Written Answers Nos. 903-919
903. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the progress in the determination of an application for a widowed or surviving civil partner grant in the case of a person (details supplied); if the application has successfully concluded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30878/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned was awarded widowed parent grant on 15 March 2018 and a payment of €6,000 was lodged to his nominated account in a financial institution. The person concerned is currently in receipt of one-parent family payment.
Neither the person concerned, nor their late spouse, have sufficient social insurance contributions paid in Ireland to qualify the person concerned for a standard Irish widower’s contributory pension. As the person concerned and their late spouse worked outside Ireland entitlement to a widower’s contributory under EU regulations is currently under consideration. My Department has contacted the relevant pension authority in Germany to request the social insurance records of the person concerned and their late spouse.
On receipt, entitlement of person concerned to widower’s contributory will be examined under EU Regulations and the person will be notified of the outcome without delay.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
904. Deputy Imelda Munster asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if it is necessary for a person who is applying for a community employment scheme to attend a Seetec or JobPath programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30892/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraJobpath is an employment activation service to support unemployed jobseekers to secure and sustain full time paid employment or self-employment. Two companies, Turas Nua and Seetec are contracted by my Department to deliver the JobPath services.
Since 1 June 2018, it is open to persons attending a JobPath provider to take up a position on a Community Employment (CE) scheme on the condition that they commit to continued engagement with the provider. The JobPath provider will take the CE participants work pattern into account for their engagement with them. By facilitating a person to take up a position on CE while attending the JobPath provider, it maximises the assistance and services available to them through a combination of a quality work placement and personalised job-seeking support provided through the JobPath service.
If a person is not attending the JobPath provider when they take up a placement on CE, they are not currently obligated to attend a JobPath provider on taking up their placement.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
905. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the case of a person (details supplied) will be reviewed; the reason this person is not receiving full entitlements in pension; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30901/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAccording to the records of my Department, the person concerned has a social insurance record of 650 reckonable paid and credited contributions, from September 1969 to end-December 2017, giving them a yearly average of 15. In arriving at this yearly average, disregards for home-making periods were applied and the person concerned qualified for a reduced rate state pension (contributory). The person was notified in writing of this decision on 11 June 2018.
Earlier this year the Government announced a proposal that will give pensioners affected by the 2012 changes in state pension (contributory) rate bands the option to have their pension entitlement reviewed and entitlement re-examined under an alternative Total Contributions Approach. This proposal also allows for the option to claim for up to 20 years of a new HomeCaring credit. This approach is expected to benefit many people, particularly women, whose work histories include extended period of time outside the paid workplace, while raising families or in a caring role. It will make it easier for pensioners assessed under the yearly average model to qualify for a higher rate of state pension (contributory) by basing the pension decision on the totality of a person’s social insurance contributions as opposed to the timing of those contributions during their working life.
My Department will invite pensioners, who reached pension aged on or after 1 September 2012, to have their pensions reviewed and re-calculated under the alternative method to determine if they qualify for a higher rate of entitlement. Currently work is underway to put the necessary legislative provisions in place to implement these arrangements, as well as the administrative processes and IT systems necessary to undertake these reviews of affected pensioners. Once these elements are in place, the Department will contact pensioners and invite them to participate in the review, with invitations proposed to issue from the end of 2018.
Review applicants will be notified of the outcome of their review and any applicable higher rate of entitlement will be paid to them. Payments are expected to commence from early 2019. Where an increase is awarded, it will be backdated to 30 March 2018.
The person concerned may wish to make an application for a means tested state pension (non-contributory) as depending on the person’s circumstances, they may qualify for a higher rate of entitlement. An application form has issued to the person concerned and their entitlement will be assessed on return of the completed form. The person concerned will be notified in writing of the outcome and will be awarded whichever pension is the more financially beneficial to them.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
906. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason there has been no progress to introduce an agreed pension scheme for community employment scheme supervisors despite repeated calls for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30917/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, Community Employment (CE) scheme supervisors are employees of private companies in the community and voluntary sector that receive public funding. They are not employees of my Department or public servants, and as such were not subject to pay reductions under the provisions of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) which only applied to public servants.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DEPER) is the lead Department in addressing the entitlement of CE supervisors to occupational pensions. It is currently being examined by a Community Sector High Level Forum, chaired by DPER. A number of Departments including my own Department are represented on this group, as are the Unions and Pobal.
A detailed scoping exercise was carried out with input from the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) on the potential costs of providing Exchequer support for the establishment of such a pension scheme for employees across the Community and Voluntary sector in Ireland. The exercise clearly illustrated that this matter presents very significant issues for the Exchequer, with a potential cost to the State of €188 million per annum in respect of funding to enable an employer pension contribution in State funded Community and Voluntary organisations, excluding any provision for immediate ex-gratia lump sum payment of pension as sought, which could, depending on the size of the sector, entail a further Exchequer cost of up to €318 million.
I am very conscious that while the issue relates to Community Employment supervisors and assistant supervisors, such individuals comprise of just one small group within the wider Community and Voluntary sector. Any provision of State funding for such a scheme in respect of those employees could potentially give rise to claims for similar schemes on the part of those in the broader sector, thus crystallising the potential level of liability. Any solution to this issue will require careful consideration, in particular the implications for scarce Exchequer resources.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
907. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason for a delay of up to 11 weeks for applications to be processed relating to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30941/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraCarer's benefit (CARB) is a payment made to insured people who leave the workforce to care for a person(s) in need of full-time care and attention.
At the end of May processing times were on average 9 weeks from date of receipt.
Processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing qualification criteria. Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of disability and caring schemes, can take longer to process.
I confirm that my department received an application for CARB from the person concerned on the 5 June 2018.
The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
908. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30958/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 29 May 2018, 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 Employment Affairs and 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.
909. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of an application for a domiciliary allowance by a person (details supplied). [30978/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received from the person concerned on the 23 September 2016. This application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on 10 January 2017 outlining the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance.
A request for a review of this decision was received on 3 February 2017. The claim was reviewed by a deciding officer who determined that a revised decision was not warranted. The person concerned was notified of this decision on 12 June 2017.
An appeal of the decision was requested on 4 July 2017. As part of the appeal process the DCA claim was again reviewed by a deciding officer who upheld the decision dated 12 June 2017. The person concerned was notified of this decision on 14 November 2017. The application has now been forwarded to the Social Welfare Appeals Office for further consideration.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
910. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the status of an application by a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30287/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan is provided by local authorities in accordance with the Housing (Rebuilding Ireland Home Loans) Regulations 2018, which broadly set out the eligibility criteria to avail of the loans as well as the obligations of the local authorities and duties of borrowers in respect of the Scheme. In accordance with the regulations, as Minister, I have issued a statutory credit policy which obliges each local authority to establish a credit committee to assess and decide on applications and an appeals mechanism for those who are not satisfied with a decision of the credit committee.
To support local authorities in operating the Scheme, the Housing Agency provides a central assessment service to the authorities and makes recommendations to them in respect of each application submitted to it. The final decision on loan approval is a matter for each local authority and its credit committee to make on a case-by-case basis. Decisions on all housing loan applications must be made in accordance with the Regulations and the statutory credit policy, having regard to the recommendation of the Housing Agency, in order to ensure consistency of treatment for all applicants.
Under legislation, a local authority is independent in the performance of its functions and as Minister, I am precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any individual case with which a housing authority is or may be concerned. I am therefore not in a position to comment on or deal with an individual case.
The person concerned should therefore contact the local authority to which they applied for the loan for an update in relation to their application.
911. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when the updated wind farm construction guidelines will be published. [30310/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is currently undertaking a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines. As part of the overall review, a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is being undertaken on the revised Guidelines before they come into effect, in accordance with the requirements of EU Directive 2001/24/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment, otherwise known as the SEA Directive.
SEA is a process by which environmental considerations are required to be fully integrated into the preparation of plans and programmes which act as frameworks for development consent, prior to their final adoption, with public consultation as part of that process. Following a tendering process, my Department appointed SEA experts in December 2017 to assist in this regard. It is expected that a public consultation on the revised draft Guidelines, together with the comprehensive environmental report, will be commenced over the coming weeks, with the aim of issuing the finalised Guidelines, following detailed analysis and consideration of the submissions and views received during the consultation phase, by end 2018.
When finalised, the revised Guidelines will be issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Planning authorities, and, where applicable, An Bord Pleanála must have regard to guidelines issued under Section 28 in the performance of their functions generally under the Planning Acts. In the meantime, the current 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines remain in force.
912. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when a section 49 application (details supplied) submitted to the Property Registration Authority in 2015 will be assigned to the principal assistant and progressed to completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30776/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Registration of Deeds and Title Act 2006, the Property Registration Authority (PRA) was established as and from 4 November 2006. The PRA replaces the Registrar of Deeds and Titles as the registering authority in relation to property registration in Ireland and, subject to the above Act, is independent in the performance of its functions.
A service for Oireachtas members was introduced in 2006 through which information can be obtained on the current status of applications, such as the case referred to. The Deputy's query has been forwarded to the PRA for attention and direct reply via the above mentioned service.
913. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the basis on which public sector recruitment may be restricted to existing staff, including the basis for the common recruitment competition pools operated by local authorities; and his plans to amend legislation to prevent the use of such pools. [30883/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraRecruitment in the Local Government sector is undertaken through a mixture of internal competitions and open competitions. In open competitions, candidates may apply irrespective of their place of work and will be assessed against the published criteria. A set proportion of posts are filled on an open competition basis. In addition, posts at some management levels are filled solely through open competition.
In internal competitions in the Local Government sector, only candidates from a range of public sector bodies, what is called the Common Recruitment Pool, may apply.
The common recruitment system for Clerical/Administrative grades has been in place for over thirty years. The system provides for the filling of certain posts (at Grade IV to VII level) by competition confined to employees of Local Authorities, the Health Service Executive, Education and Training Boards, Institutes of Technology and certain other health and local government agencies. Issues in relation to the common recruitment pool were addressed in the Social Partnership Agreement “Sustaining Progress” when the social partners agreed to conduct a cross-sectoral review of recruitment issues pertinent to the grades concerned including the issue of greater accessibility and the introduction of a graduate entry level.
The recommendations of the Review Group established to review the issues were reflected in the discussions and agreement reached on the successor social partnership agreement “Towards 2016” concluded by the social partners. The “Towards 2016” Agreement provided for the implementation of arrangements whereby 20% of the posts at Grades V to VII and 50% of posts at Grade IV would be filled by open competition. Specialist posts would continue to be filled by open competition only. Posts above Grade VII are also filled by open competition. Under the “Towards 2016” Agreement the implementation of the provisions regarding the common recruitment pool (CRP) is a matter for each relevant sector where the pool operates.
Recently, the Health and Education members of the CRP withdrew their membership of the pool. On foot of a request from my Department, the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) is currently reviewing the CRP with a view to engaging with Public Sector Unions on a revised arrangement. Following this process and once I have considered the outcome of the LGMA's engagement with the unions, I will be introducing, by Ministerial Order, new qualifications for administrative staff to enhance the recruitment process and its alignment with Government policy of broadening the pool of candidates for public sector jobs.
914. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to incidents in which there have been difficulties for emergency services gaining unhindered access to Traveller accommodation at Glenamuck Road, Carrickmines, Dublin 18; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30083/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes (TAPs) in their areas. This responsibility includes carrying out the necessary health and safety checks on individual traveller halting sites, and where appropriate, taking necessary action to remedy the situation. Any concerns the Deputy may have in relation to the particular halting site concerned should be pursued directly with the relevant local authority, in this case Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.
My Department’s role is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist the authorities in providing traveller accommodation, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding. Capital funding of €12m is being provided for Traveller-specific accommodation in 2018. Included in this is provision to assist local authorities with the costs of capital works arising from the fire safety review of traveller-specific accommodation.
915. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his plans to provide for the fitting of remote controlled motorised gates at all Traveller accommodation sites to ensure unhindered access for emergency services. [30084/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes (TAPs) in their areas. This responsibility includes carrying out the necessary health and safety checks on individual traveller halting sites, and where appropriate, taking necessary action to remedy the situation.
My Department’s role is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist the authorities in providing traveller accommodation, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding. Capital funding of €12m is being provided for Traveller-specific accommodation in 2018. Included in this is provision to assist local authorities with the costs of capital works arising from the fire safety review of traveller-specific accommodation.
I have no plans to introduce a nationwide policy on the provision of motorised gates for halting sites. However, it is open to housing authorities, following any health and safety checks of halting sites, to submit proposals for funding to my Department.
916. Deputy Colm Brophy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if his Department has identified laws which are dependent on or in place as a consequence of Article 41.2 of the Constitution; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30103/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraEarlier this year, my Department conducted a review of the legislation under its remit to identify if any of it was based upon or drew upon the concepts in Article 41.2 of the Constitution. No such legislation was identified.
The review was undertaken on foot of a request by the Department of Justice and Equality.
917. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of houses purchased by a local authority (details supplied); the funding made available to the local authority in 2018; the amount unspent in the period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30275/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo date in 2018, my Department has recouped some €2 million in funding to Carlow County Council for the direct purchase of twenty properties. The total expenditure recouped to the Council on capital and current housing programmes to date in 2018 is €7.5 million.
In respect of delivering new social housing homes, whether through construction, acquisition or other approaches, no precise advance allocation of funding is made to individual local authorities. Instead, funding is drawn down by the local authorities, in line with the level of advancement they make in delivering new social housing. In that regard, I have issued social housing delivery targets to all local authorities which, in the case of Carlow County Council for build, acquisition and leasing from 2018-21, is 309 - further information is available at the following weblink. All local authorities, including Carlow, will be required to deliver against these targets and I have assured the Chief Executives that funding is in place to support this delivery.
918. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the potential impact that a proposed development through the rapid build housing programme will have on a sports club (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30285/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs housing authorities, local authorities, including South Dublin County Council, are responsible for the identification of the social housing need in their area and for the development of appropriate responses to the need identified. My Department is supporting local authorities in the delivery of a range of social housing schemes from small to larger scale developments.
South Dublin County Council advise that the housing development is at a preliminary stage but will not affect the pitch or pavilion of Knocklyon United Football Club as they are outside the boundary of the proposed site. The Council reaffirmed its commitment and continued support to the football club.
919. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when a constituency report for European Parliament boundaries under section 5(1A) of the Electoral Act 1997 will be initiated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30293/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 28 June 2018, the European Council adopted a decision on the composition of the European Parliament for the 2019-2024 parliamentary term. This provides for 13 members to be elected in Ireland, an increase from the present 11 members.
The Electoral Act 1997 (as amended) provides for the establishment of a committee to review European Parliament constituencies in the context of a change in the number of MEPs to be elected in Ireland. The provisions generally mirror those in place for a Constituency Commission, including the membership, but with shorter timelines for receipt of submissions and for presentation of a report to the Chairman of the Dáil (within two months of establishment).
I have written to the Chief Justice seeking his nomination for a Chairperson for the committee which I intend to establish as soon as practicable after receiving the nomination.
