Written Answers Nos. 414-430
414. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons on the €203, €250 and €300 rates of payment per week of the pandemic unemployment payment in tabular form. [2984/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra415. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under the age of 25 years of age who are on the €203, €250 and €300 rates of payment per week of the pandemic unemployment payment in tabular form. [2986/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra425. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age who are in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment for six months or more by county in tabular form. [2996/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 414, 415 and 425 together.
Detailed statistics on the pandemic unemployment payment are published each week at my Department at gov.ie/dsp/statistics and at the national open data portal, data.gov.ie, including breakdowns by age group and by rate.
The detailed statistics requested by the Deputy in respect of those in receipt of the payment for more than six months are set out in Table 1 below. Statistics in respect of recipients of the PUP by rate of payment are set out in Table 2.
Table 1: Persons Aged Under 25 In receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment for 26 weeks or more by county on January 18th 2022
|
County |
Persons |
|
Carlow |
23 |
|
Cavan |
44 |
|
Clare |
66 |
|
Cork |
230 |
|
Donegal |
89 |
|
Dublin |
1177 |
|
Galway |
156 |
|
Kerry |
113 |
|
Kildare |
141 |
|
Kilkenny |
44 |
|
Laois |
39 |
|
Leitrim |
9 |
|
Limerick |
113 |
|
Longford |
21 |
|
Louth |
124 |
|
Mayo |
80 |
|
Meath |
145 |
|
Monaghan |
45 |
|
Offaly |
44 |
|
Roscommon |
24 |
|
Sligo |
20 |
|
Tipperary |
58 |
|
Waterford |
65 |
|
Westmeath |
39 |
|
Wexford |
76 |
|
Wicklow |
90 |
|
Unknown |
3 |
Table 2: Persons In receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment By Age and Rate on January 18th 2022
|
Rate |
Under 25 |
25 and older |
|
€ 150 |
1,786 |
2,154 |
|
€ 208 |
2,437 |
13,905 |
|
€ 250 |
4,375 |
36,261 |
|
€ 300 |
1,967 |
3,256 |
|
€ 350 |
2,194 |
12,131 |
416. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of increasing the jobseeker's allowance for those young persons under 25 years of age who are currently on the weekly rate of €112.70 by €45.15 per week to €157.85; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2987/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of Budget 2022, I announced a €5 increase to all weekly social welfare payments, with proportionate increases for qualified adults and those on reduced rates of payment, at a cost of €375 million. The full €5 increase applies to young people in receipt of an age-related reduced rate of Jobseeker's Allowance.
As a result, from January 2022, the rate of payment for Jobseeker's Allowance recipients aged under 25 increased from €112.70 to €117.70 per week.
The estimated full year cost of increasing the rate of payment by an additional €40.15, from €117.70 to €157.85 per week, is €30 million. This includes a proportionate increase for qualified adults and those on an age reduced rate of Supplementary Welfare Allowance.
This costing is based on the estimated average number of recipients in 2022, and is subject to change in light of emerging trends and subsequent revision of the estimated number of recipients.
Any increase in the rate of payment for Jobseeker's Allowance for those aged under 25 would need to be considered in an overall budgetary and policy context.
417. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age on the back to education allowance scheme in January 2020 and January 2021; the funding allocated to support young persons under 25 on the scheme in 2020 and 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2988/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) provides income support for jobseekers and others in receipt of certain social welfare payments who pursue courses of education at second or third level. The conditions under which the BTEA operate are designed to support customers into employment.
As of the year end 31st December 2020 there were 6,048 students supported under the BTEA scheme compared to 5,189 students at year end in 2021 with a total annual expenditure of €65.92m and €54.08m respectively. For January of each of these years, 6,795 students were in receipt of the weekly BTEA allowance payment in January 2020 compared to 6,060 students in 2021.
It is estimated that approximately 23% of the total students supported under BTEA were under the age of 25 for the year 2020 at an approximate cost of €15.16m in comparison to approximately 24% in 2021 at an approximate cost of €12.98m. The scheme is demand led and the funding for the scheme is not allocated on an age basis.
As part of the Government’s commitment under the Pathways to Work strategy it is providing up to €105.4m for BTEA in 2022. This represents a considerable investment in supporting all unemployed individuals, including those under the age of 25, to acquire the necessary education and skills to re-enter the labour market.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
418. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age who were on the youth employment support scheme in January 2020 and January 2021; the funding allocated to support young persons under 25 on the scheme in 2020 and 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2989/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Youth Employment Support Scheme (YESS) was introduced on 1st October 2018 and was targeted at young jobseekers aged between 18 and 24 who were long-term unemployed or who faced barriers to employment. Participation in the scheme was voluntary. The scheme aimed to provide jobseekers with the opportunity to learn basic work and social skills in a supportive environment while on a work placement. The scheme, which was one of a number of measures under the National Youth Guarantee, provided a supportive structure for participants, including case worker support for both placement hosts and jobseekers. The scheme was open to host organisations operating in private, community and voluntary sectors.
A total of 1,016 people participated in the scheme over the period from 1st October 2018 until the scheme closed to new entrants on 12th July 2021 when it was incorporated into the new Work Placement Experience Programme when it was launched, as it offered an enhanced work experience opportunity for young people.
YESS participants were involved in a number of roles across of different sectors including community and voluntary, hospitality and food, ICT and telecoms, manufacturing, retail, sales and marketing, science and healthcare and construction. Recruitment to the scheme was negatively impacted by Covid-19 during 2020 and 2021, with fewer hosts advertising vacancies due to Covid restrictions and also the temporary suspension of placements due to social mobility and distancing requirements.
The Budget allocation for the programme in 2020 was €3.35m and in 2021 the figure was €2.44m.
In January 2020 there were 297 active participants on YESS with 59 closures and 46 new starts in the month. In January 2021 there were 131 active participants on YESS with 37 closures and 9 new starts that month.
When the YESS programme closed to new applicants in 12th July 2021 participants were offered the opportunity to transfer to WPEP and 14 participants availed of this option. The remaining participants completed their YESS placement with the last three participants completing their YESS placements in December 2021. To date 46 clients aged under 25 year-old's are active or approved for participation on WPEP.
The following table shows YESS participant activity for January 2020 and 2021.
|
YESS Claims |
2020 |
2021 |
|
Total Active YESS Participants in January |
297 |
131 |
|
January Starts |
46 |
9 |
|
January Finishers |
59 |
37 |
The following table shows YESS Budget Allocations for 2020 and 2021.
|
Year |
YESS Budget Allocation |
|
2020 |
€3,350 |
|
201 |
€2,440 |
419. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age supported by the JobsPlus youth scheme in 2020, 2021 and to date in 2022; the funding allocated to support young persons under 25 years on the scheme in 2020 and 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2990/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra420. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of employers who have applied for and received the enhanced JobsPlus youth scheme subsidy for employing young persons aged between 25 to 29 years of age since July 2020; and the number of young persons aged 25 to 29 years supported on the JobsPlus scheme since July 2020 [2991/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 419 and 420 together.
JobsPlus provides a direct monthly financial incentive to employers who recruit employees from the Live Register and those transitioning into full time employment. It provides employers with two levels of payment; €7,500 or €10,000 over two years, with the level of payment depending on the age of the jobseeker and the length of time on the live register or in receipt of a qualifying payment.
Government's employment services strategy, Pathways to Work 2021 to 2025, committed to increasing the number of available places on JobsPlus to 8,000 per annum and funding is in place this year to support this number of places. Places are not ring-fenced for any one demographic over another.
In order to support young persons seeking employment, jobseekers under 30 can qualify for Jobplus at an earlier stage than older age cohorts. Jobseekers under 30 can qualify for JobsPlus once they have been on the Live Register for 4 months in the previous 6 months. The equivalent time for persons over 30 is 12 months on the Live Register.
Table 1 provides details of the number of JobsPlus Employees aged under 25 supported in 2020 and 2021, in addition to those supported in January 2022. COVID public health restrictions impacted on the numbers of participants on Jobsplus during these periods.
|
JobsPlus employees under 25 years supported in 2020 |
JobsPlus employees under 25 years supported in 2021 |
JobsPlus employees under 25 years who will be supported in January 2022 |
|
412 |
272 |
152 |
Table 2 below contains the total number of JobsPlus employers and their respective JobsPlus employees aged between 25 to 29 years of age who were supported on the JobsPlus scheme since July 2020.
|
Employers |
Employees aged 25-29 |
|
205 |
222 |
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
421. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age who are in receipt of jobseeker's benefit, jobseeker's allowance and signing for credits for 12 months or more in tabular form. [2992/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy is included in the attached tabular statement. Note that these figures refer to all recipients under 25 who are on jobseeker's benefit, jobseeker's allowance and signing for credits as of 23rd January 2022.
|
Recipients on JA who are under 25 |
Recipients on JB who are under 25 |
Recipients on JB (credits only) who are under 25 |
|
13,083 |
2,543 |
42 |
422. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age who are in receipt of the full rate of jobseeker's allowance of €203 per week. [2993/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra423. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age who are in receipt of the lower rate of jobseeker's allowance of €112.70 per week. [2994/22]
Amharc ar fhreagra424. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age who are in receipt of a rate of a jobseeker's allowance other than €112.70 and €203 per week. [2995/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 422, 423 and 424 together.
As outlined in Budget 2022, the weekly rates for certain primary social welfare payments were increased by €5. Accordingly, details in respect of those receiving the €117.70 and €208 weekly rates are set out below. For the week ending 16th January 2022.
- There were 1,458 young persons under 25 years of age in receipt of the full rate of jobseeker's allowance of €208 per week.
- There were 8,989 young persons under 25 years of age in receipt of the lower rate of jobseeker's allowance of €117.70 per week.
- There were 2,715 young persons under 25 years of age in receipt of a rate of a jobseeker's allowance other than €117.70 or €208 per week.
426. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of young persons under 25 years of age who are in receipt of jobseeker's benefit, jobseeker's allowance and signing for credits by county in tabular form. [2997/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy is included in the attached tabular statement. Note that these figures refer to all recipients under 25 who are on jobseeker's benefit, jobseeker's allowance and signing for credits as of 23rd January 2022.
|
County |
Recipients on JA who are under 25 |
Recipients on JB who are under 25 |
Recipients on JB (credits only) who are under 25 |
|
Carlow |
239 |
35 |
1 |
|
Cavan |
261 |
42 |
1 |
|
Clare |
339 |
61 |
2 |
|
Cork |
871 |
240 |
2 |
|
Donegal |
619 |
69 |
4 |
|
Dublin |
3,302 |
820 |
8 |
|
Galway |
607 |
120 |
4 |
|
Kerry |
385 |
93 |
1 |
|
Kildare |
539 |
131 |
4 |
|
Kilkenny |
265 |
45 |
1 |
|
Laois |
257 |
38 |
0 |
|
Leitrim |
102 |
14 |
1 |
|
Limerick |
584 |
90 |
1 |
|
Longford |
242 |
23 |
0 |
|
Louth |
556 |
80 |
0 |
|
Mayo |
349 |
63 |
1 |
|
Meath |
458 |
89 |
3 |
|
Monaghan |
140 |
36 |
0 |
|
Offaly |
271 |
48 |
0 |
|
Roscommon |
187 |
25 |
0 |
|
Sligo |
187 |
33 |
2 |
|
Tipperary |
549 |
52 |
2 |
|
Waterford |
520 |
68 |
2 |
|
Westmeath |
321 |
52 |
1 |
|
Wexford |
565 |
96 |
1 |
|
Wicklow |
368 |
80 |
0 |
|
Total |
13,083 |
2,543 |
42 |
427. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Social Protection if the concerns outlined in correspondence by organisations (details supplied) in relation to the tender for jobs clubs and the potential job losses will be examined and addressed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3017/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is procuring a new Local Area Employment Service over two distinct phases.
Phase one of the process for procuring new employment services involved seven counties in the Midlands and North West currently without a Local Employment Service. Contracts were signed last month and services are in the process of being mobilised.
Phase two of the process has now commenced, with the publication in December of a request for tender for seventeen lots covering 19 counties. Services for this phase will begin in July 2022.
Throughout the process of preparing this new procurement of employment services, my focus and the focus of my officials has been on ensuring the long-term unemployed throughout the State have access to quality employment services. Given the partial geographical coverage of the existing services and their decades-old contractual basis with associated legal deficiencies, significant reforms were required to make these services available throughout the State, in a manner that is consistent with the Department's legal obligations.
I am well aware of the uncertainty of a competitive procurement process for existing service providers and their staff. However, by its very nature, I cannot at this stage predict outcomes in terms of future service providers and future staffing arrangements. Nonetheless, the new services, with their multi-annual contracts and State-wide coverage, will provide greater certainty for all once established.
The tender process, with its overwhelming emphasis on quality over cost, is well-geared to ensuring that the long-term unemployed are provided a quality service by those best qualified to do so. The existing providers will therefore be well placed to work to submit joint competitive bids under the ongoing procurement process.
I trust this clarifies the position at this time.
428. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the engagement she has had with trade unions and stakeholders on the local employment tender in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3040/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is procuring a new Local Area Employment Service over two distinct phases.
Phase one of the process for procuring new employment services involved seven counties in the Midlands and North West currently without a Local Employment Service. Contracts were signed last month and services are in the process of being mobilised.
Phase two of the process has now commenced, with the publication on 21 December last of a request for tender for seventeen lots covering 19 counties. Services for this phase will begin in July 2022.
As the request for tender for phase two was published in December and is still live, due to procurement requirements it is not possible to engage with stakeholders in relation to an ongoing procurement process in 2022.
Prior to the issuing of the request for tender in December 2021, however, my Department had numerous engagements with stakeholders, including SIPTU and Forsa. This included over 140 separate engagements with stakeholders. Since the conclusion of the Phase 1 process, my Department has engaged with the relevant stakeholders including both SIPTU and Forsa with a focus on learning from the first phase of procurement with a view to incorporating feedback into the second phase of procurement.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
429. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection if she is satisfied that all recipients of the pandemic unemployment payment had a legitimate entitlement to the payment; if payments were made in cases in which no such entitlement existed; the procedures in place to recoup such payments following the internal audit carried out by her Department in respect of pandemic unemployment payment claims and payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3046/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Pandemic Unemployment Payment was introduced in an extremely short period of time in order to cushion the incomes of citizens who had lost their employment following the onset of an unprecedented public health crisis. Within 3 weeks of the payment being launched over 500,000 people had been paid. The delivery of the scheme on such a scale and in such a short time represented a major achievement by my Department.
To date, over 870,000 people have received payment under the scheme at a cost of €9 billion and over 28 million payments have issued.
My Department always has to strike a balance between applying tight controls and checks on claims on the one hand and not frustrating a person’s entitlement to a payment on the other. Throughout the Covid crisis, my Department has prioritised prompt claim processing and payment in order to ensure that people affected by the pandemic had the security of an income support payment. This was necessary and appropriate in light of the circumstances prevailing at the time. In addition, while prioritising prompt payment in the circumstances of the pandemic, payment and claim processing controls were applied to reduce the risk of incorrect or fraudulent payments. Inevitably, some people will have sought to take advantage of the scheme, but most people, as would be expected, acted honourably and honestly.
As part of its ongoing review and examination of operating processes designed to inform how controls can be improved, my Department’s Internal Audit Unit conducted an examination of the controls in place over the PUP scheme in 2020. The report concluded that the controls in place to assure the integrity of PUP payments were adequate, appropriate, and effective to provide reasonable assurance that risks were being managed and objectives should be met.
The audit included an examination of a random selection of 100 claims from a claim load dated 9 August 2020. The examination showed that 17 out of the 100 claims did not indicate an entitlement for the full duration that they received PUP. These included claims correctly awarded but not stopped on time by the customer when they returned to work. This resulted in short periods of overlap between receipt of PUP and employment. Of the 17 cases, 14 were closed at the date of the audit report; of these, 5 had been stopped as a result of the controls in place and the remaining 9 were stopped by the customer. Overpayments were therefore detected in 3 live cases (or 3%) out of the 100 cases examined.
The Internal Audit report recommended that that control review activity should continue, using the various means in place, including analytical tools and risk-based analysis. The recommendations were accepted by the Department, with a number of specific control projects undertaken as a result. These projects were in addition to the on-going control activity of the Department.
My Department follows up on all cases where it is identified that a person has been overpaid PUP and takes a reasonable approach to recovery of sums overpaid where these overpayments are believed to be due to genuine error or oversight by the claimant.
In circumstances where fraud is suspected the Department will seek to prosecute the people involved; a number of prosecutions have been initiated and convictions secured. More cases are being considered for prosecution.
I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
430. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Social Protection if her attention has been drawn to cases in which medically vulnerable persons who have completed the period of entitlement to illness benefit but although medically fit to work, would be exposed to unacceptable risk while Covid-19 remains a significant threat and who are unable to obtain income support such as a case (details supplied). [3114/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraSubject to satisfying certain PRSI contribution criteria, Illness Benefit may be paid to those who are certified as medically unfit to attend work. The payment can be made for a maximum period of 1 or 2 years depending on the level of PRSI contributions made.
When a person is approaching the date from which their entitlement is due to expire they receive a letter advising them that this is due to happen along with details of the options available to them going forward.
Where the person feels that they are permanently incapable of attending work or expect to be unable to do so for at least a further year, it is open to them to make an application for the long-term illness schemes of Invalidity Pension or Disability Allowance.
Where the person is deemed fit to return to work or expects to do so in the short-term, but they cannot find work, it is open to them to make an application for Jobseeker’s Benefit or Jobseeker’s Allowance.
The Government’s guaranteed minimum income scheme is the Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) scheme. The scheme is designed to provide financial assistance to those who have insufficient income to meet their basic essential financial commitments. The scheme is means tested and is not available to those who have full-time work available to them. Applications for assistance under the terms of the SWA scheme can be made by contacting the Department’s representative, formerly known as a Community Welfare Officer, at the local Intreo Centre. This officer will carry out a comprehensive review of an individual’s circumstances to determine whether they qualify for assistance under the SWA scheme.
In the case of the person identified by the Deputy my Department’s records show that the process outlined above was followed. When advised that entitlement to Illness Benefit was due to expire they applied for Invalidity Pension. The application was unsuccessful as they did not meet the medical conditions for the scheme.
The person concerned subsequently applied for Partial Capacity Benefit which is a scheme that allows those in receipt of Illness Benefit or Invalidity Pension for prescribed periods and who satisfy medical conditions, to retain a portion of their Social Welfare payment while returning to work or to taking up new employment. The person concerned advised my Department that they were due to return to work from 13 September 2021. At that time they were no longer in receipt of Illness Benefit and accordingly the PCB application was not allowed and they were advised accordingly.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
