Written Answers Nos. 441-460
441. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Education the number of primary and secondary schools in each county that have sought DEIS status but have not yet secured it, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16477/22]
View answerI announced on the 9th March, 2022 the expansion of the DEIS programme benefitting 347 schools. These schools were identified as having the highest levels of educational disadvantage. In the 2022/23 academic year there will be 1,194 schools in the DEIS Programme - 960 Primary and 234 Post Primary. This will also mean a €32million increase in my Department's expenditure on DEIS programme from 2023. This is the largest ever increase in investment in the programme and will extend DEIS status to schools serving the highest proportions of pupils at risk of educational disadvantage.
This announcement follows an extensive body of work by the DEIS technical group to develop the refined DEIS identification model to identify the concentrated levels of disadvantage of schools. Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model which is an objective, statistics based model which uses information from the Department of Education enrolment databases and the Pobal HP Deprivation index. The DEIS identification model now takes into consideration the significant educational disadvantage experienced by Traveller and Roma learners and by students residing in direct provision or emergency homeless accommodation. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools.
442. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Education when she will announce the appeal scheme for schools that have not yet secured inclusion in DEIS; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16478/22]
View answerI announced on the 9th March, 2022 the expansion of the DEIS programme benefitting 347 schools. These schools were identified as having the highest levels of educational disadvantage. In the 2022/23 academic year there will be 1,194 schools in the DEIS Programme - 960 Primary and 234 Post Primary. This will also mean a €32million increase in my Department's expenditure on DEIS programme from 2023. This is the largest ever increase in investment in the programme and will extend DEIS status to schools serving the highest proportions of pupils at risk of educational disadvantage.
This announcement follows an extensive body of work by the DEIS technical group to develop the refined DEIS identification model to identify the concentrated levels of disadvantage of schools. Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model which is an objective, statistics based model which uses information from the Department of Education enrolment databases and the Pobal HP Deprivation index. The DEIS identification model now takes into consideration the significant educational disadvantage experienced by Traveller and Roma learners and by students residing in direct provision or emergency homeless accommodation. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools.
There will be an appeals process. Schools that have not been included in the DEIS programme at this time will have an opportunity to have that decision reviewed. My Department will provide further information in the coming days on this appeals process on my Department’s website.
443. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Education the steps being taken to ensure Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland are provided with school transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16480/22]
View answerMy Department, in consultation with Bus Éireann, is putting in place a new process to facilitate the provision of School Transport Scheme Services for children arriving to Ireland from Ukraine. When set up, there will be link to a form (which will also be available in Ukrainian and Russian) for families/host families to complete in order to apply for school transport. This form will be available on Gov.ie and further information will be circulated shortly. Children will be accommodated quickly on existing services where there is capacity. Children will not be charged for their ticket and normal eligibility criteria will be waived. If there is no service or capacity, a remote area grant can be offered to the family as appropriate.
Further details will issue shortly in regard to this process. In the meantime, my Department is dealing with requests on a case by case basis. Queries/requests should be addressed to School Transport at transportapplications@education.gov.ie or by phone during office hours to 057 9325467.
444. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Education if, in the case of schools refusing enrolment access to student applicants, the correspondence should state clearly that they have been placed on a waiting list or that they may not be accepted at all, but in order to pursue a section 29 appeal, they must first ask the school to review its decision (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16494/22]
View answerAll schools drafted new admissions policies under the provisions of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018. These newly revised admission policies were approved by the patron, following consultation with staff and parents of children who are attending the school. The school’s admissions policy is published on the schools website.
To assist schools with consistency with the application and implementation of the new provisions required by the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018, the Department developed FAQs and templates for the new admission policy, Admission Notice and Admission statement. The templates for the school’s admission policy includes information on the appeal process in the event of oversubscription. The school referred to by the Deputy also includes this information in their school admission policy. Templates can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/c5bd9f-school-enrolment/
The parent of the student, or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student, may appeal a decision of this school to refuse admission. An appeal may be made under Section 29 (1)(c)(i) of the Education Act 1998 where the refusal to admit was due to the school being oversubscribed.
Where an applicant has been refused admission due to the school being oversubscribed, the applicant must request a review of that decision by the board of management prior to making an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998.
445. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Education if the situation of a person (details supplied) will be examined; if her Department will intervene to ensure that provision is made for such children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16495/22]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.
This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs nationwide.
It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE for the establishment of a specialised provision and where sanctioned, a range of supports, including capital funding, is made available to the school.
Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes.
The NCSE through their network of SENOs (Special Educational Needs Organisers) are currently engaged in a process of establishing new classes for the 2022/2023 school year and beyond. They are looking at local information in relation to projected demand for future special class places.
The local SENOs remain available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list.
I should clarify, however, that the NCSE does not maintain waiting lists for schools. Boards of management of individual schools are responsible for such enrolment matters.
As the Deputy’s query refers to an individual placement case, I will arrange to have it referred to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply.
446. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education when, given the dramatic rise in transport costs, the school transport scheme rates will be reviewed to ensure that the vital assistance it provides to parents of children with special educational needs is not eroded by the rising costs of fuel. [16569/22]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.
The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children with special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability. In general, children with special educational needs are eligible for school transport if they are attending the nearest school that is resourced to meet their special educational needs.
Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers. A Special Transport Grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements may be provided to families of eligible children in certain situations such as where Bus Éireann is not in a position to provide a transport service or where a child's age, behavioural difficulties or medical needs are such as to make the provision of a transport service impracticable;
The reduction in excise on fuel which has been agreed by Government will result in a decrease in the cost of fuel. The reduction of 20 cent per litre on petrol and 15 cent per litre on diesel will be in place until 31 August 2022 at an estimated cost of €320m. This is a national measure aimed at easing the financial burden on contractors and families at this time.
As you may be aware my Department commenced a review of the School Transport Scheme in February 2021. The review is being conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and to ensure that it serves students and their families adequately.
Wider considerations relating to operation of the scheme are taking place in the current phase of the review which is now underway. The Steering Group will continue to report to me on an interim basis as the review progresses, with a view to presenting a final report with recommendations on the future operation of the Department’s School Transport Scheme.
447. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update regarding an additional school accommodation application by a school (details supplied) for renovation of an old building to accommodate two special educational needs classes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16587/22]
View answerI can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an Additional Schools Application (ASA) form from the school authority referred to by the Deputy. The application is currently in the final stages of assessment.
and the school authority will be directly notified of the decision shortly.
The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.
At primary level, this situation generally arises to cater for a school’s accommodation requirements where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section, or a new SEN class has been sanctioned by the NCSE, and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes.
448. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Education if an application for emergency works or the summer works scheme has been made to erect a boundary fence between (details supplied); if this application has been successful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16589/22]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers made an application for fencing to be erected between the school and a neighbouring property under my Departments Emergency Works Scheme.
The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme is to address for unforeseen emergencies or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for special needs pupils. An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action and in the case of a school if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.
The Department has advised the school that it would be more appropriate for this matter to be addressed as part of an application under the Summer Works Scheme. Schools will be advised when applications for the next multi-annual Summer Works Scheme will next open and will have an opportunity to apply at that time.
449. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Education if the parent of a child with special educational needs can self-refer to the National Council for Special Education or with a special educational needs organiser in order to receive assistance with an education assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16623/22]
View answerA parent cannot self-refer their child to the NCSE for an education assessment.
The HSE under the Disability Act are responsible for the Assessment of Need process. The Assessment Officers within the HSE are charged with organising the assessment of need for the HSE. If a parent thinks their child has a disability they can apply for an Assessment of Need. The assessment will identify the child's health needs. The assessment will also identify what services are required to meet the child's health needs. It is the statutory duty of the Assessment Officer, taking cognisance of available clinical evidence, to make a determination as to whether or not a child meets the definition of disability contained in the Act. It is this decision which determines whether or not the child is entitled to the benefits of the Act’s provisions.
Within this process and under Section 8 (3) of the Disability Act, if an assessment officer is of opinion that there may be a need for an education service to be provided to an applicant, he or she shall, as soon as may be, request the NCSE in writing to nominate a person with appropriate expertise to assist in the carrying out of the education assessment.
A process has been agreed for timely contact and response to the HSE by the NCSE to these requests. It is through this process where an education assessment is carried out.
To apply for an assessment, an application should be made through the local Assessment Officer (www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/disability/disability-assessment/assessment-officers.html). Details regarding this process can be found on the HSE website: Disability Assessment - HSE.ie (www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/disability/disability-assessment/).
450. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education when the appeals process will open up in respect of schools that were not included in the recent extension of the DEIS school programme; if there are plans to further extend the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16627/22]
View answerI announced on the 9th March, 2022 the expansion of the DEIS programme benefitting 347 schools. These schools were identified as having the highest levels of educational disadvantage. In the 2022/23 academic year there will be 1,194 schools in the DEIS Programme - 960 Primary and 234 Post Primary. This will also mean a €32million increase in my Department's expenditure on DEIS programme from 2023. This is the largest ever increase in investment in the programme and will extend DEIS status to schools serving the highest proportions of pupils at risk of educational disadvantage.
This announcement follows an extensive body of work by the DEIS technical group to develop the refined DEIS identification model to identify the concentrated levels of disadvantage of schools. Schools were identified for inclusion in the programme through the refined DEIS identification model which is an objective, statistics based model which uses information from the Department of Education enrolment databases and the Pobal HP Deprivation index. The DEIS identification model now takes into consideration the significant educational disadvantage experienced by Traveller and Roma learners and by students residing in direct provision or emergency homeless accommodation. Schools were not required to apply for inclusion in the DEIS programme and the model has been applied fairly and equally to all schools.
Schools that have not been included in the DEIS programme at this time will have an opportunity to have that decision reviewed. My Department will provide further information in the coming days on this appeals process on my Department’s website.
451. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to a request by a school (details supplied) for an exceptional review of its SNA hours with the National Council for Special Education, given that its SNA allocation is not sufficient to provide SNA supports to a student in second class; the steps that are being taken to address the SNA needs of this child in the school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16635/22]
View answerThe NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews.
The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs. Such support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.
SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management of the school. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated.
It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
In light of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the introduction of the new Frontloaded Allocation Model for SNAs for students in mainstream classes in primary and post -primary schools is to be deferred for a further year to the beginning of the 2022/23 school year.
In order to minimise disruption for schools, in the current circumstances, and to provide for continuity of allocations the following arrangements for the allocation of Special Needs Assistants for mainstream classes for the 2021/22 school year:
Existing mainstream class SNA allocations in schools on 30 April 2021 will be maintained and will automatically rollover into the 2021/22 school year;
No school will therefore receive an allocation less than that which they had on 30 April 2021;
SNAs currently in mainstream settings can continue in post for the next school year in the normal way;
Priority consideration will now be given by the NCSE to applications for increased support for the 2021/22 school year, in particular, applications from schools with no SNAs and developing schools will be prioritised. Determinations will be made before 30 June. Other applications will be processed in order of date received; and
As in previous years, where circumstances change during the course of the 2021/22 school year that materially increase the level of care need in a school to the extent that the school can clearly demonstrate that it cannot be met within the existing SNA allocation, the school may apply to the NCSE for a review. Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website ncse.ie/for-schools.
The NCSE have published the SNA allocations on their website www.ncse.ie.
SNA allocations for special classes and special schools are not affected by this arrangement.
Circular 0029/2021 has been published and advises schools of the arrangements for the allocation of SNAs for the 2021/22 school year.
Provisions set out in Circular 0030/2020 has been extended for the 2021/22 school year.
Circulars 29/2021 and 30/2020 are available on the Gov.ie website.
www.gov.ie/en/circulars/?organisation=department-of-education
My Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations. Accordingly your correspondence has been forwarded to the NCSE for direct reply.
452. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Education if she will assist in providing transport to a child (details supplied) who has been assigned a place in a special educational school but cannot attend as the family does not have access to suitable transport. [16673/22]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.
The purpose of the Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
The National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) acts in an advisory role to my Department on the suitability of placements for children with special educational needs.
Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENO).
The child referred to by the Deputy is eligible for school transport under the terms of my Department's School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs.
In November 2021 a new service was sanctioned to cater for the child referred to by the Deputy and 3 others with an escort on board.
In cases where services are not suitable to cater for a child’s needs, a parent/guardian can make a request to the school transport section of my Department outlining the child’s requirements along with supporting documentation. In certain cases a special transport grant may be offered, and where it is not possible for the family to avail of the grant, a new service may be established.
An application for an individual service has not been received to date by the school transport section of my Department.
453. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education the way the provision for Ukrainian pupils with care needs requiring SNA support will be provided; if schools are to apply through the exceptional review process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16721/22]
View answerIn line with advice from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) and best international practice, children and young people arriving from Ukraine into Ireland, including those with special educational needs, need to be placed as soon as possible in a school setting and given the opportunity to settle in, adapt and adjust to their new environment, new home, new school, and to be given access to practical supports and assistance to settle in and make friends.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of SNAs and reviews.
My Department is working to ensure that the NCSE is available to support schools who have Ukrainian children with additional or special needs. In addition local Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) will be available to support individual families in accessing education and related supports for their children with special education needs. In this regard the SENOs will link with other relevant state agencies including Education Welfare Services and the HSE.
Where circumstances change during the course of the school year that materially increase the level of care need in a school to the extent that the school can clearly demonstrate that it cannot be met within the existing SNA allocation, the school may apply to the NCSE for a review of its allocation. My Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations and the school should liaise with the NCSE directly in the event that additional SNA support is required.
For those children with the most complex need (for example with a history of specialist placement) consideration may be given to placement in a special school or special class. However, the same overarching principle of ‘Placement for Identification of Need’ will apply and a flexible approach to placement in the longer term is advised.
454. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education the average timeline for an exceptional review to be completed. [16722/22]
View answerThe NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews.
The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs. Such support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.
SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management of the school. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated.
It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
Where circumstances change during the course of the 2021/22 school year that materially increase the level of care need in a school to the extent that the school can clearly demonstrate that it cannot be met within the existing SNA allocation, the school may apply to the NCSE for a review. Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website ncse.ie/for-schools
The NCSE manages the exceptional review process and handles each case individually. Some review requests can be concluded as an office based exercise, whilst others require a school to be visited in order to observe the current deployment of SNA support in the school setting.
The timeframe for concluding a review can vary depending on the school context or the nature of the information provided.
Where a school is dissatisfied with how their exceptional review has been processed or is dissatisfied with the outcome of their exceptional review they can appeal. Applications for Appeal may be submitted through the NCSE Schools Portal: ncse.ie/school-support.
The information requested is not held by the Department and I will refer the Deputy's question to the NCSE for their direct reply.
455. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education if the pilot workshops on trauma informed approaches from the National Educational Psychological Service have been delivered; and if the national roll-out is still planned for the 2022-2023 academic year. [16723/22]
View answerThe pilot workshops on trauma informed approaches is complete and is ready for launch. The webinars were developed as part of support and development work by NEPS. The series of Wellbeing and Resilience in schools webinars, explore the use of whole-school, compassionate and trauma-informed approaches to build safe and connected schools. Part 1, is called ‘The Stress factor - Getting the balance right’ is a webinar for all school staff. This will be followed by a series of special interest modules using the Department’s new e- learning platform. The approaches outlined in the workshops are based on research findings, on the experience of experts in their fields and on the experience of practising psychologists working in schools. The focus of the workshops is on exploring and understanding the sources and impact of stress on children and young people including attachment, trauma and adverse experiences. The emphasis is on creating environments to reduce stress and on developing skills all children and young people need to better manage in school. The training will also cover the influences of stress on school staff and how to best to manage this. It is intended that staff will find the content useful in supporting their own wellbeing. The workshops will be available to build the capability of school staff in both primary and post-primary settings. The workshops are for all staff and all students including those with special educational needs or those children impacted by trauma and adverse experiences. NEPS psychologists will be available to support implementation in schools.
Given the situation with families arriving from Ukraine who will have experienced trauma and loss, plans are under way to make this training available to schools in advance of the launch of the training on the Department online learning management system.
Individual psychologists also offer bespoke training to schools on trauma informed practice when requested.
456. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Minister for Education the number of civil servants in her Department currently on secondment to the private sector; if she will list the entities that they are working for in each instance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17146/22]
View answerThere are no civil servants in my Department on secondment to the private sector.
457. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost to the Exchequer if the living alone allowance was to be extended to retired single public and civil service pension holders who met the requirements of living alone. [16566/22]
View answer478. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of extending the living alone allowance to persons over 66 years of age who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16138/22]
View answer480. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider amending the legislation relating to the living alone allowance to ensure that single persons who were never married are treated in the same manner as widows or widowers and that they can access the living alone allowance if not in receipt of a qualifying payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16321/22]
View answer482. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are plans to allow single non-widowed persons who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment to receive the living alone allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16352/22]
View answer490. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to or can provide details on the approximate number of persons over the age of 66 years who are currently living alone in the State who are not in receipt of the living alone allowance as they are not in receipt of one of the qualifying social welfare payments required; her plans to expand the scheme to this cohort considering the significant increase in the cost of living; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16665/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 457, 478, 480, 482 and 490 together.
Primary weekly social welfare payments are intended to enable recipients to meet their basic day-to-day income needs. In addition to these primary payments, my Department also provides a range of other payments, both cash and non-cash, on a weekly, monthly, or less frequent basis. These payments are considered secondary in nature.
The Living Alone Increase (LAI) is one of those secondary payments. It is not a scheme or a stand-alone payment in itself, but rather it is a supplement to a primary social protection payment of €22 per week made to people aged 66 years or over, who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are living alone. For those aged 66 or over, these payments include State Pension (Contributory), State Pension (Non-contributory), Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension, Widow's/Widower's Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme, Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme and Deserted Wife's Benefit.
Accordingly, there are no circumstances where the Living Alone Increase can be paid to people who are not in receipt of a primary qualifying payment from my Department. Any decision to allow those who are not in receipt of a qualifying payment to receive the Living Alone Increase - and thereby establish it as a scheme - would have budgetary and administrative consequences and would have to be considered in the context of Budget negotiations.
My Department would not have records on the numbers of people currently aged 66 or over, who are not in receipt of a primary social welfare payment, regardless of the class at which they paid PRSI previously, and who are living alone.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.
458. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of an appeal against a decision to cease a carer's allowance payment in respect of their spouse in the case of a person (details supplied); if the case will be updated, including accepting an acknowledgement of the appeal submitted on 30 November 2021; if a supplementary welfare payment will issue given no payment has been received by the person for a number of months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15786/22]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the person concerned was receiving Carer's Allowance payment and had their payment suspended in September 2021 as they failed to supply information requested by the Department. A letter issued to the person concerned on 21 September 2021. There was no right of appeal involved as a decision could not be made on their claim until the information requested was provided. It is understood that the person concerned has recently received a decision from the Department which she can now appeal. The Social Welfare Appeals Office have advised that a new appeal will have to be made in relation to this decision.
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.
459. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of each social insurance and social assistance payment in 2021, in tabular form; the total amount paid for each payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15798/22]
View answerWork is ongoing on the compilation of the 2021 Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services, which will include detailed expenditure and recipient breakdowns on a scheme-by-scheme basis in respect of 2021.
The 2021 Accounts of the Department are due to be finalised at the end of March 2022, and as outlined on gov.ie/dsp/statistics, the Annual Statistical Report is expected to be published on June 29th 2022. The Annual Statistical Report in respect of 2020 is available at gov.ie/dsp/statistics, as is an archive of reports from 1998 onwards.
460. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason for the difference in the means test for the blind pension and the disability allowance; her plans to standardise the blind pension means test to that prevailing for the disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15799/22]
View answerIt is important to note that the two schemes already have many similarities, but that differences exist that reflect the background to both.
Disability Allowance was introduced in 1996 and replaced the Disabled Person's Maintenance Allowance which had been administered by the Health Boards. While the Blind Pension is a unique scheme in that it is the only social welfare payment which has been introduced to cater for a specific disability, it was originally legislated for under the Blind Person’s Act, 1920 and was initially available only to those between 50 and 70 years. The minimum qualifying age has progressively been reduced to its current level of 18 years. Persons become eligible to apply for the Disability Allowance at age 16.
Both are means tested schemes and both have a habitual residency requirement.
Eligibility for Disability Allowance requires that the disability must be expected to last for at least one year, substantially restricting a person’s ability to undertake work which would otherwise be suitable for persons of similar age, experience, and qualification.
Eligibility for the Blind Pension requires that a person’s vision is impaired to such an extent that they cannot perform any work for which eyesight is essential or cannot continue in their ordinary occupation.
Both schemes are structured to support recipients to avail of opportunities to pursue their own employment ambitions, be that self-employment or insurable employment. In the means test, both schemes have an income disregard of €140 per week. In addition, 50% of earnings between €140 and €350 are also disregarded, i.e., 50% of earnings in this band are disregarded for the purpose of the means test. Earnings above €350 are currently assessed at 100%.
Budget 2022 measures, will see from June:
- An increase in the upper disregard of €25 per week, from €350 to €375 for both payments; and
- An increase of €5.10 being applied to the general weekly means disregard entry point for the Disability Allowance. This increase will bring the entry point of the weekly means disregard for Disability Allowance in line with that of the Blind Pension, at €7.60 per week.
In addition to the age at which a person becomes eligible, there are a number of other differences between the schemes, for example, relating to aspects of the means test, access to the free travel scheme and the concurrent payments available to persons in receipt of the Blind Pension.
Under Pathways to Work (2021 – 2025) the Government has committed to “Review the current long-term disability payment schemes with a view to removing inconsistencies/anomalies and ensure that they recognise the continuum of disabilities and support employment.” I would hope to bring forward proposals on this issue for public consultation later this year.
