Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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601. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the adequacy of responsibility for management of applications to Caranua being solely a matter for Caranua, a process in which her Department has no role, meaning that persons who have suffered outrageously, due to State failures of oversight in the past, must now advocate on their own behalf with yet another State agency, Caranua, without support from any agency outside of the one they may be experiencing delays or refusals from; her plans to address this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15699/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Caranua is an independent statutory body established under the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012. The chief executive is accountable to the Board for the efficient and effective management of Caranua. While I have no statutory role in relation to Caranua's applications procedures, my officials and I are in regular contact with the Chair and the chief executive to discuss matters relating to the performance of the organisation. As the Deputy may be aware, the Board has commissioned an external review of its structures, processes and systems.

Caranua has recently published its Customer Service Charter in February which sets out target processing times for the various stages of its application process. Caranua is amenable to scrutiny by the Oireachtas, including its committees. Caranua's administrative actions are subject to review by the Ombudsman and its decisions can be appealed to the independent appeals officer appointed under the 2012 Act.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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602. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a date for review of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund or a date upon which she might consider the question of a review of the operation of the fund; and whether she plans to leave survivors of institutional abuse in limbo once again, uncertain as to whether their partners or children, whose needs are often a huge source of stress to the abuse victim, may be able to access assistance from the Caranua fund. [15700/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I intend to consider the question of a review of the arrangements relating to eligibility for assistance from Caranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund, later this year by which time a clearer picture should have emerged regarding the uptake of the funding available.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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603. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to set out her views on concerns that a State agency, applying an element of discretion in deciding on cases of extreme hardship for persons who were outrageously abused under the State's watch, and her Department not performing either regular or ongoing audits or having oversight of this application of discretion has the effect of inflicting unnecessary and further hardship on persons who have already suffered enough, and who, rightly, may be deeply suspicious of the State, its agencies and their secretive decision-making processes, due to the State's failures of oversight in the past. [15701/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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It is a matter for the Board of Caranua to determine its criteria for making decisions in accordance with the provisions of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 Act and I have no role in that process. Any former resident who is dissatisfied with a decision made by Caranua on their application can appeal that decision to the independent appeals officer in accordance with section 22 of the 2012 Act. I expect to receive Caranua's annual report for 2014 shortly and I understand that this Report will address the use of the exceptional circumstances criteria. This report will then be laid before each House of the Oireachtas in accordance with the provisions of the 2012 Act.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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604. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is satisfied that it is appropriate in the case of the rejection of an application for funds from Caranua that the only recourse for a person who may have suffered horrendous abuse in a residential institution is to an appeals officer, whose decisions are entirely opaque since the appeals officer is not subject to oversight by the Ombudsman, or the expensive and adversarial route of a High Court appeal, a route described by her predecessor as long and often traumatic; and if this will form part of her promised review. [15703/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Decisions of Caranua may be appealed to the independent Appeals Officer appointed under section 21 of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act, 2012. A person who is affected by the Appeals Officer's decision may appeal to the High Court on a point of law. The Appeals Officer has determined 45 decisions to date and I expect to receive his first report in relation to the performance of his functions shortly. This report will then be laid before each House of the Oireachtas in accordance with the provisions of the 2012 Act. Caranua comes within the scope of the Ombudsman Acts 1980 to 2012 and its administrative actions are subject to review by the Ombudsman. I have no plans to include these arrangements within the review of eligibility which I propose to consider later this year.