Tuesday, 24 Jul 2018

Written Answers Nos. 2520-2539

Anti-Poverty Strategy

Ceisteanna (2520)

John Curran

Ceist:

2520. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to publish a new or updated anti-poverty strategy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33691/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Tackling poverty remains a fundamental aspiration of Irish society and the Programme for a Partnership Government includes a firm commitment to develop a new Integrated Framework for Social Inclusion, to tackle inequality and poverty. This will be a successor to the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016 (NAPinclusion) and its 2015-2017 update which concluded last year.

My Department is developing the new four year plan for the period 2018-2021. Like its predecessor, the plan will have a ‘whole of Government’ approach that aims to improve outcomes for the vulnerable and marginalised in our society, while recognising a shared responsibility across Government to implement actions to achieve the overall objectives. The theme of the new plan is one of active inclusion, which will enable every citizen, notably the most disadvantaged, to fully participate in society, including having a job.

The primary focus will be the reduction of consistent poverty, which in 2016 was 8.3%. This will be achieved through a three pronged approach: supporting incomes through as high as possible a level of employment, and encouraging and assisting people to enter the workforce; setting targets for the level of relevant welfare payments designed to reduce relative poverty among those who cannot (or cannot find) work; and finally improving access to quality services such as health, education, childcare, training, housing, community supports in order to minimize deprivation for all groups and, in particular those who are on relatively low incomes. Officials in my department are working with their colleagues, both internally and in other departments, to identify specific actions for inclusion in the plan. It is my intention that the plan will be published in Autumn 2018.

Regulation of Lobbying

Ceisteanna (2521)

Micheál Martin

Ceist:

2521. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number and name of the groups she met each month to date in 2018 that fall under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33709/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

I refer the Deputy to www.lobbying.ie whereby the obligation is on lobbyists to register and to provide information regularly about their lobbying activities, including, in the case of professional lobbyists, information about their clients, as per the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015.

Data Protection

Ceisteanna (2522)

Maureen O'Sullivan

Ceist:

2522. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she is satisfied that Intreo offices comply with EU data privacy laws when they send information to Seetec without knowledge or consent of persons; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33854/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

My Department collects and holds large volumes of personal data on customers and is very aware of the need to have adequate data protection policies, procedures and structures in place in line with the GDPR. Preparations for the GDPR have been overseen by the Department’s Data Management Programme Board. The Department has a dedicated GDPR implementation team in place and has commissioned external expertise to assist it with achieving GDPR compliance.

Seetec are contracted providers of activation services and act on behalf of the Department for the purpose of delivering these services and are subject to strict obligations imposed by the Department in terms of data protection.

The purpose of sharing information is to assist in the development of tailored plans for individual jobseekers in order to support them back into paid employment.

JobPath providers are contractually required to register with the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. Data protection legislation requires that personal data shall be kept only for one or more specified and lawful purposes and that personal data shall be used and disclosed only in ways compatible with these purposes. The legislation also requires that the data should be adequate, relevant and not excessive. Any suspected breach of the data protection legislation will be investigated by the Department and may also be a matter for the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner. JobPath providers may use jobseekers’ data only for the purposes of delivering employment services for the Department.

My Department has regular meetings with both JobPath providers to ensure that they are fulfilling their contractual obligations, including those concerned with data protection compliance. Both companies have undertaken regular independent audits of their data processes and procedures as part of these contractual obligations, in addition, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has recently conducted audits of each company. Employees of both companies, and their subcontractors, are subject to the same data protection laws as Departmental staff.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

One-Parent Family Payment Data

Ceisteanna (2523)

Mattie McGrath

Ceist:

2523. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the one parent family payment by gender in each of the past four years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33968/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the following tabular statement. These figures show that females make up the vast majority of recipients of one-parent family payment, with only marginally over 1% of recipients being male.

Recipients of one-parent family payment by gender at the end of December in each of the years 2014 to 2017

	Female	Male	Total
2014	68,866	1,018	69,884
2015	41,078	390	41,468
2016	39,887	430	40,317
2017	38,887	423	39,310

State Pensions

Ceisteanna (2524)

Seán Crowe

Ceist:

2524. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to adjust the system that mitigates against an older person that may have had to work before they were 16 years of age or after their 66th birthday for reckonable contributions for a State pension. [33989/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Qualification for the State Pension (Contributory) is based on social insurance contributions, both paid and credited. As those under 16, and over 66 do not pay PRSI, any time spent working outside that timeframe cannot count towards this qualification.

From 2020 onwards we plan to have qualification for the contributory pension based on the Total Contributions Approach (TCA). The TCA ensures that the totality of a person’s social insurance contributions, as opposed to the timing of them, determines what their final pension outcome will be. The details on how the new approach will be implemented will be finalised later this year following a period of public consultation that is currently open.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Insurance Costs

Ceisteanna (2525)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

2525. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the cost of insurance under headings (details supplied) for her Department and each body under its aegis; the cost of the premium for 2018 or the premium paid in 2018 if the policy year straddles two calendar years; the comparable premium amount paid in 2017; the number of outstanding insurance claims against her Department or bodies under its aegis; the estimated cost of those claims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33998/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

My Department is self-insured under the State Claims Agency in the National Treasury Management Agency. The State Claims Agency has advised the Department that there were 56 open claims with an estimated potential liability of approximately €3.26m as at the end of the first quarter 2018.

The two agencies which come under the aegis of my Department, the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Authority, are responsible for their own insurance.

Pensions Authority

The premiums paid by the Pension Authority in 2018 and the comparable 2017 figures are as follows:

Insurance Type	2018	2017
Public Liability	€1,664.04	€1,386.00
Employer Liability	€2,440.38	€2,033.65
Building Cover	€945.00	€945.00

Insurance Type	2018 / 2019	2017/2018
Other building insurance	€3,705.23	€3,794.46
Straddling two calendar years	(1/6/2018 – 31/05/2019)	(1/6/2017 – 31/05/ 2018)

The Pensions Authority has one outstanding claim but do not have an estimated cost on that claim.

Citizens Information Board:

Insurance Type	2017/2018	2016/2017
Blanket Engineering	€2,825	€2,825
Commercial Combined Insurance	€28,347	€36,772
Employment Practices Liability	€2,888	€2,625
Motor	€2,468	€2,993
Personal Accident Employees	€944	€899
Professional Indemnity	€11,605	€10,550

The CIB’s insurance renewals are on the 1st December each year. Information on outstanding claims in CIB is not readily available and we will revert separately to the Deputy with this information.

Farm Assist Scheme

Ceisteanna (2526, 2527)

Niall Collins

Ceist:

2526. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to make farm assist more available to farmers in view of the recent bad winter and summer drought; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34035/18]

Niall Collins

Ceist:

2527. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of farm assist by county in each of the years since 2010 and to date in 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34036/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2526 and 2527 together.

The farm assist scheme is a means-tested payment for farmers on low incomes. The 2018 Revised Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure of approximately €74 million for this scheme. A breakdown of the number of recipients on the farm assist scheme by county in each of the years since 2010 and to date in 2018 is provided in the following tabular statement.

The assessment of means for the purpose of qualifying for farm assist is designed to reflect the actual net income from farming. Income and expenditure figures for the preceding year are generally used as an indicator of the expected position in the following year. However, account is taken of any exceptional circumstances so as to ensure that the assessment accurately reflects the current situation.

Budget 2017 fully reversed the previous cuts to the farm assist means test. The changes included that 70% of farm income is now assessed as means, down from 100% (which is equivalent to a 30% income disregard) and an additional annual means disregard of €254 for each of the first two children and €381 for the third and subsequent children.

Farm assist is a flexible payment and a review of entitlement may be initiated at any time, either on request by the farmer, or by the Department. I would advise any farmer experiencing lower levels of income or cash-flow issues to request their Intreo office to review the level of means applying to their claim.

I trust this information is of assistance.

Farm Assist Recipients by county 2010 - June 2018

County	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018 (June)
Carlow	102	95	84	75	76	69	58	60	49
Cavan	401	407	404	344	326	300	265	254	248
Clare	637	643	609	566	521	455	400	346	362
Cork	917	957	922	840	788	689	606	542	511
Donegal	1,389	1,491	1,534	1,492	1,458	1,299	1,294	1,265	1,170
Dublin	11	35	37	28	32	30	33	27	11
Galway	1,133	1,137	1,112	1,035	1,000	858	767	714	711
Kerry	742	819	818	766	721	717	568	523	481
Kildare	56	53	53	39	37	28	19	21	28
Kilkenny	173	154	146	128	120	108	91	86	98
Laois	149	177	158	128	116	104	94	85	82
Leitrim	331	377	394	396	377	366	331	301	280
Limerick	265	247	250	231	216	180	164	139	157
Longford	176	258	260	232	205	177	139	130	106
Louth	81	84	87	79	82	72	59	60	57
Mayo	1,684	1,869	1,813	1,691	1,614	1,471	1,289	1,156	1,018
Meath	90	82	93	81	81	67	55	49	63
Monaghan	516	545	504	468	446	386	344	319	325
Offaly	127	133	130	107	97	89	76	72	67
Roscommon	407	433	424	384	356	319	276	262	216
Sligo	478	315	310	283	283	251	228	210	343
Tipperary	350	402	404	363	336	300	269	252	211
Waterford	84	96	92	85	78	70	64	61	57
Westmeath	134	193	197	166	153	131	120	99	86
Wexford	202	255	248	224	223	195	166	151	142
Wicklow	79	76	79	72	67	59	53	50	59
Totals	10,714	11,333	11,162	10,303	9,809	8,790	7,828	7,234	6,938

Carer's Allowance Appeals

Ceisteanna (2528)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Ceist:

2528. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she will examine the case of a person (details supplied); the paths open to the person to appeal this decision on the basis that it seemed to be a temporary admittance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34083/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Carer's allowance (CA) is a means-tested social assistance payment made to a person who is habitually resident in the State and who is providing full-time care and attention to a person who has such a disability that they require that level of care.

One of the qualifying conditions for receipt of CA is that the carer must provide full-time care and attention to the care recipient. CA recipients are also required to immediately notify the Department of changes in their circumstances.

A person can be considered to be providing full-time care and attention where either the carer or care recipient is undergoing medical or other treatment of a temporary nature in an institution such as a hospital, convalescent, nursing or care home for a period not exceeding 13 weeks.

CA was awarded to the person concerned from 2 August 2007 in respect of his aunt.

The care recipient entered permanent residential care in a nursing home on 16 December 2013. However my Department was not notified of this until March 2014. This resulted in an overpayment being assessed for the period 19 December 2013 to 19 March 2014.

The person concerned was notified on 24 April 2014 of this decision, the reason for it and of his right of review and appeal.

No appeal was received in relation to same.

Accordingly my Department’s Debt Recovery Unit wrote to the person concerned on 7 March 2015, proposing to recover the debt by way of weekly deduction from his Jobseekers Allowance.

The person concerned is actively repaying his debt to my Department at present. The department is obliged to seek recovery of debts owed to it as quickly as possible, having due regard to the circumstances of the debtor and as a result the agreed proposal will remain in place until the debt owing is paid in full.

However, my Department will examine whether the person concerned had an underlying entitlement to another social welfare payment while he continued to receive CA and whether such an entitlement may be offset against the CA debt.

The person concerned will be notified of the outcome of that review.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

JobPath Programme

Ceisteanna (2529)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Ceist:

2529. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if personal progression plans issued by JobPath and Seetec must be signed by the person without them receiving a hard copy of the contract to review; if in the absence of a signature by the individual it would be common practice for either JobPath or Seetec to sign the contract on behalf of the individual; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34084/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

As the Deputy will know, the purpose of the JobPath activation service provided on behalf of my Department by two companies Seetec and Turas Nua is to enable jobseekers to move from an income provided by Jobseekers payments to one where they are in full-time sustainable employment.

All jobseekers referred for the assistance of the activation services, including those referred to the JobPath service, are asked to complete an assessment of their skills, qualifications, and work experience for the purpose of agreeing a personal progression plan (PPP). This document typically contains a schedule of activities, actions and job-focused targets. The person can request a hard copy of the document at any stage of their engagement with the service including prior to agreeing the plan.

The JobPath providers do not sign the document on behalf of the jobseeker.

I trust the above clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Community Employment Schemes Data

Ceisteanna (2530)

Niamh Smyth

Ceist:

2530. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age participating on a community employment scheme by county, in January 2017 and in June 2018, in tabular form. [34201/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

Community Employment (CE) schemes are typically sponsored by groups (known as CE Sponsors) wishing to benefit the local community. Such schemes provide a valuable service to local communities, while at the same time, providing training and educational opportunities to job seekers.

The CE Programme has a budget of €350.03m. At the end of June 2018, there were 21,026 CE participants and 1,334 CE Supervisors/Assistant Supervisors.

The following tables provide details of the number of persons under 25 years of age participating on a CE scheme by county, in January 2017 and in June 2018.

TABLE 1

Community Employment Participants under 25 years by county at end January 2017

County	Count
Carlow	8
Cavan	6
Clare	4
Cork	91
Donegal	16
Dublin	514
Galway	38
Kerry	15
Kildare	7
Kilkenny	6
Laois	2
Leitrim	3
Limerick	20
Longford	10
Louth	15
Meath	35
Monaghan	5
Offaly	4
Roscommon	6
Sligo	8
Tipperary	31
Waterford	27
Westmeath	14
Wexford	38
Wicklow	23
	946

TABLE 2

Community Employment Participants under 25 years by county at end June 2018

County	Count
CARLOW	18
CAVAN	21
CLARE	4
CORK	83
DONEGAL	30
DUBLIN	461
GALWAY	49
KERRY	30
KILDARE	20
KILKENNY	24
LAOIS	5
LEITRIM	8
LIMERICK	34
LONGFORD	11
LOUTH	31
MAYO	17
MEATH	22
MONAGHAN	16
OFFALY	5
ROSCOMMON	5
SLIGO	9
TIPPERARY	30
WATERFORD	41
WESTMEATH	28
WEXFORD	50
WICKLOW	25
	1,077

Jobseeker's Allowance Data

Ceisteanna (2531, 2586)

Niamh Smyth

Ceist:

2531. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of young persons under 26 years of age that are in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance, jobseeker’s benefit and signing for credits for 12 months or more, by county in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34202/18]

Brendan Howlin

Ceist:

2586. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons 26 years of age and under in receipt of jobseeker's allowance by age and payment; the number of qualified adult rates included in these groups; the estimated cost in a full year of restoring all the reduced payments for persons under 26 to the full adult rate of €198 and same with the qualified adult rate; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35243/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2531 and 2586 together.

The jobseeker's benefit (JB) and jobseeker’s allowance (JA) schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and who are available for and genuinely seeking full-time employment. The 2018 Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure this year on the jobseekers’ schemes of €2.17 billion.

A breakdown of the number of recipients under 26 years of age that are in receipt of JA, JB and signing for credits for 12 months or more, by county is provided in the attached tabular statement. A breakdown of the number of people aged 26 years of age and under who are in receipt of JA by age and payment and the number of qualified adult rates included in these groups is also provided.

In line with other EU and OECD jurisdictions where such measures feature in their social welfare systems, reduced rates for younger JA recipients were first introduced in 2009. These were further extended in subsequent budgets. This is a targeted measure aimed at protecting young people from welfare dependency by incentivising them to avail of education and training opportunities. If a jobseeker in receipt of the reduced rate participates on an education or training programme they will receive a higher weekly payment of €198.

The reduced rates of JA do not apply to certain categories of young people including those with a qualified child, those making a claim for JA where that claim is linked to a JA claim made within the previous 12 months to which the maximum personal rate applied, and 18-24 year olds who were in the care of the Child and Family Agency (TUSLA) during the period of 12 months before they reached the age of 18.

The estimated cost in a full year of restoring all the reduced payments for under 26’s to the full personal rate of €198 and the full qualified adult rate is approximately €80 million. Any changes to the jobseekers schemes would have to be considered in a budgetary context and within the scope of the overall resources available for welfare improvements.

I am keen to ensure that my Department identifies effective measures to encourage and support young people in finding and securing sustainable jobs. The best way to do this is through engagement processes and by incentivising them to avail of educational and training opportunities, thereby enhancing their employment prospects. The Central Statistics Office seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for people aged 15-24 years (youth unemployment rate) was 11.4% in June 2018, a decrease from 17.1% in June 2016. This represents a significant decrease of over 5 percentage points.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Table 1 - The number of people under 26 years of age who are in receipt of JA, JB and signing for credits for 12 months or more, by county

County	JA	JB	Credits
Carlow	498	46	0
Cavan	442	30	0
Clare	511	50	2
Cork	1,551	181	12
Donegal	1,306	83	9
Dublin	5,250	707	38
Galway	912	104	4
Kerry	671	66	10
Kilkenny	61	5	1
Kildare	882	98	6
Kilkenny	323	29	2
Laois	536	24	3
Leitrim	181	15	3
Limerick	1,181	87	4
Longford	349	25	4
Louth	1,128	83	6
Mayo	663	65	2
Meath	544	48	4
Monaghan	269	30	1
Offaly	617	64	3
Roscommon	260	17	2
Sligo	340	26	1
Tipperary	1,095	80	13
Waterford	870	76	5
Westmeath	641	47	3
Wexford	1,163	97	7
Wicklow	597	48	7
Totals	22,841	2,231	152

Table 2 - The number of persons 26 years of age and under in receipt of jobseekers allowance by age and full age related payment and the number of qualified adult rates included in these groups

Age	Rate	Rate	Rate	Payments with a Qualified Adult	Qualified Adult Payment Rates
	€107.70 (18-24 year olds)	€152.80 (25 year olds)	€198.00 (full rate)
18	1,638	N/A	81	29	€107.70
19	2,448	N/A	200	101	€107.70
20	2,537	2	291	146	€107.70
21	2,479	1	392	236	€107.70
22	2,333	5	517	262	€107.70
23	2,224	1	578	340	€107.70
24	2,103	16	669	395	€107.70
25	1	2,416	817	420	€131.40 (full rate)
26	N/A	7	3,681	544	€131.40 (full rate)
Total*	15,763	2,448	7,226	2,473	N/A

* These figures do not include claims with a lower rate of payment due to penalty rates

Departmental Expenditure

Ceisteanna (2532)

Jack Chambers

Ceist:

2532. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her Department's spending on travel and subsistence expenses in 2017 and to date in 2018. [34213/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

The following table outlines the breakdown of expenditure on travel and subsistence in 2017 and to date in 2018 for my Department. The expenditure is provisional and subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Year	Travel Type	Travel €’000	Subsistence €’000	Total €’000
2017	Home Travel	2,936	1,407	4,343
2017	EU/Foreign Travel	94	138	232
2018 Year to 20th July	Home Travel	1,355	719	2,074
2018 Year to 20th July	EU/Foreign Travel	95	113	208

All travel and subsistence costs are wholly and exclusively related to a person’s duties in carrying out Departmental business.

Departmental Expenditure

Ceisteanna (2533)

Jack Chambers

Ceist:

2533. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her Department's expenditure on photography and other promotional services including the creation of social media content in 2017 and to date in 2018. [34230/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

For the purposes of this reply, ‘promotional services’ is interpreted as public information campaigns, run by my Department in 2017 and to date in 2018. It is not possible to itemise spending on the creation of social media content as some content is created in house. The cost of design for social media would be relatively small in terms of an overall public information campaign budget. However, the cost of social media advertising has been itemised here for convenience.

Please find details of spending on photography, public information campaigns in 2017 and to date in 2018, and social media advertising in the following tables.

Photography Costs (Ex VAT)

Year	€
2017	€7,788
2018 to date	€2,564

Public Information Campaigns 2017 (Costs include all advertising and associated design costs)	€
Total (Ex Vat)	€772,471
Of which Social Media Advertising Spend	€15,500

Public Information Campaigns 2018 to date (Costs include all advertising and associated design costs)	€
Total to date (Ex Vat)	€262,546
Of which Social Media Advertising Spend	€4,500

Public Relations Contracts Expenditure

Ceisteanna (2534)

Jack Chambers

Ceist:

2534. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her Department's expenditure on public relations in 2017 and to date in 2018. [34247/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

The total expenditure by my Department on public relations and communications advice for 2017 and to date in 2018 is in the table:

Expenditure on External Public Relations & Communications Advice 2017 / 2018

Year	Total Expenditure (inc VAT)
2017	€3,690
2018	Nil

Consultancy Contracts Expenditure

Ceisteanna (2535)

Jack Chambers

Ceist:

2535. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her Department's expenditure on external consultancy in 2017 and to date in 2018. [34264/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

My Department incurs expenditure on external consultancy services from Vote 37 Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and the Social Insurance Fund.

The following table sets out the expenditure on external consultancy services paid by the Department for the years 2017 and to date 2018:

Year	External Consultancy costs
2017	€796,835
1 January – 23 July 2018	€370,332

The figures provided are provisional and are subject to audit by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Departmental Appointments

Ceisteanna (2536)

Jack Chambers

Ceist:

2536. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the detail of each non-Civil service appointment that has been made in her Department; the pay grade of each appointment; and the relevant qualifications that each appointee has for their position. [34281/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

All staff in my Department are civil servants and are appointed in compliance with the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004.

While the great majority of these civil servants appointments are on foot of a competitive process in accordance with the “Code of Practice for Appointment to Positions in the Civil Service and Public Service”, a small number of Ministerial Civil Service appointments are also made, in compliance with the Guidelines on Staffing of Ministerial Offices issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Departmental Expenditure

Ceisteanna (2537)

Jack Chambers

Ceist:

2537. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her Department's expenditure on the purchase of newspapers and other media content, such as print, digital and other forms in 2017 and to date in 2018. [34298/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

The purchase of newspaper, print and digital content generally occurs when there is a requirement to run a public information campaign or publish a public information notice. Such campaigns are an important part of my Department’s ongoing efforts to ensure that our customers are fully aware of the range of Department services and supports available to them.

Paid advertising is just one of the many ways in which my Department provides information to customers; formal engagement with customer representative groups, presentations at customer conferences and events, website updates, social media and participation in our jobseekers’ programmes are all part of the Department range of communications channels.

Expenditure on paid advertising for 2017 and 2018 (to 20th July 2018) are listed in the following table and are itemised by format:

Spending for 2017

Ad Format	Cost (ex. VAT)
Print (inc. Out of Home)	€283,426
Digital (inc. Out of Home)	€108,394
Radio	€238,588

Spending for 2018 (up to 20 th July 2018)

Ad Format	Cost ex. VAT
Print (inc. Out of Home)	€73,714
Digital (inc. Out of Home)	€34,335
Radio	€80,481

Departmental Staff Data

Ceisteanna (2538)

Jack Chambers

Ceist:

2538. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of full-time equivalent press officers employed by her Department and her personally. [34315/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

There are three staff assigned to my Department’s press office (3.0 FTE). These staff report into an Assistant Principal Officer who, in addition to other duties, is responsible for the operation of the office.

There are no press officers in my personal employment.

Departmental Contracts Data

Ceisteanna (2539)

Róisín Shortall

Ceist:

2539. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the contracts awarded by her Department to a company (details supplied) in each of the past three years; the value of these contracts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34359/18]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection

The Department has no record of any contract or payments to the company in question in the past three years. A list of purchase orders for €20,000 and above, are published on the Procurement Policy page of Department’s website www.welfare.ie. In addition, in accordance with FOI legislation with effect from January 2016, details of public contracts awarded over €25,000 are also available on www.welfare.ie.