Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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265. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the recent resignation of two members of the board of an organisation (details supplied); the reason for the resignations; his views on the reason provided for the resignations; if his attention has been further drawn to the lack of progress in respect of ongoing issues at the organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9867/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I am aware that 2 members of the Board of Caranua have resigned.  The Board of Caranua has the important job of securing the most beneficial, effective and efficient use of the resources available in the investment account while being fair to survivors, seeking to meet their needs and benefit as many people as possible.  I thanked both of the former survivor members for their contribution to the work of the Board.  

Caranua has, up until the end of December, expended €72.5m on services for survivors.  The services include:

They are now publishing statistics on the feedback they receive from survivors and for 2017, there was a 90% satisfaction rate.

In 2016, following consultation with survivors, the Board changed their criteria to include household goods and funeral expenses.  This was in response to what survivors were calling for on how the fund should be utilised.

As well as having to comply with the Code of Practice for the Governance for State Bodies, Caranua are in process of implementing the following measures:

- It is reviewing its customer charter in consultation with stakeholders;

- It is making data available on feedback and complaints received;

- It is working to increase the level of face-to-face engagement with applicants. It is doing this through scheduled face-to-face meetings in various venues in Dublin, in the regions and in the UK.

- It is working to enhance the level of statistics it provides to the Department and to the public on waiting times for processing and communicating decisions. 

Following the resignation of two members, there are still two survivors on the Board of Caranua and my Department will be seeking to replace the Board members who resigned as soon as practicable.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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266. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has satisfied himself with the operation of an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9868/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Caranua has the important job of securing the most beneficial, effective and efficient use of the resources available in the investment account while being fair to survivors, seeking to meet their needs and benefit as many people as possible.

Caranua has, up until the end of December, expended €72.5m on services for survivors. The services include:

They are now publishing statistics on the feedback they receive from survivors and for 2017, there was a 90% satisfaction rate.

As well as having to comply with the Code of Practice for State Bodies, Caranua are currently implementing a number of measures, such as:

- It is reviewing its customer charter in consultation with stakeholders;

- It is making data available on feedback and complaints received;

- It is working to increase the level of face-to-face engagement with applicants.

- It is working to enhance the level of statistics it provides to the Department and to the public on waiting times for processing and communicating decisions.