Written Answers Nos. 241-260
241. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who are paid below the national minimum wage of €9.25 due to the exceptions for an employee in the first year after the date of first employment over 18 years of age and the second year after the date of first employment over 18 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48553/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAccording to the latest data available from the Central Statistics Office an average of 22,500 people are paid below the National Minimum Wage. Of these, 5,800 (0.3% of all employees) report being paid below the minimum wage, due to being on an age-related rate. In terms of employees being paid less than the National Minimum Wage due to being in a first job over the age of 18 the numbers in this category returned in the CSO QNHS were too small for an accurate figure to be drawn.
The Low Pay Commission has been asked to examine the appropriateness of the current sub-minima rates of the National Minimum Wage. I expect to receive the Commission’s report and recommendations on what changes, if any, should be made to the rates, before the end of the year.
242. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 1218 of 7 November 2017, the way in which persons can register and verify a MyGov account if they do not have a phone number or mobile phone device and-or a tablet device; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48449/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraA MyGovID account is a secure online account for accessing public services. The process for registering and using a verified MyGovID account proves in the online environment that the person has had their identity verified to the SAFE 2 standard. As part of the application of the SAFE 2 standard in the online environment, my Department seeks to ensure that a person’s MyGovID account is not used by another person. This is vital to ensure that a personal data is only made available to the correct person and that data protection requirements are satisfied. This is done by employing two-factor authentication each time the person uses the account. Two-factor authentication is an industry standard mechanism for authenticating users of high-value online services. This means that, in addition to requesting a username and password (things they know), a one-time verification code is sent to the person’s verified mobile phone (something they have) which they must also provide when logging in. As they are constantly changed, dynamically generated verification codes like this are safer to use than fixed (static) log-in information. In addition, a limit on the number of incorrect entries is applied to reduce the risk of attacks by unauthorised persons. The advantage of using a mobile phone as the second factor is that there is no need for an additional, dedicated token, as users tend to carry their mobile devices with them.
Accordingly, at present, if a person does not have access to a mobile phone, then they cannot obtain a verified MyGovID account, and may not avail of online access to high-value public services.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
243. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kildare is not in receipt of a full State pension. [48452/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned is in receipt of a reduced rate state pension (contributory) based on an assessed yearly average of 37 contributions, covering the period from November 1966 to December 2015.
According to the records of my Department, the person has a social insurance record of 1850 reckonable contributions and credits. The person concerned is in receipt of the correct rate of contributory pension based on this social insurance record.
The person has no recorded contributions for the tax years 1974/75 to 1983/84, and for 2008, which impacts on the person’s overall yearly average and, consequently, on their rate of weekly pension entitlement. If the person concerned considers they have additional unrecorded contributions or credits, it is open to them to forward documentary evidence of missing periods of employment and my Department will review their pension entitlement.
Similarly, if the person has previously un-notified home-making periods from 6th April 1994 spent out of the workforce caring for a child under the age of 12, or incapacitated person(s), the person should provide those details to my Department.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
244. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the procedures a company (details supplied) has in place regarding redeployment of its own staff based here and or in making staff redundant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48465/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraJobPath providers deliver the JobPath employment activation service under contract to my Department. The providers are independent contractors and are contractually obliged to provide the service in compliance with all aspects of Irish law.
Accordingly, Seetec is responsible for compliance with all the statutory requirements to be satisfied as an employer with regards to its own employees. As such any decisions in relation to redeployment or redundancy arrangements for employees are entirely a matter for Seetec.
245. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a carer's allowance application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48489/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 28 April 2017.
Additional information was requested on 22 June 2017. Following receipt of this information it was determined that the matter should be referred to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied.
The inspector interviewed the person concerned and requested additional documentation from her on 8 November 2017. Once this is received and the SWI has reported, a decision will be made and she will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
246. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of lone parents in receipt of the one-parent family payment who are receiving child maintenance payments. [48493/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs of October 2017, there were 39,303 people in receipt of the One-parent Family Payment (OFP).
The Department’s records show that 20,713 (or 53%) of these recipients are in receipt of child maintenance payments.
247. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an application for carer's allowance by a person (details supplied). [48518/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 5 October 2017 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 in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
248. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the gender balance on each of the State boards under her remit in tabular form. [48563/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe statutory bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council, the Pensions Ombudsman (which does not have a board), the Social Welfare Tribunal and the Low Pay Commission.
The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table:
|
Name of Board or Agency |
No. of Board Members who are men |
No. of Board Members who are women |
Total No. of Board Members |
|
Citizens Information Board |
8 |
7 |
15 |
|
Pensions Authority |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
Pensions Council |
6 |
6 |
12 |
|
Social Welfare Tribunal |
3 |
2 |
5 |
|
Low Pay Commission |
5 |
4 |
9 |
249. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of a supplementary pension payment by age and gender; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48638/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraCertain civil servants are members of a defined benefit pension scheme which is co-ordinated with the State Pension scheme.
A supplementary pension is an additional amount of occupational pension that may be paid to a Civil Servant whose occupational pension entitlement is co-ordinated with the State Pension. The purpose of this payment is to ensure that retired people receive the full amount of pension due to them on retirement.
Supplementary pension may be payable to a retired Civil Servant who through no fault of their own fails to qualify for any Social Insurance payment or who qualifies for a reduced payment. It represents the difference between the total of the pension/benefit entitlement of a person and the pension that would be payable if the occupational pension was not co-ordinated with the State Pension.
There are 7 retired staff members from my Department (2 males and 5 females) who are in receipt of Supplementary Pensions. There are two 61 year olds, one 62 year old, two 63 year olds, one 64 year old and one 65 year old.
250. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the arrangements which exist in the case of pension scheme wind-ups which mandate the purchase of expensive annuities when members would prefer choice, for example, an approved retirement fund. [48640/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraScheme trustees have duties and responsibilities under trust law, under other relevant legislation and under the Pensions Act, 1990, as amended. The duties of pension scheme trustees include administering the trust in accordance with the law and the terms of the trust deed and rules. Consequently any decisions made by corporate or individual trustees of an occupational pension scheme are governed by the relevant legislation. Scheme trustees must always act in the best interests of scheme members.
Usually the options available to members for taking benefits will be set out in the trust rules. In some cases, the benefit structure may be inflexible, leaving the member little or no choice as to the form which his or her benefits will take.
Section 48 of the Pensions Act 1990 sets out the priorities on winding up a scheme. It sets out the order in which the liabilities must be discharged and also how they may be discharged for members.
When a scheme winds up, section 48(3)(b) provides that, notwithstanding the rules of the scheme, the trustees may discharge the liability for benefits payable for any member by one of the following –
1. Transfer the benefits of each member into a new pension scheme;
2. Purchase of an approved assurance policy with a company or insurance agency that sells life insurance;
3. Transfer the benefits into another arrangement for the provision of retirement benefits (e.g. PRSA).
The Taxes Consolidation Act sets out the circumstances in which retirement benefit schemes are to be approved by the Revenue Commissioners for tax purposes. Section 772 sets out conditions for approval of schemes and allows for flexible options on retirement – the Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) option. I understand that the ARF option does not generally apply to Defined Benefit schemes, subject to certain exceptions . Legislation in relation to ARFs is a matter for the Department of Finance.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
251. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason rent support has not been paid in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48658/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe rent supplement claim for the customer concerned has been in payment since September 2013 and all payments are up to date.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
252. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to review policy to allow flexibility for persons marginally over the income limits on eligibility to HAP to avail of the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48471/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a flexible and immediate housing support that is available to all eligible households throughout the State. Under the HAP scheme, eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector, which best suits their needs in their area of choice. To be eligible for HAP, a household must have been assessed for social housing support by their relevant local authority and have been placed on that local authorities record of qualified households. Once a household has been deemed eligible for social housing support, it is a matter for the local authority to examine the range of social housing supports available, including the HAP scheme, to determine the most appropriate form of social housing support for that household.
The Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 prescribe maximum net income limits for each housing authority, in different bands according to the area, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy.
The income bands and the authority area assigned to each band were based on an assessment of the income needed to provide for a household's basic needs, plus a comparative analysis of the local rental cost of housing accommodation across the country. The limits also reflect a blanket increase of €5,000 introduced prior to the new system coming into operation, in order to broaden the base from which social housing tenants are drawn and thereby promote sustainable communities.
Given the cost to the State of providing social housing, it is considered prudent and fair to direct resources to those most in need of social housing support. The current income eligibility requirements generally achieve this, providing for a fair and equitable system of identifying those households facing the greatest challenge in meeting their accommodation needs from their own resources.
As part of the broader social housing reform agenda, a review of the income eligibility limits for social housing supports has commenced. I would expect the results of this review to be available for publication in 2018.
253. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of local authority units without either gas or oil central heating installed, by county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48499/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra254. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to install central heating in all local authority units; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48500/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 253 and 254 together.
I refer to my reply to Question No. 522 of 14 November 2017. While my Department does not hold this information in respect of local authority houses, central heating systems have been provided in all new local authority dwellings as a matter of course since 1994. In addition, the extensive central heating upgrade programme in social housing over the years 2004 to 2009, saw the installation of central heating and associated energy efficiency measures, in 27,750 such dwellings, at a cost to the exchequer of €140 million.
As you will be aware, my Department is currently supporting an ambitious programme of insulation retrofitting, with some €107 million in funding being provided from 2013 to end-2016. While this programme is being implemented in a number of phases, heating upgrades will be considered in future phases of the Programme.
In the meanwhile, if a local authority identifies a tenanted dwelling which requires a specific and urgent energy efficiency upgrade, especially in those dwellings which accommodate elderly people and people with disabilities, then a special case should be made to my Department to have these works funded.
255. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the status of a foreshore licence application (details supplied); if he has given consideration to no annual foreshore charge for Sligo, in view of the fact that there is no charge in counties Galway and Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48543/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 8 November 2017 the licence applicants concerned were asked to supply further information regarding navigational safety and other matters. This further information is awaited.
With regard to the annual charge, unless the appropriate Minister is of the opinion that a licence should, in the public interest be granted free of payment, the Foreshore Act 1933, as amended, requires that a licence granted, is granted subject to a licence fee. Under the Foreshore Act, this licence fee may take a number of forms. When making a final decision on this application the appropriate fee will also be determined.
256. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the capital funding to be provided to Cavan County Council for housing in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48549/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra257. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the capital funding to be provided to Monaghan County Council for housing in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48550/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 256 and 257 together.
Nationally, funding of €1.9bn is available for social housing delivery in 2018. This is an increase of 46% over the funding of €1.3 billion available in 2017.
There is no precise amount of capital funding notified to individual local authorities for the delivery of housing in a particular year. Authorities can avail of the funding provided through my Department's social housing capital investment programme to deliver new social housing through both new constructions projects and the acquisition of new and previously owned houses/apartments.
Proposals for new social housing schemes are developed and bought forward by the local authorities and the drawdown of funding is directly linked to the advancement of delivery.
Rebuilding Ireland (the Government's plan to tackle housing and homelessness) aims to provide 50,000 additional social housing homes in the period 2016-2021 and, overall, funding of €6 billion is available to support this. Targets for delivery will be notified to individual authorities shortly and my Department will then engage with each authority in relation to the mix of delivery mechanisms to be used to ensure that targets are reached.
258. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the gender balance on each of the State boards under his remit in tabular form. [48567/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information sought is provided in the following table.
In the case of certain appointments to State Boards, statutory selection procedures must be followed or nominations must be sought from independent nominating panels before appointments are made by the Minister or the Government, as appropriate. In addition, in the case of a number of Boards, not all of the appointments to the body concerned are made by the Minister, and in some situations appointments are made by the Minister with the consent of another Minister. Furthermore, appointments to An Bord Pleanála are of a full-time executive nature and are governed by statutory processes.
A “unitary board structure” is in place for Ervia and its subsidiaries, Irish Water and Gas Networks Ireland. An overarching non-executive board has overall responsibility and accountability for the performance of the Ervia Group. The Boards of the two principal Ervia subsidiaries, Irish Water and Gas Networks Ireland, are executive-only boards.
|
AGENCY |
FEMALE |
MALE |
|
An Bord Pleanála |
3 |
6 |
|
Ervia |
2 |
9 |
|
Gas Networks Ireland |
0 |
5 |
|
Housing Finance Agency |
6 |
6 |
|
Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency |
2 |
6 |
|
Irish Water |
0 |
4 |
|
Local Government Management Agency |
1 |
10 |
|
National Oversight and Audit Commission |
5 |
5 |
|
National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee |
5 |
7 |
|
Pyrite Resolution Board |
1 |
4 |
|
Residential Tenancies Board |
3 |
9 |
259. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if an application was received to remove large amounts of sand from the area of the River Boyne adjacent to a club (detail supplied) in County Louth. [48676/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn April 2013 Drogheda Port Company was granted a licence, under Section 3 of the Foreshore Act 1933 (as amended), to carry out maintenance dredging within the River Boyne estuary and seaward approaches and to beneficially re-use up to 60,000m3 of dredge spoil per annum.
This licence has a term of eight years expiring on 9 April 2021.
260. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the gender balance on each of the State boards under his remit in tabular form. [48561/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe only state body currently under the aegis of the Department of Defence is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body established under the Army Pensions Act 1927. The Act specified that the Board shall consist of a chairman and two ordinary members. The two ordinary members should be qualified medical practitioners of whom one must be an officer of the Army Medical Corps. The chairman and the non-military ordinary member are appointed by the Minister for Defence with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The non-military ordinary member is female which is one third of the Board. The Army Medical Corps ordinary member is appointed by the Minister for Defence on the recommendation of the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces.
