Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Gabhaim buíochas don Aire as a bheith anseo. Ní raibhimid ach ag cur ceisteanna agus freagraí ar a chéile an tseachtain seo cheana féin. The family income supplement is paid to workers whose income from employment leaves the family below the poverty line. In 2011 the numbers qualifying for family income supplement rose by 10%. I presume the same increase will occur this year. Applications have increased this year. Since this Government came to power, the number of workers classified as under-employed has increased by 120,000 to 150,000.

Under-employed workers are those who would work more hours if they were available. My statistics are taken from the quarterly national household survey. A report in May by the retail sector trade union Mandate found that 39% of its members had reported a fall in take-home pay, with an average decrease of over €105 per week. I believe the average was €109. Average retail workers' hours have declined by 4.3% in the past year alone. This represents a substantial income change.

As the unemployment grows and wages fall, the number depending on FIS to keep their heads above water will continue to increase. However, owing to a failure of the Government to resource properly the Department of Social Protection, application processing times have become inexcusably long across a range of social welfare schemes, some of which we have discussed. The delays under the FIS scheme leave families in desperate circumstances. They are forced into arrears in respect of many household bills and left at risk of energy disconnection and eviction and at the mercy of moneylenders. Some families are left hungry, as is evident from the rise in the incidence of food poverty.

The FIS scheme has been subject to a growing backlog of applicants, particularly in the past six months. The processing times are a source of embarrassment to the Government. I suspect this embarrassment, coupled with a desire to defer as many of the back payments as possible until the next budgetary cycle, or early next year, has prompted the Minister and her officials to make a cynical decision that the FIS section of the Department should process only those applications received on or after 5 November. The effect is that new applications for family income supplement will be processed before those submitted five or six months ago. The new applications may be processed immediately, while those applicants who are unfortunate enough to have submitted applications earlier this year will be left waiting. The existing applications backlog is being withdrawn from the FIS section and transferred to Letterkenny, but it is not clear what additional resources, if any, are being deployed to deal with the additional applications.

The Minister hopes to kid the public by kicking these applications to touch. She is attempting to pull a fast one at the expense of vulnerable families. I have been given to understand most of the families who applied before 5 November will not receive any payment before Christmas. Over 7,000 families, with almost 16,000 children, are affected by the delay in clearing the backlog. What are they to do for Christmas and about the growing arrears in their household bills?

Will the Minister confirm that there has been a decision to instruct the FIS section to send all applications not processed prior to 5 November to Letterkenny? Have additional resources been given to the relevant office in Letterkenny? If so, from where were those resources drawn? Will the Minister confirm whether any or all of the applications received prior to 5 November will be dealt with and subject to payment, if due, before the end of the year?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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If the Deputy was really concerned about resources, he would have been more cautious in his own use of them. He has been a particularly costly example of the use of resources. Perhaps if he used fewer, we would have more to spend on the families about whom he is talking.

The Department is committed to providing a quality service for all its customers. The family income supplement scheme provides income support for employees on low earnings with families and is designed to preserve the incentive to take up or remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might be only marginally better off than if he or she was claiming other social welfare payments. The average waiting time for new FIS claims at the end of October was 18 weeks and for renewal applications, 19 weeks. At the end of October, there were 7,000 new FIS applications and 7,800 renewal applications awaiting a decision. The volume of FIS claims in hand and the delays in processing are, as the Deputy acknowledged, a consequence of the continuing strong claim intake. This is also the case in the other areas to which the Deputy referred. There are substantial increases in the number applying for social welfare benefits across the board, particularly family income supplement, carer's allowance, domiciliary care allowance, etc. I am happy that, despite the current economic difficulties, we have been able to deal with the higher volume of claims, pay out more to qualifying applicants and do so in higher numbers.

I have told the Deputy before that an in-depth business process improvement project has recently been completed for the FIS scheme. This project focused on optimising output and customer service and the elimination of backlogs. Part of the project was a detailed examination of workloads and a full assessment of existing capacity within the area and what capacity was needed to process the volume of claims, both new and renewed, received on a weekly basis. A plan has now been devised and implementation commenced on 5 November. This plan sees the normal weekly new claim and renewal intake processed without delay, while the backlog has been ring-fenced. There is a focused team assigned to this work and a clear plan for the elimination of the backlog. The first step taken to eliminate permanently the build-up of backlogs of FIS claims is to have sufficient capacity and suitable structures and processes in place to deal with the weekly intake. This has been done in the case of the FIS scheme and the first week of operation has been very successful, with target output achieved.

I congratulate the staff in my Department who have transferred to new and improved business processes with a view to offering a better service to our many customers. That is not to say the backlog of claims awaiting decision is being ignored or that work has ceased thereon. On the contrary, as the Deputy has been advised, a separate team, with additional temporary resources, has been identified and is already assigned to and working on the claims in question. I am sure the Deputy welcomes this, even if he is a little down over social welfare staff working in Donegal. The work being done in Donegal is highly welcome.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I have no problem with the work being done in Donegal.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Letterkenny office and staff are to be highly commended. I would have expected the Deputy to congratulate them. Sinn Féin wants to be on both sides of the street. The Deputy is giving out about what is happening in Letterkenny. The staff of the Department of Social Protection in Donegal provide an excellent service.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I did not give out about what is happening in Letterkenny at all.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The team is focused fully on the elimination of the backlog of claims in the shortest possible timeframe, concentrating, in the first instance, on those claims previously in payment but in respect of which payment has expired. The Deputy will understand the reason for this. While it is not possible to clear all claims immediately, we expect to have the backlog cleared substantially in the coming period.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is a pity the Minister did not listen to what I said. I have no problem whatsoever with the civil servants involved in processing, be they in Longford or Letterkenny.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I have always praised the civil servants involved. I asked whether there were additional resources available. The Minister confirmed that she had found additional resources, but she did not say from where she had got them. It is welcome that there are additional resources to deal with the backlog. The problem is that the backlog will not be dealt with before Christmas, yet applicants who apply from this week will have their claims dealt with and be in receipt of payment in many cases by the end of this month or before Christmas. Patently, this is unfair. The Minister could have cleared some of the backlog in Letterkenny, in addition to dealing with new applicants; that is the way forward. The Minister is leaving people entitled to the payment without it. In some cases, the amount concerned could be substantial. Our calculation, based on an average figure, is that many families will be owed up to €3,500 by the Department. If payment is left until after Christmas, the average sum owed will be €4,500.

Those families have forgone what they are entitled to because of a failure to address the processing problems at an earlier stage. I welcome the fact that the Minister is addressing this, but the proper way to do it is not to allow people to jump ahead of the queue. That is patently unfair. Those people who are waiting have not been informed of the situation, other than those who have been in contact with my office - who, incidentally, were informed that the Department is no longer dealing with their claims, that they have gone to Letterkenny, that there is nothing more it can do, and that they may not get any payment or decision prior to Christmas. Even though it is welcome that this is being addressed, I do not believe it is being addressed in a proper and fair fashion.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I will pass on the Deputy's complaint about Letterkenny but I must say the staff in Letterkenny-----

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I did not complain about Letterkenny.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----have provided an excellent service, particularly in areas such as child benefit.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I complimented it.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Deputy is lecturing about claims and costs. He would do better if he made sure his own costs in this establishment were moderated-----

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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There is no problem with my costs.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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-----and that money that was claimed-----

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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How many special advisers have gone up-----

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister, without interruption.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Your usage of certain kinds of expense would put everybody else's expense claims in the shade.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I do not think so, Minister.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister without interruption, please.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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You have a particular record in that regard.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister should speak through the Chair.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister is deflecting again. She will not deal with the issue in question, and she constantly twists my words.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am delighted to say that particular staff in Letterkenny have been ring-fenced to deal with the backlog. Those resources have been applied. Even Sinn Féin might acknowledge that there has been an enormous upsurge across the board in claims of certain payments such as family income supplement and carer's allowance. To cope with the increased volumes we have introduced new and improved business practices, including greater use of IT. All of that has taken place in an environment in which we must keep two systems operating side by side while we change over to the new systems. The new systems are now in place, and they will result in a better service. We also have a dedicated team working on the backlog, and whether the staff are working in Longford or in Letterkenny, they endeavour to give our important customers who rely on social welfare income the best possible service.