Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 429: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the position of a claim for jobseeker's allowance by a person (details supplied) in County Mayo.[b] [/b] [35431/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned found work on 17 September 2008. Prior to this he had been in receipt of jobseeker's benefit at a reduced weekly rate.

During the course of his benefit claim he was invited to apply for jobseeker's allowance. This claim is currently with a Social Welfare Inspector for examination of his means. Despite being requested he has not yet provided full details of his self-employment income, P45 from his last employment or C2 certificate to the Inspector. When enquiries are completed his claim will be forwarded to the Social Welfare Local Office for decision and he will be notified of the outcome.

Under Social Welfare legislation decisions in relation to claims must be made by Deciding Officers and Appeals Officers. These officers are statutorily appointed and I have no role in regard to making such decisions.

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 430: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the reason for the delay in payment of the one parent family payment allowance to a person (detail supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make arrangements for immediate payment. [35476/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned applied for one parent family payment on 6 March 2008. Following investigation her claim was disallowed by a Deciding Officer as she failed to furnish particulars of her means as requested by the Social Welfare Inspector. She completed a fresh application dated 15 July 2008 and her papers were returned to the Social Welfare Inspector on 17 July 2008 for investigation. She was asked to provide further documentation which she did on 3 October 2008. She has been awarded payment at the rate of €209.80 per week from 17 March 2008. From 19 June 2008 her rate is €267.80 which includes payment for her three children and her fuel allowance. Her first payment will be in her bank account on Thursday 24 October 2008. All arrears due will issue shortly.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 432: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will examine the case of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo for back to education allowance in view of the circumstances that apply; if she will show flexibility in this case; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35481/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The person concerned does not appear to have submitted an application for participation in the back to education allowance (BTEA) scheme. However, the records in the Department show that this person was only in receipt of jobseeker's allowance from 14 July 2008 to 14 October 2008 and would therefore not appear to meet the requirement to be in receipt of a social welfare payment for a minimum period of time immediately prior to commencing a course of study.

In general, an applicant must be in receipt of a relevant Social Welfare payment for 6 months if pursuing a second level course or 12 months if pursuing a third level course.

However, since 2007, people who are awarded statutory redundancy may access the Back to Education Allowance scheme immediately, provided an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment is established prior to commencing an approved course of study.

In addition, the qualifying period for access to the third level option has been reduced to 9 months for persons who are participating in the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) process and where a FÁS Employment Services Officer recommends pursuance of a third level course of study as essential to the enhancement of the individual's employment prospects.

The current scheme has been subject to review and modification over the years to ensure it continues to support those people who are most distant from the labour market and whose need is greatest.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 433: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will respond to a query (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35488/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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There has been a significant increase in the number of people claiming jobseeker payments since the beginning of the year. The level of inflows to the Live Register over the period January to September 2008 inclusive was 311,660 as compared with 220,652 over the corresponding period last year representing an increase of over 41%. The average monthly inflows over the first nine months was 34,629 as compared with 24,517 over the corresponding period in 2007 and the average weekly inflow was 7,991 as compared with 5,658 in 2007.

The average processing time for applications for jobseeker's claims processed in September was 3 weeks for jobseeker's benefit and 6 weeks for jobseeker's allowance. Processing times vary between offices. The overall performance in any individual office in processing claims can be adversely affected by a wide variety of factors; including increased inflow of claims, staff vacancies and the duration of such vacancies and the turnover of staff in the office.

The Department has taken a number of measures to deal with the increased workload arising since the beginning of the year. These measures include the allocation of additional posts to local offices, extending the contracts of some temporary staff and additional resources for overtime. At a local level work is prioritised to deal with claim processing. These measures are kept under review.

Most Local Offices of the Department are open to the public from 9.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and they deal with the clients who attend the office on any given day. Waiting time will depend on the number of people calling to an office. Every effort is made to deal with callers as quickly as possible. However, with the increase in the number of people claiming a jobseeker's payment, it is inevitable that waiting times will be affected.