Written answers
Wednesday, 6 May 2015
Department of Social Protection
- Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times
9. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will report on the timeframe for processing appeals relating to family income supplement and one-parent family payments; the options or... - Work Placement Programmes
10. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons employed on Gateway schemes by local authorities; and if she will provide a breakdown of the number, for each county and city... - One-Parent Family Payments
11. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the options available to lone parents facing transition into jobseeker's benefit this year, who, if they are unable to afford child care, must drop... - Anti-Poverty Strategy
12. To ask the Minister for Social Protection in view of the fact that Ireland is behind on European Union poverty reduction targets, the measures her Department will take to close this gap by... - Disability Activation Projects
13. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the measures her Department has taken in helping persons on support schemes such as illness benefit or disability allowance to re-enter the... - Child Maintenance Payments
14. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of determination orders issued by the maintenance recovery unit of her Department that will be invalid after 2 July 2015; the financial... - Pensions Legislation
15. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she has undertaken analysis of the impact of changes to section 50 of the Pensions Acts allowing trustees to reduce payments to pensioners. [17327/15] - Family Income Supplement Data
16. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of part-time workers in receipt of family income supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17325/15] - Rent Supplement Scheme Data
17. To ask the Minister for Social Protection in view of her acknowledgement of over 4,000 individually renegotiated rent supplement cases, her views on whether there is a need to examine some... - Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility
18. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether self-employed persons are treated equally in terms of claiming for social welfare payments in lieu of businesses not earning... - Universal Retirement Savings Group
19. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will publish the minutes of meetings held between her Department and the Department of Finance pertaining to the universal retirement savings... - Free Travel Scheme Eligibility
20. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the free travel companion pass for visually impaired children will be widened to include children with other physical or intellectual... - Child Benefit Eligibility
21. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps she will take to ensure that all recipients of child benefit attend school up to 16 years of age; and if she will make a statement on the... - Child Care Services Funding
22. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if her intention is to redirect any savings from cuts to her Department spend, in particular to one-parent family payments, to fund child care... - Rent Supplement Scheme Payments
23. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she has considered increasing rent supplement or taking other measures to remedy the difficulties faced by persons in securing accommodation.... - Departmental Schemes
24. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if an annual review takes place of the JobsPlus scheme and other related schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17243/15] - Public Services Card Data
25. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will report on the introduction of the new public social services card; the number of cards issued since the new system was introduced; and... - Rent Supplement Scheme Payments
26. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the current level of rent supplement to take account of rent increases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17332/15] - Disability Activation Projects
27. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the way she will ensure that persons with disabilities will not be inappropriately activated under the proposed JobPath measures; and if she will... - Labour Activation Measures
28. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the numbers of participants in County Tipperary on the JobBridge scheme, the Gateway scheme, the Tús - work placement initiative, the community... - Social Welfare Fraud Data
29. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the measures taken by her Department to crack down on welfare fraud; the amount of revenue saved by her Department by these measures in each of the... - Pensions Legislation
30. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to address the serious impact of changes in pensions legislation which allows trustees to reduce the payments to current pensioners and... - Housing Provision
31. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which her Department continues to be in a position to meet the requirements of applicants who are on the local authority housing list,... - Disability Activation Projects
32. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on whether not extending all Intreo services to persons with disabilities throughout Ireland, including all the voluntary activation... - Pension Fund Fees
33. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the measures she is taking to reduce pension costs being charged on members of pension schemes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17242/15] - Work Placement Programmes
34. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to the further roll-out of schemes, such as Gateway and community employment schemes, in a non-random selection... - Money Advice and Budgeting Service
35. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the cost-benefit analysis undertaken regarding proposed changes in the Money Advice & Budgeting Service structures; her views on whether the... - Rent Supplement Scheme Administration
36. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the delays in processing applications for rent allowance, in particular for residents of Dublin South Central; and the reason that... - One-Parent Family Payments
37. To ask the Minister for Social Protection in view of the fact that the Government is now claiming that there is a return to recovery, if she is planning to reverse cuts that have affected... - Exceptional Needs Payments
38. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which exceptional needs payments continued to meet the needs of various applicants over the past 12 months as was previously the case,... - One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility
39. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of families that will be impacted by the change in the one-parent family payment, due to take place fully this summer; and if she will... - Disability Activation Projects
40. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the way her Department proposes to calculate the capacity to work of persons on disability payments, and to decide on who should be activated; and if... - Community Employment Schemes Operation
41. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide an update on changes to the community employment scheme; her assessment of the impact this will have on community child care... - National Internship Scheme Administration
42. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the criticisms in the IMPACT report, JobBridge - Time to Start Again?, and her plans to deal with its recommendations. [17317/15] - One-Parent Family Payments
43. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of one-parent family payments who are subjected to low-hour contracts and are therefore not in a position to increase their... - Housing Assistance Payments Implementation
44. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the amount of her Department's budget in 2015, 2016 and 2017 that it is planned to move to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local... - State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility
45. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider addressing the unfairness of the situation where a woman worked in the 1960s, before she had a family, left to raise her family,... - One-Parent Family Payments
46. To ask the Minister for Social Protection in view of stark evidence from the European Union's Survey on Income and Living Conditions 2013, which showed that consistent poverty rates for... - School Meals Programme
47. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of schools availing of funding from her Department for the provision of school lunches which have run out of funding for this academic... - Community Services Programme
49. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 71 of 14 January 2015 and 15 of 5 February 2015, the number of new applications for the community services... - Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility
50. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the anomaly whereby the spouse of a person who dies while on a community employment scheme does not receive six weeks payment, but the... - Free Travel Scheme Eligibility
51. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on resolving an anomaly where parents of certain children with disabilities may qualify for free travel if they are in receipt of the... - Supplementary Welfare Allowance Eligibility
52. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she is aware of the difficulties cohabiting couples face when their claims are up for review and are suspended until a decision is made by the... - Youth Guarantee
53. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to assess the long-term benefits to the participants of the Ballymun Youth Guarantee pilot scheme; and, in view of the dearth of private... - Illness Benefit Eligibility
54. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason those on the widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pensions are not entitled to illness benefit; and if she will make a... - Carer's Allowance Eligibility
55. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her plans to allow for the full payment of carer's allowance, along with the full widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pensions in cases... - Farm Assist Scheme Administration
56. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views regarding the falling number of farmers receiving farm assist payments; and if she is aware that the cutting of that payment is resulting... - Disability Activation Projects
57. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the proposals she will bring forward to ensure that persons with disabilities will not be worse off if they take up employment opportunities; the way... - Respite Care Grant Payments
58. To ask the Minister for Social Protection in view of the fact that the latest Health Service Executive performance report shows that the number of respite overnights for persons with a... - Superannuation Schemes
59. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will report on measures she is taking to address the cuts to deferred Irish aviation superannuation scheme pensions; if she will meet with the... - Fuel Allowance Payments
60. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the efforts her Department is making to address fuel poverty; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17240/15] - Community Services Programme
61. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 71 of 14 January 2015 and 15 of 5 February 2015, if she envisages being in a position to open a new call for... - Farm Assist Scheme Applications
62. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan has not received a reply to their application for farm assist; and if she will make a... - Gender Recognition
63. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the resolution passed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on transgender rights; if she supports the full... - School Meals Programme
64. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of breakfast clubs operating in primary and post-primary schools each year for the past five years; the cost of providing such a service... - Social Insurance Rates
65. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the revenue that would be generated by an increase of 1%, 2% and 3%, respectively, in employers pay-related social insurance. [17746/15] - Social Welfare Fraud Cost
67. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the use of press releases to provide an unclear picture of the levels of actual fraud in her Department. [17541/15] - Disability Allowance Eligibility
68. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if a person's disability allowance (details supplied) in County Kerry will be reviewed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17185/15] - Carer's Allowance Appeals
69. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when payment of carer's allowance will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the... - Disability Allowance Applications
70. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will approve and expedite a disability allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a... - Carer's Allowance Delays
71. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason for the delay in approving a carer's allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make... - Disability Allowance Applications
72. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a person (details supplied) in County Monaghan has not received a response to an application for disability allowance; and if she will... - Carer's Allowance Applications
73. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when a decision will be made on a carer's allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Roscommon; the reason for the... - Disability Allowance Applications
74. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when a decision on a disability allowance will issue in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on... - Data Protection
75. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps she will take to facilitate the sharing of information with the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Children and Youth... - Family Income Supplement
76. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the steps she will take to maximise the uptake of family income supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17290/15] - Mortgage Arrears Proposals
77. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she or her Department officials are concerned regarding the announcement made by Ulster Bank on 27 April 2015 regarding persons in long-term... - Carer's Allowance Applications
78. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will examine and expedite an application for carer's allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry as all documentation... - Supplementary Welfare Allowance Applications
79. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the delay in issuing a payment to a person (details supplied), as the person currently has no income and no way of supporting themselves. [17399/15] - Rent Supplement Scheme Data
80. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, the numbers of recipients of rent supplement in arrears in the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 to date; the amount of... - Community Employment Schemes Operation
82. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will report on the flexibility to be allowed for community employment schemes for community employment workers to remain in employment for at... - Disability Allowance Payments
84. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a disability allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Dublin has been reduced; if the full payment will... - After-School Support Services
85. To ask the Minister for Social Protection regarding the after-school child care scheme, if there are proposals to include participants (details supplied) of the Tús work placement... - Universal Retirement Savings Group
86. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on a matter (details supplied) regarding the universal retirement savings group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17494/15] - Disability Allowance Appeals
87. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when a disability allowance will be paid to a person (details supplied) in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17500/15] - Community Services Programme
88. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if consideration will be given to re-opening the community service programme, in view of its positive impact; the other options that are available... - Community Employment Schemes Places
89. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the total number of community employment places, by county, and in the case of Dublin, on a local authority basis, in each year since 2010 to 2014... - Pension Provisions
90. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will address a matter (details supplied) regarding social protection pensions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17557/15] - Occupational Injuries Benefit
91. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the exceptional circumstances that would be considered appropriate grounds for considering an application for occupational injuries benefit by a... - Mortgage Repayments
92. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she is aware of the difficulty created for borrowers (details supplied) in County Kildare when their mortgage support was suspended, while they... - Domiciliary Care Allowance Applications
93. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will examine and expedite an application for domiciliary care allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she... - Jobseeker's Allowance Data
94. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons under 25 years of age who are in receipt of a reduced jobseeker's allowance social welfare payment in each year 2012, 2013,... - Pension Provisions
95. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding pensions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17667/15] - Widow's Pension Eligibility
96. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the progress, to date, in determining an application for a widow’s, widower’s or surviving civil partner’s pension, in... - Pension Provisions
97. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason a EVP65 form has no Post Office payment option on it (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17678/15] - Social Welfare Benefits Data
98. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown of social welfare payments in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; the dependent family members the... - Personal Public Service Numbers
99. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason European Union citizens are refused personal public service numbers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17706/15] - Invalidity Pension Payments
100. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the correct level of invalidity pension, in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the... - Supplementary Welfare Allowance Payments
101. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will consider restoring the diet supplement scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17751/15] - Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility
102. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason the rent allowance and one-parent family payment was suspended for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 8. [17764/15] - Social Welfare Code
103. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if a trust fund for a child, that can only be accessed when the child reaches 18 years of age, has to be declared by the parent, when the parent is... - National Internship Scheme Administration
104. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide a breakdown of the money and resources spent promoting the JobBridge Scheme, including events, advertising and materials. [17770/15] - Departmental Expenditure
105. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide, in tabular form, by month, a breakdown indicating the 2015 Revised Estimate for total expenditure by her Department; and the... - Social Welfare Appeals
107. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which her Department continues to monitor the time frame to process appeals for various means-tested payments. or claims based on... - Pension Provisions
108. To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on a matter (details supplied) regarding State pensions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17829/15] - Exceptional Needs Payment Data
109. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for exceptional needs payments received by her Department, in each of the past twelve months, to date; the number... - Social Welfare Appeals
107. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which her Department continues to monitor the time frame to process appeals for various means-tested payments. or claims based on... - Pension Provisions
108. To ask the Minister for Social Protection - State Pension (Contributory) Applications
110. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for the State Pension (Contributory) received by her Department in the course of the past twelve months, to date; the... - Social Welfare Appeals
111. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of oral hearings that have taken place in the past twelve months, in respect of the various payments made by her Department to social... - Social Welfare Benefits
112. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which she remains satisfied that one parent families receive a combination of payments amounting to at least as much as they... - Disability Allowance Data
113. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for Disability Allowance and Invalidity Pension received in her Department, in each of the past five years to date; the... - Deserted Wife's Benefit Data
114. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of recipients of Deserted Wives Benefit eligible for receipt of payment in the past five years, to date; the extent to which their... - Social Welfare Schemes
115. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which the various schemes available to her Department are making positive and beneficial impact on the numbers of young persons who... - Back to Work Allowance
116. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of applications for Back to Work Allowance received in her Department in the past four years, to date; the numbers approved and rejected... - Unemployment Benefits
117. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons currently in receipt of Unemployment Assistance or Unemployment Benefit in County Kildare, at present; the extent to which... - Community Welfare Services
118. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which community welfare offices are located throughout County Kildare, in such a manner as to ensure convenience of access for the... - Youth Unemployment
119. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which her Department continues to be in the position to avail of European Union support to alleviate youth unemployment; and if she... - Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility
121. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if it is the policy of her Department to withhold social welfare payments, such as JobSeeker's Allowance, to non-Irish born residents until they... - JobsPlus Scheme
122. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if a person, who is a participant on a JobBridge Scheme in a voluntary secondary school, may subsequently participate on the JobsPlus scheme in the... - Public Sector Staff Recruitment
123. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will provide details of recruitment under the aegis of her Department to the public sector since the partial lifting of the embargo on...
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