Parliamentary questions

State Pensions Reform

Willie O'Dea

60. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she proposes to introduce legislation to deal with the position of persons who no longer qualify for a pension upon reaching 65 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40183/15]

JobPath Implementation

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

61. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the reason persons placed on the JobPath programme are prohibited and excluded from taking part in other job activation schemes such as community employment schemes, part-time job incentive schemes, jobs clubs and local employment services and from participating in all other forms of training other than that supplied by private companies such as Seetac and Turas Nua. [40185/15]

Jobseeker's Benefit Eligibility

Thomas Pringle

62. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will address, the anomalies in relation to the coding of part-time farmers as self-employed in her Department, even if they engage in off-farm seasonal work as employees; that coding them as self-employed excludes them from obtaining a payment under the jobseeker's benefit scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40182/15]

Rent Supplement Scheme Administration

Willie O'Dea

63. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on the adequacy of payments under the rent supplement scheme, given the increase in rents nationally and that approximately 1,500 children are living in emergency accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40184/15]

Community Employment Schemes Eligibility

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

64. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will consider widening the eligibility criteria for participation in community employment schemes to facilitate adult dependants, those not in full employment, those on low hours or on low pay who do not qualify for family income supplement, and those who are not in receipt of a Social Protection payment. [40186/15]

Garda Vetting of Personnel

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

65. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if employees of companies (details supplied) who are tasked with the privatisation of the job placement role of her Department have been vetted by An Garda Síochána; and how she will ensure that these companies operate within the provisions of the Department's customer charter 2013-2015. [40100/15]

National Internship Scheme Administration

Willie O'Dea

66. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on the JobBridge scheme; if she envisages any amendment or change to the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40068/15]

Social Welfare Code Review

Willie O'Dea

67. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection for an update on the issue of determination orders which were not catered for in the legislation on jobseeker's transition payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40069/15]

Farm Assist Scheme

Charlie McConalogue

68. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will consider reversing the change made to the farm assist scheme with respect to income disregards given that it has had a serious negative affect on the income levels of already struggling farming families; the reason she has not carried out an analysis to assess the impact that the change has had on these families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40148/15]

Community Welfare Services Provision

Anthony Lawlor

69. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of the opening of the promised community welfare office for Naas, County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40144/15]

Family Income Supplement Payments

Richard Boyd Barrett

70. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure that payments under the family income supplement scheme are not reckoned in any means testing within her Department; if she will contact the Department of Health and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to ensure these payments are not reckoned for medical cards or local authority rents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40153/15]

Education and Training Provision

Anthony Lawlor

71. Deputy Anthony Lawlor asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the training courses available for unemployed persons who had been self-employed and now wish to upskill; her views that every opportunity should be provided to all persons wishing to upskill in order to re-enter the workforce; if there are plans to allow greater access to training courses to all unemployed persons, irrespective of their previous occupation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40095/15]

Respite Care Grant Payments

Thomas Pringle

72. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to address the respite needs of carers, despite the fact that the respite care grant was renamed as the carer's support grant in recent budget changes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40143/15]

Social Welfare Code

Clare Daly

73. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she is aware that persons who are in receipt of family income supplement and the back to work dividend, and who are in work, are suffering serious income losses as a result of the change from the one-parent family payment to the back to work dividend and of the loss of the fuel allowance, as neither the family income supplement nor the back to work dividend are considered qualifying payments for the fuel allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40008/15]

Jobseeker's Allowance Appeals

Joan Collins

74. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will review the requests her Department made for a person (details supplied) to be applying for 200 to 300 jobs a week; and her views on the other issues that are raised in the timeline. [40094/15]

Labour Activation Measures

Paul Murphy

75. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection given a dispute involving workers on the Gateway scheme in the Ballymount depot in south Dublin, the protections in place for Gateway workers; and the monitoring being undertaken to ensure training is taking place as part of the scheme. [40151/15]

Social Welfare Benefits Expenditure

Willie O'Dea

76. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views that only two of 40 social protection cuts have been restored in full; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40067/15]

Job Initiatives

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

77. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the progress made on the commitment in the Pathways to Work 2015 strategy to develop and evaluate actions to extend services to persons not on the live register; to improve the promotion and communications around existing activation options; and her plans for access for qualified adults to the back to education allowance. [40097/15]

National Internship Scheme Administration

Paul Murphy

78. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection why her Department has reversed the ban on 54 companies from participating in the JobBridge scheme, as recently reported by the media (details supplied), and the details of the companies that have been banned from the scheme. [40152/15]

JobsPlus Scheme

Seán Kyne

79. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of progress of the JobsPlus scheme; the number of positions and the companies participating, by county; and the total numbers who have availed of the scheme to date. [40102/15]

State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility

Mick Wallace

80. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she is satisfied that changes in recent years to the State pension (contributory) scheme have not disproportionately penalised those with gaps in their pension contributions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40150/15]

Fuel Allowance Payments

Thomas Pringle

81. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if her Department has factored in the increase in the cost of fuel due to the national ban on smoky coal in the increases to the fuel allowance in the 2016 budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40142/15]

Jobseeker's Allowance Eligibility

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

82. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the situations where unemployed persons who do not qualify for jobseeker's allowance or jobseeker's benefit can sign on for credits. [40098/15]

Farm Assist Scheme

Charlie McConalogue

83. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she has analysed the impact the changes to income disregard in the farm assist scheme have had on farmers; if she will reconsider these changes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40147/15]

Rent Supplement Scheme Payments

Ruth Coppinger

84. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection given the proposals for restrictions on rent increases, if she will implement an increase to rent supplement levels in order that those requiring the supplement are able to secure accommodation in the current rental market. [40145/15]

Data Sharing Arrangements

Denis Naughten

85. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the steps she will take to facilitate the sharing of information with the Department of Education and Skills, and with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40018/15]

State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility

Bernard Durkan

86. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the extent to which a review of the methodology used in the calculation of contributions to determine eligibility for the State pension (contributory) is in place, with particular reference to the number of women who find themselves disqualified, due to having below-average annual contributions over their working lives, specifically in respect of those women who went back to work after rearing their families; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40125/15]

Youth Unemployment Measures

Bernard Durkan

87. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she and her Department continue to address the issue of youth unemployment, with particular reference to utilising all available resources, including funding from Europe; the extent to which such efforts have been successful to date; the future expectations in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40126/15]

Rent Supplement Scheme Payments

Mick Wallace

88. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she is satisfied that current rent supplement limits are realistic in order to meet the needs of recipients in today's rental market; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40149/15]

Departmental Contracts

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

89. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection how she will ensure that a private-for-profit company, that financially incentivises job placement, will remain free of corruption and fraud; and if she is aware of the fraudulent activities of some companies in the United Kingdom, including some who were awarded JobPath contracts here [40096/15]

Departmental Staff Redeployment

Catherine Murphy

90. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to redeploy her departmental staff, at varying levels and grades, who are engaged in the national rents units, due to the phased coming onstream of the housing assistance payment nationally; her plans to redeploy staff to front-line services which have been seriously cut back in recent years, including with the closure of community welfare officer clinics; how she plans to make optimal use of the variety of experience and skillsets available to enhance customer services and access; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40104/15]

Back to Education Allowance

Willie O'Dea

91. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the implications of the Economic and Social Research Institute’s report evaluating the back to education allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40070/15]

Departmental Contracts

Catherine Murphy

92. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 78 of 5 November 2015, if she will provide, copies of the detailed service statements which the contracted JobPath companies are required to abide by, in delivering specifically tailored job search assistance activation services to customers, under contract with her Department; the full detail of the minimum elements of customer service that were stipulated by her Department, as part of the said contracts; if customers availing of JobPath are made aware of the minimum levels of service they can expect; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40105/15]

Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times

Thomas P. Broughan

93. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the current waiting times for appeals regarding payments of allowances and benefits to be processed and decided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40103/15]

Jobseeker's Allowance Payments

Thomas Pringle

94. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to allow for an increase in payments under the jobseeker's allowance scheme for those under 25 years of age who may be at risk of homelessness; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40141/15]

JobPath Implementation

Jonathan O'Brien

95. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the status of the operation of the JobPath scheme in assisting persons access employment. [40007/15]

Immigration Policy

Thomas Pringle

96. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her plans to review the operation of the habitual residence condition in relation to returning immigrants who had been resident in the common travel area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40139/15]

Unemployment Data

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

97. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views regarding the potential supply of labour statistics being a measure of the real extent of unemployment and underemployment. [40099/15]

Back to Work Family Dividend Scheme Data

Seán Kyne

98. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the uptake of the back to work family dividend scheme, by county; and if the scheme is subject to review to ascertain its effectiveness. [40101/15]

Rent Supplement Scheme Administration

Clare Daly

99. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection given recently released figures from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government showing that the number of homeless families has risen by 76% since the beginning of 2015, the steps she will take to combat homelessness by increasing the rent supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40009/15]

Child Poverty

Terence Flanagan

100. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her assessment of child inequality and poverty; the action her Department is taking to address this problem; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35324/15]

Carer's Allowance Applications

Thomas Pringle

101. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if the number of refusals of applications for a carer's allowance has increased due to the changes in the Social Welfare Act 2014 which allowed deciding officers to overrule medical evidence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40140/15]

Departmental Funding

Patrick O'Donovan

102. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Taoiseach the value of capital investment projects and grants under way and approved for funding by his Department, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39664/15]

Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Micheál Martin

103. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the position regarding his meeting in Downing Street in London in England on 9 November 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40023/15]

Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Micheál Martin

104. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the status of comments he made on Raidió Teilifís Éireann News on 8 November 2015 regarding a deal being completed on the North; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40024/15]

Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Micheál Martin

105. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the position regarding his attendance at the war memorial commemoration ceremony on 8 November 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40025/15]

EU Membership

Micheál Martin

106. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he agreed any of the requests from Britain in relation to staying in the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40027/15]

EU Membership

Micheál Martin

107. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he has reservations regarding any of the terms that Britain is requesting from the European Union so that it will stay in the European Union; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40028/15]

Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements

Micheál Martin

108. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he discussed the impact on the North and the Border counties if Britain exits the European Union with the British Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40029/15]

Commissions of Investigation

Pearse Doherty

109. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Taoiseach the costs to date of the Commission of Investigation into Irish Bank Resolution Corporation; and the overall anticipated budget and cost to complete its work and to report. [40040/15]