Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 390: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will discuss prioritise the funding of back to education allowance in advance of budget 2010; if she will relax the regulations governing the scheme in order that more persons who find themselves unemployed can avail of the allowance; if her attention has been drawn to the large number of unemployed persons who cannot avail of the allowance at present; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43396/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The operation of the back to education scheme has been reviewed and modified over the years to ensure it continues to remain relevant to those needing support. Expenditure levels for the Department are being considered as part of the estimates and budgetary process for 2010. All social welfare schemes are being examined as part of this deliberative process.

Improvements to the back to education scheme were announced in the April supplementary budget and came into effect from 1 st May 2009. In general, in order to qualify for participation, an applicant must now be in receipt of a relevant social welfare payment for 3 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 9 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.

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 jobseeker's. The fact that over 18,700 applications had been approved by the end of October, compared to 11,646 participants in the 2008/2009 academic year, demonstrates the increased level of interest in the scheme. The conditions of the scheme will continue to be monitored in the context of its objectives and changes in the economic climate.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 391: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of persons, on a county basis, who received the Christmas bonus payment in 2008. [42625/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The number of people, on a county basis, who received the Christmas bonus payment in 2008, is not available. The total number of recipients of the Christmas bonus in 2008 was 938,657 at a total cost of €201.73 million.

Statistics on overall welfare recipient numbers are published at county level in the Department's Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services publication. These numbers include short term welfare claimants as well as the live register, and thus cover a larger group than recipients awarded a Christmas bonus. The 2008 statistics are as follows.

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 392: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the procedures for processing rent allowance applications and appeals; the average length of time applications and appeals are taking; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42681/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, which includes rent supplement, is administered on my behalf by the Community Welfare division of the Health Service Executive. Neither I nor the Department has any function in relation to decisions on individual claims. The purpose of the scheme is to provide short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source.

To qualify for rent supplement a person must satisfy a number of conditions including that they must be a bona fide tenant, be habitually resident in the State, have a housing need and satisfy a means test. Also, the Health Service Executive must be satisfied that the accommodation is suited to the persons needs and the rent payable is within the prescribed limits.

The timescale for determining applications for rent supplement is dependant, among other things, on the availability of the required information, such as details of the applicant's income, bank statements, information from landlords etc. In addition, some aspects of the application are inevitably time consuming and delays can occur where investigations such as home visits or third party evidence are required. Delays can also arise if the applicant is slow to respond to requests for additional information.

Under existing arrangements, an appeal against a decision on entitlement to supplementary welfare allowance or rent supplement is made in the first instance to a designated appeals officer in the HSE. A person may, if they so wish, make a further appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office, if they are dissatisfied with the decision of the HSE appeals officer.

The Executive does not maintain records that would readily provide the information requested by the deputy. However, in response to the deputy's query, the Department has surveyed the community welfare service concerning the average processing times for rent supplement decisions and appeals. Figures supplied to the Department indicate that, for the eastern region, it takes between two and twelve weeks to process a rent supplement claim, with the average duration being between three and four weeks. The HSE's Appeals Office in the eastern region has stated that it takes an average of ten weeks to decide on a rent supplement appeal.

The social welfare appeals office does not distinguish between supplementary welfare allowance appeals and other supplements such as rent supplement. The average time taken to process an appeal to the social welfare appeals office is estimated to be 8 weeks approximately.

The provision of a prompt service is a major objective of the Executive. However, this has to be achieved in a manner that is consistent with the demands of natural justice and the need to ensure that every case is fully investigated. While certain cases may take more time to process than others, overall, I am satisfied that the Executive makes every effort to decide rent supplement claims in an efficient, effective and timely manner.