and post-primary) is mixed gender in nature. Co-educational schools provide greater flexibility than single sex schools in terms of meeting demographic and school accommodation requirements in an area. Single-gender provision may, however, be made if there is an identified imbalance between the capacities of single-gender schools in the area.
Under Project Ireland 2040, my Department continues to make progress to increase the infrastructural capacity in the schools sector, in order to meet demographic and other demands. It is expected that the enrolment pressures in the school planning areas within Dublin 9 and 11, and other areas will reduce in the short-term as such planned additional capacity comes on stream and as demographic demand moves past its peak.
The Capital Programme details the school projects that are being progressed under Project Ireland 2040. The current status of large-scale projects being delivered under Project Ireland 2040 may be viewed on my Department's website at, www.gov.ie and this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.
The Capital Programme also provides for devolved funding for additional classrooms, including accommodation for pupils with special educational needs, if required, for schools where an additional enrolment need has been identified or where an additional teacher has been appointed. Details of schools listed on this programme (the Additional Accommodation Scheme) can be found on my Department's website at www.gov.ie and this information is also updated regularly.
362. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Education the status of a remote area grant for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59031/21]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2020/2021 school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.
Under the terms of my Department's School Transport Schemes children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 3.2kms at primary and 4.8 kms at post-primary from and are attending their nearest school/education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
An eligible child for whom no transport service is available may, following an application and payment for transport within prescribed time limits, receive a Remote Area Grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements. This grant is also payable for eligible children who may have to travel 3.2 kms or more to or from a designated pick up/set down point.
The pupil referred to by the Deputy resides 41.2 km from home to their school of attendance and closest school. A transport application was received for the pupil on 12/04/2021 for the 2021/22 school year and the pupil has been assigned a seat on a service. As the pupil resides 13.7 km from home to their pick up point, the family is eligible for the Remote Area Grant for the school year 2021-22. In this regard, the family will receive communication from School Transport Section early next year with regard to this grant which is paid during the summer months.
363. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education the suite of measures she is relying on to keep primary-schools safe given the absence of HEPA filters, masks, appropriate contact, test, trace and isolation and the fact most children in the age group that has not yet been vaccinated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59039/21]
View answerThe Department of Education has always been guided by public health advice in relation to appropriate Covid-19 infection prevention and control measures in place in schools. These measures protect students, their parents and school staff and are very effective.
Public Health continue to advise that the two most important actions to prevent the introduction and spread of Covid-19 (and other respiratory viruses), is by ensuring no-one with new onset symptoms attend school, and that all recommended infection prevention and control measures are in place in line with school Covid response plans.
Each school was provided with an updated COVID-19 Response Plan in advance of the return to school. Significant additional resources of €639m were put into schools in the last academic year to keep schools safe.
Further funding of €57.6 million has been paid by way of Covid-19 capitation to schools in September for the implementation of infection prevention and control measures for this term. This funding will cater for school costs related to hand hygiene measures, PPE requirements, enhanced cleaning supports and supervision.
At primary level, additional management resources for principal release days were provided for Principals and Deputy Principals. Teacher Supply panels were also expanded to cover the majority of primary schools nationwide, and a recent review saw a further additional 200 teaching posts added resulting in approximately 680 teaching posts on these panels available to provide substitute cover in schools
At post primary level over 1000 teaching posts were provided to support social distancing within classrooms, to provide for enhanced supervision arrangements in order to manage and prevent congregation of large groups of students and ensure the careful movement in a socially distant manner to classes for specialist subjects where it is neither practical nor possible to remain in the classroom.
Managing ventilation is also an important part of the measures to keep our schools safe. Updated guidance for schools on Practical Steps for the Deployment of Good Ventilation Practices in Schools was provided at the end of May following the work of an expert group that carefully considered the role of ventilation in managing COVID-19. The updated guidance for schools is also fully in line with the most recent guidance on non-healthcare building ventilation during COVID-19, published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre last Thursday. CO2 monitors were also provided to schools to assist with managing ventilation locally.
All of these measures are remaining in place for this school year. The infection prevention and control measures in place in schools have worked very effectively to prevent and control Covid-19 in schools. The Department will continue to work closely with public health officials and the education stakeholders in respect of the safe operation of schools during Covid-19. Where a school is experiencing issues with ventilation, they should contact the Department.
The Department of Health and the HSE, working in collaboration with the Department of Education also recently announced a programme in which antigen tests will be made available to children in primary schools when a case of Covid-19 arises.
Parents and Guardians of a primary school child, who is a confirmed case of COVID-19 following a PCR test, are asked to inform their school’s principal. The school principal will then inform the parents of other children in the pod of a confirmed case. Where there are two cases in a class in more than one pod in a seven day period, antigen tests will be offered to every child in the class. No personal details of the child will be shared. These parents will be provided with the option to receive free antigen tests for their child, which they will be able to order for delivery to their home.
NPHET has recommended and the Government has approved a measure introducing the wearing of face masks by children aged nine years and older in a number of settings, including for children in 3rd class and above in primary schools. HSPC interim Guidance on the use of face coverings in childcare and educational setting can be found at this link www.gov.ie/en/publication/1f9ba-interim-guidance-on-the-use-of-face-coverings-in-childcare-and-educational-settings/.
The Department has provided guidance for schools, including information on those categories of children who are exempt on medical grounds from wearing face masks. The measure is being introduced on a temporary basis and is subject to review in mid-February 2022.
364. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education if there is a clean-air strategy in place for primary schools given growing international evidence over the past 20 months that Covid-19 is airborne and the fact this cohort remains unprotected through vaccination; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59040/21]
View answerThe Department’s ventilation guidance for schools is very clear and practical on the steps to be taken by all schools to manage ventilation levels.
Managing ventilation is just one of a suite of public health measures in place to keep our schools safe. Updated guidance for schools on Practical Steps for the Deployment of Good Ventilation Practices in Schools was provided at the end of May following the work of an expert group that carefully considered the role of ventilation in managing COVID-19. A copy of the guidance is published on the Gov.ie website. The updated guidance for schools is also fully in line with the most recent guidance on non-healthcare building ventilation during COVID-19, published by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre last Thursday November 18th.
The Expert Group note in its own report notes “very good advice is contained in the Department of Education s Practical Steps for the Deployment of Good Ventilation Practices in Schools”
The over-arching approach for schools should be to have windows open as fully as possible when classrooms are not in use (e.g. during break-times or lunch-times and also at the end of each school day) and partially open when classrooms are in use. It is worth noting that windows do not need to be open as wide in windy/colder weather in order to achieve the same level of airflow into the classroom. This will assist in managing comfort levels in classrooms during periods of colder weather.
Deployment of the above measures can be supplemented and enhanced by the use of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) monitors. These monitors can provide a useful general indication that areas/ rooms may not be adequately ventilated and can enable occupants to become familiar with the impact of activities, outdoor weather and window openings on levels of good ventilation within a room.
The guidance outlines that Carbon Dioxide (CO2) monitors can play a part in providing a useful general indication that areas/rooms may not be adequately ventilated. They can enable occupants to become familiar with the impacts of activities, outdoor weather and window openings on levels of good ventilation. The provision of portable CO2 monitors provides schools with the flexibility to focus their use to those rooms where most beneficial to inform strategies for optimising ventilation in the school.
In excess of 35,400 monitors were delivered to schools nationwide at a cost of circa €4 million.
The Department considers the above practical steps and stepwise approach are sufficient to ensure good ventilation practices in school while at the same time ensuring an appropriate balance between ventilation and comfort.
A dedicated team has been established in the Department to support schools that may have concerns about ventilation. Officers are also available to contact schools where required, walking through the steps the schools should take to deploy good ventilation practices etc. Where it is not possible for a school to access the expertise of an engineer or architect, and where necessary, a technical assessment to assist the school can be facilitated through the Department.
Schools that identify inadequate ventilation in a room can utilise their minor work grant (for minor improvements) or apply for emergency works grant assistance to address ventilation enhancements on a permanent basis.
365. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Education if she will address the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59081/21]
View answerThe property referred to by the Deputy is not in my ownership as Minister for Education. The land owner should be contacted regarding this purchase request.
366. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Education if her Department will request the State Examinations Commission to accept a late application to the scheme of reasonable accommodations at certificate for a student (details supplied) in County Tipperary; if her Department and State Examinations Commission will take into account the fact that this child was only recently diagnosed with a learning disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59083/21]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission is a non-departmental public body under the aegis of the Department of Education with statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
368. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the lack of secondary school places available to cater to the youth population living in the Lucan area; and the steps her Department plans to take to ensure that capacity is increased as soon as possible. [59119/21]
View answerMy Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional school places in a number of school planning areas including the Lucan school planning area.
It is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors:
- Duplication of applications – pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools in the area
- School of choice – pupils can’t get a place in their preferred school while there are places in other schools in the town/area
- Some towns/areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school they are not available to all pupils
- External draw – pupils coming from outside the local area
My Department is working to establish the true extent of any capacity issues through ongoing discussions with the relevant school authorities. In that context, similar to the process adopted in advance of the current academic year, my Department is engaging with patron bodies, including those of schools in the Lucan area, to identify particular capacity requirements for the forthcoming year(s) which may necessitate further action to that already in train.
Under Project Ireland 2040, my Department continues to make progress to increase the infrastructural capacity in the schools sector, in order to meet demographic and other demands. It is expected that the enrolment pressures in this, and other areas will reduce in the short-term as such planned additional capacity comes on stream and as demographic demand moves past its peak.
The Capital Programme details the school projects that are being progressed under Project Ireland 2040. The current status of large-scale projects being delivered under Project Ireland 2040, including projects in Lucan, may be viewed on my Department's website at, www.gov.ie and this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.
The Capital Programme also provides for devolved funding for additional classrooms, including accommodation for pupils with special educational needs, if required, for schools where an additional enrolment need has been identified or where an additional teacher has been appointed. Details of schools listed on this programme (the Additional Accommodation Scheme) can be found on my Department's website at www.gov.ie and this information is also updated regularly.
A number of projects to deliver additional post primary school capacity in the Lucan area are planned or underway including the following:
St Joseph's College - Roll number 60263V - Project at stage 3 to cater for 1000 pupils – Interim accommodation approved in October 2021 for 6 additional Classrooms
Griffeen Community College - Roll Number 76454S - New school to cater for 1000 pupils and 4 Class SEN Base - Project at Architectural design stage. Modular interim accommodation approved for 9 Classrooms, 1 construction Room,1 SET Room, 1GP/Staff Room +Toilets.
Lucan Community College - Roll Number 70080T - extension to cater for 1000 pupils and 2 class SEN base - Project at Architectural design stage.
St Kevin's Community College - Roll Number 70042L - Patron has agreed to increase capacity to 1000 pupils and 4 class SEN base. Interim accommodation approved in May 2021 to cater for expansion.
Coláiste Cois Life - Roll Number 76065H - Modular accommodation approved in 2017 for 7 general classrooms, science room & technology room.
369. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the buildings currently in use by Longford Westmeath Education Training Board that are either owned, leased or rented on a full or part-time basis which have been assessed as having asbestos in the buildings; and the actions that have been taken to ensure the health and safety of employees and former employees to assess the health impact that asbestos had in counties Longford and Westmeath in tabular form. [59121/21]
View answerAn official from my Department has been in contact with Longford and Westmeath ETB (LWETB) on foot of the Deputy’s question.
LWETB has confirmed that each of the buildings listed in the table below was the subject of a report which identified the existence of asbestos in the property and specified one or more remedial actions to be taken.
These reports date from 2005 to 2019 and detailed information regarding individual actions is not readily to hand. LWETB has confirmed to my Department that the remedial action(s) identified in each report have been implemented in full.
|
Buildings |
|
Mullingar Community College |
|
Ballymahon Community College |
|
Columba College |
|
Templemichael College |
|
Longford Youthreach |
370. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education when a SENO report for a child (details supplied) will be sent to a school in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59137/21]
View answerI understand from my officials that the student concerned has been prioritised by her school for the involvement of the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) to support her transition from her primary to post-primary school. Once the relevant form is completed and returned by the school along with parental consent for NEPS involvement, the psychologist will agree a date for the transition support process to begin.
371. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education the total number of applications for emergency works grants; the number that were successful in accessing the grant and the total amount awarded for the past five years in tabular form. [59100/21]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy will take some time to collate.
I will arrange for my Department to provide this information to the Deputy as soon as possible.
372. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education the total number of schools that identified a further requirement for CO2 monitors and submitted a request through the dedicated helpline and email account (details supplied); the number of schools that received additional CO2 monitors; and the total number of reserve CO2 monitors that have been distributed to schools via this method in tabular form. [59101/21]
View answerThe Department’s ventilation guidance for schools is very clear and practical on the steps to be taken by all schools to manage ventilation levels.
Managing ventilation is just one of a suite of public health measures in place to keep our schools safe. Updated guidance for schools on Practical Steps for the Deployment of Good Ventilation Practices in Schools was provided at the end of May following the work of an expert group that carefully considered the role of ventilation in managing COVID-19. A copy of the guidance is published on the Gov.ie website.
The over-arching approach in the guidance is for schools to have windows open as fully as possible when classrooms are not in use and partially open when classrooms are in use.
The guidance outlines that Carbon Dioxide (CO2) monitors can play a part in providing a useful general indication that areas/rooms may not be adequately ventilated. They can enable occupants to become familiar with the impacts of activities, outdoor weather and window openings on levels of good ventilation. The provision of portable CO2 monitors provides schools with the flexibility to focus their use to those rooms where most beneficial to inform strategies for optimising ventilation in the school
I can advise the Deputy that as of 29/11/2021 a total of 212 schools have applied for additional monitors. Of these 179 schools have been approved for 1136 additional monitors. These have been dispatched or are in the process of being dispatched by Lennox Laboratories.
A further 31 applications have been approved for an additional 196 monitors. These schools are being notified of their approval for additional monitors. A request for dispatch of these monitors will be sent to Lennox shortly. There are 2 applications which are currently under assessment by my Department.
373. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated additional amount of revenue that would be accrued if employer’s PRSI was increased by 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and by 5%, respectively in tabular form. [58500/21]
View answerPay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions paid by employees, employers, self-employed people and voluntary contributors is income to the Social Insurance Fund. Therefore, any increase in the rates of social insurance contribution, including those paid by employers, would increase the annual income of the Fund. The Fund operates on a pay-as-you-go basis with the Exchequer acting as its residual financier where there is a shortfall between social insurance income into it and the cost of social insurance benefits paid out of it.
Based on 2019 data, the following table provides the estimated additional amount that would be accrued if the lower and higher employer social insurance rates currently at 8.8% and 11.05% respectively were each increased by 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5%.
|
Proposed Increase |
Lower Employer Contribution Rate |
Higher Employer Contribution Rate |
Yield (€m) |
|
0% |
8.80% |
11.05% |
€0 |
|
1% |
9.80% |
12.05% |
€804 |
|
2% |
10.80% |
13.05% |
€1,609 |
|
3% |
11.80% |
14.05% |
€2,413 |
|
4% |
12.80% |
15.05% |
€3,218 |
|
5% |
13.80% |
16.05% |
€4,022 |
The estimated yields do not take into account any possible changes in employer behaviour arising from changing the rates of employer social insurance contribution. Nor does it take into consideration any of the impacts arising from the measures being taken to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
374. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection when the free travel pass will be made available to persons who have epilepsy and are not entitled to Departmental payments (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58776/21]
View answerThe free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approximately 1,012,000 customers with direct eligibility. The estimated expenditure on free travel in 2021 is €95 million.
I am aware of the campaign by Epilepsy Ireland. I intend to meet with representatives to discuss their proposal in detail and will ask officials in my Department to examine the matter.
However, it is really important to note that, in general, access to a free travel pass for those aged under 66 is linked to a person being in receipt of certain primary Social Protection payments such as Disability Allowance, Invalidity Pension, Carer’s Allowance, Blind Pension and Partial Capacity Benefit. Crucially as many illnesses or physical conditions have an impact across a spectrum from mild to severe, entitlement to these schemes is not provided on the basis of a simple diagnosis but on the basis of the impact of that diagnosis on the individual concerned. In this way resources can be targeted to people with most need. Therefore, while a diagnosis of a particular medical condition will be required to establish if a person may be eligible for certain social welfare schemes, evidence of impact is also required before entitlement to the scheme or the related free travel scheme is established. The sole exception to this general approach is in respect of people who are blind.
It is also important to note that there are a range of disabilities and medical conditions that can prevent a person from holding a driving licence and to award a free travel pass to a person with any one of these conditions in isolation would immediately result in calls for all people who are not allowed to hold a driving licence because of their medical condition to receive the free travel pass and could result in challenges under the Equal Status Act.
While consideration is always given to any requests to improve or extend eligibility to the free travel scheme, uncoupling the link between receipt of particular social welfare payments and eligibility for the free travel scheme would so fundamentally alter the scheme that it would move it away from being a social welfare measure to being a general transport initiative.
The Deputy will be aware that under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department may award a travel supplement, where the circumstances of the particular case so warrant. The supplement is intended to assist with ongoing or recurring travel costs that cannot be met from the client’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. Every decision is based on consideration of the circumstances of the individual case, taking account of the nature and extent of the need and of the resources of the person concerned.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
375. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on the provision of a pension scheme for community employment supervisors; and if such a scheme will be backdated to come into effect from the date of the Supreme Court decision on this subject. [59029/21]
View answer393. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reasoning behind the proposed exclusion from the pension-related once-off gratuity scheme for community employment supervisors of those who received a statutory redundancy payment from their scheme as compensation for being made unemployed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58680/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 375 and 393 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors have been seeking for several years, through their union representatives, SIPTU and Forsa, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation relating to the provision of a pension scheme for CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors who are employed by CE scheme sponsors. This claim creates some difficulties because the State is not the employer of the CE supervisors.
Within this context, officials from my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform held discussions on proposals to progress and resolve this complex issue, while having regard to the wider budgetary framework. Department officials also held discussions with unions representing CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors.
At the start of April this year, agreement was reached between the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Social Protection on proposals to resolve the long-standing issue. These proposals included a financial package.
Since that time, discussions on these proposals took place between my Department and the unions representing CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors, in consultation with other relevant Government Departments; the Department of Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance.
Department officials wrote to both SIPTU and Fórsa recently setting out the terms of a full and final settlement which will involve a once off ex-gratia payment to CE supervisors and assistant supervisors on reaching pension age. The total value of the financial package now on the table is in excess of €24 million.
The scheme will apply to CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors who have retired since 2008, subject to qualifying criteria, and has the potential to benefit up to 2,200 existing and former CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors.
This proposal is currently under consideration by the representative unions. As such it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this time.
376. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if a full review of the case of a person (details supplied) will be undertaken; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58271/21]
View answerThe person concerned received child benefit for her daughter for a period during which the child no longer resided with her. She was therefore not entitled to payment for the period in question and a revised decision was made disallowing child benefit in respect of the period concerned (August to October 2006). This resulted in an overpayment of €450.00. She was notified of the decision and the overpayment amount in November 2006.
The Department has already reviewed this matter as a result of an earlier PQ (reference 52235/2017) and on foot of an assertion from the person concerned that she did not receive these payments. The payments issued to the same Post Office as other earlier child benefit payments made to the same person, and Social Welfare payments made at Post Offices must be collected in person by the customer (who must have ID, or otherwise be known to the Post Office, at the time.). As a result, the Department is satisfied that the payments were made to the correct customer and the overpayment decision remains valid.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
377. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection if the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands Examination of Employment Services November 2021 will be implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58314/21]
View answerI have received a copy of the report of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands entitled 'Examination of Employment Services'. As requested in one of the recommendations of the report, I will respond formally to the report in due course once I have had the opportunity to fully reflect upon it.
I appreciate the Joint Committee's strong interest in employment services and their engagement with both myself and my officials as they considered their findings. However, I note that there are some inaccuracies in the report, where evidence from other witnesses to the Committee are repeated and are not factually accurate. One such example is the suggestion that my Department had not engaged with SIPTU prior to the 17th September 2021. My Department first met with SIPTU on this issue in 2019 and have had other meetings in advance of the 17th September 2021.
I look forward to responding to the Joint Committee in detail on their recommendations. It is clear we are all seeking to provide the best route to employment for those people who face serious and continuing challenges to returning to the labour market.
However, given the need to expand employment service provision across the State, to strengthen governance in the delivery of employment service provision and to ensure that such provision is placed on a sound legal-footing, thereby meeting the State's legal obligations, my Department must procure employment services provision in an open and competitive manner.
378. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to the valuable service being provided by the local employment services; if her attention has been further drawn to the complexity of the issues involved in getting persons into the workforce; her views on whether the focus of some employment services is too narrow in terms of the sole focus on full-time employment when given persons entering the workforce do so on a staged basis; her views on whether payment-by-result on a commercial basis to get persons from unemployment to full-time employment is the correct way forward; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58325/21]
View answerMy Department is now at an advanced stage in its first phase of procuring new employment services. This phase involves the procurement of regional employment services for seven counties in the Midlands and North-West across four lots. These counties do not have an existing local employment service and represent the first phase of an expansion of similar employment services across the State.
The Phase Two procurement, which will see the Regional Employment Service model rolled out across the State will take on board the learnings of the first phase.
This procurement process follows extensive consultations by my Department with the existing service partners and employee representatives over the last number of years.
I fully agree with the Deputy in regards to he complexity of the issues involved in getting persons into the workforce. These new employment service models are part of the creation of a coherent client journey whereby the client receives the right service at the right time in their efforts to return to the labour market.
The Regional Employment Service is specifically designed for clients farthest from the labour market and its request for tender has been designed accordingly with a strong emphasis on the quality of service, inviting tenderers to demonstrate their ability to engage with these clients.
This is why the RES model requires tenderers not to bid below a certain threshold. The Department believes it is necessary to provide a high quality service and this is why approximately ninety per cent of average fees will be paid for client commencement and personal progression and are unrelated to an employment outcome.
While recognising the challenges of engaging with clients farthest from the labour market, best practices in this area require the measurement of progress and an employment service ultimately measures its progress by the numbers who secure employment. The Regional Employment Service will therefore measure progression into employment but will also measure other key performance indicators.
379. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on an application for a disability allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58328/21]
View answerThe person concerned submitted an application for disability allowance (DA) on 11 November 2021. Their application, based upon all the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds as it was not found that they were substantially restricted in taking up employment.
The person concerned was notified in writing of this decision on 23 November 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).
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
