Written Answers Nos. 263-282
263. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection her plans to allow persons in receipt of an old age pension to continue to avail of the diet supplement allowance after they transfer on to their State pension in view of the expense associated with many of the conditions covered by diet supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41038/17]
View answerDiet supplement, administered under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, is payable to qualifying persons, in receipt of the supplement prior to February 2014, who have been prescribed a special diet as a result of a specified medical condition. There are currently fewer than 3,000 in receipt of the diet supplement at a cost of €4.6 million in 2017.
Following the outcome of a review of the costs of healthy eating and specialised diets by the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute commissioned by the Department during 2013, the scheme has been closed to new applicants from 1 February 2014. This independent research showed that the average costs across all of the retail outlets of the diets supplemented under the scheme can be met from within one third of the minimum personal rate of social welfare payment, i.e. the SWA rate which was then paid at €186 per week. The weekly rate of SWA has recently increased to €191 further to Budget 2017. The diet supplement scheme was discontinued for new applicants on the basis of this evidence.
Existing recipients continue to receive the diet supplement at the current rate of payment for as long as they continue to have an entitlement to the scheme or until their circumstances change. This measure ensured that nobody was immediately worse off by the closure of the scheme. An increase in weekly means affects the rate of diet supplement payable.
The weekly increase provided in Budget 2017 delivers on the commitments as outlined in the Programme for Partnership Government – to increase the State Pension and to support an increase for people with disabilities. For this reason arrangements were put in place so that the effect of the Budget 2017 increase on weekly social welfare payments will not impact on the payment of diet supplement to existing customers.
In cases of particular hardship, officials continue to have the legislative power to award a SWA payment in cases of exceptional need. Any person who considers that they may have an entitlement to financial support should contact their local Community Welfare Service who may be able to offer assistance.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
264. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if she has prepared a response to the list of questions submitted to her Department by the Data Protection Commissioner regarding the public services card (details supplied); if she will publish the responses to these questions when they are finalised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41042/17]
View answerMy Department has prepared responses to the list of questions submitted by the Data Protection Commissioner regarding the Public Services Card.
These responses are currently being proofed and will issue to the Data Protection Commissioner shortly.
Once the Data Protection Commissioner has had an opportunity to consider these responses they will be published on my Department’s website.
265. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a person (details supplied) in County Sligo will have a decision on a carer's allowance application in view of the fact that the person concerned is due to travel abroad shortly with their child for treatment which cannot be provided here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41047/17]
View answerCarer's Allowance is a statutory, means-tested payment which provides an income support for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention.
As is the case with most other means-tested social welfare payments, Carer’s Allowance is not payable on an extended basis to or in respect of persons outside the State, although legislation provides for the payment of carer’s allowance when a person leaves the State on a temporary basis for the specific purpose of accompanying a care recipient while that person is receiving treatment.
There is no requirement that the treatment be one which is not available in the State.
A temporary absence is considered to be one which lasts no longer than thirteen weeks.
If the person concerned leaves the State on 1 October 2017, as scheduled, she will be entitled to continued payment of carer’s allowance up to 3 January 2018. There are other possible income support options available to this family and an officer of the Department is in the process of contacting the person concerned to explain what other payments may be available to them in these circumstances.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
267. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a review of the community employment scheme is taking place; the purpose of this review; if the further curtailment of the time that persons over 55 years of age can spend on the scheme is anticipated; her plans to address the anomalies outlined in correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41070/17]
View answerFollowing the publication of my Department’s Report - An Analysis of the Community Employment Programme – earlier this year, the Government approved a number of changes to the terms and conditions around participation on Community Employment (CE). The main purpose of these changes was to broaden the availability of CE to a greater number of people on the live register, to standardise eligibility and other conditions regarding the length of time a person can participate on the programme and to promote progression outcomes.
These changes, implemented last July, include a reduction in the general qualifying age for CE for those on the live register, from 25 to 21 years and it will now be easier for previous participants to re-enter a scheme as the base line year is being moved from 2000 to 2007. CE participants age 55 and over can avail of up to 3 consecutive years on a scheme, after only one year in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment. The lifetime participation limit on CE of 6 years (7 years if in receipt of a qualifying disability-linked payment) remains unchanged.
In addition a review of the current rule, which enables a percentage of those aged 62 or over, to participate on a continuous basis up to the State Pension age, is currently underway and is expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
268. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the position regarding retained firemen seeking jobseeker's allowance while their availability is restricted due to fire service commitments. [41093/17]
View answerRetained (part-time) fire-fighters, provide services which are vitally important to their communities. Typically, these workers provide services in rural and less densely populated areas but larger urban centres may also have a cohort of part-time workers.
Retained fire-fighters who are otherwise unemployed are entitled to a jobseeker’s payment in respect of days that they are engaged in fire-fighting or training, subject to the usual qualification conditions in relation to means or social insurance contributions. They are, also required to satisfy the statutory conditions for the receipt of a jobseeker’s payment of being available for and genuinely seeking work. Any person who fails to satisfy these conditions is not entitled to a jobseeker’s payment.
Taking account of the unusual circumstances of retained fire personnel the Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 carried amendments to both jobseeker’s benefit and jobseeker’s allowance that put the treatment of retained fire fighters on a legislative basis. These amendments were introduced with particular regard to the vital service provided by this group, particularly in rural communities where the fire service is almost exclusively staffed by retained personnel.
This legislation provided that when a retained fire fighter is on call this will not result in a disallowance for a jobseeker’s payment on grounds of availability. It also provides that retained fire fighters are exempt from suffering a loss of a day of jobseeker’s payment for any day of firefighting employment. Finally, the legislation also provides an exemption for retained fire fighters from having to satisfy the substantial loss of employment condition under jobseeker’s benefit.
The legislation and associated regulations allow retained fire-fighters a reasonable and fair level of access to the jobseeker schemes given the unique circumstances of the service they provide their communities.
269. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if JobPath provider Turas Nua and a company (details supplied) are engaging with persons who are not long-term unemployed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41105/17]
View answer270. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of part-time workers who are engaging with the JobPath scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41106/17]
View answer271. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of school teachers that are engaging with the JobPath scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41107/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 269 to 271, inclusive, together.
As the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. The service is delivered by two companies, Seetec Ltd and Turas Nua Ltd.
For the purposes of the JobPath service all long-term unemployed jobseekers on the Live Register are categorised into groups based on their duration of unemployment (e.g. 1- 2 years, 2 – 3 years etc.). Selection for referral to the JobPath provider is by means of stratified random sampling using these groupings; the objective being to ensure equity in selection and also that people referred to JobPath are a representative of the long-term cohort on the Live Register. The duration of a person's jobseeker claim is recorded in terms of days of unemployment. Jobseeker Allowance claims are made up of continuous periods of unemployment. Any two such periods not separated by more than 52 weeks is considered to be the same continuous period of unemployment. Long-term jobseekers that may have left the live register to go into employment are still considered to be long-term if they reopen their claim within the 52 weeks. They retain certain entitlements (for example no waiting days and other supplemental benefits) and are eligible for selection for activation services including JobPath.
Customers who have not been in full-time employment but are returning to Jobseeker’s payments from other departmental employment schemes, for example community employment and TÚS are also eligible for selection for JobPath.
To date some 9,000 part time workers have engaged with the JobPath service, this figure represents approximately 8% of the total number of clients who have engaged with JobPath.
There were approximately 72,000 people with JobPath in August 2017. There was no data on a level of education for 18% of this cohort. Of the remaining 82%, some 0.8% have informed the Department that they are teaching professionals. This group includes self-described teachers/tutors/instructors of all disciplines and levels.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
272. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the stage reached by the report into the impact changes to the one-parent family payment are having on lone parents as committed to in the Social Welfare Bill 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41108/17]
View answerOn foot of the legislative commitment contained in the Social Welfare Act 2016 to carry out an independent report on the amendments to the one parent family payment, and following a tendering process, Indecon Economic Consultants were selected and commenced work on the report in April of this year.
The contract requires Indecon to examine the financial, social, poverty and welfare dependency impacts of the changes to the OFP scheme that were introduced since January 2012. To achieve this Indecon must carry out a detailed quantitative and econometric analysis of the Department’s data on affected lone parents, and carry out a qualitative analysis that includes issuing a survey to 34,000 lone parents and collating those results.
The timeframe for the review was always very ambitious given the scale and complexity of the issues to be covered in the review. However, it is expected that the report will be available within the coming weeks.
273. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the payment available to a family in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41130/17]
View answerFollowing further clarification with the Deputy’s Office, the person concerned should contact his Local Intreo Centre to establish if his spouse is entitled to an Adult Dependant Allowance on his Jobseeker Benefit claim.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
274. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when rent support will be restored in the case of a person (details supplied); the reason rent support was not equally restored; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41139/17]
View answerThe rent supplement claim for the person concerned was closed in 2015 as documentation requested relating to combined household means was not provided. It is open to the person concerned to submit a complete and up-to-date rent supplement application form, including all required documentation. Upon receipt of the necessary documentation his entitlement to rent supplement will be assessed accordingly.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
275. Deputy Marc MacSharry asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when a person (details supplied) will have their carer's benefit payment reinstated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41154/17]
View answerIt is a condition for receipt of Carer's Benefit (CARB) that the person being cared for must have a disability whose effect is that they require full-time care and attention.
This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in connection with normal bodily functions or continuous supervision in order to avoid danger to him or herself.
The care recipient suffered injury in a road traffic accident in August 2015. CARB was initially awarded for a period of 6 months from 3 March 2016 to 31 August 2016 and the claim was extended on a number of occasions since then.
Prior to the expiry of her claim on 30 August 2017 the carer submitted further evidence in support of a claim for continued payment and the deciding officer decided that this evidence did not indicate that the requirement for full-time care was satisfied.
The person concerned was notified on 30 August 2017 of this decision, the reason for it and of her right of review and appeal.
A request for a review and additional medical evidence was received on 11 September 2017. Following this review the decision remained unchanged.
The person concerned was notified on 26 September of the outcome of the review, the reasons for it and of her right of appeal.
However, it has also been noted that the care recipient injured himself in an occupational injury. If he has suffered a loss of physical or mental faculty as a result of this occupational accident, he may have an entitlement to disablement benefit which is one of the benefits under my Department’s occupational injuries benefit scheme. Part of the application process for disablement benefit involves an in-person assessment by one of the Department’s Medical Assessors to determine if he suffered any loss of faculty. If he is deemed to have lost half of his physical or mental faculty and needs someone to help him daily at home to attend to his personal needs, he could be entitled to a constant attendance allowance. This is payable at the same rate as CARB.
I have arranged for an application form for disablement benefit to issue to him.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
276. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the amount her Department paid to a company (details supplied) since the beginning of the contract in summer 2015; the number of unemployed persons who have remained in sustainable employment for more than 12 months after having been referred to the company by her Department in view of the fact that the company is an employment advisory company; and the procedures for redeployment the company has in place when making its own Irish employees redundant. [41165/17]
View answerMy Department does not publish the individual fees paid to the JobPath providers because of commercial sensitivity. This commercial sensitivity is in relation to the release of the information having the potential to both influence the management of the contracts currently in place and any future procurement that may be undertaken and thus putting the State at a disadvantage.
The JobPath service is being delivered through a payment by results model and the initial set up costs and the ongoing running costs are borne by the companies. Fees comprise an initial registration fee and thereafter job sustainment fees are payable for each 13-week period of sustained employment, up to a maximum of 52 weeks.
The jobs must be full-time, that is, employment for more than 30 hours a week. This means JobPath companies are incentivised financially to assist people to find full-time jobs that they are likely to hold down and are therefore suited to. My Department verifies each individual job sustainment fee claim before payment, confirming that the customer is in employment and no longer on the Live Register.
In relation to the number of participants to find full-time employment, it is important to note that jobseekers may be supported through the service for up to 30 months - under the service jobseekers have access to a personal adviser (PA) who works with them over two phases. During the first phase, of 12 months duration, the PA provides practical assistance in searching, preparing for, securing and sustaining employment. The second phase starts if the jobseeker is successful in finding work. During this phase the PA continues to work with the jobseeker for a further period of at least three months, and up to 12 months. In addition to the two phases jobseekers may also undertake training while with the service and this may extend the period the jobseeker is supported through the service for up to a further 6 months.
It will therefore take time to accumulate a sufficient number of clients (who have completed their engagement period with the service) for complete and robust outcome data to be available. With this in mind, it is intended that an econometric evaluation of the service will commence at the end of 2017. The Department has however commenced publishing initial cohort reports on the performance of the service, with the most recent report, which provides details of the performance outcomes for three jobseeker cohorts - Q3 and Q4 2015, and Q1 2016 - having been published on the Department’s website recently.
The report is available at:
http://www.welfare.ie/en/downloads/JobPath_Performance_Report_Jul15-Mar16.pdf
JobPath providers provide the JobPath service under contract to my Department. The providers are responsible for compliance with all the statutory requirements to be satisfied by an employer with regards to its own employees. The JobPath contract specifies the duration of the contract, as a period of six (6) years. Following completion of the contract duration, any decisions in relation to redeployment or redundancy arrangements for employees are entirely a matter for the JobPath provider.
277. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when the review of the Social Insurance Fund will be published. [41211/17]
View answerThe Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005, as amended, makes provision for the carrying out of actuarial reviews of the Social Insurance Fund at five yearly intervals. The last actuarial review, as at 31 December 2010, was published in 2012.
The fourth actuarial review, as at 31 December 2015, is currently being undertaken by external consultants. The review will project the income and expenditure of the Fund over a 55 year period, taking into account policy, economic and demographic changes since the previous review was undertaken. In providing an assessment of the financial health of the Fund, the findings of the review will contribute to the development of policy for social insurance benefits generally.
In addition to examining options relating to State pensions, the review will examine the projected PRSI contribution rates required to provide individual benefits to Class S self-employed contributors on a revenue neutral basis.
The department is carrying out the review in consultation with a range of other relevant departments and bodies including the Department of Finance, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Central Statistics Office.
The report is in the final stages of preparation and I expect to be in a position to publish the results of the review by mid-October.
278. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if he will extend the slurry spreading date until the end of October for farmers and the farm yard manure dates until 15 November in view of August and September being particularly wet months and land spreading not being possible due to wet conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41031/17]
View answer280. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his views on extending the slurry spreading deadline for exceptional cases in which land has been severely damaged by wet weather. [41204/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 278 and 280 together.
The Nitrates Directive and Ireland's National Nitrates Action Programme are given legal effect by the consolidated European Union (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2014, as amended. The objective of the Regulations is to protect ground and surface waters, including drinking water sources, primarily through the management of livestock manures and other fertilisers.
Good agricultural practice involves the land spreading of organic fertilisers such as slurry as early as practicable in the growing season in order to maximise the uptake of nutrients by crops and to minimise pollution risks to water courses and groundwaters. In accordance with the requirements of the Nitrates Directive, the Regulations include provisions regarding periods when the land application of certain types of fertilisers is prohibited. In addition, the Regulations prohibit such application at any time of the year when the ground is frozen, waterlogged or heavy rain is forecast.
Specified closed periods for the spreading of fertilisers, including slurry, are a key aspect of the Nitrates Regulations. They are a requirement of the Nitrates Directive and are mandatory in every Member State. The closed periods in Ireland were decided following extensive consultation and were discussed with farming bodies and the European Commission when Ireland’s Nitrates Action Programme was being introduced. The provisions of the Regulations are underpinned by scientific research and good agricultural practice and a key message from that research is that a disproportionate level of nutrient loss from agriculture to water occurs during the closed period, when grass growth is limited.
I have no plans at present to extend the spreading periods for any fertilisers in 2017.
279. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the number of kilometres of river channels here. [41153/17]
View answerThe Environmental Protection Agency, in its recently published report Water Quality in Ireland 2010 - 2015 (available at: http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/water/waterqua/waterqualityinireland2010-2015.html), states that Ireland has more than 70,000 kilometres of river channel.
281. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government further to Parliamentary Question No. 1635 of 26 July 2017, the position regarding the review of the tenant purchase scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41037/17]
View answer286. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government when the review of the new tenant purchase scheme will be finalised; the changes which are proposed as a result of this review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41164/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 281 and 286 together.
The new Tenant (Incremental) Purchase Scheme for existing local authority houses came into operation on 1 January 2016. The Scheme is open to eligible tenants, including joint tenants, of local authority houses that are available for sale under the Scheme. To be eligible, tenants must meet certain criteria, including having a minimum reckonable income of €15,000 per annum, have been in receipt of social housing support for at least one year and have been allocated a house under a local authority allocation scheme.
In line with the commitment given in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, a review of the first 12 months of the Tenant Purchase scheme’s operation has been undertaken. The review has incorporated analysis of comprehensive data received from local authorities regarding the operation of the scheme during 2016 and a wide-ranging public consultation process which saw submissions received from individuals, elected representatives and organisations.
The review is now complete and a full report setting out findings and recommendations has been prepared. Following consultation with relevant Departments on implementation arrangements, I expect that definitive proposals will be submitted to me very shortly.
282. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if Dublin City Council or other local authorities vote to rescind freedom of the city to a person (details supplied), if there is a legal impediment to enact this decision; if not, if additional legislation is needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41041/17]
View answerSection 74 of the Local Government Act 2001 provides that a local authority may confer a civic honour on a distinguished person in such a manner as it may determine and may establish and maintain a roll or record in which to enter the names of persons so honoured.
The decision to convey a civic honour is a reserved function, the implementation of which is a matter for individual local authorities. Any legal issues arising in that context, including the obtaining of any legal advice if necessary, are a matter for individual local authorities in the first instance.
