Written Answers Nos. 98-105
98. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when a person (details supplied) in County Kildare might be offered a FÁS driving tuition course; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48746/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned has not been in contact with the Department’s Employment Services. He will be contacted by a member of staff to offer him an appointment to explore the training options currently available to him.
99. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when an oral hearing will take place in respect of a supplementary welfare payment arising out of an entitlement to alternative social welfare payment in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48747/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to hold an oral hearing in this case on 17 December 2013. The person concerned will be notified of the arrangements for the hearing when finalised. 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
100. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if and when an appeal will be determined in respect of a disability allowance application in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Waterford whose medical evidence clearly indicates that they are not in position to seek re-employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48750/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 19 August 2013. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 21 October 2013 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
101. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the correct level of rent and rent support payable in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 15; if the case will be reviewed as a matter of urgency in view of the 14-day warning notice the person has received from their landlord in respect of arrears of rent; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48752/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe rent supplement claim for the person concerned has now been reviewed. The amount of means assessed for her from her employment has been revised downwards to give her a new entitlement to rent supplement of €577.20 per week, an increase of €22.80 per week from her previous entitlement. This revised entitlement will be backdated to 1 October 2013.
102. Deputy Heather Humphreys asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the number of appeals received in the social protection appeals office in each of the past five years; the number of appeals in respect of each social welfare payment; the steps currently being taken to reduce appeal waiting times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48788/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy is contained in the table. There has been a rapid and sustained increase in the number of appeals received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2009 which has placed extraordinary pressure on the office. Up to 2009, the average number of appeals received was 15,000 per annum whereas in 2012, the office received 35,484 appeals. In order to manage this increasing workload, significant resources and efforts have been put into reducing backlogs and improving appeals processing times for appellants, including the assignment of 15 additional Appeals Officers, in addition to 10 former Community Welfare Service Appeals Officers who joined the appeals office in 2011, bringing the total number of serving Appeals Officers to 41; reviewing and improving business processes; and implementing a new operating model within the appeals office. In addition, a major programme of process redesign and modernisation is underway in the Department in relation to many of its scheme areas, aimed at reducing backlogs and reducing the time taken by the Department to respond to requests from the appeals office for submissions in relation to appeals. These measures have led to improvements in processing times and a significant increase in the number of appeals finalised from 17,787 in 2009 to 32,558 in 2012. The Chief Appeals Officer expects to finalise 6,000 more cases in 2013 than in 2012. Good progress is also now being made in reducing the number of appeals on hand from 20,414 at 1 January 2013 to 15,991 at 11 November 2013.
The average processing time for appeals peaked in 2011 when the average time for an oral hearing was 52.5 weeks and for a summary decision was 25.1 weeks. In 2012 processing times improved by 10.3 weeks when the average time for an oral hearing dropped to 39.5 weeks while the time for a summary decision increased slightly to 27.8 weeks. This improvement has continued with the average processing time up to October 2013 reducing to 34.9 weeks for an oral hearing and 26.3 weeks for a summary decision. Appeal processing times are calculated from the registration date of the appeal to the date of its finalisation. They include all activities during this period including time spent awaiting any clarification from the appellant, time in the Department for comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal put forward by the appellant, and any further investigation, examination or assessment by the Department’s Inspectors and Medical Assessors that is deemed necessary. A considerable period of time is added to the process when an oral hearing is required because of the logistics involved in this process. While this process carries an inherent delay in terms of finalising an appeal, it also crystalises the flexibility and accessibility of the appeals system. By its nature and because it is a quasi-judicial function, the processing of appeals takes time and reflects the fact that, by definition, the appeal process cannot be a quick one.
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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
Appeal Receipts 2008 – 2013 (to 31 October 2013)
|
- |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
|
Adoptive Benefit |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
- |
|
Blind Pension |
9 |
21 |
14 |
21 |
27 |
29 |
|
Child Benefit |
689 |
1,361 |
1,051 |
824 |
675 |
541 |
|
Carer's Allowance |
1,046 |
1,977 |
3,025 |
2,199 |
2,676 |
3,426 |
|
Carer's Benefit |
56 |
121 |
182 |
160 |
183 |
102 |
|
Disability Allowance |
3,522 |
4,696 |
4,840 |
5,472 |
6,223 |
5,766 |
|
Illness Benefit |
3,595 |
4,945 |
5,471 |
3,657 |
2,647 |
1,456 |
|
Domiciliary Care Allowance |
0 |
836 |
1,858 |
2,401 |
2,186 |
1,523 |
|
Invalidity Pension |
526 |
642 |
1,024 |
2,285 |
4,765 |
4,027 |
|
Partial Capacity Benefit |
- |
- |
- |
- |
67 |
63 |
|
Deserted Wives Allowance |
3 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
|
Deserted Wives Benefit |
13 |
5 |
14 |
20 |
8 |
11 |
|
Farm Assist |
61 |
137 |
244 |
220 |
271 |
254 |
|
Bereavement Grant |
39 |
46 |
58 |
66 |
71 |
62 |
|
Family Income Supplement |
142 |
170 |
227 |
258 |
301 |
351 |
|
Homemakers |
- |
- |
1 |
- |
1 |
1 |
|
Liable Relatives |
19 |
25 |
16 |
26 |
39 |
16 |
|
Maternity Benefit |
15 |
11 |
29 |
42 |
29 |
21 |
|
State Pension (Con) |
87 |
88 |
256 |
106 |
128 |
118 |
|
State Pension (Non -Con) |
278 |
319 |
356 |
317 |
231 |
229 |
|
State Pension (Transition) |
15 |
22 |
7 |
29 |
43 |
36 |
|
Occupational Injury Benefit |
29 |
37 |
23 |
16 |
13 |
17 |
|
Disablement Pension |
294 |
263 |
342 |
263 |
409 |
301 |
|
Occupational Injury Medical |
40 |
42 |
21 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
|
Incapacity Supplement |
7 |
8 |
15 |
6 |
21 |
11 |
|
OIB Death Benefit |
1 |
1 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
Guardians Pension (Con) |
25 |
23 |
28 |
31 |
46 |
31 |
|
One Parent Family Payment |
758 |
805 |
1,109 |
1,055 |
938 |
535 |
|
Guardians Pension (Non-Con) |
2 |
11 |
6 |
13 |
14 |
9 |
|
Pre-Retirement Allowance |
10 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
- |
- |
|
Jobseeeker's Allowance (Means) |
1,901 |
3,615 |
4,050 |
3,465 |
3,240 |
2,479 |
|
Jobseeker’s Allowance |
2,390 |
3,179 |
5,503 |
3,399 |
3,049 |
2,180 |
|
Jobseeker's Benefit |
1,358 |
1,354 |
1,307 |
1,286 |
1,289 |
754 |
|
JA/JB Fraud Control |
11 |
- |
3 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
|
Respite Care |
319 |
262 |
162 |
303 |
278 |
141 |
|
Insurability of Employment |
86 |
102 |
123 |
99 |
79 |
81 |
|
Supplementary Welfare Allowance |
437 |
789 |
1,020 |
3,129 |
5,445 |
3,596 |
|
Treatment Benefit |
18 |
10 |
8 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Survivor's Pension (Con) |
17 |
15 |
20 |
17 |
30 |
34 |
|
Survivor's Pension (Non-Con) |
14 |
19 |
12 |
29 |
39 |
30 |
|
Widows Parent Grant |
0 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
6 |
8 |
|
Totals |
17,833 |
25,963 |
32,432 |
31,241 |
35,484 |
28,250 |
103. Deputy Frank Feighan asked the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will issue on an appeal for invalidity pension in respect of a person (details supplied); and if this person's file has been forwarded to the appeals office and the date when this occurred. [48792/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 30 August 2013. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these have been received from the Department, the case in question 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 appeal 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
104. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he intends to commence the making of a national landscape plan which would identify, in the interest of environmental protection, constraints to be considered in the context of major development proposals, such as those relating to grid pylons and wind farms, in a uniform manner in view of the inconsistencies that can occur between individual county development plans in terms of landscape designation and protection. [48605/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing on from work in this area by an interdepartmental Steering Group chaired by my Department, and taking into account submissions arising from the public consultation in respect of the National Landscape Strategy Issues Paper, I expect to bring proposals to Government in early 2014 with a view to finalising the National Landscape Strategy for publication in 2014. The primary role of planning authorities and the consultative roles of other bodies and persons in decision-making relating to such issues will continue to be governed by the provisions of the Planning and Development Acts 2000 - 2012. However, one of the objectives of the National Landscape Strategy will be to assist in the achievement of greater consistency in decision making across the country when dealing with issues of landscape.
105. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if a proper cull should be carried out every year on the deer population (details supplied); if any culls are occurring at present; the action he will take in future to control this problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48691/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraWild deer in the State are protected under the Wildlife Acts. There is an annual open season during which deer can be legally shot under licence. The open season for deer operates generally from 1 September to the last day of February, depending on the species and gender of deer. I am aware that deer species are increasing in range and numbers. My Department carries out localised annual deer counts on State lands such as National Parks. Where appropriate, and depending on the annual count and instances of damage caused by deer to habitats, especially woodland, culls may be carried out to ensure that deer populations do not reach levels that would have negative ecological consequences.
Control of deer on private property is the responsibility of landowners who may apply to my Department for a permission under section 42 of the Wildlife Acts to cull deer where this is necessary outside the annual open seasons. These permissions offer a facility whereby a person can obtain a permit, on a case by case basis, to prevent serious damage caused by individual deer on specific lands. Permissions are only issued where there is evidence of such damage.
