Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 31: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will indicate on a county basis, the length of time it takes to process the different schemes under jobseeker's allowance, farm assist and carer's allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25311/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The live register has increased to unprecedented levels as a result of the economic downturn that the country is currently experiencing. Staff and management of the Department of Social and Family Affairs are working flat out to deal with this increased claim load and to minimise the time taken to decide claims.

The length of time it takes to process claims varies depending on the complexity of the claim, the availability of the necessary documentation from the applicant or his/her employer and the need to carry out additional inquires including the assessment of means and whether the claimant satisfies the habitual residence condition.

Furthermore, processing times can vary from area to area for a number of reasons including the extent of the increased number of claims, the number of staff vacancies, the duration of such vacancies and the turnover of staff which impacts on the overall level of experience in an area. It is recognised that the provision of additional staff in itself will not deal with the rising claimload. Since early 2008 we have been examining all aspects of the work associated with the processing of claims and streamlining them wherever possible without, of course, compromising our scheme controls.

During 2008 the need for some 150 additional posts was identified in order to respond to the significant increase in the number of people applying for jobseekers payments in particular. Staff were sourced during 2008 and the early part of 2009 to meet this requirement. With the live register continuing to increase, the Department has requested more than 300 extra posts in 2009, in addition to those already mentioned. Of these: · 49 posts have being assigned to date for Local Office Central Support Units in 5 locations. · And some 90 temporary staff have been appointed to Local Offices around the country pending the assignment of permanent staff. In addition to increased staffing for local offices, the number of Social Welfare inspectors was increased by 16 earlier this year to undertake means testing of claims for social assistance payments including jobseekers allowance, farm assist and carers allowance. More recently it has been decided to assign a further 24 Inspectors and the necessary arrangements are in train to have these posts filled.

To qualify for farm assist a person must satisfy a means test. These cases take longer to process as all such cases require a home visit by a Social Welfare inspector. Further delays may arise if the farmer has difficulty providing the necessary accounts documentation to support the application.

The following table shows the average processing times at each local office for Jobseekers Allowance, Jobseekers Benefit and Farm Assist in May 2009.

The Carers allowance is administered centrally in the Department's office in Longford. Consequently, statistics are not compiled on processing times on a county by county basis. However, the average processing time for all carers claims processed in May 2009 was 8.93 weeks.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 33: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs her plans in relation to improving in-work welfare benefits to reduce the incentive to rely totally on welfare for income support. [23288/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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One of the goals of the social welfare system is to be responsive to the needs of employees in low-paid, casual or vulnerable employment. For example, persons who are employed for up to three days in a week may claim a jobseekers payment in respect of the remainder of the week, subject to being available for full-time work.

In addition, Family Income Supplement (FIS) provides cash support for employees, with families, on low earnings or those seeking to make the transition from welfare to work. This preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were unemployed and claiming other social welfare payments. Take-up of the scheme has increased significantly in recent years with almost 43,000 new and renewal FIS claims in 2008, compared to just under 38,000 in 2007.

A number of progressive measures have also been introduced in recent years aimed at removing disincentives for people wishing to take employment and to assist in the transition from welfare to work. These measures include the introduction of a tapered withdrawal of means-tested payments for unemployed people and people with disabilities who engage in employment and a tapered withdrawal of certain earnings for people in receipt of the rent and mortgage interest supplements.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 34: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when she will reform the back to education allowance in order that all jobseekers can avail of the scheme within three months of starting their claim. [23290/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Since its introduction, the underlying objective of the back to education allowance (BTEA) scheme has been to equip people on social welfare payments with qualifications that will enable them to obtain employment in the labour market. It is a second chance educational opportunities scheme for people on welfare payments who wish to participate in full time education and who would not otherwise be able to do so.

Changes to provide for earlier access to the scheme were announced in the recent supplementary budget. In order to qualify for participation, an applicant must now be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for three months if pursuing a second level course or 12 months if pursuing a third level course. The qualifying period for access to third level courses is reduced to nine months for those who are participating in the National Employment Action Plan process or engaging with the Department's facilitator programme. 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.

In general, an applicant must be at least 21 years of age prior to commencing an approved course of study. However, lone parents and recipients of jobseekers' payments who are out of formal education for at least two years can qualify at 18 years of age.

The requirement to be in receipt of a social welfare payment for a minimum period has always been a feature of the scheme. A waiting period is considered essential to confer entitlement to income support for an indefinite period and is considered necessary in the context of targeting scarce resources at those who need it most.

The back to education allowance has an important role to play in enhancing the employability skills of jobseekers. The conditionality of the scheme will continue to be monitored in the context of the objectives of the scheme and changes in the economic climate.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 36: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the steps she will take to ensure that ex-miners are compensated for the health problems they have suffered after years of exposure to coal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24063/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The welfare system makes provision for the needs of people, including people employed as miners, under the Occupational Injuries Benefit scheme. Miners who are unable to work due to an accident arising from their employment may be entitled to occupational injury benefit for the first 26 weeks of their claim. This scheme, operated by the Department, provides entitlement to benefit for people suffering from certain prescribed diseases which are listed in the legislation and where that person has contracted that disease in the course of their employment.

Benefits are payable where a person has contracted one of the diseases listed in the legislation, and they were employed in an occupation which is specifically prescribed in relation to that disease. In addition, benefits may be payable if the claimant can show that the disease was contracted through an employment not specifically prescribed in relation to that disease. If the incapacity extends beyond the 26 week period, claimants may receive illness benefit or invalidity pension, subject to meeting the qualifying conditions for these payments.

Miners may also be entitled to disablement benefit under the occupational injuries scheme. Disablement benefit is a compensation payment specifically for those who suffer a loss of physical or mental faculty as a result of an accident at work or a disease prescribed in legislation that they contracted at work. Medical assessments are undertaken in all such cases to determine the degree of disablement, which is calculated by comparison of the state of health of the applicant with the norm for a person of the same age and gender.