Written Answers Nos. 532-553
532. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection if social care students that are forced to give up part-time work in order to complete their placement which is unpaid will be eligible to apply for the pandemic unemployment payment. [25629/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is available to employees and self-employed who have lost their employment as a direct consequence of the pandemic and who satisfy the qualifying conditions of the statutory scheme.
In order to qualify for the support, a person must have ceased to earn an income and lost their employment as a direct consequence of Covid-19. This can include as a consequence of the adverse effects of Covid-19 on the business of their employer and the adverse effects of measures required to be taken by their employer to comply with, or as a consequence of, Government policy to prevent, limit, minimize or slow the spread of infection.
If a social care student satisfies the provisions of this legislation, then PUP will be payable.
If the Deputy has a specific case, he should provide the details to the Department for review. I trust that this clarifies the position.
533. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if an application for an invalidity pension will be approved as a matter of urgency for a person (details supplied). [25669/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraInvalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and for no other reason and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions.
The Department received a claim for IP for this gentleman on 16 March 2021. The claim was refused on the grounds that the medical conditions for the scheme were not satisfied. He was notified on 30 March 2021 of this decision, the reasons for it and of his right of review and appeal.
The person concerned subsequently appealed the decision to the independent Social Welfare Appeals Office (SWAO) and submitted further medical evidence in support of his appeal.
Following a review of all the information available it was decided that there was no change to the original decision. A submission has been prepared by the Department and was forwarded to the SWAO on 12 May 2021 for determination. The SWAO will be in touch with the person concerned directly in due course in relation to the progress of his appeal.
A new IP application has been received from the person concerned on 01 April 2021. This claim will be processed further after the original claim is determined by the SWAO.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
534. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Social Protection if her Department is considering extending child benefit to children aged 18 or older while they are in full-time education or training; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25672/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraChild benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children until their 18th birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a disability. Child benefit is currently paid, as of end-March 2021, to over 637,000 families in respect of over 1.2 million children with an estimated expenditure of more than €2 billion in 2020.
Families on low incomes may be able to avail of a number of other social welfare schemes that support children in full-time education until the age of 22, including:
- Increase for a Qualified Child (IQCs) with primary social welfare payments;
- the Working Family Payment for low-paid employees with children;
- the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance
These schemes provide targeted assistance that is directly linked to household income and thereby support low-income families with older children participating in full-time education.
As part of Budget 2021, I increased the rates for a qualified child aged under 12 by €2 to €38 per week, and for a qualified child aged 12 or older by €5 to €45 per week. These increases came into effect in January.
Extending Child Benefit in respect of full time students in second level education who are over 18 years of age would have significant cost implications and would have to be considered in an overall budgetary context.
535. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection the progress made to include reference in all new statements of strategy to all sustainable development goal targets for which her Department has lead responsibility as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan 2018-2020; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25756/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a significant and ambitious policy agenda that concerns all Government Departments.
The first National Implementation Plan (2018-2020), set out Ireland’s strategy to achieve the SDGs both domestically and internationally. The Goals are mainstreamed in domestic policy and the governance structure reflects a whole-of-government approach. 19 Actions were included in the first National Implementation Plan.
The development of the next SDG Implementation Plan has commenced, with the intention of publication later this year. A National Progress report will be incorporated into the Plan and will assess the progress on the 19 Actions.
Action 4 of the plan set out a commitment to include reference in all new Statements of Strategy to the SDG targets for which a Department has responsibility. My Department has lead responsibility on three SDGs and co-leads on two more. The Department is fully committed to supporting the implementation of these SDGs and the Department's Statement of Strategy 2020-2023 reflects this commitment. The Department's commitment to SDGs focuses on the areas of poverty and social inclusion - specifically enhanced social welfare for the poor and vulnerable, and an emphasis on improving youth unemployment.
The Statement of Strategy outlines our high level objectives in this regard:
- Delivery of goals set out in the Roadmap for Social Inclusion – including reduction in poverty rates and improvement in living standards.
- Focusing improvements in welfare supports for children and young families, lone parent families and people with a disability as well as supporting people into work will be prioritised as a means of reducing and alleviating poverty and inequality.
With regard to youth unemployment, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted significantly on the economy and unemployment rates. Prior to the pandemic, seasonally adjusted youth unemployment (15-24 year olds) stood at just under 12% in December 2019. Latest estimates, including all those in receipt of the PUP, gives a COVID-19 adjusted unemployment rate estimate of 61.8% for young people at the end of April. The inclusion of recipients of PUP brings students into the COVID-19 Adjusted Measure of youth unemployment and therefore inflates this measure.
As Minister for Social Protection, I welcomed the Council of the European Union’s recommendation of a reinforced Youth Guarantee. Central to the reinforced programme is the extension of the widening of the youth age bracket to include young people aged 25-29. As part of activation services provided by the Department of Social Protection via Intreo, young people under 25 receive the most intensive engagement. My Department intend to extend this up to age 29, and are currently putting in place the necessary system changes for this to occur.
Under the July Jobs Stimulus, my Department, along with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, are putting in place a number of measures to support people back to employment:
- Increasing the benefit of the JobsPlus recruitment subsidy to employers who hire young people, by expanding the young person rate from under 25 to under 30 years of age
- Providing access to additional full-time and part-time education, including targeted short-term courses, with over 35,000 new education and training places for those currently unemployed.
- Providing incentives to employers to take on more apprentices, with the provision of a grant of €3,000 to employers for each new apprentice recruited.
The Department’s new Statement of Strategy 2020-2023 is available at the following link.
https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/05b877-strategy-statements/
Specific references to UN SDGs are at page 8 of the Statement of Strategy.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
536. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection the specific sustainable development goal targets her Department is responsible for implementing; the progress made in implementing those targets since 26 April 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25774/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraOverall political oversight for national implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is provided through the Cabinet, with each Minister having specific responsibility for implementing individual SDG targets related to their Ministerial functions. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) has responsibility for promoting the SDGs, and for overseeing coherent implementation across Government.
The first National Implementation Plan (2018-2020), published in 2018, set out Ireland’s strategy to achieve the SDGs both domestically and internationally. An important element of this Plan is the SDG Policy Map and Matrix, which identified the lead and stakeholder Departments for each of the Goals and targets and also mapped national sectoral policies against the 17 SDGs and all 169 related targets.
The SDG Policy Map and Matrix enhances the ability of stakeholders to track Ireland’s implementation of specific SDGs and to assess Ireland’s response to the SDGs for potential policy gaps. It also supports and enhances cross-Government engagement in implementing each of the Goals and Targets. This policy map has recently been updated and is available online at www.gov.ie.
Under the Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan 2018-2020, the Department of Social Protection was given lead and stakeholder responsibility for several targets, focusing on the areas of social protection, poverty and inequality, and employment activation.
Social transfers have an important role in reducing poverty and inequality. In this area, my Department has lead or stakeholder responsibility for Sustainable Development Goal targets 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 10.1 and 10.4. Budgets 2018 through 2021 have all been progressive, with a strong emphasis on supporting the most vulnerable. This includes a €10 cumulative increase in weekly social welfare rates; a €30 cumulative increase to the Working Family Payment for families of up to three children; the introduction of a upper qualified child rate for children aged 12 and over, and increasing this rate from €29.80 for all children to €38 for children under 12 and €45 for children aged 12 and over; and a 100% Christmas Bonus since December 2018. Progress in this area is also being delivered through implementation of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, for which I chair the steering group, among other Government strategies.
Currently, my Department also has lead or stakeholder responsibility for targets 4.4, 8.5, 8.6 and 8.b, which focus on training and labour market activation. While employment has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, Government will shortly publish Pathways to Work 2021-2025. This strategy will be the next iteration of Government's national employment services strategy and will also be the successor to the Action Plan for Jobless Households.
My Department also contributes to target 5.4 through supporting carers. In Budget 2020, the number of hours that a carer can work or study every week outside the home and still get Carer’s Benefit or Carer’s Allowance increased from 15 hours to 18.5 hours. This was further supported by an announcement in Budget 2021 that the Carer’s Support Grant will increase by €150 to €1,850 per year from June 2021.
Finally, my Department’s provision of the Fuel Allowance supports the delivery of target 7.1. Since the beginning of April 2018, the Fuel Allowance season has been extended by two weeks and the weekly rate has increased from €22.50 to €28. These measures, combined with other targeted budgetary measures listed above, ensure that low income households are not regressively impacted by increases in carbon tax. Research by the ESRI in October 2020 confirms that interventions of this nature will reverse the regressive impact of the carbon tax and will actually lead to a reduction in overall poverty, particularly child poverty.
My Department has been actively engaged in both the Senior Officials Group and Interdepartmental Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals, and will continue to play an important role in Ireland achieving its SDG targets by 2030.
I thank the Deputy for her question and hope this clarifies the matter.
537. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection if she has engaged a third-party company to date in 2021 to conduct online and or social media monitoring and or provide reports on social media coverage of her Department; if so, the cost of same; and the name of the social media platforms being monitored. [25792/21]
Amharc ar fhreagra538. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Social Protection if officials in her Department are tasked with conducting online and social media monitoring and completing reports on social media coverage of her Department and her Ministerial activities; if so, the number of staff involved; the respective grades of each; the estimated working hours committed to same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25810/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 537 and 538 together.
The Department of Social Protection has not engaged a third-party company to conduct online or social media monitoring or to provide reports on same and, therefore, no expenditure has been incurred.
The Department has engaged RuePoint Media to provide Print (including digital media coverage) and Broadcast media monitoring.
Having responsibility for the delivery of the State’s social welfare service, the Department uses a broad range of sources to make information available on its schemes, including the use of social media channels Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. The Department's Customer Service team respond to requests for general public information via the official Twitter account of the Department (@welfare_ie) each day from 9am to 5pm.
539. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she and bodies under her aegis have engaged private investigation companies or persons in the past three years to date; and if so, the cost, duration and purpose of these engagements of this type of contractor. [25832/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has not engaged such companies for any private investigation work in the past three years. However in May 2018 and again in December 2019 my Department did engage one such company to provide a training course on both occasions for Social Welfare Inspectors. The cost of each course was €4,800.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
540. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will address a matter (details supplied) regarding community employment supervisors; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25840/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Social Protection delivers a range of employment and income support schemes including Community Employment (CE), Tús and the Rural Social Scheme (RSS).
These schemes are delivered by independent bodies funded by the Department. CE is delivered by sponsoring authorities while Tús and RSS are delivered by 48 local development companies and by Údarás na Gaeltachta, known collectively as Implementing Bodies. While the Department provides funding for participant and supervisors payroll, the Department is not the employer of any scheme participants or their supervisors.
While all of the supervisors engaged on the employment support schemes play an important role, each of those roles, the related responsibilities and the services delivered are specific to each of the relevant employment support scheme.
CE supervisors and assistant supervisors have been seeking for several years, through their union representatives, the allocation of Exchequer funding to implement a 2008 Labour Court recommendation that specifically related to the provision of a pension scheme for CE supervisors and assistant supervisors who are employed by CE schemes.
It is within the context of the 2008 Labour Court recommendation that officials from my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the unions representing the CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors held discussions on proposals to progress this issue over the past number of months. These discussions were held on the clear agreement by all involved, that they related solely to CE supervisors and assistant supervisors.
As the Deputy is aware, agreement was recently reached between my colleagues, the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on proposals to resolve the long-standing issue. Details of these proposals have been forwarded to the unions representing CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors by the Department of Social Protection. I understand the unions are currently considering these proposals and have sought clarification on some of the details contained in the proposal. My Department will engage with the unions on this basis. I am confident this is a solid basis for progressing and resolving this complex issue, while ensuring there is no potential exposure for additional costs to the exchequer.
Any settlement arising applies to those parties who were the subject of the 2008 Labour Court recommendation and the subsequent discussions with both Departments, namely CE supervisors and CE assistant supervisors. Proposals now under discussion do not apply to other parties such as Tús or RSS supervisors.
541. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Social Protection the details of the PRSI contributions made by employers and employees in 2020 in comparison to previous years. [25851/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe following table provides details of income received from PRSI contributions made by employers, employees and the self-employed in 2020 as compared to 2017, 2018 and 2019, as provided in the Social Insurance Fund accounts.
|
|
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
|
€m |
€m |
€m |
€m |
|
Employer |
7,559 |
8,273 |
8,572 |
7,929 |
|
Employee |
2,114 |
2,280 |
3,025.0 |
2,773 |
|
Self-employed |
522 |
605 |
647 |
647 |
|
Total |
10,195 |
11,158 |
12,244 |
11,349 |
The figures for 2020 are provisional and are subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Employer figures including contributions to the National Training Fund.
542. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider extending the current community scheme contract until October 2021 to allow for the disruption to the scheme caused by Covid-19 and to give schemes adequate time to both complete the work and training with their participants and to plan for further recruitment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25862/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn clarification with the Deputy the question refers to Community Employment schemes
Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis.
In general CE placements for new entrants aged between 21 and 55 years are for 1 year. As the Deputy may be aware, CE participants who are working towards a Quality and Qualifications Ireland or QQI major award can seek to extend their participation on CE by up to 2 years to enable them to reach the required standard of qualification. CE participants aged 55 years or older can remain on CE for 3 years and do not have to work towards a QQI major award. A number of CE participants who are aged over 55 who commenced on the scheme before 2017 can stay on CE for six consecutive years. Therefore, CE participants across a range of cohorts have considerable periods of time to complete the training and development elements of CE. Training received by CE participants is an essential components of the CE schemes which I fully support.
As the Deputy is aware, my Department continued to support CE schemes since the onset of the Covid-19 emergency back in March 2020. A number of schemes, providing essential community services, have also been in a position to continue to deliver these services, while complying with public health restrictions.
During Level-5 restrictions, CE participants, whose contracts were due to end, have had their contracts extended for the duration of those restrictions. The current extension date is up to the 2nd July 2021. Over 7,000 CE and Tús participants are benefitting from this extension of contract, that applies to all participants whose contracts were due to finish since end-October 2020. This extension date is under active review, in line with the gradual opening up of the economy and the recommencement of more normal service levels across more CE schemes over the coming months, as the vaccine continues to be rolled out.
It is important to note that when CE participants are eventually due to finish on their respective schemes, this will be undertaken on a coordinated, phased basis over a number of months. This will provide further opportunities for the completion of training and additional work experience for CE participants.
With the gradual opening up of the economy , the scaling up of the Department's activation services and the resumption of more normal level of services across more CE schemes, increasing referrals to fill vacancies on CE schemes is a priority for my Department.
In addition, CE sponsoring authorities are encouraged by the Department to continue to promote the benefits of CE in their local communities. They can advertise their vacancies on www.jobsireland.ie, the Department’s online job advertising and recruitment service for job candidates and employers, including CE sponsors. Jobseekers are advised to register their interest through this website or by contacting a case officer in their local Intreo Centre who will determine their eligibility for the CE scheme. The facility to register interest in CE schemes was introduced on the website in August 2020 in response to the Covid 19 pandemic.
I am fully committed to the future of CE and will continue to support and improve the programme for the benefit of the CE participants, including participants whose participation has been affected by COVID.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
543. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of schools participating in the school meals scheme in each year between 2010 and 2020; and the amount of funding made available for the scheme per year between 2010 and 2020. [26027/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.
In recent years entry to the School Meals Scheme has been confined to DEIS schools in addition to schools identified as having levels of concentrated disadvantage that would benefit from access to the School Meals Programme.
The number of schools participating in the schools meals scheme in each year between 2010 and 2020; and the amount of funding made available for the scheme per year between 2010 and 2020 are contained in the attached tabular statement.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the deputy.
Table: The amount of funding made available for the scheme and the number of schools participating in the schools meals scheme between 2010 and 2020
|
Year |
Budget |
Schools/Organisations Benefitting |
|
2010 |
€35m |
2,081 |
|
2011 |
€35m |
1,180 |
|
2012 |
€35m |
1,334 |
|
2013 |
€37m |
1,425 |
|
2014 |
€37m |
1,444 |
|
2015 |
€39m |
1,398 |
|
*2016 |
€42m |
1,446 |
|
2017 |
€47.5m |
1,581 |
|
2018 |
€54m |
1,576 |
|
2019 |
€57.6m |
1,573 |
|
2020 |
€61.6m |
1,506 |
*In 2016/2017, the Department changed to a new payment platform. School/organisation numbers from here on relate to an academic year, rather than a calendar year. The budget relates to the calendar year.
544. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons enrolled in the activation and family support programme; and the amount of funding allocated to the scheme per annum. [26028/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Activation and Family Support Programme (AFSP) enables my Department to assist local organisations and agencies to implement projects addressing the needs of recipients of welfare payments and their families, to provide progression routes into education, training and employment.
The application of the funding is largely responsive to demand identified by local organisations who apply for funding for a project via my Department’s activation services. The programme is designed to fund projects that have the capacity to result in positive changes in the circumstances of our customers and their families. Funding applications come from a wide range of organisations including family resource centres, partnerships, community development companies and advocacy groups.
Approximately 240 learners attended courses co-funded by the programme in 2020 with an approximate expenditure of €162,000.
A budget of €600,000 is provided for this programme in 2021. A number of courses are currently approved or underway.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the deputy.
545. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will address matters raised in correspondence (details supplied). [26048/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are 3 categories of claimant who may qualify for Jobseeker’s Benefit while partially employed. They are short-time workers, casual workers and part-time workers. In order to classify a person as either a short-time, part-time or casual work employee, each case is examined on its merits having regard to the person’s employment history, any fluctuation in the number of days worked, the systematic pattern of the work days, the existence of a contract of employment and if the employee is in receipt of a set wage.
In this case, the customer is considered a part-time worker. He is not categorised as a short-time worker as the number of days worked is not systematic i.e. there is no clear repetitive pattern of employment, nor is he categorised as a casual worker given his circumstances including that he has assurance of repeat employment from the same employer. In order to requalify for Jobseekers Benefit when a claim exhausts benefit, a part-time worker has to satisfy the substantial loss of employment condition.
The duration of payment for Jobseeker’s Benefit is 9 months (234 Cumulative Total) for people with 260 or more PRSI contributions paid. It is paid for 6 months (156 Cumulative Total) for people with fewer than 260 PRSI contributions paid. The Department corresponds with the Jobseeker's Benefit recipient in advance of the expiry date of their claim and advises of the option to apply for the means tested Jobseeker's Allowance scheme. Jobseeker's Allowance has no duration limit as long as a person meets the qualifying scheme conditions, including the means test.
My officials have examined the cumulative total of days paid in the individual’s claim to date and are satisfied that the figure recorded in the Department is correct.
The customer has re-applied for Jobseeker's Benefit and a decision will be made on his application once all the required documentation has been submitted.
546. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason a retired public servant (details supplied) was not allowed an increment during their employment as an executive officer; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26078/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to clarify for the Deputy that the person in question received all increments on the Executive Officer scale which applied in their employment with the Department. (The last maximum increment was paid in 2001 in accordance with the entitlements of the officer at that time.. )
Separately, an additional enquiry raised by the Deputy will be responded to by my Department officials shortly.
547. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of data breaches suffered by her Department in each of the past five years and to date in 2021. [26106/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department identified the following number of data breaches in each of the past five years and to date in 2021.
|
Year |
Number of data breaches |
|
2016 |
57 |
|
2017 |
108 |
|
2018 |
226 |
|
2019 |
371 |
|
2020 |
508 |
|
2021 |
262 |
My Department takes data protection obligations very seriously. In order to protect the personal data of its customers, the Department has a set of data protection policies, procedures and guidelines in place.
While every data breach is a matter of great concern to my Department, the number of confirmed breaches should be viewed in the context of the scale of the Department’s business, administering over 70 separate schemes and services, accounting for approximately €30bn per annum and processing almost 2m applications every year.
In particular, in 2020, the Department has provided services to an extraordinarily high volume of customers. At one point, the Department was processing over 50,000 claims per day. At its peak, in early May 2020, 602,000 were in receipt of PUP. Just under 20 million PUP payments have been made to nearly 900,000 people providing income support of some €7.5 billion to date.
The vast majority of the confirmed data breaches relate to incidents where customer information was accidentally and inadvertently disclosed to third parties, e.g. letters incorrectly addressed. In each of these incidents, the Department followed procedures in accordance with data protection legislation. Every effort was made to secure data as quickly and efficiently as possible.
548. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount spent by her Department in each of the years 2018 to 2020 and to date in 2021, on housing assistance payments, rent supplements and or other payments in the matter of housing or rent in tabular form in north County Kildare and nationally, respectively; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26179/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraRent supplement continues to play a key role in supporting families and individuals in private rented accommodation, with the scheme currently supporting 19,570 recipients (end April 2021).
The scheme provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The scheme ensures that those who were renting, but whose circumstances have changed due to temporary loss of employment or income, can continue to meet their rental commitments
Since the introduction of HAP, rent supplement continues to revert to its original role of providing short-term support to those who have become temporarily unemployed and require income support to meet their tenancy cost whilst they seek alternative employment.
Under the SWA scheme, my Department can make a single Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The ENP is demand led and payments are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case.
The tabular statements attached provide a summary of expenditure, as requested, for the years 2018 to 2020 and to date in 2021. Rent supplement's outturn by local authority or county are not maintained
My Department does not have any role in relation to the Housing Assistance Payment which is administered by Local Authorities.
Tabular Statement 1: National Expenditure 2018-2020 and to date in 2021.
|
Year |
Rent Supplement |
Housing related Exceptional Needs Payments |
|
2018 |
€175.0m |
€20.0m |
|
2019 |
€125.2m |
€27.5m |
|
2020 |
€133.1m |
€27.9m |
|
2021 Jan-April |
€48.5m |
€10.3m |
Tabular Statement 2: Expenditure on Housing related Exceptional Needs Payments in County Kildare in the period 2018-2020and to date in 2021.
|
Year |
Co Kildare Housing related - Exceptional Needs Payments |
|
2018 |
€853,000 |
|
2019 |
€1,023,000 |
|
2020 |
€1,298,000 |
|
2021 Jan-April |
€440,000 |
Note: These figures are taken from the Department's ENP database and represent a snapshot of ENPs as they are approved by an officer rather than when they are paid. The figures do not capture payments that are cancelled, payments that go out of date or overpayments recouped.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
549. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Social Protection the amount paid to dentists on the PRSI system in each of the years 2017 to 2020, the number of patients treated in the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26196/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe number of customers treated under the PRSI Dental Treatment Benefit Scheme, and the total paid to dentists for their work on the scheme, in the years 2017 to 2020 inclusive are detailed below.
|
Year |
Claim volume |
Value in euro |
|
2017 |
417,336 |
15.29 million |
|
2018 |
804,375 |
46.91 million |
|
2019 |
833,781 |
48.44 million |
|
2020 |
719,640 |
41.19 million |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
550. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she remains satisfied regarding the scale and availability of Covid-19-related supports with particular reference to the demands arising from the extension of restrictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5574/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was introduced as a statutory income support for qualifying employees and the self -employed, who lost employment due to Covid-19. The total cost to date is over €7.6 billion reflecting Government’s absolute commitment to support to those affected by the pandemic. Government has confirmed that this support will continue until 30th June. Decisions on the future of PUP post June will be made shortly taking into consideration the progress with the rollout of the vaccines as well as the progress on the reopening of the economy.
Provision was made for self employed people to earn income from self- employment up to €960 over 8 weeks and continue to receive the PUP. Those who exceed the threshold may qualify for a weekly payment of €128.60 under the Part Time Job Incentive scheme which has been extended to the self employed which allows a person take up to 24 hours employment, subject to satisfying the qualifying conditions. These supports assist people to maintain their business during periods of significantly reduced levels of trading.
The Enterprise Support Grant, which provides up to €1,000, is also available from my Department for eligible self-employed individuals who transition from the PUP to restart their businesses. Over 9,000 grant applications have been approved since its introduction at a cost of €8.4 million approximately.
In addition, there are a range of supports that allow people to combine work with welfare including Jobseeker's Benefit and the means tested Jobseeker's Allowance. Support is also available to employers to support job retention under the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme. I am satisfied that the wide ranging nature of the assistance available constitutes a comprehensive suite of supports.
I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy at this time.
551. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which bereavement support applications have been approved in the past 12 months; the degree to which the demand has grown; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5575/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Bereavement Grant, which was a payment of €850 made where the deceased or his/her surviving partner was an insured contributor to the social insurance fund, was discontinued and is not paid for deaths occurring on or after 1 January 2014.
However there are a range of supports available from my Department for people following a bereavement.
Under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, the Department may make an exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet from their weekly income. An application can be made under the ENP scheme for assistance with funeral and burial expenses where there is an inability to pay these costs, in part or in full, by the family of the deceased person without causing hardship.
Approximately 2,800 exceptional needs payments totalling €5.7m were made in 2020 in relation to funeral and burial costs, compared to approximately 2,900 totalling €5.8m in 2019.
Other supports available include the widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner’s (contributory and non-contributory) pension which is a weekly payment, based on contributions or a means test. The widowed or surviving civil partner grant is a once-off payment of €8,000 where there is a dependent child. A number of social welfare payments, including State pension, continue in payment for six weeks following a death. Guardian payments are available where someone cares for an orphaned child.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
553. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of expressions of interests received for the hot school meals programme; the way in which schools were selected to be included in the programme in 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26311/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children. The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.
As part of Budget 2019, funding was provided for a pilot scheme from September 2019, providing hot school meals in primary schools at a cost of €1m for 2019 and €2.5m in 2020. The pilot involved 37 schools benefitting 6,744 students for the 2019/2020 academic year and was aimed primarily at schools with no onsite cooking facilities.
In Budget 2021, I announced that an additional €5.5m would be provided to extend the provision of hot school meals to an additional 35,000 primary school children, currently receiving the cold lunch option. Officials from the department issued invitations for expressions of interest to the 705 primary schools (612 DEIS and 93 non-DEIS) in November 2020. A total of 281 (256 DEIS and 25 non-DEIS) expressions of interest were received in respect of 52,148 children.
The 35,000 places were allocated to each local authority area based on the number of children applied by local authority as a percentage of the total number. A minimum of one school for each Local Authority area was selected. Thereafter, a process of random selection was used for each area.
As a result of this process, 189 of the 281 schools that submitted an expression of interest were selected. Of the 189 schools selected, 171 (90.5%) are DEIS and 18 (9.5%) are non-DEIS.
Officials from my Department have contacted all schools selected for the Hot Meals Scheme and are working with the schools to introduce the hot meals for the pupils in the schools.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
