Written Answers Nos. 243-258
243. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive a decision on their appeal for disability allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40540/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 21st March 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on the 4th July 2012 and the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
245. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Social Protection his views regarding concerns of employers as outlined through representative organisations and many companies of varied size, small, medium and large in relation to proposals to impose sick pay costs on employers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40546/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is considering the introduction of a scheme of statutory sick pay at this time for a number of reasons – firstly, as a measure to help in addressing the growing deficit in the Social Insurance Fund (which stood at €1.5bn in 2011 and is expected to rise to €3.0bn in 2019 as outlined in the Actuarial Review I launched last week); secondly, as a means to reduce the risk of progression from short-term illness to long-term illness or disability; and thirdly, to bring Ireland into line with practices in other countries in this area. However, I am also acutely conscious of the pressures facing employers in the current economic climate, and the concerns of small and medium-sized enterprises, which have been articulated by representative groups and individual employers.
I would like to assure the House that the range of complex issues that need to be addressed before any decision is taken by Government on the possible introduction of such a scheme, including the extent of coverage; the rate of payment; possible compensation mechanisms for employers, where appropriate, and how the scheme would be enforced and policed – will be discussed in the course of the wider process associated with the preparation of Budget 2013, and the views of stakeholder groups will be taken into account in that process.
246. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Social Protection when will a person (details supplied) in County Mayo receive a decision on an appeal for carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40563/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 11 September 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred in to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
247. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection her plans to protect young persons who have grown up in care and subsequently enter emergency accommodation, who discover they are unable to house themselves in private rented accommodation in view of the fact that they are not in receipt of a full social welfare payment; her plans to address this matter by awarding a full payment to such applicants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40566/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe €100 rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance was introduced for claimants aged under 20 in April 2009, and this rate was applied to claimants aged up to 21 from December 2009. The €100 rate does not apply to certain categories of claimant including:
- claimants with a qualified child;
- those transferring to Jobseeker's Allowance immediately after exhausting their entitlement to Jobseeker's Benefit;
- those making a claim for Jobseeker's Allowance where that claim is linked to a Jobseeker's Allowance claim made within the previous 12 months to which the maximum personal rate applied;
- those transferring directly to Jobseeker's Allowance from Disability Allowance and
- certain people who were in the care of the HSE during the period of 12 months before s/he reached the age of 18.
A rate of €144 applies to claimants aged 22-24. The adoption of these measures reflected the need to encourage more young jobseekers to improve their skills by either pursuing further study or accessing a labour market programme.
Receiving the full adult rate of a jobseeker’s payment without a strong financial incentive to engage in education or training can lead to welfare dependency. While many young people with low levels of education and training were able to get work in construction and other areas when the economy was doing well, they are likely to find it much harder to find employment over the course of the next few years. The measures encourage young jobseekers to improve their skills and remain active in the labour market in order to avoid the risk of becoming long-term unemployed and will help them to progress into sustainable employment on a long-term basis.
Where a person is in receipt of a rate of Jobseeker's Allowance described above and s/he participates in a course of education, training, community employment, rural social scheme or Tús, the full normal rate of payment applicable to that course or scheme applies without any reduction for persons aged under 25.
I understand that a number of Deputies have been contacted with regard to these measures following a campaign by Focus Ireland. My officials have engaged in constructive dialogue with Focus Ireland with regard to their concerns. As part of this work, Focus Ireland has recently supplied my Department with details from their network organisations of relevant individual cases.
This information is currently being examined and my Department will engage in further discussions with Focus Ireland. These discussions will seek to achieve a satisfactory resolution of any issues arising in respect of these persons, while also preserving the integrity of the social welfare system and avoiding any potential drift towards welfare dependency.
248. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for an invalidity pension in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford and the ensuing appeal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40568/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 06 January 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 25th July 2012 and the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.
249. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for an invalidity pension in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40569/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraInvalidity pension is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the contribution conditions.
This department received a claim for invalidity pension for the person concerned. The medical evidence provided by the claimant in support of his claim was examined by a medical assessor who was of the opinion that the person concerned is not eligible for invalidity pension as he does not satisfy the medical criteria. The application for invalidity pension was, accordingly, disallowed by a deciding officer. The applicant was notified of this decision and the reason for it.
The person concerned subsequently submitted further medical evidence in support of his claim. This evidence has been forwarded to a different medical assessor for evaluation and a decision will issue to the person concerned once the review is completed.
250. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding disability allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford a further refusal of which would be unfair in view of medical evidence and history; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40570/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned applied for disability allowance on 8 December 2011. The medical evidence supplied with her application was referred to one of the department’s medical assessors who was of the opinion, based on the information supplied, that she was not medically suitable for disability allowance. The deciding officer accepted this opinion and the claim was refused and the person was notified in writing of this decision on 23 April 2012.
The person subsequently forwarded further medical evidence in support of her application which was referred to a medical assessor. A decision will be made in due course on the review of the person’s application and she will be notified in writing of the result.
251. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an application for disability allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40571/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned applied for disability allowance on 16 January 2012. The medical evidence supplied with her application was referred to one of the department’s medical assessors who was of the opinion, based on the information supplied, that she was not medically suitable for disability allowance. The deciding officer accepted this opinion and the claim was refused and the person was notified in writing of this decision on 2 April 2012.
The person subsequently forwarded further medical evidence in support of her application which was referred to a medical assessor. A decision will be made on the review of the person’s application in due course and she will be notified in writing of the result.
253. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has abandoned the original targets to reduce consistent poverty; if new targets have been set; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40579/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraReducing and ultimately eliminating poverty is a fundamental aspiration of Irish society and the Programme for Government states that the elimination of poverty is an objective of this Government. The national social target for poverty reduction provides a key reference point for government policies and offers a tangible benchmark against which to measure social and economic progress.
Given the challenging economic and fiscal context, the Government initiated a comprehensive review of the national poverty target, first set out in the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion in 2007, in order to ensure that it remained appropriate and achievable. I will shortly be publishing the result of the outcome of the review and following that will make arrangements for appropriate consultation with stakeholders to discuss how best to implement its recommendations.
Notwithstanding this, I should point out that in advance of the publication of the review, the revised targets were set out in a document submitted to the European Commission in April 2012 entitled the "National Reform Programme for Ireland 2012 Update under the Europe 2020 Strategy" and are available on the website of the Department of An Taoiseach. In that update, the Government indicated that it had decided to revise and enhance its national poverty target to meet Ireland’s contribution to Europe 2020 and commitments in the Programme for Government. The revised target is to reduce consistent poverty to 4 per cent by 2016 (interim target) and to 2 per cent or less by 2020, from the 2010 baseline rate of 6.2 per cent. Ireland’s revised contribution to the overall EU poverty target is to lift a minimum of 200,000 people out of the risk of poverty or exclusion between 2012 and 2020. I want to stress that the revised targets still mean that the Government has retained the ambition of the original target, despite the difficult economic conditions. The target will now be achieved over an extended timeframe of 2020, in line with the EU timescale. In addition, the Government has agreed a number of other changes which will have a positive impact for poverty reduction, notably the adoption of sub-targets for children and jobless/low-work intensity households and new supporting indicators.
The Government and I, as Minister for Social Protection, are determined to ensure that the least well off in society are protected from the economic crisis and are enabled to benefit from economic recovery and new employment opportunities. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to implement the revised and enhanced national social target for poverty reduction.
254. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Social Protection the numbers of persons in categories (details supplied) that are receiving unemployment benefit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40584/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe distinction between different categories of teaching professionals and child care workers (Montessori teachers, primary teachers, qualified nursery staff, special needs assistants etc.), in receipt of jobseekers benefit or allowance is not collated by my Department.
I am informed however that at the end of August there were a total of 2,028 teaching professionals and 1,390 in child care and related occupations aged between 22 and 26 years (inclusive) on the live register in receipt of jobseekers benefit or jobseekers allowance. I include a table detailing the breakdown of this number by scheme for the Deputy’s information.
Jobseekers Assistance by age
|
Jobseekers Assistance |
Age |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
Totals |
|
Child care and related occupations |
262 |
231 |
219 |
211 |
181 |
1,104 |
|
Teaching Professionals |
164 |
216 |
228 |
346 |
347 |
1,301 |
|
Totals |
426 |
447 |
447 |
557 |
528 |
2,405 |
Jobseekers Benefit by age
|
Jobseekers Benefit |
Age |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
- |
22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 |
Totals |
|
Child care and related occupations |
39 |
49 |
69 |
58 |
71 |
286 |
|
Teaching Professionals |
54 |
130 |
165 |
166 |
212 |
727 |
|
Totals |
93 |
179 |
234 |
224 |
283 |
1,013 |
255. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department still grants leave of absence; and if not, the reason this is not considered as a neutral cost saving exercise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40602/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraStaff in my Department remain entitled to leave of absences for career breaks.
The granting of a leave of absence for a career break is, in the first instance, the responsibility of local management who are required to assess the application having regard to the business demands of their area of responsibility.
256. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when an appeal for invalidity pension will be determined in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; if she will allow an oral hearing in this instance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40609/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraInvalidity pension is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the contribution conditions.
An invalidity pension for the person in question was refused by a deciding officer as a medical assessor having evaluated the medical evidence provided by the applicant, is of the opinion that she does not satisfy the medical criteria.
The person concerned appealed this decision and submitted further medical evidence in support of the application. This evidence was forwarded to a different medical assessor who was also of the opinion that she did not satisfy the medical criteria for invalidity pension.
The case will be referred to an appeals officer who will make a summary decision on the appeal, based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing.
258. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Social Protection if a regulatory impact analysis has been or will be conducted on the sick pay proposals which she is considering on account of the uncertainty the proposals have created and the negative effects such proposals could have on job retention. [40633/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe government is considering the introduction of a scheme of statutory sick pay at this time for a number of reasons – chiefly as a measure to help in addressing the growing deficit in the Social Insurance Fund (which stood at €1.5bn in 2011 and is expected to rise to €3.0bn in 2019 as outlined in the Actuarial Review of the fund which I launched last week), and as a policy measure to reduce the risk of progression from short-term illness to long-tern illness or disability. The introduction of such a scheme would also bring Ireland into line with practice in other countries in this area. However, there is a range of complex issues that needs to be addressed before any decision is taken by government on the possible introduction of such a scheme – including the extent of coverage; the rate of payment; possible compensation mechanisms for employers where appropriate, and how the scheme would be enforced and policed - and these will be discussed as part of the preparatory work for Budget 2013.
I should point out that while I am acutely conscious of the pressures facing employers in the current economic climate, and the concerns expressed by small and medium sized enterprises in particular regarding the introduction of a scheme of statutory sick pay, a regulatory impact analysis is not undertaken on the package of measures announced in the annual Budget Day statement.
