Written Answers Nos. 27- 40
27. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if material gathered by the mother and baby homes commission of investigation can be made available to An Garda Síochána for use in criminal prosecutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14404/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 provides an effective, prompt and transparent mechanism to investigate complex and sensitive matters of significant public concern while also respecting fair procedures and natural justice. The 2004 Act gives the independent Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes robust powers to conduct investigations within its terms of reference in the manner it considers appropriate while adhering to the rules and procedures contained within the Act.
As I have previously indicated, the Commission of Investigation cannot itself initiate criminal prosecutions and, under Section 19 of the 2004 Act, oral or documentary evidence given to a Commission of Investigation is not admissible in any subsequent criminal proceedings. However, if the Commissions Reports reveal issues of concern which are potentially criminal in nature these will of course be referred to the appropriate investigative and prosecution authorities for further consideration.
The Gardaí are the appropriate authority to conduct criminal investigations, following which prosecutions against persons for alleged offences committed in this jurisdiction may be pursued through the criminal courts by the Director of Public Prosecutions. I encourage any person with complaints relating to matters of a potentially criminal nature to report these concerns directly to the Gardaí. There is no requirement to await this Commission's consideration of such matters.
28. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs his plans to reduce waiting times for counselling services for child victims of sexual abuse. [14472/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Child and Family Agency, Tusla, along with other agencies, provides counselling and support to children and families availing of its services including children who have been abused sexually. If a child is taken into care as a result of sexual abuse, the allocated social worker in Tusla will provide counselling and support.
Where children have suffered sexual abuse, therapy services are available in a variety of settings. There are specialist sexual abuse centres at Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin and Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. Therapy services are also provided by HSE community based psychologists and the HSE Child And Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) for children who have moderate to severe mental health problems.
In addition, the Assessment, Consultation & Therapy Service (ACTS) is a national specialised clinical service which has been developed in order to provide multi-disciplinary consultation, assessment and focused interventions to young people who have high risk behaviours associated with complex clinical needs. ACTS also supports other professionals in their ongoing work with young people and their families. This includes:-
- on-site therapeutic services to young people in secure settings in Ireland (Special Care and the Children Detention Schools)
- support when young people return to community settings to help them to re-engage with mainstream services as appropriate
- assessment, consultation and/or intervention services in the community for children at significant risk of placement in secure settings.
Tusla is currently leading a multi-agency process to implement a national service model for sexual abuse services for children and their families. This process aims to incorporate all resources currently applied to sexual abuse services into a co-ordinated service providing standardised models of best practice with national and multi-agency oversight. It integrates and co-ordinates the six separate sexual abuse services which children may need to access. These services include medical/forensic examination; child protection; Garda investigation; assessment; therapy and court process.
The agencies involved in this process are Tusla, the HSE, the Children’s Hospital Group, the Probation Service and CARI. The model is informed by the recommendations of the Ferns Report 2005 and the National Review of Sexual Abuse Services for Children and Young People, June 2011 (HSE/Mott McDonald).
All agencies are committed to the implementation of the model with a number of initiatives currently under way. For example, the HSE is establishing a new medical/forensic examination facility for the greater Dublin area; specialist sexual abuse services are being developed within the context of the development of the national paediatric hospital and Tusla is employing four additional staff at Principal Social Worker grade to support the implementation process.
29. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the criteria laid down by her Department regarding the implementation of community employment schemes; and the reason an existing scheme could close because it fails to meet new criteria. [14096/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Community Employment (CE) Procedures Manual sets out the policies and procedures for the compliance of CE Schemes. This Procedures Manual is updated regularly to ensure that schemes are run in accordance with sound corporate governance procedures and financial best practice. Schemes are monitored at least one a year to ensure compliance with the policies and procedures. Where schemes are deemed non-compliant, they are given time to work with the Department to become compliant. Schemes cannot have their contracts renewed until they are compliant with the Department’s policies and procedures.
30. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if the position of supervisor of the North Leitrim Men's Group will be advertised and filled in view of the fact that the current incumbent retires within the next month. [14097/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department has given the North Leitrim Men’s Group approval for the recruitment of a replacement supervisor. The advertisement and recruitment for this post is a matter for the Sponsor Group.
31. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if an error on a birth certificate in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be corrected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14373/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 63 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 provides that a superintendent registrar may correct an error of fact in the register of births on application by a person having an interest in the matter.
The person referred to should contact their local civil registration service office at Sister Joseph's Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry (Phone: 064 6632251) to arrange a meeting with a superintendent registrar to discuss the matter.
32. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a funding application by a child care organisation (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14551/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations which benefits over 205,000 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 scheme through which funding is provided directly to participating schools and local and voluntary community groups who run their own school meals projects. Despite pressure on the social protection budget, the Government allocated an additional €2 million for the school meals programme in 2015, providing a total allocation of €39 million.
In line with the national policy framework for children and young people, Better Outcomes Brighter Futures, priority for new applications for funding has been given to schools which are part of the Department of Education and Skills initiative for disadvantaged schools “Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools” (DEIS). The Department is currently examining options for the allocation of the additional funding for the next school year.
33. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will receive a decision on an application for domiciliary care allowance for a child. [13884/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
34. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if the operators of a new local area hackney service are eligible to qualify for the back to work scheme or other start-up business assistance in respect of the hackney service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13894/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraA range of supports are available to jobseekers from the Department. A jobseeker who is available for and genuinely seeking work can apply for the contribution-based jobseeker’s benefit or the means-tested jobseeker’s allowance, depending on their previous employment history. While the Department does not provide any specific supports for those wishing to join or return to work in the hackney industry, a jobseeker may avail of any of the following supports to aid their return to employment/self-employment:
- A person who is self-employed can apply for jobseeker's allowance if their income falls below a certain level. The applicant can continue in self-employment with their earnings from the business assessed to determine the level of jobseeker’s allowance that can be paid.
- The short-term enterprise allowance (STEA) gives support to a person who has lost their job and is in receipt of jobseeker’s benefit payment from the Department and wants to start their own business. The STEA payment will cease when the entitlement to jobseeker’s benefit expires.
- The back to work enterprise allowance (BTWEA) is available to support long-term jobseekers that undertake to develop or take up self-employment opportunities. BTWEA provides for the retention of the value of the prior social protection payment on a reducing scale over two years, plus continued access to secondary benefits where the conditions for those are met. In determining if a business proposal will be supported, issues of displacement of existing operators are considered. Given the nature of the taxi and hackney services, the likelihood of such a proposal being approved for BTWEA is considered to be relatively low.
- Employers may also access the subsidies available under JobsPlus where they recruit jobseekers who are longer-term unemployed.
Jobseekers considering pursuing self-employment options may also access training and business planning supports offered by the Department, local development companies and local enterprise offices.
Information on accessing schemes and supports for jobseekers is available from DSP Intreo centres with further information available on the Department’s website www.welfare.ie.
35. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will reconsider her recent decision not to increase rent supplement in County Meath; if her Department will review the figures for rent supplement in County Meath and take into account the variations across the county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13899/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra50. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection her views on her Department's decision not to increase rent supplement levels; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14063/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra51. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will implement increases in rent supplement levels combined with a policy of rent controls; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14064/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 35, 50 and 51 together.
The rent supplement scheme provides 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. There are currently approximately 70,000 rent supplement recipients, for which Government has provided over €298 million for 2015.
The Department recently published a review of the maximum rent limits, “Maximum Rent Limit Analysis and Findings” and it is available on www.welfare.ie. The review finds that increasing rent limits at this time could potentially add to further rental inflation in an already distressed market, affecting not alone rent supplement recipients, but lower-income workers and students. Between the rent supplement scheme and the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) administered by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, the State accounts for a third of the private rented market. The State is therefore a very significant player in the sector which has a responsibility not alone to rent supplement recipients but also to the market as a whole, including all those in private accommodation. The review finds that increasing the rent limits would have several potentially negative effects, including providing an impetus for current rent supplement landlords to renegotiate their lease agreements to the new limits impacting on all existing recipients at significant cost to the Exchequer.
In light of the review’s findings, the Department will instead continue to allow for flexibility in assessing customers’ accommodation needs through the National Tenancy Sustainment Framework. Under this approach, each tenant’s circumstances throughout the county, including those in the Meath area, are considered on a case-by-case basis and rents can be increased above prescribed limits if deemed appropriate. I am satisfied that this is the appropriate response at this time which has assisted in excess of 1,000 rent supplement recipients throughout the country to retain their rented accommodation.
In addition, the Department in conjunction with Threshold operates a Tenancy Sustainment Protocol in the Dublin and Cork areas where supply is most acute. The primary objective of the Protocol is to ensure a speedy intervention to ensure that families at immediate risk of losing their tenancy get rapid assistance.
The review clearly points out that the main cause of difficulty for persons renting or seeking to rent at this time is the much reduced availability of affordable private rented accommodation. The issue of supply is being addressed by Government through the Construction 2020 Strategy and the Social Housing Strategy. Policy in relation to rent controls is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, who is considering a number of policy options in relation to achieving greater rent certainty.
I can assure the Deputies that I am keeping this matter under close review to ensure that the appropriate supports continue to be provided for rent supplement recipients.
36. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the cost of increasing the basic weekly social welfare rate of €188 back to €196. [13916/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is understood that the Deputy is referring the cost of an €8 per week increase in social welfare rates paid at a maximum personal weekly rate of €188.
The €188 per week rate applies to the following schemes:
- Jobseeker's Benefit & Allowance
- Farm Assist & Pre-Retirement Allowance
- Back to Education Allowance& Back to Work Allowance
- One Parent Family Payment, Widow/er's/Surviving Civil Partner (Non-Con) Pension & Deserted Wife's Allowance
- Disability Allowance & Illness Benefit
- Blind Pension & Incapacity Supplement
- Health & Safety Benefit & Injury Benefit
The cost of increasing these rates by €8 to €196 per week in 2016 is approximately €256 million in 2016 and in a full year. This cost includes the cost of proportionate increases for qualified adults and for those on reduced rates of Jobseeker’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Benefit and Illness Benefit.
The full year cost in 2016 and in a full year of applying the €8 increase per week to all social welfare payments paid to persons aged under 66 years of age (including people on employment schemes, such as community employment) is approximately €344 million.
37. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will report on the Cadbury's pension fund; the total worth of the fund in the years 2012 to 2014 and in 2015 to date; and her plans for further changes to this fund. [13922/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department does not collect the information sought by the Deputy.
Defined benefit pension schemes in Ireland are, in general, set up under trust. The trustees of such pension schemes have a fiduciary duty under Trust law to act in the best interest of all scheme members. In addition, the Pensions Act, 1990 provides for the regulation of occupational pension schemes and Personal Retirement Savings Accounts. The Pensions Authority supervises and monitors the operation of the Pensions Act.
The trustees of pension schemes are required under the Pensions Act to maintain sufficient assets to meet the liabilities of the scheme in the event of the wind-up of a pension scheme. This is often referred to as the Funding Standard which is a benchmark against which the “health “of a scheme can be tested. The trustees are required to report to the Pensions Authority on their funding position on a regular basis. A scheme failing to meet the funding requirement means that the scheme will not be able to pay all the benefits promised unless some action is taken. In such an event, the trustees are required to submit proposals to the Pensions Authority setting out what measures will be put in place to restore scheme funding and ensure that the scheme is sustainable and in a position to secure the promised level of benefit for all members into the future. The responsibility rests with the employer and the trustees for ensuring that the scheme is properly funded and managed.
39. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if she will ensure that mothers who are losing their one-parent family payment when their child turns seven and who work less than 19 hours a week will be eligible for family income support in view of the fact that this has the effect of pushing mothers who have limited daily part-time work out of the work that they have; and if she will apply family income support in a proportionate fashion. [13939/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe family income supplement (FIS) is an in-work support which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. FIS is designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependants and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment. There are in the region of 50,000 families in receipt of FIS, an increase of 70 per cent since 2011. The average FIS payment per family is €114 per week.
To qualify for FIS, a person must be engaged in full-time insurable employment which is expected to last for at least 3 months and be working for a minimum of 38 hours per fortnight (or 19 hours per week). The applicant must also have at least one qualified child who normally resides with them or is supported by them. Furthermore, the average family income must be below a specified amount which varies according to the number of qualified children in the family.
Reforms to the one-parent family payment (OFP) which were implemented in a phased basis in July 2013 and July 2014, have resulted in an increase in lone parents applying for FIS. This is evidence that lone parents whose entitlement to OFP ceased on foot of the age reforms have over the previous two years increased their working hours in order to claim FIS. Where lone parents are working less than 38 hours per fortnight they may qualify for a jobseeker's payment including the jobseeker's allowance transitional arrangement if their youngest child is under 14 years of age.
The Labour Market Council is in the process of establishing a sub-group that will specifically examine the issue of how employers nationwide can assist transitioning OFP customers with increasing their hours of work in order to enable them to qualify for FIS and, subsequently, the BWFD. This sub-group will also look at ways in which employers can assist with the promotion of the BWFD.
The previous experience of the OFP reform, together with the introduction of the BWFD and the initiative of the Labour Market Council, would indicate that lone parents will have both the incentive and the opportunity to increase their hours of work, and thus to become eligible for FIS, thereby greatly enhancing their income and living conditions.
40. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection if persons who are seeking rent allowance are being provided with a form that does not allow the option of using post offices to deal with this matter; if she will clarify same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13976/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe rent supplement scheme provides 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. There are currently approximately 70,000 rent supplement recipients, with some 1,700 in County Kerry. The Government has provided over €298 million for the rent supplement scheme for 2015.
The Department is very conscious of the important role of the post office around the country, not only in respect of social welfare payments but also in offering other financial services such as paying bills and carrying out a range of banking services. The Government has consistently stated its commitment to maintaining the post office network as set out in the Programme for Government. The Department of Social Protection will pay over €50m to An Post under a contract for cash payment services to welfare customers this year.
A range of payment options, including payment to a post office, continue to be available to rent supplement customers. If the Deputy would furnish the particular details of the person concerned, and if possible a copy of the form referred to in the question, I will ensure that the matter is fully investigated.
