Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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43. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the priorities in her Department for the remainder of the term of this Government; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49029/14]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The Government published a Statement of Government Priorities for the period 2014 to 2016 on 11 July last. The statement sets out how we will build a social recovery to accompany the economic recovery that is now under way.

The key priorities in the statement are:

1. Strengthening the Domestic Economy & Prioritising New Jobs for the Unemployed

2. Delivering Better Living and Working Standards

3. Improving Housing Availability & Affordability

4. Responsible and Sustainable Management of the Public Finances

5. Rebuilding Trust in Politics & Public Institutions

6. Protecting & Enhancing Peace in Northern Ireland

The full text of the statement is available at: .

I am determined that the Department of Social Protection will play its role in ensuring that the benefits of recovery are felt evenly across the country. Key priorities for the Department of Social Protection are as set out as follows:

- Pathways to Work 2015, containing the 17 actions and 45 milestones across Departments and agencies including the Department of Social Protection, sets out the Government’s approach for ensuring that as many jobs as possible are filled by people from the Live Register, and is available at: .

- The continued implementation of the current approaches to labour market activation which include Intreo, Pathways to Work, JobPath, the Youth Guarantee, employer engagement, and other employment schemes and supports.

- In addition to the overall Pathways to Work reforms, further changes are being made to how the Department engages specifically with the young unemployed under the Youth Guarantee Implementation Planpublished earlier this year. In particular, all young people will be engaged with immediately on becoming unemployed, regardless of their profiled probability of re-employment. Re-employment subsidies will be available for young people at an earlier stage in terms of duration of unemployment, and a specific variant of JobBridge is being launched for particularly disadvantaged young people.

- Progressing Social Welfare and Gender Recognition legislation.

- Illness scheme reform.

- Implementation of the Department’s Compliance and Anti-fraud Initiative 2014-2018. In particular, the Department will:

1. utilise predictive analytical techniques to enhance the models currently in place to identify claims that are more likely to be fraudulent,

2. enhance debt recovery through the new debt management system, and

3. have a greater presence on the ground through the 20 recently seconded Gardaí in the Department’s Special Investigation Unit.

- Continue work on adequacy and sustainability of pensions into the future. In 2015, the Government will agree a roadmap and timeline for the introduction of a new, universal supplementary pension saving scheme.

- Supporting Local Authorities in the roll out of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to 8,000 recipients in 2015.

- Continue to rollout of the Public Services Card.

In addition, on Budget Day, I announced a number of measures for implementation in 2015. One of the key objectives of Budget 2015 was to assist unemployed families to return to work.

Through the Back to Work Family Dividend scheme announced in Budget 2015, long-term unemployed jobseekers with children who leave welfare and return to work can retain the child-related portion of their social welfare payment on a tapered basis over two years. This includes those who move to self-employment, such as the construction sector. It will also apply to One-Parent Family Payment recipients who similarly go back to work. The scheme will be worth €1,550 per child in the first year of employment or self-employment and half that amount again in the second year.

The expansion of JobsPlus, the employer incentive scheme, which provides cash grants to businesses that hire persons who have been long-term unemployed, will provide for an additional 3,000 employees to be supported by this scheme.

Child Benefit will increase from €130 to €135 per month with effect from January, which will benefit over 611,000 households with children. This will help all families with children but also has the additional benefit for unemployed families in that it is work neutral as it is retained in full when they return to the workforce.

A range of other measures were also announced. These included an additional €2 million funding for the School Meals scheme, primarily for the provision of breakfast clubs to support school going children in disadvantaged areas, and where possible, to increase funding for existing DEIS schools as a consequence of increased pupil numbers.

In January, there will be an increase of €1.30 in the Living Alone Allowance from €7.70 a week to €9 a week as a targeted support for pensioners and people with disabilities living alone.

Furthermore, the current Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014 provides for the retention of the weekly earnings disregard for recipients of One-Parent Family Payment in 2015 and subsequent years at its current level of €90.

In line with the Government decision of 19 November last, the Department will also administer the new water conservation grant on behalf of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government. This grant will replace the water support measures announced in the Budget.

Finally, I was also pleased to be able to reintroduce a partial Christmas Bonus this year and this has now been paid to approximately 1.2 million people.

Looking ahead, I will ensure that the social welfare system is reformed and improved so as to provide sustainable and adequate income supports and services in the years ahead.