Written Answers Nos. 135-145
135. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Social Protection ; if she will approve an application for rent supplement in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50632/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned has not provided all of the necessary documentation required for the centralised Kildare Rent Unit to process his claim. When the information has been provided a full assessment can be completed.
136. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a carer's allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50663/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 15th May 2012. The application is with a deciding officer for a decision. Once processed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
138. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if couples who share custody can have shared social welfare payments for their children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50674/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Social Protection administers a wide range of payments through which it provides supports to families including those with children. The main payments in this regard include child benefit and the family income supplement as well as qualified child increases to primary social welfare payments. Therefore, in responding to the Deputy’s question, I propose to concentrate on these three payments in particular.
Child benefit is a universal payment made in respect of the care of children. The well-being of the children is the priority consideration in the operation of the current child benefit arrangements and this is reflected in the fact that payment is normally given to a person with whom the child is normally resident rather than on the basis of formal custody arrangements. Reflecting changes to the payment and its precursor (the children’s allowance payment) in the 1970s and 1980s, social welfare legislation provides that the payment is normally made to the mother or step-mother of the qualified child payment where the child lives with both parents. Similarly, where the child lives with their father but not their mother, payment may be made to the father. The scheme does not provide for the splitting of the payment between parties in joint custody cases but is based on where the child is normally resident.
The family income supplement scheme (FIS) provides income support for employees on low earnings with families and is designed to preserve the incentive to take up or remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were claiming other social welfare payments. In the case of parents who are separated, a parent who is wholly or mainly maintaining a former spouse and child(ren) can qualify for FIS. However, only one FIS payment can be made in respect of any family. Furthermore, a person included in one particular family for any period for FIS purposes shall not be regarded as a member of any other family during that period. Current provisions do not therefore allow for FIS payments to be divided between parents. Where a question arises in determining the residence of a child for FIS purposes, an investigation of specific circumstances may be carried out.
Qualified child increases (QCIs) are paid as supplements to weekly social welfare benefit and assistance payments to reflect the need for greater incomes among benefit-dependent households with dependent children. Therefore, QCI payments do not of themselves constitute a specific social welfare scheme and entitlement to the appropriate primary adult payment must be established in the first instance. To qualify for payment of a QCI, the child in respect of whom the increase is claimed must considered to be normally resident with the person who is claiming the primary payment. In cases where the parents of a child are living apart, the child is considered normally resident with whom s/he is living. Where the child is resident part of the time with each parent, the child is considered to be normally resident with the parent with whom the child resides most of the time.
If the Deputy wishes to have a particular payment or case considered in further detail or to query the specific payment arrangements around a particular scheme, he can arrange to have the details brought to the attention of my Department for consideration.
139. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a list of all public consultations her Department has carried out since the start of 2012. [50757/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.
140. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will set out the criteria used in the determination of pupils' entitlement in the context of the school meals programme operated by community colleges in the vocational education committee sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50762/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services for disadvantaged children through two schemes. The first is the statutory urban school meals scheme, operated by local authorities and part-financed by the Department. The second is the school meals local projects schemes through which funding is provided directly to participating schools and local and voluntary community groups who run their own school meals projects. The Government has provided €35 million for the school meals programme in 2012.
Funding under the school meals local projects scheme is for food costs only, subject to certain conditions. All food must be of suitable quality and nutritional value, and prepared and consumed in an appropriate environment. The type and range of meals provided, as well as the method and logistics of supplying the meals, are decided by the individual local groups and schools that operate the projects. Responsibility for all aspects of the day-to-day operation of the scheme lies with the school/group.
Schools may apply for funding for all pupils, if they feel such a need exists. There is no automatic entitlement to funding and all applications must be considered in light of the available budget for the scheme. Priority for funding is currently given to schools which are part of the Department of Education and Skill’s initiative for disadvantaged schools, ‘Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools’ (DEIS). All DEIS schools who applied to join the scheme in the previous school year have been invited to participate in the 2012/2013 school meals programme. Over forty additional DEIS schools have joined the scheme during the past four years.
Payment under the scheme, which is paid in two instalments, is based on a rate per child per day, depending on the type of meal being provided. Details of the various options available under the scheme and rates of payment per child are shown in the tabular statement.
Various food options and payment per child:
|
Breakfast/Snack |
€0.60 |
Cereal, Toast, Scone, Fruit, Yogurt, Milk, Juice-2 Items must be provided |
|
Lunch |
€1.40 |
Filled Sandwich/Roll or Soup & Roll or Salad Plate, plus 2 other items (eg Milk, Juice, Fruit, Yogurt) |
|
Dinner |
€1.90 |
Meat, Potatoes & Vegetables or Chicken Curry or Spaghetti Bolognaise, plus a drink (Milk, Juice, Water) |
142. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the amount of applications for lone parents allowance in County Kerry between January 2010 and January 2012, the average waiting time for these applications to be processed, how many were granted, how many refused and how many are still pending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50780/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra143. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the amount of applications for jobseekers benefit in County Kerry between January 2010 and January 2012, the average waiting time for these applications to be processed, how many were granted, how many refused and how many are still pending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50782/12]
Amharc ar fhreagra144. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide in tabular form the amount of applications for jobseekers allowance in County Kerry between January 2010 and January 2012, the average waiting time for these applications to be processed, how many were granted, how many refused and how many are still pending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50783/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 142 to 144, inclusive, together.
The information requested by the Deputy in respect of claimants of jobseekers allowance, jobseekers benefit and one-parent family payment is in the following tabular statement. This information is based on clients of the Local and Branch Offices in Co Kerry (Caherciveen, Dingle, Kenmare, Killarney, Killorglin, Listowel and Tralee). The catchment area of these offices may include addresses in neighbouring counties and for that reason those signing on at a Local Office in Kerry may not be resident in the county.
|
Jobseeker’s Allowance |
2010 |
2011 |
January -October 2012 |
|
Claims Registered |
9,179 |
8,372 |
6,423 |
|
Average Time to Decide (weeks) |
4.3 |
3.3 |
4.7 |
|
Total Awards |
7,025 |
6,103 |
4,502 |
|
Total Disallowances |
998 |
772 |
555 |
|
Pending Claim Load |
363 |
545 |
841 |
|
Jobseeker’s Benefit |
2010 |
2011 |
January -October 2012 |
|
Claims Registered |
11,104 |
9,798 |
6,433 |
|
Average Time to Decide (weeks) |
1.4 |
1.6 |
2.2 |
|
Total Awards |
9,537 |
8,529 |
5,480 |
|
Total Disallowances |
245 |
224 |
212 |
|
Pending Claim Load |
268 |
395 |
574 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
2010 |
2011 |
January -October 2012 |
|
Claims Registered |
464 |
450 |
322 |
|
Average Time to Decide (weeks) |
7.7 |
8.7 |
9.6 |
|
Total Awards |
332 |
312 |
227 |
|
Total Disallowances |
105 |
105 |
72 |
|
Pending Claim Load |
55 |
59 |
65 |
145. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Cavan may expect to receive a decision on their carer's allowance application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [50792/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraI confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 9th December 2011. Further medical evidence was submitted to this department on 21st August 2012. This medical is awaiting assessment by a medical assessor. Once a deciding officer has carried out all the necessary investigations, a decision will be made and the person in question will be contacted directly with the outcome.
