Written Answers Nos. 225-245
225. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of civil servants that have left and-or retired from his Department in the past ten years that were bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year and sector the staff moved on to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38159/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra226. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of civil servants that have left and-or retired from his Department in the past ten years that were not bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year, and sector the staff moved on to; the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38175/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 225 and 226 together.
The Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 applies to designated officials in the Department. The designated officials in the Department are myself, Minister Brendan Griffin TD, the special advisors and the Management Board comprising the Secretary General and six Assistant Secretaries. All of the above are affected by the specific cooling-off period set out in the lobbying legislation.
Additionally, as outlined in the Department's Corporate Governance Framework every member of staff of the Department operates to a defined set of standards as set out in legislation and Codes. Under the Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour, any civil servant, following resignation or retirement, who intends to be engaged in or connected with (i) any outside business with which he or she had official dealings or (ii) any outside business that might gain unfair advantage over its competitors by employing him or her must inform the appropriate authority in the Department of such intention.
The Ethics in Public Office legislation places additional obligations on civil servants who hold "designated positions" of employment in terms of their acceptance of appointments within 12 months of resignation or retirement where conflict of interest issues might arise. Those civil servants must obtain the prior approval of the appropriate authority before accepting any appointments.
With the exception of the clerical and executive officer grades all staff appointed in this Department hold "designated positions" under the Ethics legislation. Consequently there are very few staff who have left or retired from the Department who are not bound by one or other of the requirements outlined.
Staff are provided with the Code of Standards and Behaviour on appointment and staff in "designated positions" of employment are asked to make the appropriate declarations under the Ethics legislation throughout their career and in the 12 month period following their retirement.
227. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the amount of funding withdrawn from childcare subvention programme, CCSP, services via Pobal compliance visits during the full contract year from 2018 until the end of August 2019; and the number of services nationwide that have had funding cut during that timeframe accordingly. [38018/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra228. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of children that have had their childcare subvention programme, CCSP, funding cut either partially or fully via Pobal compliance visits in the past full contract year 2018 up until the end of August 2019. [38019/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 227 and 228 together.
The Deputy will be aware that investment in childcare has increased by an unprecedented 117% over the last four budgets, now totalling €575m per year. Given the large amount of public money that is used in funding Early Learning and Care and School Age childcare programmes, there needs to be an appropriate level of oversight and accountability. Ensuring that this money is properly accounted for, and that as many children as possible benefit from it, is a core responsibility of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Pobal assists the Department in the administration of the funding and in ensuring that services are compliant with the clearly documented rules of the various early learning and care and school age childcare schemes.
The Public Accounts Committee on June 13 paid significant attention to this matter and highlighted the importance of compliance with scheme rules. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs' approach to compliance, and supporting services, strikes a necessary and appropriate balance. The approach involves setting out the rules for the receipt of State funding, supporting providers to deliver services, and at the same time, the approach offers assurances to the taxpayer that the funding assigned is being spent as it was intended through a strong compliance function.
Part of Pobal’s role in overseeing compliance with programme rules is to carry out unannounced visits to services to check their compliance with programme rules. Subsidies for the Early Learning and Care and School Age childcare programmes are paid based on child attendance, which is a vital governance component of the funding for which the Department is responsible. Where Pobal discover that the actual pattern of attendance of a child does not match registrations for that child on Pobal’s Programme Implementation Platform (IT system) they will calculate the amount of funding that has been overclaimed. The service will be advised by Pobal to make the necessary corrections to PIP registrations to ensure that the total amount of funding received for the programme year is correct.
There is an appropriate amount of flexibility applied to this corrections process and Pobal works with services on a case by case basis. Attendance rules and their application do not penalise parents who occasionally pick up or drop off children early. Pobal, when determining a pattern of attendance during a compliance visit, aim to apply the rules in a manner which maximises the amount payable to providers. However, the recovery of overclaimed funds is an integral part of ensuring that public money is properly accounted for.
From September 2018 to June 2019 (the latest available figures) Pobal identified 277 CCS services and 712 CCSP services with overclaims. It should be noted that some services have both a CCS and CCSP contract.
The total amount of overclaimed funding identified by Pobal for the same period was €3.2 million in CCS and €2.5 million in CCSP. It is important to note that these overclaim figures are calculated at the time of the compliance visit but cover the full period of children’s registration. They calculate any discrepancies up to the compliance visit date plus the amount that would have been overclaimed if the incorrect registration had persisted to the end of the programme year. In addition, an assumption is made that the level of attendance at the time of the visit will continue for the rest of the cycle (or duration of the registration if less). Overclaim figures therefore estimate the total amount that would have been overclaimed across the year had the compliance visit not occurred. Whilst the above amounts of overclaim were identified, some services made the case that they had registered children under the wrong scheme and hence corrections were accepted by Pobal, lessening the amount of overclaim significantly.
It is important to reiterate that the subvention for CCS and CCSP is paid to a service based on the actual attendance of a child. As such, no child should have had their provision cut as a result of a compliance visit; rather the service makes corrections to ensure that they are claiming for the actual time that the child is in attendance. It is important to note that the compliance activity should result in the service provider only claiming from the Department for the hours the child is attending. Data available to the Department shows that the number of children accessing Government subsidies continues to increase and has doubled in recent years.
The Department oversees a Case Management process through which local City / County Childcare Committees and Pobal work together to assess and provide support to early learning and care services in difficulty. This can include help with completing and interpreting analysis of staff ratios, fee setting and cash flow, as well as more specialised advice and support appropriate to individual circumstances. Financial supports, which may also be accessed through the Case Management process, are available for community services presenting with sustainability issues and following a financial assessment by Pobal. This includes a strand of funding targeted at community services requiring support to sustainably regularise their registrations.
The existing targeted childcare schemes will be replaced later this year with the National Childcare Scheme. Its attendance rules will seek to reflect the reality of children and parents' lives and the need for services to operate as businesses. The attendance rules will reflect a certain degree of flexibility whilst honouring the requirement to ensure that Exchequer funding is used for the purposes it was intended.
The National Childcare Scheme will mark another significant milestone for early learning and care and school age childcare in this country, creating an infrastructure from which Government can further increase investment in services over the next decade. This is in line with the commitment made in First 5, the Whole of Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families, which was published last November.
229. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of introducing an additional one, two and six weeks respectively, of maternity leave. [38112/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Justice and Equality has policy responsibility for maternity leave which is provided for in the 1994 and 2004 Maternity Acts. Any decision to extend the duration of maternity leave, including that for families with multiple births, would be the responsibility of my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has responsibility for the payment of maternity benefit which is provided for in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (as amended).
The costs of salary top-ups for public/civil servants on maternity leave would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Decisions around the extension of this benefit would have to be considered in a budgetary context.
230. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the estimated cost of introducing one, two, three and six weeks respectively, of paid parental leave to be taken by either parent. [38113/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraCurrently, any employee who is a parent is entitled to unpaid Parental Leave for each child born or adopted, to care for a child or make arrangements for the child’s welfare.
As of 1st September 2019, the unpaid Parental Leave entitlement is 110 days (22 weeks)
The Department of Justice and Equality has policy and legislative responsibility for parental leave.
231. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of civil servants that have left and-or retired from her Department in the past ten years that were bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year and sector the staff moved on to; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38146/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra232. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of civil servants that have left and-or retired from her Department in the past ten years that were not bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year, and sector the staff moved on to; the reason for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38162/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 231 and 232 together.
Since its establishment in June 2011, a total of 41 civil servants have resigned or retired from my Department.
No designated civil servant, or civil servant holding a designated position under the Ethics in Public Office Acts, sought approval to take up a position or engagement which led to a conflict of interest within one year of their resignation or retirement.
My Department has not been advised by the Standards in Public Office of any Designated Public Official who has sought a waiver under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015 to engage in lobbying within one year of their resignation or retirement from my Department.
Civil servants who were not designated officials or did not hold designated positions under the Ethics Acts or the Regulation of Lobbying Act prior to their departure were not subject to the one year cooling off period and could take up any subsequent post in either the public or private sector without the sanction or approval of the relevant authority.
The following table shows all civil servants in my Department who have resigned or retired by their grade, year and reason for departure.
|
Year |
Grade |
Number |
Reason For Departure |
|
2011 |
Assistant Principal |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2012 |
Principal Officer |
2 |
Retirement |
|
2012 |
Higher Executive Officer |
2 |
Retirement |
|
2012 |
Higher Executive Officer |
1 |
Resignation |
|
2012 |
Assistant Principal |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2012 |
Staff Officer |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2012 |
Clerical Officer |
2 |
Retirement |
|
2013 |
Assistant Principal |
1 |
Resignation |
|
2013 |
Administrative Officer |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2014 |
Higher Executive Officer |
2 |
Retirement |
|
2014 |
Executive Officer |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2015 |
Principal Officer |
3 |
Retirement |
|
2015 |
Assistant Principal |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2015 |
Clerical Officer |
1 |
Resignation |
|
2016 |
Principal Officer |
2 |
Retirement |
|
2016 |
Higher Executive Officer |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2017 |
Executive Officer |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2017 |
Clerical Officer |
5 |
Retirement |
|
2017 |
Principal Officer |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2018 |
Executive Officer |
2 |
Retirement |
|
2018 |
Principal Officer |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2018 |
Assistant Principal |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2018 |
Clerical Officer |
2 |
Retirement |
|
2018 |
Clerical Officer |
1 |
Resignation |
|
2019 |
Director |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2019 |
Assistant Principal |
1 |
Retirement |
|
2019 |
Executive Officer |
2 |
Retirement |
233. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of civil servants that have left and-or retired from his Department in the past ten years that were bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year and sector the staff moved on to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38158/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra234. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of civil servants that have left and-or retired from his Department in the past ten years that were not bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year, and sector the staff moved on to; the reason for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38174/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 233 and 234 together.
The Department of Rural and Community Development was established on the 19th July 2017 to provide a renewed and consolidated focus on rural and community development in Ireland.
The Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour provides the framework regarding the acceptance of outside appointments for those who have left or retired from the Department.
The Code provides that Civil servants shall not within twelve months of resigning or retiring from the Civil Service, accept an appointment, or particular consultancy project, where the nature and terms of such appointment could lead to a conflict of interest or the perception of such, without first obtaining the approval of the Outside Appointments Board or the Secretary General or Head of Office as appropriate. Additionally, civil servants who hold positions which are “designated positions” for the purposes of the Ethics Acts must, within twelve months of resigning or retiring, obtain the approval of the Outside Appointments Board or the Secretary General or Head of Office as appropriate before taking up any outside appointment.
To date, no applications seeking approval have been received by the Department of Rural and Community Development, in this context.
235. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated amount it would cost if the entry threshold for class A PRSI increased from €38 to €100; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37974/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraIncreasing the entry threshold for PRSI Class A from €38 to €100 would cost an estimated €11.8m in a full year and affect approximately 109,600 employments.
This estimate is based on PRSI Class A contributions. It uses the latest available data and reflects macro-economic indicators for 2020.
It should be noted that this estimate does not take into account any possible changes in employer or employee behaviour arising from changing the rates of contribution.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
236. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration will be given to persons (details supplied) being given access to the treatment benefit scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38002/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraCarer'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 child or an adult who has such a disability that as a result they require that level of care. You may be entitled to credited social insurance contributions (PRSI) while you are getting CA.
The Treatment Benefit Scheme is available to insured workers, the self-employed and retired people who have the required number of PRSI contributions.
In order to qualify for credits wile in receipt of CA, a person must first have entered insurable employment - he or she must have paid at least one reckonable PRSI contribution at Class A, B, C, D, E, H or P.
If, at any stage since starting work, a person has no reckonable PRSI contributions paid or credited for 2 full tax years in a row, that person cannot get credits until they return to employment and pay reckonable PRSI contributions for 26 weeks. Contributions paid at Class S, i.e. as a self-employed person, cannot be used to satisfy this condition.
Any changes to the Treatment Benefit Scheme would need to be considered in the overall policy and budgetary context.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
237. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated full combined cost of increasing maternity benefit by €20, €30, €40 and €50 per week, respectively, while extending maternity benefit by two, three, four, five and six weeks, respectively, based on most recent maternity leave uptake numbers in tabular form. [38017/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra238. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of introducing an additional one, two and six weeks, respectively, of maternity leave; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38110/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 237 and 238 together.
Maternity Benefit is paid for 26 weeks at a rate of €245 per week. The 2019 Estimates for the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection provide for expenditure of approximately €256 million on Maternity Benefit. The estimated additional cost of extending the duration of maternity benefit is approximately €9.7 million for each extra week.
The following table estimates the full year cost of increasing the duration of maternity benefit by €20, €30, €40 and €50 per week respectively while extending maternity benefit by two, three, four, five and six weeks, respectively based on most recent maternity leave uptake numbers in tabular form.
|
|
Annual Cost (€m) of additional weeks at current rate €245 |
Annual Cost (€m) of additional weeks at €265/week |
Annual Cost (€m) of additional weeks at €275/week |
Annual Cost (€m) of additional weeks at €285/week |
Annual Cost (€m) of additional weeks at €295/week |
|
Current 26 weeks Maternity Benefit |
256 |
277 |
287 |
297 |
308 |
|
Extending benefit by 1 week |
265 |
287 |
298 |
309 |
320 |
|
Extending benefit by 2 weeks |
275 |
298 |
309 |
320 |
331 |
|
Extending benefit by 3 weeks |
285 |
308 |
320 |
331 |
343 |
|
Extending benefit by 4 weeks |
295 |
319 |
331 |
343 |
355 |
|
Extending benefit by 5 weeks |
304 |
329 |
342 |
354 |
367 |
|
Extending benefit by 6 weeks |
314 |
340 |
353 |
366 |
378 |
These estimates are based on the cost for a full year and assume that any increase in duration is implemented from the beginning of the year. This costing is subject to change over the coming months in the context of emerging trends.
There would also be additional costs for employers including substitution and public sector pay costs which would be a matter for my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Decisions around the extension of this benefit would have to be considered in a budgetary context.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
239. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the estimated cost of introducing one, two, three and six weeks, respectively, of paid parental leave to be taken by either parent. [38111/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn Budget 2019 I announced the introduction of a new social insurance based parent’s benefit scheme to take effect in late 2019. The Department of Justice and Equality has policy responsibility for the new parent’s leave and my Department is responsible for the associated parent's benefit.
The new scheme will provide two weeks leave to both parents, including those who adopt a child, who are employees or self-employed and who take parent’s leave from their employment to care for their child. This is in addition to existing maternity, paternity and adoptive leave entitlements. The scheme will support parents during the first year of the child's life, in line with the Programme for Government commitment. Child development outcomes are strongest when parents are facilitated to provide extended care for their children within the home during this first year.
The cost of providing the benefit to both parents for 1 week is €15.8m. The costs increase to €31.6m, €47.4 or €94.8m for 2, 3 or 6 weeks benefit respectively. This assumes the benefit will be paid at the same rate as existing maternity and paternity benefits at €245 per week. There will also be additional costs for employers covering substitution pay costs. Public service pay costs is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
240. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the interdepartmental review into the future of the community employment scheme will be completed and published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38114/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the Government agreed to establish an Interdepartmental Group (IDG) to explore how social inclusion schemes might best be organised into the future including which Department should hold lead responsibility for sponsoring CE schemes focused on social Inclusion, the Rural Social Scheme and the Job Initiative scheme.
Meetings of the IDG have taken place along with bilateral meetings with appropriate Departments. There has also been a consultative process with relevant stakeholders and their submissions were considered as part of the deliberation process. I expect to have the final report shortly.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
241. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of plans to progress the provision of an occupational pension for community employment supervisors and assistant supervisors; the timeline for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38115/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am currently engaging with representatives of CE supervisors and assistant supervisors to discuss issues arising following the 2008 Labour Court Recommendation. All parties to the engagement process have agreed that the detail of the discussions should remain confidential while the engagement is ongoing and I would ask Deputies to respect these wishes and allow the talks to continue free from speculation which might prove unhelpful. I expect that it will take a number of weeks to reach a conclusion.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
242. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will receive arrears due to them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38134/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis gentleman was in receipt of another social welfare payment at the same payment rate as disability allowance (DA), during the period 2 May 2018 to 9 July 2019. Consequently, the amount of social welfare already paid required calculation and was deducted from any arrears due.
This process was completed by my Department as quickly as possible. A letter issued to the person concerned on 16 September 2019 informing him of the decision on his arrears of DA.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
243. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of meetings she has had with her officials regarding the public services card in the past three years to 16 September 2019; the staffing structure and management lines in her Department that are responsible for the public services card; the grades of the officials; the grade of the person with overall budgetary control and responsibility for the card; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38135/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI meet with my officials, on an on-going basis, to discuss all matters relating to my Department, including the Public Services Card (PSC).
The Client Identity Services Unit of the Department has policy and operational responsibility for public service identity issues, including the PSC. That area is structured in a similar fashion to areas in all Government Departments, with a Principal Officer, Assistant Principal Officers, Higher Executive Officers, Executive Officers and clerical staff. The Principal Officer reports to an Assistant Secretary who also has responsibility for other business areas within the Department.
The Secretary General, who is the Accounting Officer, has overall budgetary control and responsibility for the work of the Department, including the PSC.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
244. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of civil servants that have left and-or retired from her Department in the past ten years that were bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year and sector the staff moved on to; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38151/19]
Amharc ar fhreagra245. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of civil servants that have left and-or retired from her Department in the past ten years that were not bound by a cooling-off period in respect of taking up new employment in the private sector by grade, year, and sector the staff moved on to; the reason for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38167/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 244 and 245 together.
Civil servants taking up new employment following retirement or resignation from my Department are regulated under Section 20 of The Civil Service Code of Standards and Behaviour. This states that any civil servant intending to be engaged in or connected with (i) any outside business with which he or she had official dealings or (ii) any outside business that might gain an unfair advantage over its competitors by employing him or her must inform the appropriate authority of such an intention. Additionally, civil servants who hold positions which are “designated positions” for purposes of the Ethics Acts shall not, within twelve months of resigning or retiring from the service
- accept an offer of appointment from an employer outside the Civil Service or
- accept an engagement in a particular consultancy project, where the nature and terms of such appointment or engagement could lead to a conflict of interest.
Officers below the grade of Assistant Secretary who intend to be engaged or connected with any business as described above must seek approval from the Secretary General of their prior Department before accepting employment. In the case of officers at or above the grade of Assistant Secretary, approval must be sought from the Outside Appointments Board.
All members of my Department’s Management Board are Designated Officers. The following table details, additionally, the number of current Designated Officers in my Department across all grades from Principal who would be bound by the one year cooling-off period.
|
Designated Officers |
|
|
Grade |
Number |
|
Principal Officer |
93 |
|
Assistant Principal |
54 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
237 |
|
Executive Officer |
16 |
|
Total |
400 |
My Department has no record of former Designated Officers seeking approval from the Secretary General to take up new employment within a year of their retirement or resignation and records are not maintained of an officer's subsequent employment.
