Written Answers Nos. 75 to 84
75. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which he expects job creation over the next three years to focus on the job requirements of youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38587/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraA key objective of the Action Plan for Jobs process, which this Government commenced in 2012, was to rebuild our economy based on enterprise and entrepreneurship, talent, innovation and exports, in order to provide a solid foundation for future growth and to provide employment opportunities for all age cohorts. The goal of this Government has been to replace all of the jobs lost during the economic crisis and deliver sustainable full employment by the end of 2018.
The Action Plan for Jobs is having a positive impact on employment in the economy, since the first Plan was launched in early 2012. Since Q1 2012, 126,000 additional people are at work. The unemployment rate is now at 9.4%, down from 15.1% at the peak of the recession and we are making progress on reducing the numbers of youth and long-term unemployed.
The progress made by Government in supporting job creation and in reducing unemployment for those under 25 is impressive. Since the launch of the first plan in Q1 2012, 126,000 more people are at work, exceeding the original target of an additional 100,000 jobs by 2016. The number of unemployed young people has fallen significantly over the period from 76,000 in Q2 2012 to 42,000 in Q2 2015, a fall of 47%. This progress must be sustained.
Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of productive employment for young people. The Action Plan for Jobs complements the Government’s Pathways to Work, developed by the Department of Social Protection, which sets out specific measures for young people, under the Youth Guarantee and Youth Activation charter, to help them access the labour market and new job opportunities.
We will continue to focus on improvements in skills provision through the provision of programmes for a diverse range of individuals including young unemployed people through the Education and Training Boards in the implementation of the Further Education and Training Strategy 2014-‘18, the Momentum and Springboard programmes, employment incentive programmes such as the new Youth JobsPlus initiative, and doubling of high end skills as part of the second ICT Skills Action Plan. The new apprenticeships programme provides further opportunities for young people to find rewarding careers for the future. The first phase, comprising 25 new apprenticeship proposals across a wide range of sectors, was announced in July of this year.
The HEA will also support the use of third level facilities out of term to promote greater awareness and interest in technology, science and engineering among young people. In the areas of entrepreneurship, Local Enterprise Offices provide a first stop shop for young entrepreneurs with an idea of interested in starting a business and we will build on the success of “Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur” competition.
My Department is currently developing the 2016 Plan and is engaging bilaterally with Government Departments to identify actions to ensure that the 2016 Plan is as ambitious and impactful as possible and keeps us on track to achieve our goal to have 2.1 million people in employment by 2018. The Tánaiste, and Minister for Social Protection, is also developing a new Pathways to Work Strategy for the period 2016 to 2020.
Our Departments will continue to build on the progress to date through the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work to ensure that more employment opportunities are available to young people who are seeking work.
76. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the percentage of staff in his Department capable of dealing with the public in the Irish language; if there are training programmes in place for staff to improve their level of working Irish; the provision there is for other minority languages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38627/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department’s Second Irish Language Scheme, which was prepared in accordance with the Official Languages Act, 2003 and which covers the period September 2015 to September 2018, reiterates the Department’s commitment to assess, on an ongoing basis, the level of demand for services through Irish to ensure that this demand can be met in a planned, coherent and accessible way having regard to training policies, promotion and recruitment, as appropriate. A survey of staff, which was conducted in 2012 to ascertain the level of demand experienced by my Department for services through Irish, confirmed that the number of communications received in Irish in recent years has been very low. This survey also showed that 22% of staff who participated, identified themselves as capable of participating in everyday conversation, with 34% indicating they could understand the general meaning of letters and e mails, and that 17% could write fairly straightforward letters and e mails in Irish.
In accordance with our obligations under the Official Languages Act, 2003, my Department is committed to communicating with clients who wish to transact their business with the Department through the Irish language. Arrangements are in place whereby 13 staff have volunteered to participate in appropriate training courses to enhance their Irish language skills. This training is being provided so that we have a cohort of staff who can assist business units to respond to clients who wish to communicate through the medium of Irish. These 13 staff equate to 1.5% of the Department’s workforce.
In addition, I would add that the Workplace Relations Commission provides publications on various Workplace Relations issues in Irish, Arabic, Chinese, Czech, French, Indian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak and Spanish. The Employment Appeal Tribunal also provides some publications in Irish and provides interpreters at hearings where parties indicate that they require such facilities. Most languages can be facilitated, provided sufficient notice is furnished to the Employment Appeals Tribunal secretariat, in advance of the date of hearings. Amongst the languages provided are Polish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Tagalog and Urdu. The Tribunal also provides Irish language interpreters and sign language interpreters where required. There is currently no provision for training in any other minority languages in my Department.
77. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the funding allocated by his Department to organisations not audited directly by the Comptroller and Auditor General; the names of these organisations; the funding allocated to each over the past five years; the process in place to ensure that value for money is achieved and that the funding allocated is audited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38673/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will appreciate, the allocations provided through each subhead of the Department’s Vote is, in the first instance, subject to the public financial guidelines and open to annual audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG). Likewise the enterprise agencies who receive funding from the Department are also subject to annual audit by the C&AG. It should also be borne in mind that across the Department and its agencies that there are multiple layers of auditing undertaken from time to time, spanning internal, external and EU audit teams. Obtaining value for money is uppermost in the financial management and overall operations of the Department and the agencies. There are very frequent evaluations of programme expenditure to ensure that best value for money and most appropriate policy interventions within available resources can be delivered from the public purse in delivering on the Department’s enterprise, regulation and innovation programmes. As part of the various funding models and payment operations, there are authorisation limits for payments and grant approvals levels across the Departmental Vote. A significant portion of the enterprise and innovation grants provided through the Department’s agencies involve competitive funding calls.
As regards organisations receiving funding from the Department who are not audited by the C&AG, there are a small number of such organisations and programmes which are listed in the table below, together with the attendant funding provided to these organisations/programmes since 2011.
Organisations / Programmes funded directly by the Department whereby the recipients do not fall under direct C&AGs audit responsibility
|
Subhead of JEI Vote |
2011 spend €m |
2012 spend €m |
2013 spend €m |
2014 spend €m |
2015 provision €m |
|
|
A13 |
Subscriptions to International Organisations |
|||||
|
(i) World Trade Organisation |
N/a |
1.91m |
1.85m |
1.79m |
1.76m |
|
|
(ii) OECD Co-operative Action Programme on Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) |
0.02m |
0.02m |
0.02m |
0.03m |
0.02m |
|
|
B4 |
Irish Universities Association |
€0.10m |
€0.10m |
€0.10m |
€0.10m |
€0.10m |
|
B6 |
Subscriptions to International Organisations |
|||||
|
(i) European Space Agency |
14.02m |
14.77m |
17.27m |
17.27m |
17.27m |
|
|
(ii) European Molecular Biology Laboratory |
1.21m |
1.24m |
1.27m |
1.09m |
1.11m |
|
|
(iii) European Molecular Biology Conference |
0.19m |
0.20m |
0.20m |
0.21m |
0.19m |
|
|
(iv) World Intellectual Property Organisation |
0.76m |
0.38m |
0.38m |
0.38m |
||
|
(v) Eureka ( R&D) |
0.03m |
0.03m |
0.02m |
0.02m |
0.03m |
|
|
(vi) COST (Co-operation in Science & Technology) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.01m |
|
|
C4 |
Grant for Trade Union Education and Advisory Services |
0.87m |
0.94m |
0.94m |
0.94m |
0.90m |
|
C6 |
Trade Union Amalgamations |
0 |
0 |
0.03m |
0 |
0.03m |
|
C10 |
Consumer Support |
0 |
0.04m |
0.04m |
0 |
0.04m |
|
C14 |
Subscriptions to International Organisations |
|||||
|
(i) International Labour Organisation |
1.56m |
1.54m |
1.50m |
1.34m |
1.38m |
|
|
(ii) European Association of Court Judges |
2k |
1k |
1k |
1k |
4k |
|
|
(iii) Hallmarking Convention |
7k |
7k |
7k |
7k |
7k |
As can be seen from the table above the majority of the recipients listed are international organisations spanning research, trade and employment entities in the main. The Department pays Ireland’s annual membership contribution directly to the European Space Agency, the World Trade Organisation, the World Intellectual Property Organisation, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) , the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC) , COST (European Co-operation in Science & Technology) and EUREKA. The above memberships typically cost in the range of €21 million to €22 million per annum with the funding provision typically being subject to an international agreement and oversight by the organisations financial committees usually involving an Irish delegate with voting rights.
COST is a means for European researchers, engineers and scholars to jointly develop their own ideas and new initiatives across all fields of science and technology through trans-European networking of nationally funded research activities.
EUREKA is a pan-european network for industrial research and development, aimed at strengthening European competitiveness by promoting 'market-driven' collaborative research and technology development.
The EMBL, EMBC, COST and EUREKA all receive some form of EU funding and all are therefore subject to stringent and regular EU audit checks. Ireland typically has at least one delegate per organisation to oversee Irish involvement, which includes financial oversight on the Irish contribution.
An annual provision of €108k is paid to the Irish Universities Association (IUA) under Subhead B4 of the Department’s Vote (Science & Technology Programme). This funding provision to the IUA is to assist with the hosting of the EURAXESS Ireland Office, which is part of an initiative involving both the European Commission and countries participating in the European Union's Framework Programmes for Research. The EURAXESS Services Centre helps researchers and their family to plan and organise their move to a foreign country, providing help in all matters related to mobility.
An annual grant is paid through Subhead C4 to assist the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in meeting the cost of providing its education, training and advisory service in the area of policy development, the provision of education and training supports to union officials and members, and advice to affiliated unions on particular issues.
The Trade Union Act 1975 is designed to facilitate amalgamations and transfers of engagements among trade unions by simplifying merger procedures and by making grants available from the Exchequer towards the costs incurred by unions in the process. The payment of grants is governed by Section 15 of the Act, as amended by Section 22 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990.
It is also the case that for a number of years in question, funding in the amount of €40k per annum was paid to support consumer related projects under Subhead C10.
As advised that whilst the aforementioned organisations/programmes are not directly audited by the C&AG, the respective subhead provisions from which the funding is provided are auditable by the C&AG on an annual basis.
78. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a 2011 payment and a 2012 payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry under the disadvantaged areas scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38453/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application under 2011 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 11 May 2011. Payments under this scheme issued directly to the nominated bank account of the person named on 30 January 2012. An application under 2012 Disadvantaged Areas Scheme was received from the person named on 10 May 2012. This application was subject to land verification checks which were recently finalised. As part of this process, a reduction between the claimed and determined area of one parcel was identified and the relevant penalty was applied. Payment is due to issue shortly, directly to the nominated bank account of the person named.
79. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a single payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38454/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application under the 2015 Basic Payment Scheme was received from the person named on 17 April 2015. Processing of this application has recently been finalised and payments due will issue shortly.
80. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of an application for a grant for a milking machine by persons (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38475/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe first tranche of the Dairy Equipment Scheme under TAMS II closed on 16 October 2015 and all applications received will be examined and approvals will commence when all of the required checks have been undertaken. The applicants named submitted an application on 13 October 2015 and this application will be examined along with all others received before the closing date.
81. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the amount paid out under the rural environment protection scheme in Counties Westmeath and Longford in each of the years from 2008 to 2014. [38480/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe data requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below:
|
Year |
County |
Amount |
County |
Amount |
|
2008 |
Longford |
€5,590,537.00 |
Westmeath |
€8,303,156.00 |
|
2009 |
Longford |
€5,830,442.00 |
Westmeath |
€7,878,472.00 |
|
2010 |
Longford |
€5,848,550.00 |
Westmeath |
€7,125,848.00 |
|
2011 |
Longford |
€5,280,955.00 |
Westmeath |
€6,307,537.00 |
|
2012 |
Longford |
€3,264,557.00 |
Westmeath |
€4,098,541.00 |
|
2013 |
Longford |
€3,202,224.00 |
Westmeath |
€3,729,534.00 |
|
2014 |
Longford |
€2,010,419.00 |
Westmeath |
€3,174,168.00 |
82. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a decision will be finalised regarding a transfer of entitlements for a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38516/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department received a 2015 Private Contract Clause application from the person named. The application has been processed and payment under the Basic Payment Scheme will issue as soon as possible.
83. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of applications under the basic payment scheme that were listed for a remote satellite inspection; when the inspection took place; the reason this data has yet to be returned to his Department; if it is acceptable that farmers should have their payments delayed due to administrative delays in performing such inspections, given that the contractor and his Department had in excess of three months to complete them; if he will release a partial payment to farmers, given that these delays are completely outside of their control; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38540/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraEU Regulations governing the Basic Payment Scheme requires my Department to carry out administrative checks to verify that the eligibility conditions for aid have been met. The regulations also require that these administrative checks be supplemented by on-the-spot checks, i.e. ground and/or remote sensing inspections. Furthermore the regulations state that payments due under the Direct Payment schemes shall not be made before the verification of the eligibility conditions have been finalised. In submitting an application under the Direct Payment Schemes and other area-based schemes, an applicant agrees to comply with the conditions of these schemes. In order to reduce the number of on farm inspections and to remove the need for an initial farm visit my Department has moved to increase the use of remote sensing inspections using satellite imagery. In 2015 6,805 cases were selected for inspection remotely. All 6,805 cases been initiated. Approximately 5,000 have been concluded and any payments due following application verification checks have issued. It is my Department’s intention to finalise all outstanding remote sensing cases as soon as possible.
Where an individual application has been selected for a remote sensing inspection no payment can issue to the applicant until the inspection has been completed and the results are fully processed. EU regulations do not allow partial payments for these cases.
84. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers awaiting a first instalment under the basic payment scheme and the areas of natural constraint scheme; the corresponding value of payments outstanding; if he will ensure that a partial payment is made to all farmers, while outstanding issues are being resolved; the corresponding number awaiting the final instalment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38541/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe tables below show, at a county level, the number of applicants, the number of applicants paid the number of applicants not paid and the total amount paid to date under both the Basic Payments Scheme and the Areas of Natural Constraints. It is not possible to calculate the amount of payment outstanding at county level as requested by the Deputy. This is because for outstanding cases under both schemes there may be outstanding queries which, when resolved, may have an impact on the level of payment due. My Department is prioritising the processing of all such outstanding cases with regular payment runs continuing over the coming weeks. Balancing payments of 27% will begin to issue from 1 December, with the final instalment (3%) due for payment in 2016.
2015 Areas of Natural Constraints Scheme stats
|
County |
Number of applicants |
Number Paid |
Number Not Paid |
€ Amount paid to date |
|
Carlow |
760 |
613 |
147 |
1,290,808.77 |
|
Cavan |
4,866 |
4029 |
837 |
8,283,472.30 |
|
Clare |
6,115 |
5066 |
1049 |
11,459,218.56 |
|
Cork |
7,079 |
5473 |
1606 |
12,439,126.76 |
|
Donegal |
8,625 |
6448 |
2177 |
14,510,067.35 |
|
Dublin |
150 |
104 |
46 |
217,216.46 |
|
Galway |
12,015 |
9212 |
2803 |
19,197,440.31 |
|
Kerry |
7,752 |
5895 |
1857 |
14,135,628.69 |
|
Kildare |
528 |
406 |
122 |
765,568.91 |
|
Kilkenny |
1,784 |
1373 |
411 |
2,918,137.04 |
|
Laois |
1,727 |
1380 |
347 |
2,783,433.96 |
|
Leitrim |
3,527 |
2784 |
743 |
6,123,403.55 |
|
Limerick |
2,956 |
2356 |
600 |
4,657,616.62 |
|
Longford |
2,399 |
1930 |
469 |
4,000,453.70 |
|
Louth |
803 |
614 |
189 |
1,058,092.75 |
|
Mayo |
11,598 |
8902 |
2696 |
18,284,104.42 |
|
Meath |
1,357 |
1113 |
244 |
2,017,484.59 |
|
Monaghan |
4,113 |
3411 |
702 |
6,487,609.91 |
|
Offaly |
2,427 |
1946 |
481 |
3,781,757.50 |
|
Roscommon |
5,751 |
4560 |
1191 |
9,650,046.79 |
|
Sligo |
4,053 |
3244 |
809 |
6,820,794.21 |
|
Tipperary |
4,525 |
3637 |
888 |
7,788,645.94 |
|
Waterford |
1,445 |
1113 |
332 |
2,413,787.28 |
|
Westmeath |
2,690 |
2158 |
532 |
4,151,632.59 |
|
Wexford |
1,504 |
1125 |
379 |
2,116,615.15 |
|
Wicklow |
1,836 |
1370 |
466 |
3,211,376.88 |
|
Totals |
102,385 |
80,262 |
22,23 |
170,563,540.99 |
2015 Basis Payment Scheme
|
County |
Number Eligible BPS |
Number Paid |
Number not Paid |
Amount Paid |
|
CARLOW |
1560 |
1321 |
239 |
12,813,987.31 |
|
CAVAN |
4551 |
4115 |
436 |
20,147,118.73 |
|
CLARE |
5818 |
5364 |
454 |
27,835,545.74 |
|
CORK |
12336 |
10563 |
1,773 |
86,604,519.78 |
|
DONEGAL |
8028 |
7150 |
878 |
29,248,033.92 |
|
DUBLIN |
599 |
488 |
111 |
4,241,150.18 |
|
GALWAY |
11480 |
10190 |
1,290 |
46,018,451.98 |
|
KERRY |
7415 |
6569 |
846 |
34,678,844.50 |
|
KILDARE |
1991 |
1684 |
307 |
16,281,296.65 |
|
KILKENNY |
3207 |
2718 |
489 |
27,576,043.03 |
|
LAOIS |
2743 |
2355 |
388 |
20,398,548.80 |
|
LEITRIM |
3265 |
2930 |
335 |
10,439,213.19 |
|
LIMERICK |
4771 |
4386 |
385 |
28,999,110.79 |
|
LONGFORD |
2267 |
2032 |
235 |
11,139,984.93 |
|
LOUTH |
1449 |
1235 |
214 |
10,092,305.30 |
|
MAYO |
11042 |
9809 |
1,233 |
36,238,884.82 |
|
MEATH |
3590 |
3201 |
389 |
29,418,140.82 |
|
MONAGHAN |
3860 |
3543 |
317 |
17,284,531.29 |
|
OFFALY |
2921 |
2552 |
369 |
19,501,018.39 |
|
ROSCOMMON |
5448 |
4864 |
584 |
23,333,579.87 |
|
SLIGO |
3834 |
3505 |
329 |
13,881,406.40 |
|
TIPPERARY |
6566 |
5785 |
781 |
53,057,046.03 |
|
WATERFORD |
2286 |
1912 |
374 |
19,830,223.33 |
|
WESTMEATH |
2849 |
2483 |
366 |
17,910,367.03 |
|
WEXFORD |
3796 |
3141 |
655 |
29,753,852.52 |
|
WICKLOW |
2007 |
1688 |
319 |
14,354, 219.25 |
|
Total |
119,679 |
105,583 |
14,096 |
661,077,424.60 |
