Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 328: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the backlog in dealing with applications for contributory and non-contributory State pensions, one parent family allowance, unemployment benefit and assistance and carers and respite grants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3521/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department is committed to processing claims as expeditiously as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions which apply. At the end of December 2008 the numbers of claims being processed for the schemes mentioned were as follows:

The processing of claims may involve, among other things, the need to establish the customer's social insurance record, verify medical conditions, establish a customer's identity or their place of habitual residence and assess means where appropriate.

Additional information or indeed information originally sought but not provided may also have to be requested from the customer. The figures for pension schemes include claims where a person's date of entitlement has not yet been reached.

The Department aims to process claims quickly and efficiently. In this regard there is a continued emphasis on providing staff with the necessary training and development to ensure they have the requisite knowledge and skills to carry out their work. Operational procedures, the organisation of work, and the allocation of staff resources continue to be reviewed and restructured to maximise the processing capability of the scheme areas.

An additional 31 staff were assigned to 15 local offices following a review of the number of staffing levels in local offices in May and June last year. Following a further review late last year, it was decided to put an extra 115 staff in place. 57 of these have already taken up work, while start dates have been agreed for a further 19 staff over the next two to three weeks. Work is on-going to complete the assignment of the remaining 39 staff as quickly as possible.

In order to maximise the number of people paid before Christmas, a temporary Central Decisions Unit was set up in Dublin City Centre for three weeks in December. Following on from the success of this initiative, four more such units are being set up in Dublin, Sligo, Finglas and Carrick-on-Shannon. Each unit will have 10 staff. In addition to this, a further 16 Social Welfare Inspectors are being assigned to various locations throughout the country to do means and other work associated with processing claims for jobseeker's payments.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 329: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps that have been taken to ensure the prompt provision of rent or mortgage support, having particular regard to the requirements of those finding themselves in need of such payments in the economic crisis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3523/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent and mortgage interest supplement, is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive (HSE). The administration costs of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme, including rent supplement and mortgage interest supplement, are met by the Department while the operational arrangements for the processing of applications and the payment to qualifying individuals, is a matter for the respective community welfare division areas.

The issue of increased demand on existing resources is a matter for the HSE in the first instance to prioritise workloads and re-deploy resources where necessary so that frontline services are maintained. The department is committed to working closely with the HSE in ensuring effective delivery of the supplementary welfare allowance scheme and associated income support payments. It is open to the HSE at anytime to approach the department to review its allocation for staff costs associated with delivery of these services. However, the question of any increase in expenditure for staffing within the community welfare service above that currently provided would have to be considered in the context of overall Government policy on public service manpower levels.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 330: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the number of recipients of family income supplement has increased in the past 12 months; the number of cases pending; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3524/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Family Income Supplement (FIS) is designed to provide support for people with families who are on low earnings. This preserves the incentive for them to remain in employment in circumstances where they might only be marginally better off than if they were claiming other social welfare payments. The number of FIS recipients has increased by almost 5,000 in the last 12 months. In December 2007 there were 22,823 FIS recipients while by the end of December 2008 there were 27,798 FIS recipients. There are currently about 2600 claims pending.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 333: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if adequate provision has been made in her Department's budget to meet in full the expected payment arising from increased unemployment levels; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3527/09]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 334: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if her Department has adequately predicted and financially provided for the full extent of social welfare payments expected to arise in the course of 2009; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3528/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Question Nos. 333 and 334 together.

The vast bulk of expenditure by the Department of Social and Family Affairs is incurred on social welfare payments to individual recipients based on predetermined qualifying conditions and rates of payment. The expenditure, which is demand-led, is driven by a range of economic, social and demographic factors. There can also be complex interactions between schemes. The Estimates for the Department of Social and Family Affairs which were published with the 2009 Budget were based, in the main, on an analysis of trends as regards likely numbers of recipients and average value of payments in 2009. The estimates for Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance were based on the Department of Finance's prediction of an average Live Register of 290,000 for the year. Developments on the Live Register are being closely monitored by both Departments and the Estimate for Jobseeker's Benefit and Allowance will be reconsidered again in the context of the finalisation of the Revised Estimates Volume. The determination of the average Live Register figure to underpin the Estimate is the responsibility of the Department of Finance.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 337: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will ease qualification requirements for the back to education allowance in view of the economic situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3531/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The back to education allowance (BTEA) Scheme is designed to help those in receipt of a social welfare payment who have not worked for some time to improve their employability and job-readiness by acquiring educational qualifications. It is a recognition of the special difficulties which such persons can face when attempting to gain a foothold in the labour market. The allowance is paid at a standard weekly rate equivalent to the maximum rate of the relevant social welfare payment that qualifies the applicant for participation in the scheme. It essentially replaces their existing social welfare income and in addition an annual €500 cost of education allowance is payable.

To qualify for participation an applicant must be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment and be at least 21 years of age prior to commencing an approved course of study. However, lone parents and persons in receipt of unemployment payments can qualify at 18 years of age provided they are out of formal education for at least 2 years. 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. 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, 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. Also people who are awarded statutory redundancy may access the scheme immediately, provided an entitlement to a relevant social welfare payment is established prior to commencing an approved course of study. The requirement to be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for a minimum period has always been a feature of the BTEA scheme and is considered necessary to ensure that limited resources are directed at those most in need.

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. The qualifying conditions will continue to be monitored in the context of the objectives of the scheme and the changing economic circumstances.