Written Answers Nos. 578-600
578. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason there is no transgender person on the Gender Recognition Advisory Group; if an update will be provided on the work of the group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16114/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Gender Recognition Advisory Group (GRAG) was established in 2010 to advise the Government on the legislation required to give legal recognition to the acquired gender of transgender persons. The GRAG was an interdepartmental group comprising representatives from various Government Departments and Offices. The Group engaged in a public consultation exercise which provided organisations and individuals with the opportunity to contribute their comments and proposals. As part of this process, the Group met with some organisations and individuals, including those representing transgender persons. The Report of the Group, which recommended a scheme for the legal recognition of transgender persons, was approved by the Government on 12 July 2011, and was subsequently published on 14 July 2011. Since the publication of the Report, the Department has been working on developing draft Heads of a Gender Recognition Bill. In this context, it has engaged in discussions with the relevant medical health professionals and with representatives from interested NGOs. Given the legal complexities involved in relation to some of the GRAG recommendations relating to the marital and civil partnership status of individuals, in March 2012 the Department sought advice from the Office of the Attorney General, which in turn sought the legal opinion of external counsel on these issues. The formal opinion of the Attorney General was received in December 2012 and is currently under consideration by officials in this Department with a view to progressing the draft Heads of the Bill.
There are a range of complex and sensitive issues involved in this proposed legislation to give legal recognition to the acquired gender of transgender persons. I have requested the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection to consider the provisional draft Heads of Bill once they are completed. I feel that the committee can make a very positive contribution to the preparation of the legislation and I hope that my appearance before the committee can be scheduled before the summer. I believe this approach should greatly assist the drafting of the legislation and its progress through the Oireachtas. When the Oireachtas committee has discussed the provisional draft heads of Bill I will be in a better position to give a timeframe for the introduction of the legislation.
579. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in Dublin 12 will receive a response to their appeal. [16136/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 22 January 2013. 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 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.
Question No. 580 withdrawn.
581. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection the action her Department plans to take to ameliorate the current situation where persons in certain areas cannot acquire accommodation due to refusal by large numbers of landlords to accept rent supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16190/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra582. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection the plans her Department has to make the rent supplement scheme more attractive to landlords; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16191/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 581 and 582 together.
There are currently over 86,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €403 million for 2013. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. It is essential that this is achieved while providing value for money for tenants and the taxpayer. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. As the Department funds a significant proportion of private sector rented accommodation, it is essential that State supports for rents are kept under review and that appropriate control and compliance measures are in place. Under the legislative provisions governing rent supplement, the Department's relationship is with the tenant. Rent supplement is specifically for the benefit of tenants to assist them with their accommodation needs. There is no direct relationship between the landlord and the Department in the administration of the scheme. The tenant's engagement with the Department usually takes place after the tenant has reached an agreement with the landlord. The fact that approximately 86,000 people are currently in receipt of rent supplement proves that a significant number of landlords are accommodating applicants of the scheme and that rent supplement recipients are able to access accommodation.
The Government has effectively two initiatives to deal with long term reliance on rent supplement which will return rent supplement to its original purpose of a short-term income support. The Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) is in operation since 2004 and the Housing Policy Initiative as announced by my colleagues the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Minister of State with responsibility for Housing and Planning. The Government approved in principle the transfer of responsibility for the provision of rental assistance to persons with a long term housing need from the Department, currently provided through rent supplement, to housing authorities using a new Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). The Department is working closely with officials from the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government in developing proposals to give effect to this transfer.
583. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Social Protection when an appeal for a carer's allowance will be backdated to the date of when the domiciliary allowance was originally granted in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Laois; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16205/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer having fully considered all the available evidence allowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer 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 on social welfare entitlements.
Questions Nos. 584 and 585 withdrawn.
586. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 136 and 144 on 21 March 2013, in which she stated she had obtained data from the Private Residential Tenancies Board including a snapshot of the PRTB’s database which stores all annual rental values and relevant addresses, if she will confirm the way accessing such information was permitted in the context of data protection legislation. [16295/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. There are currently approximately 86,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €403 million for 2013. As part of the review of rent limits, the Department received information from the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) from its register of tenancies. This data exchange is provided for by legislation under section 146 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and section 261 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. The data snapshot provided contains details of registered tenancies and does not contain names of tenants or landlords. There are no data protection implications from the use of this information.
587. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding an invalidity pension appeal in respect of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16308/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 26 February 2013. 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 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.
588. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 309 of 12 March 2013, the avenue available to a person who is unemployed or disabled and not in receipt of a social welfare payment to engage in a training course when they have been advised by their local FÁS office that they are not entitled to participate in any course because they are not in receipt of a social welfare payment; if FÁS must provide training courses to those who are disabled and not in receipt of a payment due to a spouse's income and where this training course would be beneficial to their rehabilitation and well-being; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16327/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraPersons who are unemployed but not eligible for a jobseeker's/disability payment are generally eligible to take part in training courses. However, only those participants who were receiving a jobseeker's/disability payment prior to commencing training may be eligible to receive a training allowance while undertaking a course. While my Department determines the eligibility conditions for social welfare payments, specific issues pertaining to access/eligibility to FÁS courses are ultimately a matter for the Department of Education and Skills/FÁS. Similarly, while there is provision for FÁS to consult with my Department on course provision, the final decision on course provision is made by FÁS as part of its annual service plan.
In the circumstances, the issue of course provision is ultimately a matter for the Department of Education and Skills/FÁS.
589. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 124 of 7 March 2013, if she has received the full scale and extent of medical reports form the consultant and general practitioner in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; if she will accept this evidence already submitted and herewith once again attached to facilitate further review or appeal in respect of their application for invalidity pension; if she will have regard to the entirety of their incontrovertible medical evidence as a basis for urgent review/appeal with a view to approval in respect of their eligibility for invalidity pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16354/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department received a claim for invalidity pension for the person concerned on 18 December 2012. The application for invalidity pension was disallowed by a deciding officer on the grounds that, based upon the medical evidence supplied in support of the claim, the person in question was not medically suitable for invalidity pension. The applicant was notified of this decision, the reason for it and of his right of review or appeal on 20 February 2013. The medical evidence which accompanied this question has already been submitted by the claimant. This additional evidence, along with the original information, was evaluated by a different medical assessor who also expressed the opinion that the person concerned does not satisfy the medical criteria. Accordingly, the deciding officer confirmed the original decision and notified the claimant of the outcome on 22 March 2013. The person concerned has been advised of his right to appeal the decision. Should he wish to do so, he has been advised that he should appeal in writing to the Social Welfare Appeals Office as soon as possible, clearly stating the grounds for his appeal.
Question No. 590 withdrawn.
591. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Social Protection if there are any plans to introduce fingerprint technology in her Department to assist with investigating fraudulent claims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16379/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn conjunction with a number of other Government Departments, my Department has developed a Public Services Card (PSC) under the Standard Authentication Framework Environment (SAFE) Programme, the main objective being to develop a common standard across public services for establishing and authenticating identity.
The roll-out of the PSC is well underway and will continue for a number of years. The robust registration process, leading to the issuing of a PSC which incorporates both a person’s photograph and signature, gives significant assurance as to the identity of the cardholder. From the Department's perspective, as well as combating identity fraud, the PSC will replace cards currently in use, such as the Social Services Card and the Free Travel Card, with a highly secure card.
Fingerprints, eye retinas and irises, voice patterns, facial patterns and hand measurements are classed as biometric information. This is information about human body characteristics and it is typically used for authentication purposes. The data that the PSC can store can include biometric information.
Biometric data does not, of itself, eliminate fraud. What it can do is associate a particular individual with a particular set of human characteristics. The selected biometric information can later be obtained from the individual and checked against the stored information, thus confirming that the same individual provided both sets of information. Any relying system would need secure registration and identification processes and the ability to read and measure biometric information throughout. The cost of this infrastructure would be dependent on the specific biometric selected but as the infrastructure (readers etc.) would need to be widely deployed, it would be significant. In summary, the PSC itself can support the use of biometrics but there are many other issues to be considered.
Existing legislation in the context of the PSC does not provide for biometrics and currently there are no plans to alter that. These provisions do, however, provide for the collection and storage of photographs or images and, in this context, the Department has recently deployed a facial image matching software to help detect and deter duplicate SAFE registrations. Where a match or a potential match is discovered, the relevant records will be referred to an officer in the Department's Client Identity Services Division for investigation and resolution. Processes have also been put in place to refer suspected cases of identity fraud to the Department's Special Investigation Unit, if required.
592. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reasons for the delay in processing social welfare appeals; the measures being taken to address the issue; the number of doctors working in the section in 2012 and 2013; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16382/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere was a rapid and sustained increase in the number of appeals from 2009 to date which has placed extraordinary pressure on the SWAO. Significant resources and efforts have been put into reducing backlogs and improving processing times for appellants, including the assignment of 15 additional Appeals Officers, improving business processes and implementing a new operating model. There has been significant increase in the number of appeals finalised from 17,787 in 2009 to 32,558 in 2012. Processing times have been reduced by 10.3 weeks overall in 2012 with respect to 2011, with time for an oral hearing time down by 13 weeks and the time for summary decision up by 2.7 weeks. The Chief Appeals Officer expects to finalise 6,000 more cases in 2013 than in 2012, when 32,558 cases were finalised. By its nature and because it is a quasi-judicial process, the processing of appeals takes time even at the best of times and reflects the fact that while every effort is made to deal with appeals as fast as possible this cannot be at the expense of fairness of due process.
The total number of Medical Assessors in the Department of Social Protection can vary at different times, due to retirements and recruitments. In January 2012, there were 26 Medical Assessors, including the Chief Medical Adviser and the Deputy Chief Medical Adviser. The total number reduced down to 23 by the end of 2012. At present there are 25 Medical Assessors and there are plans to increase this number by a further 4 later in the year.
593. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 403 of 5 February 2013, if she will comment on reports contained in a newspaper article (details supplied); if this report is correct; and the rationale for this policy U-turn in relation to unused gas/electricity credits in view of the hardship that this new cost-cutting measure will impose on those availing of the household benefits package. [16390/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn reply to Parliamentary Question No. 403 of 5 February 2013, I outlined the changes made to the household benefits package in budget 2013. In 2013, my Department will spend an estimated €284 million on the household benefits scheme, providing some 410,000 customers with a package worth almost €700 per year. Separate to the household benefits package, some 410,000 customers will receive the fuel allowance of €20 per week paid for 26 weeks, at a cost of €211 million. The structure of the electricity and gas allowance was changed from a unit based allowance to a cash credit which is currently €35 per month. This rate is aligned to the best average market rate currently available. The changed structure of the allowance is designed to encourage customers to achieve better savings through greater mobility between energy suppliers who can best meet their individual energy needs.
There has been no policy U-turn in relation to unused gas/electricity credits. In fact, the new arrangement represents a significant improvement in the options available for customers. Customers who do not use their full entitlement each month will be able to carry forward that unused cash credit and draw it down as they wish; this includes customers who wish to switch to a different supplier. Prior to these changes, customers with Electric Ireland could not carry forward their unused credits if they switched to a new supplier; this acted as an impediment to customers achieving the best value for their particular energy needs. Under the new arrangement, customers with Electric Ireland who build up cash credits will have those credits refunded if they switch to a different company. As regards the old non-cash units, a number of customers have unused units which they have carried over from 2012. These customers may use these unused units up to the end of September, 2013. My Department has contacted customers in this regard.
My Department pays a fuel allowance of €20 per week to qualified households who are in receipt of long-term social welfare or HSE payments and who are unable to provide for their own heating needs. The allowance represents a contribution towards a person's normal heating expenses. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. The fuel allowance season runs for 26 weeks from October to April each year and not 20. The fuel allowance season was due to end on 5 April 2013 but because of the very cold weather at the start of April, the allowance was paid for an extra week at this time of year. It should be noted that Ireland’s older population has the lowest rate of consistent poverty - 1.9% compared with the whole population rate of 6.9% - and, as a group are least likely to be at risk of poverty. This points to the adequacy and importance of the State pension and other supports provided by my Department.
Question No. 594 withdrawn.
595. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a carer's allowance appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork [16422/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 25 February 2013, 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.
596. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when an application for disability allowance will be processed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16464/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer having fully considered all the available evidence allowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision. The person concerned was notified of the Appeals Officer decision on 4 April 2013. 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.
597. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will state if and when domiciliary care allowance/carer's allowance will be approved in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16481/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere is no record in the Department of an application for domiciliary care allowance or carer's allowance having been received from the person concerned.
Question No. 598 withdrawn.
599. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who have had their attention brought to a job (details supplied) by her Department; the number of jobs outside the island of Ireland her Department has brought to the attention of jobseekers; and if she will list the countries in which her Department has brought jobs to the attention of jobseekers. [16538/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraIreland, through the Department of Social Protection, is part of the European Employment Service network, Eures. Eures was established by the European Commission in 1993 to facilitate the free movement of workers throughout the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). Freedom of movement of workers is one of the four freedoms established under the Maastricht treaty in 1992. This involves all member states exchanging job vacancies with each other and ensuring that job vacancies in Europe are available to all citizens/job seekers of Europe.
We received a request from the Public Employment Service in Malta on 19 February to assist them fill up to 200 jobs for bus drivers in Malta. In addition to advertising the jobs, we identified 320 jobseekers who, according to our records had the necessary qualifications to be considered for these jobs. We subsequently wrote to these jobseekers advising them of the availability of the jobs and 33 responded with applications for the positions and interviews are currently being organised for 22 of these candidates. All jobs advertised by the Public Employment Services of the Member States are advertised on the Eures portal www.eures.europe.eu and are made available to every citizen of EU/EEA on an equal basis. Currently there are over 1 million vacancies available. Although, there is no compulsion on jobseekers to apply for such jobs, it is important that they are aware of, and have the opportunity to compete for jobs in other countries. The Department for its part has a duty and a responsibility to ensure that jobseekers in Ireland are not disadvantaged relative to jobseekers in other countries.
600. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will issue on a carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16547/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an oral hearing of the appeal of the person concerned took place on 3 April 2013 and the Appeals Officer is now considering the appeal in the light of all the evidence submitted, including that adduced at the hearing. The person concerned will be notified of the Appeals Officer decision when the appeal has been determined. 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.
