Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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171. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to review correspondence (details supplied) and offer advice in this case. [3170/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is aware of this case and has been in regular contact with the named person.

I fully appreciate that obtaining a ward of court is a significant burden, but payment entitlements are an asset and my Department cannot transfer one person's asset to another without their permission.

My Department has been advised that the transferor in this case is not in a position to sign the transferor signature confirmation form herself. In such cases they have to look for either power of attorney or ward of court in order to protect the vulnerable person and their assets. As neither is in place for this transferor, staff in my Department are not permitted to process the transfer application.

The named person has been advised of this and has been reassured that the payment entitlements will not be lost if appropriate documentation to confirm the transfer is produced at a later date. They have also been given details of the Decision Support Service by staff in my Department, in case they may have additional information which could assist those involved.

I trust that this clarifies the position for you.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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172. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to provide figures for the number of staff directly employed in his Department who work from home/remotely as part of their working week; the percentage of staff on an overall basis who work from home at least one day a week; the number of working hours on average per week that staff in his Department work from home; the gender breakdown of those who avail of the opportunity to work from home/remotely; if they will provide the figures for 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3231/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is committed to embracing opportunities for remote and blended working, to build a more dynamic, agile and responsive Civil Service, while sustaining strong standards of performance and high levels of productivity. I believe that blended working can increase flexibility, improve health and wellbeing, and add to the range of work-life balance initiatives it can offer to staff.

The table below shows the number of staff directly employed by my Department who worked from home as part of their working week in December 2022 and December 2023. The gender breakdown of the staff working remotely in December 2022 and December 2023 is also provided in the table below.