Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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257. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an applicant to Caranua who is unhappy with a decision handed down by an appeals officer has the right to appeal the decision to the Ombudsman; and the reason applicants are not informed of this right. [29459/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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In accordance with section 22(6) of the Residential institutions Statutory Fund, Act 2012 a person affected by a decision of the Appeals Officer can appeal to the High Court on a point of law within 28 days of receipt of the Appeals Officer's decision. Any decision of the High Court on such appeal shall be final and conclusive in accordance with section 22(8) of the Act. Caranua includes information on the appeals process when notifying decisions to applicants.

The Appeals Officer is independent of Caranua in the performance of his functions. While Caranua comes within the scope of the Ombudsman Acts 1980 to 2012, the actions of persons such as independent appeals officers are generally excluded from investigation by the Ombudsman.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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258. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons who received payments from the old Education Finance Board who have applied for payments from Caranua; and the number of these persons who have been refused payments. [29460/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The information sought by the Deputy is not available. Caranua and the former Education Finance Board are separate bodies with distinct schemes involving different eligibility criteria. The functions vested in the Education Finance Board were transferred on its dissolution to Caranua until such time as the investment account which financed the former Education Finance Board is closed. Caranua has advised that in compliance with its data protection obligations, there will be no cross-referencing of applications made to it and the former Education Finance Board.