Written Answers Nos. 378-392
378. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when it is intended to commence the substitute consent provisions of the Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Act 2022; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42790/23]
View answerMy Department is currently finalising the drafting of the regulations to provide for consequential amendments to the Planning and Development Regulations regarding substitute consent procedures, following which the substitute consent and other relevant provisions of the Planning and Development, Maritime and Valuation (Amendment) Act 2022 will be commenced.
The regulations are in the final stages of the drafting process and it is envisaged that this process will be completed shortly.
379. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has a policy on the use of artificial intelligence; and if any Departmental functions are assisted by language model-based chatbots (details supplied). [42819/23]
View answerMy Department does not use ChatGPT or any other Artificial Intelligence (AI) to conduct business. As with all new technologies, my Department is assessing the potential of AI in the delivery of services, in line with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance on its usage in the public service, and works closely with the NCSC which encompasses the State's national/governmental Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT-IE).
My Department does not comment on operational security matters as it would be inappropriate to disclose information that may in any way assist those with malicious intent.
380. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the estimated number of approved housing bodies, AHBs, that are understood to be continuing to operate and collect rents, but are not registered with the Approved Housing Body Regulatory Authority; to set out, in tabular form, a list of AHBs that have their entire housing stock 'out-of-mortgage' (i.e., where the mortgage term has expired); and the estimated number of AHB units that will become 'out-of-mortgage' for each year from 2023 to 2053. [42843/23]
View answerThere are currently 450 AHBs registered with AHBRA. My Department does not hold information on organisations that may have registered as AHBs in the past but are no longer on the register. The Housing (Regulation of Approved Housing Bodies) Act makes it an offence for a person, other than an AHB as defined in the Act, to describe themselves as or hold themselves out to indicate that they are, an AHB.
Certain information on the operations of AHBs is collected by AHBRA as part of its annual monitoring programme. This information is published as part of its sectoral analysis report and the report for 2022 can be accessed on the AHBRA website at the following link: www.ahbregulator.ie/app/uploads/2023/05/AHBRA-Sectoral-Analysis.pdf According to the report, figures self-reported by AHBs indicate that 3,255 units are out of mortgage as at 31st December 2021.
In relation to units funded by my Department under the Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) and the Capital Loan and Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), the mortgages are held between the local authorities and the AHBs. My Department is not a party to these legal documents and accordingly, it does not hold the information requested on individual AHBs.
The AHB Unencumbered Units Working Group was established to consider the impact of AHB properties reaching the end of their mortgage/charge period or becoming ‘unencumbered’ and to look at the possible options on how to ensure the continued use of these units for social housing.
The report of the AHB Unencumbered Units Working Group will be published in the coming weeks.
381. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if, based on data collected as part of the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority's monitoring survey conducted earlier in 2023 for its sectoral analysis 2021-2022, he will set out information (details supplied) in tabular form. [42844/23]
View answerOne of the functions of the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) is to collect and publish information (including statistical information) concerning AHBs as it considers necessary and appropriate. AHBRA conducted its first monitoring programme in September 2022, the results of which have been published in its first Sectoral Analysis on 8 May 2023, and is available on their website www.ahbregulator.ie/ahbra-publishes-its-first-annual-sectoral-analysis-report-for-the-ahb-sector/
AHBRA is an independent regulatory authority and my Department does not hold the statistical information requested. However, arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost-effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. The contact email address for AHBRA is: oireachtasqueries@ahbregulator.ie
382. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide, in tabular form and on a local authority basis, the number of planning enforcement notices taken against the unauthorised use of cabins and-or built structures for residential purposes, per local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42848/23]
View answerPlanning statistics are compiled by each planning authority on an annual basis for collation and publication on my Department’s website at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/service/9e4ee-get-planning-statistics/ The data collected relates to the total number of applications and decisions for all developments that require planning permission, broken down by year and planning authority. However, granular data, such as in relation to enforcement notices and planning decisions in relation to cabins/built structures for residential purposes is not specifically collected and consequently is not available in my Department. Such information may be sought directly from the relevant planning authority.
Under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended the Minister with responsibility for planning shall not exercise any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or the Board is or may be concerned.
383. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason that a person does not qualify for a grant (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42111/23]
View answerThe Treatment Benefit Scheme provides dental, optical and aural services to insured workers, the self-employed, retired people and their dependant spouse/partner who have the required number of social insurance (PRSI) contributions. The Department has contacted the person concerned and the appropriate grant will be paid in respect of her claim.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
384. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Social Protection what assistance is available to cover interpreter costs for a deaf employee, as the employee is currently only able to work two days out of five in the office due to the financial burden of interpreter services on her employer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42671/23]
View answerMy Department provides a wide range of supports for jobseekers and existing employees with disabilities. These supports include the Reasonable Accommodation Fund.
The Reasonable Accommodation Fund includes four grants which were designed to assist jobseekers and existing employees with disabilities, and to encourage employers in the private sector to recruit jobseekers with disabilities. These include:
- The Job Interview Interpreter Grant provides funding for a sign language interpreter or other interpreter to attend interviews for a jobseeker who is deaf, hard of hearing or has speech impairment. The amount of the grant payable is based on an hourly fee paid which may vary. There is no limit to the number of interviews a person can attend with an interpreter.
- Workplace Equipment/Adaptation Grant, where a maximum of €6,350 can be given towards the cost of adaptations to premises or equipment. Applications in excess of this sum are considered on an individual basis up to a maximum of €9,523 if specialist training for assistive technology is required.
- Employee Retention Grant is available to assist employers to retain employees who acquire a disability. The grant provides funding to identify accommodation and/or training needs to enable the employee to remain in his/her current position. Funding varies from a maximum of €2,500 or 90% of eligible programme costs to fund an occupational capacity and workplace job assessment or to a maximum of €12,500 or 90% of eligible programme costs for training and job coach support.
My Department has recently published a review of the Reasonable Accommodation Fund. The review made a number of recommendations, including that the number of interpreter hours eligible for funding would be increased and that the scheme would be opened up to other employers, for example the voluntary and community sector. Work on implementation of these recommendations is underway and it is hoped to launch a reformed scheme in Q1 2024.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
385. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Social Protection to outline the assistance available to a person who qualified for a mobility grant; where there is a shortfall; if community welfare assists with this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42104/23]
View answerThe Mobility Aids Grant scheme provides grant aid to cover a basic suite of works to address mobility problems, primarily, but not exclusively, associated with ageing. The scheme is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and administered by local authorities.
The Community Welfare Service in my Department administers the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme which is the safety net within the overall social welfare system. This scheme helps eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependents. One of the supports provided under the SWA scheme is an Additional Needs Payment (ANP).
The purpose of the ANP is to assist people with essential expenditure, which an eligible person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. ANPs are awarded at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme considering the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case. A person must provide personal, financial, household, and other information in support of their claim to determine eligibility and to establish a need arising.
ANPs are not intended to cover circumstances where another Government Department or Agency has a primary responsibility.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
386. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will allow the re-examination of an invalidity pension application for a person (details supplied); if this appeal can be allowed, despite it being out of date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42106/23]
View answerInvalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.My Department received an application for IP from the person concerned on 1 November 2022. Based on the medical information supplied, it was refused on the grounds that the medical conditions for the scheme were not satisfied. Notification of the decision issued to the person in question on 2 May 2023, informing her of this decision, of her right to seek a review of the decision or to appeal the decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO).
An appeal on behalf of the person concerned was received by the SWAO on 11 July 2023. However, as the 21 days allowed for making such an appeal had lapsed, the SWAO confirmed to the person concerned that they would not allow a late appeal application. A letter outlining this issued to the person concerned on 26 September 2023.
No request for a review of the decision has been received by my Department. If the person referred to wishes to have a Deciding Officer review this original decision, they can do so by submitting such a request in writing with additional medical evidence relevant to her medical condition at time of application for IP.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
387. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection for an update on a carer's allowance application (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42119/23]
View answerCarer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.
An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 26 May 2023.
It is a condition for receipt of a CA that the person being cared for must have such a disability that, as a result, they require full-time care and attention. This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision, and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continual supervision to avoid danger to him or herself and likely to require that level of care for at least twelve months.
The evidence submitted in support of this application was examined and the Deciding Officer (DO) decided that this evidence did not indicate that the requirement for full-time care was satisfied.
The person concerned was notified on 30 June 2023 of this decision, the reason for it and of the right of review and appeal.
The person concerned requested a review of this decision on 24 July 2023 and the decision remained unchanged.
A request for appeal was received in this office and sent to the Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) on 15 September 2023 and is currently awaiting decision.
The SWAO is an independent body. Should you wish to contact them directly, they can be contacted by phone at 1890 74 74 34 or 01 6732800 or by e-mail at swappeals@welfare.ie.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
388. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide an update on a case (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42126/23]
View answerCarer's Allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care.
An application for CA was received from the person concerned on 15 September 2023.
The application was awarded to the person concerned on 21 September 2023 and the first payment will issue to their nominated bank account on 5 October 2023.
Arrears of allowance due from 21 September 2023 to 4 October 2023 will issue shortly.
The person concerned was notified on 27 September 2023 of this decision, the reason for it and of their right of review and appeal.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
389. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider removing the 'means-testing' criteria as part of the carer’s allowance application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42128/23]
View answerThe Government acknowledges the valuable role that family carers play and is fully committed to supporting carers in that role. This commitment is recognised in both the Programme for Government and the National Carers’ Strategy.
The main income supports to carers provided by my department are Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, Domiciliary Care Allowance and the Carer’s Support Grant. Spending in 2023 is expected to amount to almost €1.6 billion on these payments.
The two principal conditions for receipt of Carer’s Allowance are that full time care and attention is required and provided, and that a means test is satisfied. The application of the means-test is a statutory requirement. It not only ensures that the recipient has an income need but also that scarce resources are targeted to those with the greatest need. The payment is made in recognition of the fact that these carers are unable to earn a sufficient income due to their caring commitments.
As part of Budget 2022, I introduced measures which allowed carers to have a higher weekly household income and a higher level of savings, and still qualify for a Carer's Allowance payment. These were the first changes to the means test in 14 years.
For carers who work, the weekly income disregard was increased from €332.50 to €350 for a single person, and from €665 to €750 for carers with a spouse/partner.
The capital and savings disregard for the Carer’s Allowance means assessment was increased from €20,000 to €50,000, aligning it with the capital means test for Disability Allowance.
These are the highest income disregards in the social welfare system and mean, in the case of a couple, that earnings of up to €39,000 per annum are disregarded.
Removing the means test for Carer’s Allowance in its entirety would create a new universal social protection scheme for those meeting the scheme’s basic caring condition. Carer's Allowance does not purport to be a payment for care and I do not intend to deviate from the underpinning principle of Carer’s Allowance being an income support payment.
In addition to Carer's Allowance, my department also provides a non-means tested payment to those carers who have to leave the workforce or reduce their hours in the form of Carer’s Benefit. For those providing ongoing care and attention for a child aged under 16 with a severe disability, Domiciliary Care Allowance is available and is also not means-tested.
Furthermore, the annual Carer's Support Grant - which I increased to its highest-ever rate of €1,850 - is also available to carers who are not on a social welfare payment. The grant is paid in a single lump sum annually, usually on the first Thursday in June. The grant is not means-tested and is not taxable and is paid in respect of each care recipient.
Notwithstanding the increased level of support already in place for carers, I have asked my department to keep the current carer supports under review as part of the annual budgetary process.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
390. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will indicate the waiting period of claims before social welfare recipients become eligible for back to education, work placement programmes, community employment, training support grant and JobsPlus; and if she has considered the change in these waiting periods or their standardisation. [42135/23]
View answerThe Department provides a range of supports to assist individuals to return to employment. The supports referred to by the Deputy are interventions designed to address differing requirements at various times during a persons transition to employment, taking into account a number of factors including duration of unemployment. It would not be appropriate to set standard waiting periods. A short narrative of the various supports and qualifying timeline is set out as follows:
Back to Education Allowance provides income support for jobseekers and others in receipt of certain social welfare payments who pursue courses of education at further or higher level. Applicants for the Back to Education Allowance scheme must satisfy certain conditions including being in receipt of a qualifying payment for a specified time, which is 3 months for further education courses and 9 months for higher education courses.
Work Placement Experience Programme is a work experience programme that aims to provide jobseekers who have never had a job or who have lost employment with an opportunity to gain meaningful work experience. The programme assists participants with relevant work and personal development skills in a supportive environment while on a work placement, with a view to increasing their employment prospects. Jobseekers can qualify if they have been unemployed and in receipt of a qualifying social welfare for 6 months. Other social welfare recipients such as those in receipt of One Parent Family Payment or Disability payments can qualify without waiting days where conditions of their scheme are met.
Community Employment (CE) Scheme is 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. To participate on CE a person must generally be in receipt of a qualifying payment for 12 months or more with some exceptions.
Training Support Grant provides quick access to short-term training to support jobseekers access work opportunities. The grant is used to meet a skills gap or training need where this cannot be provided by a state provider within a reasonable time, and in cases where an intervention is needed to access a work opportunity. To be eligible for the Training Support Grant a customer must be in receipt of a qualifying payment and meet the conditions of the scheme. There is no waiting period.
JobsPlus is an incentive designed to encourage employers and businesses to focus their recruitment efforts on those who have been out of work for long periods and on young people seeking employment. It provides employers with two levels of payment: €7,500 or €10,000 over two years, with the level of payment depending on the age of the jobseeker and their circumstances.
Applicants aged under 30 are eligible once they have been in receipt of a qualifying payment for 4 months in the previous 6 months. For applicants aged over 30 the qualifying period is 12 months. There is no qualifying period for persons with Refugee status or for recipients of the Jobseekers Transition payment. The JobsPlus scheme was expanded from January 2023 to provide the higher level of grants to employers who employ people from certain disadvantaged and minority groups who have been in receipt of a qualifying payment for 4 months in the previous 6 months.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
391. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection the current estimated date for the commencement of the provision which would see a larger pension for those who work beyond age 66 years; if phasing arrangements are planned for introduction of same, and if she will outline the detail. [42136/23]
View answerIn September 2022, I announced a series of landmark reforms to the State Pension system. The measures are in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations and represent the biggest ever structural reform of the Irish State Pension system.
One of the measures announced is the introduction of flexibility to the State Pension (Contributory), allowing a person to defer access to their State Pension (Contributory) up to the age of 70 and receive an actuarially based increase in their weekly payment rate.
A person with less than 40 years contributions can use the period between 66 and 70 years of age to build up additional entitlements and, if a person has less than 10 years PRSI reckonable paid contributions, they may be able to use this period to establish entitlement.
As the State Pension age remains at 66 years, a person can still draw their State Pension (Contributory) at State Pension age.
Department officials are currently working on these reforms, including the drafting of legislation and development of administrative and IT systems. I expect to bring the legislation required to introduce the flexibility to the State Pension (Contributory) before the Oireachtas soon, with the scheme being fully implemented for those who reach State Pension age (66) from Q1 2024.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
392. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection the current estimated date for the commencement of the provision which would see total contributions determine the size of pension paid; if phasing arrangements are planned for the introduction of same and if she will outline the detail. [42137/23]
View answerOne of the landmark reforms to the State Pension system that I announced in September of last year is a ten-year phased transition to the Total Contributions Approach and the abolition of the Yearly Average method. This was part of recommendations from the independent Pensions Commission following its in-depth analysis of the State pension system.
During the transition period, individual pension rates will be based on the best of the Total Contributions Approach, or a rate based on a mix of the Yearly Average and Total Contributions Approaches, with the proportion accounted for by Yearly Average reducing from 90% to zero over 10 years and the proportion accounted for by the Total Contributions Approach increasing commensurately.
This fairer system, which removes existing anomalies with the Yearly Averaging system, will calculate pension payments based on the number of social insurance contributions made by a person over his or her working life, with significant pension credits granted to people who have taken time out of the workplace for caring responsibilities.
Officials in my Department are currently working on the legislation and systems to support the introduction of the ten-year phased transition to the Total Contributions Approach and the abolition of the Yearly Average method. I expect to bring the legislation required to introduce the Total Contributions Approach before the Oireachtas soon, with the phased transition commencing from January 2025.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
