Written Answers Nos. 250-269
250. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education if she will provide a schedule of the number of leases and annual expenditure on same for primary and secondary school buildings by county; and if she will provide the details of the organisation she holds the lease with. [52550/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information sought by the Deputy is currently being collated by officials within my Department and will be forwarded to the Deputy in due course.
251. Deputy Michael McNamara asked the Minister for Education the total number of post primary schools operating in the country, by county, in the current academic year; the number in the DEIS category; the number of fee-paying schools, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52573/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraPlease find attached requested information.
Please note the information provided is for academic year 2021-2022, the latest year we have data available for. We expect to publish preliminary enrolment and school data for academic year 2022-2023 in December 2022.
The information provided was collated from the 2021-2022 post-primary final enrolment data which can be found on the gov.ie website, link below;
gov.ie - Post-primary schools enrolment figures (www.gov.ie)
252. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education when the Junior Certificate results of 2022 will be issued to students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52608/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the state examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
253. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education the length of time that it takes her Department to put a new teaching contract into payment; the reason that it is taking up to eight weeks to pay teachers who take up new contracts; if she is satisfied that new teachers and teachers taking up new contracts are being left without payment for such long periods during a cost-of-living crisis; the numbers of new contracts currently being processed; the number of new contracts that took more than two weeks to be processed in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52680/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to outline to the Deputy the details of the procedures to process applications for all teacher appointments at the start of each new school year and the commitment of staff of my Department to efficiently process these applications.
Early in the New Year, each school is advised by my Department of their teaching allocations for the forthcoming school year. It is the responsibility of the school Management Authority to ensure that all teaching posts will be filled. Vacancies may arise in schools as a result of additional teaching posts, retirements, teachers moving to another school, career breaks, job sharing arrangements, etc. Once a school has selected a successful candidate for a vacancy, they must provide the teacher’s details to my Department in order to be set up on payroll. These details are provided in an appointment form and include details of the teachers’ appointment, type of contract, Teaching Council registration details, bank details, etc. My Department gives an annual commitment to Schools, teachers, Unions and Education Partners that all correctly completed appointment forms received in Payroll Division in early July will be paid on the first pay date in September. For the 2022/2023 school year these dates were 8th July 2022 for Primary teachers and 1st July, 2022 for Voluntary Secondary and Community and Comprehensive schools teachers. It was not possible to set a relatively small number of these appointment forms up for the first pay date in September as the forms were incomplete. Difficulties were encountered in verifying details with schools or the teacher concerned as they were unavailable during the school summer closure period.
Appointment forms received after the July dates are processed in date order of receipt and many are processed in time for salary payment on the first pay date of September, or as early as possible thereafter. There are many instances where a school forwards a appointment form after the school year has begun.
My Department has received in the region of 10,000 appointment forms to date for the start of the 2022/2023 school year. In order to process this high volume in the months of July and August, the Payroll staff worked overtime during the week, at weekends and were constrained in taking leave.
As appointment forms are submitted in paper format as well as by email and continue to be received and processed, I do not have data on the number of appointments that took more than two weeks to process. I can advise the Deputy however that once processed, the appointment has also to meet the payroll cutoff deadline date for inclusion in the next available pay run. This means that in most cases it will invariably take more than two weeks from date of receipt until processed and included in the next payroll for payment.
I wish to reassure the Deputy that staff in my Department are in direct contact with schools and teachers, on an ongoing basis. They are highly aware of the financial pressure that late payments of salary can place on teachers, especially newly qualified teachers and every effort is made to resolve issues as soon as possible and to ensure prompt payment. The majority of appointment applications have now been processed for the 2022/23 school year, and any outstanding applications are now being processed.
254. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education when a decision will be made in relation to the provision of a school bus ticket for a pupil (details supplied) in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52681/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.
In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.
Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.
Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
Because of the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible children and the priority of providing places for eligible children, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places, in these cases Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using a random selection process.
Temporary Alleviation Measures at post-primary level will be continued for the 2022/2023 school year pending completion of the review of the School Transport Scheme. This will mean that transport arrangements will continue to be provided for a number of post-primary students who are attending their second nearest school, who have applied and registered on time and who live more than 4.8km from their nearest school.
Bus Eireann have advised that no application for transport has been received for the pupil referred to by the Deputy to the school referred for the 2022/23 school year.
255. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a comment in relation to a WRC case (details supplied) which states that Dublin South MABS was in breach of the Employment Equality Act and discriminated against a former employee on the grounds of age; and if the board for Dublin South MABS has the minimum required number of directors at present to oversee proper governance. [52495/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Citizens information Board (CIB), which falls under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection, is the statutory body with responsibility for the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS). The CIB provides funding to eight independent MABS companies which provide services to the public. A regional manager manages each company, and a Board of Directors oversees each company.
Each company is independently responsible for complying with all relevant legislation including in relation to company law, data protection, employment, and contract law in relation to their employees and others. Therefore, I cannot address this matter directly.
CIB supports the MABS companies in this area by providing access to external HR advice as part of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) between CIB and the eight companies. However, individual HR matters are managed by each MABS company. The companies have their own grievance procedures in place and facilitate access to an Employee Assistance Service. The companies negotiate the terms and conditions of their staff members through an Employer-Union Forum with Unite the Union.
CIB has informed my Department that the decision of the WRC in this case has been brought to their attention and has been noted. CIB has also confirmed that there are currently sufficient registered directors in Dublin South MABS to meet the requirements of the Companies Registration Office and the charities Regulator /Revenue Commissioners in the context of the charitable status of Dublin South MABS.
256. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Social Protection if funding for school meals has been increased in line with inflation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52572/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,700 schools and organisations and benefitting 260,000 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.
Budget 2022 provided €68.1 million for the programme with an additional €9m provided to allow access to all new DEIS schools from September 2022. Additional funding for the programme has been provided for 2023 bringing the total to €91.6m.
Funding under the school meals programme can be provided for breakfast, snack, cold lunch, dinner, hot school meals and afterschool clubs and is based on a maximum rate per child per day, depending on the type of meal being provided. Full details of the rates are provided in the attached tabular statement.
In March 2022, the Minister for Education announced an extension of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in School to an additional 322 schools from September 2022. In July, I announced that the provision of the hot school meal option will be extended to all new DEIS primary schools and the cold lunch option to all new DEIS secondary schools benefitting some 60,000 children at an additional cost of €9m in 2022.
The current rates have not changed but I am committed to continuing to expand the school meals programme and building further on the significant extension of the programme in recent years. In this regard, I have commissioned an evaluation of the school meals programme, which is currently underway. As part of this review, all elements of the programme, including rates, will be considered.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
Tabular Statement
Table 1: Rates of payment for the School Meals Programme
|
Meal |
Max Rate of Payment (per child per day) |
Minimum number of food items |
Examples of Food to be Provided |
|
Breakfast/Snack |
€0.60 |
2 items |
1 serving of wholemeal/wholegrain cereal or bread PLUS 1 serving of fruit OR 1 serving of milk, yogurt or cheese |
|
Cold Lunch |
€1.40 |
1 substantial item + 1 small item + a drink |
Wholemeal/wholegrain sandwich or roll containing 1 serving meat, poultry, egg or cheese and 1 serving salad PLUS 1 serving fruit PLUS a drink (for example: water, milk, unsweetened juice) |
|
Dinner |
€1.90 |
Hot meal + drink |
1 serving meat, poultry, egg, beans PLUS 1 serving potatoes, pasta or rice PLUS 2 servings vegetables/fruit PLUS a drink (Milk, Water, Unsweetened Juice) |
|
Hot Meal |
€2.90 |
Hot Meal |
Per nutritional standards document |
257. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Social Protection if fuel allowance is available to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52643/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Fuel Allowance is a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. The payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) is paid from late September to April. One of the conditions for receipt of fuel allowance is that a person must satisfy a means test.
In respect of the 2022/2023 fuel season, an application for Fuel Allowance has not been received from the person concerned. An application form has been posted to them.
From January 2023, there will be a new means threshold for people aged 70 and over, of €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple. In addition, these applicants no longer need to be in receipt of a qualifying payment to access Fuel Allowance, provided they satisfy the means test and the household composition rules.
Details in relation to the application process for those aged 70 and over, including how and when to apply, will be advertised by the Department towards the end of this year.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
258. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider making the fuel allowance available to those person aged over 66 years with a disability (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52475/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. Only one allowance is paid per household.
The criteria for fuel allowance are framed in order to direct the limited resources available to the Department in as targeted a manner as possible. To qualify for the Fuel Allowance, an applicant must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, satisfy a means test and satisfy the household composition criteria. This ensures that the Fuel Allowance payment goes to those who are more vulnerable to fuel poverty including those reliant on social protection payments for longer periods and who are unlikely to have additional resources of their own.
While the Department's schemes are reviewed on an ongoing basis there are no plans to grant automatic access to the Fuel Allowance payment without regard to the qualifying criteria set out above. Any decision to do so would change the targeted nature of the scheme and would have cost implications and could only be considered while taking account of the overall budgetary context and the availability of financial resources.
As part of the overall welfare Budget 2023 package of almost €2.2 Billion, I was delighted to announce a number of considerable reforms to the means threshold of the Fuel Allowance scheme which will benefit many pensioner households. These reforms include:
- From January 2023, a new means threshold will be introduced for people aged 70 years and over. The new means threshold will be €500 for a single person and €1,000 for a couple.
- From January 2023, the standard means test for persons under 70 will be increased by €80 from €120 to €200 over the maximum State Pension Contributory rate.
- From January 2023, the Disablement Benefit payment will be disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes.
- From January 2023, the Half-Rate Carer's Allowance payment will be disregarded when assessing means for Fuel Allowance purposes.
I would also like to highlight that the Department of Social Protection provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have an urgent need, which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
259. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection if she plans to extend the fuel allowance to those in receipt of the working family payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52476/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Fuel Allowance is a payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) from late September to April, at an estimated cost of €366 million in 2022. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. Only one allowance is paid per household.
The Fuel Allowance is paid to social welfare recipients such as pensioners, people with disabilities, lone parents and long-term unemployed people, in recognition of their long-term financial dependence on their social welfare payment for all or most of their income.
People on long term payments are unlikely to have additional resources of their own and are more vulnerable to poverty, including energy poverty. It is for this reason that the Department allocates additional payments, supports and resources such as Fuel Allowance to these groups of claimants.
The Working Family Payment (WFP) is a weekly, tax-free payment available to employees with children. It gives extra financial support to families with children with rates depending on their incomes and family size. It is not considered a long-term Social Protection payment and recipients are in full time employment and are more likely to have additional resources. A person in receipt of the WFP can continue to receive the payment for 52 weeks even if their income increases.
While no provision was made in Budget 2023 to allow persons in receipt of the WFP to access the Fuel Allowance payment, as part of the overall Social Welfare Budget 2023 package of almost €2.2 Billion, I was pleased to announce a number of measures in relation to the WFP. In November 2022, people receiving the WFP will get a lump-sum payment of €500 and, in January 2023, the WFP income limits will increase by €40 across all family sizes.
For people parenting alone and who are on a social welfare scheme such as the One-Parent Family Payment, they may also receive the double-week payment in October and the Christmas Bonus in December.
Many of those on the WFP will also benefit from the non-social welfare cost of living measures announced in the Budget, such as the enhanced electricity credits of €600 which will be applied to electricity bills.
Finally, the Department of Social Protection provides Additional Needs Payments as part of the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme for people who have an urgent need, which they cannot meet from their own resources. These payments are available through our Community Welfare Officers
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
260. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider extending the €500 payment for people with disabilities to those who have moved to the State contributory pension due to their age (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52477/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of Budget 2023, the Social Protection budget has been designed to assist people with cost-of-living increases through a mix of lump sum payments, increases to weekly payment rates and an expansion of the fuel allowance scheme.
The measures introduced include the provision of a one-off €500 Cost-of-Living lump sum, which will be paid in November 2022 to recipients of the Disability Allowance, Blind Pension, Invalidity Pension and the Carer's Support Grant. Recipients who are in receipt of one (or more) of these payments will qualify for the €500 payment.
Persons in receipt of a State Pension are not eligible for this lump sum. They will however receive a double payment of their pension on 21st October 2022 under the Autumn Cost-of-Living Support measure which I also announced in the recent Budget and will receive a Christmas Bonus double payment on 9th December 2022.
Persons in receipt of Fuel Allowance will receive a €400 Lump Sum Fuel Allowance payment. Persons who are in receipt of the Living Alone Allowance will receive a €200 Living Alone Lump Sum payment. Both of these payments will be paid in the week commencing 14th November 2022.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
261. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider increasing the recent RSS and Tús top-up of €5 in Budget 2023 to at least €12 to keep pace with other social welfare payments. [52480/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to the ongoing cost of living pressures, I have secured a package of almost €2.2 billion for Social Protection measures as part of Budget 2023. This represents the largest Budget package for the Department of Social Protection in the history of the State and will help to support our pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, lone parents and families during this difficult period.
As part of this package, I announced that weekly social welfare rates will increase by €12 from January 2023. I also announced that the top-up paid to participants on the Rural Social Scheme and Tús schemes will also increase by €5, to be paid in addition to the €12 increase in core weekly rates.
I am happy to clarify for the Deputy, therefore, that participants on the Rural and Social Scheme and Tús will benefit from both measures - a combined €17 in their weekly payment rate.
I trust this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
262. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Social Protection the current status of the working family payment renewal for a person (details supplied); when this payment will resume; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52493/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraWorking Family Payment (WFP) is an in-work weekly payment which provides additional income support to employees on low earnings with children.
An application for WFP was received from the person concerned on 25 August 2022. Further information was requested by the Department. The person concerned submitted this information, and it was received by the Department.
A Deciding Officer reviewed the application, and WFP was awarded on 17 October 2022, with effect from 13 October 2022 (renewal date) to 11 October 2023. The first weekly payment and all arrears owing have issued to their selected financial account on 17 October 2022.
The person concerned was notified on 17 October 2022 of this decision.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
263. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if all outstanding benefit payments due to a person (details supplied) will be paid immediately; and if she will confirm the amounts due to the person and the periods in question. [52502/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the person concerned was in receipt of another social welfare payment before they were awarded Disability Allowance (DA), necessary adjustments were calculated and applied in respect of an overlapping payment.
The arrears of DA have been reviewed and, upon calculation, no arrears were due to the person concerned.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
264. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if an application for a State pension in the name of a person (details supplied) will be expedited and approved as three applications have been submitted to date, two of which have been misplaced in the Department. [52503/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe person concerned reached pension age on 30 May 2022. An application for state pension (non-contributory) was received on 10 October 2022. There is no record of any previous state pension (non-contributory) application(s) received by my Department.
The person concerned has been awarded state pension (non-contributory) with effect from 3 June 2022 and was notified, in writing, of this decision on 14 October 2022. Payment of arrears due will issue to the person concerned shortly.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
265. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Protection the reason that the correct payment option was not applied to a fuel allowance claim for a person (details supplied); and if the matter is to be rectified [52504/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Fuel Allowance is a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. The payment of €33 per week for 28 weeks (a total of €924 each year) is paid from late September to April.
The fuel allowance application in respect of the person concerned was awarded on 11 April 2022 with the payment awarded from 14 January 2022. The person concerned received arrears totaling €554 covering the period 14 January to the end of the fuel season 2022.
Unfortunately, the payment frequency was not updated on the system to reflect the customers preference of a lump sum payment. Weekly payments of fuel allowance issued from 30 September 2022 and will continue to 5 January 2023. From 06 January 2023, they will receive the lump sum payment of €462 covering payment from 6 January to the end of the fuel season 2023. They were notified in writing of this change on 07 October 2022.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
266. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Social Protection if a full carer’s allowance will be approved immediately for a person (details supplied) who is in receipt of payment of half of the carer's payment and whose financial circumstances have changed. [52517/22]
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.
If a person is in receipt of another social welfare payment (other than unemployment payments or supplementary welfare allowance) or is being claimed as a qualified adult on their spouse / partner's payment, a half-rate CA can be paid too as long as all the normal conditions for receipt of CA are satisfied.
The person concerned has been in receipt of CA at half-rate from 4 July 2019, as they are also in receipt of One Parent Family Payment (OFP). The person's entitlement to OFP is due to cease on 9 November 2022 and it has been decided that the person concerned is entitled to full rate CA from 10 November 2022.
The person concerned was notified on 18 October 2022 of this outcome and of their right of review and appeal.
I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
267. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Social Protection if either person can apply for farm assist in cases in which two names are on a herd number; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52529/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraFarm Assist is a means-tested income support scheme for farmers. To qualify for the payment, a person must be actively farming land in the State, aged between 18 and 66 and satisfy a means test
A single herd number can be used to support only one Farm Assist application, where applicable, at a time.
Where two or more people farm what may originally have been a single unit, but is now claimed to be made up of separate units and is being managed as separate entities/businesses, they may qualify for Farm Assist in their own right, subject to satisfying all the conditions for the scheme.
I trust that this clarifies the matter.
268. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Social Protection the status of a supplementary welfare allowance application by a person (details supplied); the reason for the delay in making a decision on the case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52535/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm that the Department received an application for Disability Allowance (DA) from the person concerned on 14 September 2022.
The person concerned has been awarded DA with effect from 14 September 2022 and the first payment will be made by their chosen payment method on 19 October 2022.
Arrears of payment due from 14 September 2022 to 18 October 2022 have been issued to the person concerned.
The person concerned was notified of this decision in writing on 11 October 2022.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
269. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Social Protection if data (details supplied) in relation to the secondment of staff from her Department to the local employment service will be provided; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52543/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department currently has two staff seconded to a Local Area Employment Service (LAES) based in Limerick. We currently have one Clerical Officer seconded to the North East Inner City initiative (NEIC) in Dublin. This officer works with the NEIC as a Clerical Officer and does not have any involvement with LES/LAES services.
Staff on secondment are pensionable at their substantive grade. The two Clerical Officer staff on secondment with the Limerick based LAES are in receipt of an allowance which is not reckonable for pension purposes. Secondment arrangements for these staff are currently being reviewed in light of the new LAES contract arrangements.
