Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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927. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the level of consistent poverty in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush, and Shannon, County Clare in each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1455/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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928. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the level of child poverty in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush, and Shannon, County Clare in each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1456/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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929. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the level of food poverty in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush, and Shannon, County Clare in each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1457/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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930. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the level of fuel poverty in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush, and Shannon, County Clare in each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1458/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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931. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the deprivation rates in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush, and Shannon, County Clare in each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1459/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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932. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the median household income in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush, and Shannon, County Clare in each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1460/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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993. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the level of consistent poverty in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush and Shannon, County Clare for each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1518/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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994. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the level of child poverty in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush and Shannon, County Clare for each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1519/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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995. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the level of food poverty in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush and Shannon, County Clare for each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1520/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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996. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the level of fuel poverty in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush, and Shannon, County Clare for each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1521/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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997. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the deprivation rates in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush, and Shannon, County Clare for each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1522/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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998. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the median household income in each of the electoral areas of Ennis, Ennistymon, Killaloe, Kilrush, and Shannon, County Clare for each of the years 2011 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1523/22]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 927 to 932, inclusive, and 993 to 1005, inclusive, together.

As Minister of State with responsibility for social inclusion, I oversee the implementation of the Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020-2025, the national strategy for poverty reduction and improved social inclusion.  The Roadmap aims to reduce the percentage of the population in consistent poverty to 2% or less by 2025 and to make Ireland one of the most socially inclusive countries in the EU.I chair the Social Inclusion Roadmap Steering Group which monitors the implementation of Roadmap. It  has met four times since November 2020.  The first Roadmap Progress Report will be published shortly.

The most recent poverty data is from the 2020 Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) which was published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 17th December 2021.  Official poverty data, as collated by the CSO, is not available at an electoral area or county level.  However in order to be of assistance to the Deputy I am providing equivalent regional data which includes Co Clare data.

Up to 2019 data is available for the 'NUTS' 3 Mid-West region which covers Counties Clare, Tipperary and Limerick. In 2020 the data was provided for the NUTS 2 Southern region which consists of Counties Clare, Tipperary, Limerick, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wexford, Cork, and Kerry.  The table below provides data for the NUTS 3 Mid-West region for the period 2012-2019 and for the Southern region for 2020 for the information of the Deputies.

It should be noted that further regulatory changes, which took effect in January 2021, have resulted in a break in the time series for SILC data.  This means that the 2020 SILC data are not fully comparable with data from previous years.

Data on child poverty is not published by the CSO on a regional level.  However addressing child poverty continues to be a Government priority.  The Roadmap for Social Inclusion underlines  that no child in Ireland should live in poverty and that, where it happens due to adverse circumstances, available supports should ensure that the child and their family exit poverty as soon as is possible. The Roadmap highlights the importance of both income supports and access to services, particularly to basic essential services such as housing, health and education, in addressing poverty and social exclusion.  Budget 2022 included a range of measures to support families and children including increases to all core weekly payments and to the qualified child rates; an increase in weekly income threshold for the Working Family Payment for all family sizes; an increase in the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance for older and younger children; and the extension of the Hot School Meals programme.  The Department is also working with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth on the development on Ireland’s national plan for the implementation of the EU Child Guarantee.  Data on national trends in child poverty are available in the Social Inclusion Monitor publication available on www.gov.ie.  

While there is no official food poverty indicator in Ireland, in 2012 the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) developed a measure which defined food poverty as the inability to have an adequate and nutritious diet due to issues of affordability or accessibility. 

As part of its series reporting on Ireland’s progress towards meeting its targets under the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the CSO published ‘Irelands UN SDGs 2019 – Report on Indicators for Goal 2 Zero Hunger’.  Using the ESRI food poverty measure, the report includes the food poverty rate for the Southern Region for the period 2012-2018.

In April 2021, I established a Working Group on Food Poverty to progress the delivery of Roadmap Commitment 61: develop a comprehensive programme of work to further explore the drivers of food poverty and to identify mitigating actions.  The membership of this group comprises representatives from relevant government Departments as well as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Crosscare and the Children’s Rights Alliance.

In addition, the Department of Social Protection helps to address food poverty through the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD), which supports EU Member States’ actions to provide food and material assistance to the most deprived. FEAD Ireland has received funding of €26.7 million for the period 2014 – 2020, with over 150 charities nationwide distributing food to their communities.  A list of approved charities can be found on www.gov.ie. 

There is no official fuel poverty indicator . However, the SILC basic deprivation indicator includes two items relating to energy provision/availability:

- without heating at some stage in the last year through lack of money;

- unable to afford to keep the home adequately warm. 

Data on trends in these deprivation indicators is available on the CSO website, but not at a regional level.

However tackling fuel poverty is a Government priority.  The Roadmap for Social Inclusion has a specific commitment in relation to tackling fuel/energy poverty (Commitment #60): as part of the Climate Action Plan, review ways to improve how energy poverty schemes target those most in need.  This commitment is being delivered by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Fuel poverty is also addressed through the provision of the Fuel Allowance by the Department of Social Protection.  Budget 2022 increased the Fuel Allowance by €5 to €33 per week with an increase to the weekly income threshold for Fuel Allowance from €100 to €120.  Both changes came into effect from 11 October 2021 to ensure that recipients benefited during the winter fuel season.  In addition, Budget 2022 reduced the qualification period for Fuel Allowance from 15 months to 12 months for people in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance and Supplementary Welfare Allowance. People in receipt of the Household Benefits Package also receive a monthly allowance of €35 (€420 per year) towards the cost of either their electricity or gas bills.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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933. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1472/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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964. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back to school clothing and footwear allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1527/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 933, 964 and 1006 together.

The back to school clothing and footwear allowance scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the costs of clothing and footwear when children start or return to school each autumn. 

The allowance is payable for eligible children between the ages of 4 and 17 in respect of whom a qualified child increase is being paid.  It is also payable to those between the ages of 18 and 22 who are in full-time second level education and in respect of whom a qualified child allowance is being paid. 

The number of back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) recipients and the number of qualified children for whom BSCFA was approved in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021 is set out in tabular form below.

I trust this clarifies the matter. 

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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934. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back to work family dividend in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1473/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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938. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the working family payment in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1477/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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939. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back to work enterprise allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1478/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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965. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back to work family dividend in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1528/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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969. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the working family payment in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, inclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1532/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I proposed to take Questions Nos. 934, 938, 939, 965, 969, 1007, 1011 and 1012 together.

Detailed information on scheme recipients, including recipients by county, are published each year by my Department in the Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services, which is available at gov.ie/dsp/statistics.  The Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services in respect of 2021 is expected to be published in quarter 2 of this year.

The archive on gov.ie contains reports from 1998 through to the latest available report, which is 2020.  Quarterly data by county, covering Q1 2014 through to Q3 2021, is also available, and is published on a quarterly basis through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie

The information requested by the Deputies is set out in the table below: 

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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935. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of basic supplementary welfare allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1474/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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950. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who received a supplementary welfare allowance payment in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1489/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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958. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who received an urgent needs payment in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1497/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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963. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of rent supplement in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1502/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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966. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of basic supplementary welfare allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1529/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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979. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who received a supplementary welfare allowance payment in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, inclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1543/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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987. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who received an urgent needs payment in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1510/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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992. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the rent supplement in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1515/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 935, 950, 958, 963, 966, 979, 987, 992, 1008, 1023, 1032 and 1035 together.

The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme is the safety net within the overall social welfare system in that it provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. Supports provided under the SWA scheme can consist of a basic weekly payment, a weekly or monthly supplement in respect of certain expenses, as well as single exceptional needs payments (ENPs) and urgent needs payments (UNPs).

The basic supplementary welfare allowance provides immediate assistance for those in need who are awaiting the outcome of a claim or an appeal for a primary social welfare payment or do not qualify for payment under other State schemes.

Rent supplement provides short-term income support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The scheme ensures that for those who were renting, but whose circumstances have changed due to temporary loss of employment, can continue to meet their rental commitments.

Under the SWA scheme, a supplement can be awarded to assist with ongoing or recurring costs that cannot be met from the person’s own resources and are deemed to be necessary. A single exceptional needs payment (ENP) may be made to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. An urgent needs payment (UNP) may be made to persons who may not normally qualify for SWA but who have an urgent need which they cannot meet from their own resources or an alternative is not available at that time. Decisions on ENPs, UNPs and SWA supplements are made at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case.

Table 1 shows the number of Basic SWA and supplement recipients in Co Clare, at year end 2016-2021.

Table 2 shows the number of ENPs and UNPs issued in Co Clare, 2016-2021.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputies.

Table 1: Number of Basic SWA and supplement recipients in Co Clare, at year end 2016-2021

Table 2: Number of ENPs and UNPs issued in Co Clare, 2016-2021

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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936. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of one parent family payment County Clare in each of the years 2001 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1475/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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967. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of one parent family payment in County Clare in each of the years 2001 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1530/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 936, 967 and 1009 together.

Detailed information on scheme recipients, including recipients by county, are published each year by my Department in the Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services, which is available at gov.ie/dsp/statistics. The Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services in respect of 2021 is expected to be published in quarter 2 of this year.

The archive on gov.ie contains reports from 1998 through to the latest available report, which is 2020. Quarterly data by county, covering Q1 2014 through to Q3 2021, is also available, and is published on a quarterly basis through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie

The information requested by the Deputies is set out in the table below.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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937. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of students who benefitted from the school meals scheme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1476/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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968. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of students who benefit from the school meals scheme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, inclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1531/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 937, 968 and 1010 together.

The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,506 schools and organisations benefitting 230,000 children.  The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children who are unable, due to lack of good quality food, to take full advantage of the education provided to them.  The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.

A budget of €65.1 million has been provided for the scheme in 2021.

As part of Budget 2019, funding was provided for a pilot scheme from September 2019, providing hot school meals in primary schools at a cost of €1m for 2019 and €2.5m in 2020.  The pilot involved 37 schools benefitting 6,744 students for the 2019/2020 academic year and was aimed primarily at schools with no onsite cooking facilities.  

Budget 2021 provided an additional €5.5m to extend the provision of hot school meals to an additional 35,000 primary school children, currently receiving the cold lunch option.  Invitations for expressions of interest were issued to 705 primary schools (612 DEIS and 93 non-DEIS) in November 2020.  A total of 281 (256 DEIS and 25 non-DEIS) expressions of interest were received in respect of 52,148 children.

The 35,000 places were allocated to each local authority area based on the number of children applied by local authority as a percentage of the total number.  A minimum of one school for each Local Authority area was selected.  Thereafter, a process of random selection was used for each area.

Budget 2022 is providing for the hot school meals to be extended from January 2022 to the 81 DEIS schools that submitted an expression of interest but were not selected in the extension to 35,000.

The number of students who benefitted from the school meals scheme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021 is contained in Table 1 of the attached tabular statement.

For ease of reference, details of the schools and organisations benefitting from the school meals scheme in the 2021/2022 academic year are contained in Table 2.

I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Table 1: The number of students benefitting from the school meals scheme in County Clare from 2016 to 2021

Table 2: Schools and Organisations benefitting from the school meals scheme in the 2021/2022 academic year

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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940. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the benefit payment for 65 year olds in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1479/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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942. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of farm assist in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1481/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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943. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of fish assist in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1482/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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944. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1483/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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945. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of jobseeker’s benefit in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1484/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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946. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of jobseeker’s benefit for the self-employed in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1485/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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947. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the jobseeker’s transitional payment in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1486/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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948. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the professional artists on jobseeker’s allowance in the State and in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1487/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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971. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of benefit payment for aged 65 years in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1534/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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972. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of farm assist in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1536/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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973. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1537/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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974. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of jobseeker’s benefit in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1538/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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975. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of jobseeker’s benefit for the self-employed in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1539/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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976. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the jobseeker’s transitional payment in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1540/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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977. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the professional artists on jobseeker’s allowance in the State and in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1541/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 940, 942 to 948, inclusive, 971 to 977, inclusive, 1013, 1015, 1016, 1017, 1018, 1019, 1020 and 1021 together.

Detailed information on scheme recipients, including recipients by county, are published each year by my Department in the Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services, which is available at gov.ie/dsp/statistics. The Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services in respect of 2021 is expected to be published in quarter 2 of this year.

The archive on gov.ie contains reports from 1998 through to the latest available report, which is 2020. Quarterly data by county, covering Q1 2014 through to Q3 2021, is also available, and is published on a quarterly basis through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie

The information requested by the Deputies is set out in the table below. Farm assist, fish assist, jobseekers for professional artists, and the jobseeker’s transitional payment, are forms of Jobseeker’s Allowance, and the numbers reported for Jobseeker’s Allowance are inclusive of these. The Benefit Payment for the Over 65s, introduced in 2021, is a form of Jobseeker’s Benefit, as is Jobseeker’s Benefit for the Self Employed, which was introduced in 2019. The Jobseeker’s Benefit figures are inclusive of these. Where 1 to 3 people were in receipt of these payments, the value 'between 1 and 3' is entered in the table to prevent any possible identification of the recipients.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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941. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons on the community employment programme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1480/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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951. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who availed of a Tús community work placement initiative in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1490/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 941, 951, 1014, 1022 and 1024 together.

Detailed information on scheme recipients, including recipients by county, are published each year by my Department in the Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services, which is available at gov.ie/dsp/statistics. The Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services in respect of 2021 is expected to be published in quarter 2 of this year.

The archive on gov.ie contains reports from 1998 through to the latest available report, which is 2020. Quarterly data by county, covering Q1 2014 through to Q3 2021, is also available, and is published on a quarterly basis through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie

The information requested by the Deputies is set out in the table below.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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949. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the rural social scheme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1488/22]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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RSS (Rural Social Scheme) is delivered by a network of 36 local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta, known collectively as implementing bodies (IBs). The IB delivering the RSS in County Clare is the Clare Local Development Company.

RSS is an income support scheme that provides part-time employment opportunities for farmers and fishermen and women in receipt of specified social welfare payments, and who are underemployed in their primary occupation. It is a demand-led scheme and people who wish to participate apply direct to the IB that delivers the scheme in their area. 

The number of people who participated on RSS in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021 is  provided in the table below. 

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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952. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the blind pension in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1491/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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956. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the disability allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1495/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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981. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the blind pension in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1545/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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985. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the disability allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1508/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 952, 956, 981, 985, 1025 and 1033 together.

Detailed information on scheme recipients, including recipients by county, are published each year by my Department in the Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services, which is available at gov.ie/dsp/statistics. The Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services in respect of 2021 is expected to be published in quarter 2 of this year.

The archive on gov.ie contains reports from 1998 through to the latest available report, which is 2020. Quarterly data by county, covering Q1 2014 through to Q3 2021, is also available, and is published on a quarterly basis through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie

The information requested by the Deputies is set out in the table below:

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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953. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of carer’s allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1492/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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954. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of carer’s benefit in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1493/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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955. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the constant attendance allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1494/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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957. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of invalidity pension in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1496/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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982. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the carer’s allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1505/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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983. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the carer’s benefit in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1506/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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984. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the constant attendance allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1507/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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986. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the invalidity pension in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1509/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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991. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the State pension (non-contributory) in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1514/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 953, 954, 955, 957, 982, 983, 984, 986, 991, 1026, 1027, 1028 and 1034 together.

Detailed information on scheme recipients, including recipients by county, are published each year by my Department in the Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services, which is available at gov.ie/dsp/statistics. The Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services in respect of 2021 is expected to be published in quarter 2 of this year.

The archive on gov.ie contains reports from 1998 through to the latest available report, which is 2020. Quarterly data by county, covering Q1 2014 through to Q3 2021, is also available, and is published on a quarterly basis through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie

The information requested by the Deputies is set out in the table below. Constant Attendance Allowance is an additional payment available to certain people in receipt of Disablement Benefit. It is not possible to isolate those in receipt of the additional allowance by county; accordingly totals for county Clare for Disablement Benefit in its entirety are provided.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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959. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the wage subsidy scheme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1498/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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988. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the wage subsidy scheme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1511/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 959, 988 and 1036 together.

The Wage Subsidy Scheme is an employment support to private sector employers. The objective of the scheme is to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities and thereby increase the numbers of people with disabilities obtaining and sustaining employment in the open labour market. The scheme provides financial incentives to private sector employers to hire people with a disability for between 21 and 39 subsidised hours per week under a contract of employment. There are currently 1,572 private sector employers availing of the subsidy. Estimated expenditure on the Wage Subsidy Scheme for 2022 is expected to be in the region of over €29 million.

As part of Budget 2022, the basic rate of subsidy was increased by €1.00 per hour to €6.30 per hour giving a total annual subsidy available of €12,776 per annum based on a 39-hour week. The contract of employment offered must be for a minimum of 6 months and the employee should be subject to and have the same rights as per the conditions of employment as any of the other employees. Included in these conditions is the requirement that the employee must be paid the going rate for the job which must be at least the statutory minimum wage.

The financial supports for employers are structured under three separate strands and companies could benefit under one strand or under two or three strands simultaneously depending on the number of people with a disability employed, as below: -

- Strand I is a general subsidy for any perceived productivity shortfall in excess of 20% for a person with a disability, in comparison to a colleague without a disability. The subsidy is based on the number of hours worked.

- Strand II subsidy is payable when an employer employs three or more people with disabilities who are supported by a Wage Subsidy Scheme Strand I payment. Strand II is intended to cover the additional supervisory, management and other work-based costs relating to such employees. This top-up payment is a percentage of the Strand I subsidy and is based on the overall number of employees with a disability employed under Strand I. It ranges from an additional 10% of wage subsidy for 3 to 6 employees with a disability to a maximum of 50% of wage subsidy for 23+ employees with a disability. Therefore, when an employer has 23 or more Wage Subsidy Scheme employees, a 50% top-up is applied to the hourly rate increasing the current payment rate to €9.45 per hour for each employee.

- Strand III subsidy enables employers who employ 25 or more workers with a disability on the Wage Subsidy Scheme to be eligible for a grant of up to €30,000 per year towards the expense of employing an Employment Assistance Officer to support these employees.

As the support is paid directly to employers and not to the people employed, the figures and county information set out below refers to the employers availing of the scheme.

Employers in Co Clare Availing of the Wage Subsidy Scheme

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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960. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back to education allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1499/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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989. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back to education allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1512/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 960, 989 and 1029 together.

Detailed information on scheme recipients, including recipients by county, are published each year by my Department in the Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services, which is available at gov.ie/dsp/statistics. The Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services in respect of 2021 is expected to be published in quarter 2 of this year.

The archive on gov.ie contains reports from 1998 through to the latest available report, which is 2020. Quarterly data by county, covering Q1 2014 through to Q3 2021, is also available, and is published on a quarterly basis through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie

The information requested by the Deputies is set out in the table below.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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961. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the State pension (contributory) in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1500/22]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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962. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the State pension (non-contributory) in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1501/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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990. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the State pension (contributory) in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1513/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 961, 962, 990, 1030 and 1031 together.

Detailed information on scheme recipients, including recipients by county, are published each year by my Department in the Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services, which is available at gov.ie/dsp/statistics. The Annual Statistical Report on Social Welfare Services in respect of 2021 is expected to be published in quarter 2 of this year.

The archive on gov.ie contains reports from 1998 through to the latest available report, which is 2020. Quarterly data by county, covering Q1 2014 through to Q3 2021, is also available, and is published on a quarterly basis through the national open data portal, data.gov.ie

The information requested by the Deputies is set out in the table below.

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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970. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the back to work enterprise allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, inclusive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1533/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) scheme offers support for people who are long-term unemployed and who are interested in self-employment as a route to entering the labour market.  The scheme plays a vital role in supporting the development of new enterprises for the long term unemployed and is payable for a 24 month period from the commencement of their new business. 

The following is the number of persons in receipt of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance in County Clare as of 31 December in each of the years 2016 to 2021 inclusive:

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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978. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the rural social scheme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1542/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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980. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who availed of the Tús community work placement initiative in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1544/22]

Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 978 and 980 together.

The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Tús are delivered by a network of 49 local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta, known collectively as implementing bodies (IBs). Both RSS and Tús  are delivered in Co. Clare by the Clare Local Development Company.

RSS is an income support scheme that provides part-time employment opportunities for farmers and fishermen and women who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are underemployed in their primary occupation. It is a demand-led scheme and people who wish to participate apply directly to the IB that delivers the scheme in their area.

As a result of a recent change to the scheme rules, participants who reach 60 years of age while participating on RSS can remain on the scheme until they reach state pension age.

Tús is a targeted activation measure specifically designed and delivered to jobseekers who are on the live register and have been unemployed for twelve months or more. Eligible jobseekers can commence on Tús following  selection and referral, or assisted self-referral, to the IB that delivers Tús in their area. The IB then matches the participant to available Tús placement opportunities in their locality.

The number of people who participated on either RSS or Tús in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021 are provided in the table below.