Ms Catherine Kellaghan:

The first question concerned the increase in take-up. We outlined the huge increase in take-up since 2012, some of whom were lone parents exiting the lone parent scheme. There was a more general increase in take-up. The specific question from Deputy Ryan was whether there are people eligible who are not taking up the payment. We have no clear administrative data to identify specific people who we are sure are entitled to the family income supplement. That hampers us in contacting them directly and saying they qualify for it. The latest research commissioned by the Department was done in 2008 and it included questions on take-up. There was a sample of 3,000 people and, among them, some were already in receipt of the family income supplement but a large cohort comprised 2,000 cases of the Department and we thought, based on the information, they would possibly qualify.

However, the outcome of the research was that when the Department explored the information it was decided that only about 23% of the people who in our data seemed they may qualify would actually qualify. It may be that perhaps the previous research done by the ESRI which had identified quite high levels of potentially eligible families who were not applying might have been overstated. It is difficult to prove either way but those are the indications.

As Mr. Egan has pointed out, the Department has been actively promoting FIS, in particular, over the past two or three years, through its Intreo service, for all jobseekers and for lone parents. A poster campaign was launched last year and this was confined to the mid-Leinster region and the north Dublin region. As a result of that poster campaign, we have seen increases in applications from that region so the campaign has been effective. As a result of the effectiveness of the campaign it has been rolled out throughout the country. It is a poster and leaflet campaign on view in all the Department's offices and in the Citizens Information offices. Anyone interested can pick up a leaflet which will give individuals a good idea of what they might be entitled to if they are working and have families.

In the Department's most recent intervention we have written to Mandate and Siptu and to the public service unions to provide them with details and leaflets about FIS and about who might qualify in order for them to make the information available to their members. This has potentially given the Department access to 260,000 people who may be entitled to FIS.

At the moment the Department has approximately 50,000 families who are in receipt of FIS but since 2012 at any one time we have over 110,000 families in receipt of FIS. We have reached quite a lot of families. Some families have been in receipt of FIS and have progressed within their employment to the stage where they are no longer reliant on FIS as their income increases or they are promoted or work extra hours. We have covered a large number of families over the past three years.

Senator Moloney raised a question about the 52 weeks. This period of time is part of the legislation governing FIS. Except in the stated specific circumstances, FIS will not be reviewed in the 52-week period. In certain circumstances it might seem harsh but the over-riding policy objective of the scheme is to provide stability for people. In order to provide that stability, the 52-week period is there so that they can rely on that extra income and make plans based on that income for the next 52 week period. The answer to the Senator's question is that there is no discretion in applying the rule as it is a statutory requirement for the scheme.