Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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Question 331: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown, from the start of 2010 to date, of the percentage of applications for carer's allowance that have been refused, of that number the amount that have been appealed; and of those appealed the amount that have had the decision to refuse overturned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34656/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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In 2010, 16,629 new carer's allowance claims were processed and 6,972 (or just under 42%) were refused in the year. 10,497 new claims were processed to the end of September 2011, of which 3,921 (or just over 37%) were refused. These figures relate to the initial decision made on each application.

I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that 2,969 carer's allowance appeals were received in 2010 and that 1,838 carer's allowance appeals were received between 1 January 2011 and 31 October 2011.

During 2010 a total 2,154 appeals were concluded, of which 1,215 (56%) had a successful outcome for the appellant. The relevant figures for 2011 (to end October) are 2,602 appeals concluded, of which 1,288 (49.5%) had a successful outcome.

While roughly 52.5% of the combined totals (2,503) had a successful outcome for appellants, over half of these decisions (1,283) were in fact revised decisions made by deciding officers in carer's allowance section, who reviewed the claim following the initial disallowance. These revised decisions arose primarily as a result of new facts or fresh evidence produced by the claimant after the initial decision on his/her claim. In such cases an appeals officer's decision was not necessary. Of the 1,459 carer's appeals determined by appeals officers in 2010, 520 were allowed or partially allowed (35.64%). In 2011, the relevant number allowed by appeals officers was 700 (just under 35%).

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 332: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will expedite an application for rent supplement in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34667/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The community welfare service (CWS) and the community welfare officers providing it transferred formally to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) from 1 October 2011. The service and the staff are now part of the DSP.

The person concerned has made an application for rent supplement on the 8th of November and has been requested to provide further information in order to process her claim. A decision will be made on her application when the information has been provided.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 333: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a back to school clothing and footwear allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34677/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) scheme assists eligible categories of people with the cost of school clothing and footwear. The allowance is paid in respect of eligible children between the ages of 2 and 17 years of age and between the ages of 18 and 22 years of age if in full time education in respect of which a qualified child allowance (QCA) is being paid.

As the person concerned is not currently in receipt of a qualified child allowance for his daughter, a payment of BSCFA cannot be made in this instance.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 334: To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider linking continuing entitlement to child benefit to school attendance; her views that this approach offers an opportunity to save funding whereby the obligation to pay child benefit to children not resident in the State would thereby be ended and simultaneously this approach could resolve the issue of truancy; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34696/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The question of how best to address the issue of truancy is primarily a matter for my colleagues, the Ministers for Education and Skills and for Children and Youth Affairs.

Child benefit is a universal payment that assists parents with the cost associated with raising children and it contributes towards alleviating child poverty. It is paid monthly in respect of all children up to the age of 16 years and in respect of children over 16 years of age up to their 18th birthday who are in full time education or have a disability. The Government is conscious that this payment is an important source of income for all families, particularly during a time of recession and unemployment.

There are no plans to introduce a condition in Ireland related to school attendance beyond that which currently exists for those aged 16 and 17. My Department is aware that while the payment of family and child related supports is conditional in some countries on availing of social services such as school attendance or health care, this tends to be a characteristic of social protection systems in developing countries and is not generally a feature of those in the EU.

The Irish child benefit payment is classified as a family benefit for the purposes of the EU's social security systems' coordination rules and the payment of these benefits are governed by specific rules set out in EU Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009. EU nationals who come to work in Ireland, and who pay Irish social insurance contributions, are entitled to receive child benefit in respect of their children, even if the children reside in another EU Member State. The equality provisions of the regulations require that these payments are made at the same rate and under the same conditions as apply to a person whose family is resident in Ireland. As in many areas of EU legislation, national legislation must be implemented in a manner that is compatible with EU legislation.

It is therefore likely that changing the rules to confine payment of child benefit to children attending school in Ireland in order to avoid paying child benefit in respect of children not resident in the state would not be compatible with the current coordination rules. This is because attendance at a school or an educational institution in another EU Member State must be treated in the same way as attendance in Ireland.

Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 335: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons who receive rent supplement for the past six months, for the past year, for two years, for three years, for four years, for five years, for six years, for seven years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34699/11]

Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 336: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in County Meath who received rent supplement in the years 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011; the amount it cost in each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34700/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 335 and 336 together.

The community welfare service (CWS) and the community welfare officers providing it transferred formally to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) from 1 October 2011. The service and the staff are now part of the DSP. The following tabular statement shows the current number of rent supplement recipients by claim duration. I also set out below a tabular statement showing the number of recipients of rent supplement in County Meath from 2007 to 2011. Expenditure on rent supplement by county is not available.

TABULAR STATEMENTS

Recipients of Rent Supplement by Claim Duration, 4 November 2011

(1) This represents unbroken continuous claims only. Where recipients change address, the claim at the new address may be recorded as a new claim and the duration spent at the previous address may not be taken into account in these statistics

(2) Claims with duration of precisely 6 months are recorded under the 6 to 12 months heading, claims with duration of precisely 1 year are recorded under the 1 to 2 years heading and so on.

Recipients of Rent Supplement in County Meath, 2007 to 2011