SOCIAL WELFARE APPLICATION DELAYS
THE huge delays in processing applications in the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection were highlighted in the Dáil by Cork North West Deputy Michael Moynihan.
By and large, Deputy Moynihan said, applications to these schemes take 12 weeks, 14 weeks, 16 weeks, and perhaps even longer, to process.
“This is particularly true of the Carer’s Allowance,” he said. “People make decisions to take on caring for an elderly relative or other family members such as a sibling who may need fulltime care and assistance. To do so, they must give up their employment before they can make an application. They wait 14 weeks or 16 weeks for a decision to be made. It is not acceptable to take so long to process these applications.”
When applications are refused for some reason and a review is requested and new evidence is submitted, it should be done speedily, he said. “If a person appeals a case, one is facing a period of 12 months for the appeal to be heard. I had a very serious case recently. We went to our hearing and kept at it, but it was almost two years before Carer’s Allowance was granted to the applicant.”
There is no doubt but that those who receive the payment are saving the State rather than costing the State, he said. Sometimes the person they are caring for would otherwise have to go into full-time institutional care which costs €900 or €1,000 a week. The Carer’s Benefit is around €200 a week. “There is a saving, and the scheme needs to be looked at. The Department should look seriously at making sure there is a speedy decision made on applications.”
Clarity sought on support for persons with lifelong incontinence
THE status of the promised annual €75 support which was announced by the Government in 2017 for persons with lifelong or long-term medical incontinence was raised in the Dáil by Labour Deputy Seán Sherlock.
“There are a number of cases, including a specific case of a young person in my constituency who has a long-term need,” he said. “I seek clarification from the Government as to the status of the €75 support which was announced by the Government in 2017 and further reinforced in 2018. Is this €75 available?
“I need to be able to report back to my constituents whether this is happening.
“A sum of €75 is a significant amount of money, especially when the annual cost of waste for an average household is quite high. This would give untold support to such families who are in desperate need.”
In reply, Minister of State Ciaran Cannon said the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment is continuing the work of developing, with a number of stakeholders, a mechanism to provide a €75 support for persons with lifelong or longterm medical incontinence to help meet the average annual cost of disposing of medical incontinence products.
“Unfortunately, this process has taken far longer than originally envisaged,” he said. “This delay is due to a number of issues. In particular, data protection issues have arisen since the introduction of the general data protection regulation, GDPR. The proposal relates to persons with lifelong or longterm medical incontinence. As the Deputy is aware, any information that relates to the physical health of a person is sensitive personal data and must be treated very carefully. I understand, however, that there is a commitment to introducing a support, as soon as practically possible, in conjunction with relevant agencies and stakeholders.”
Agri-food sector employs 173,000
THE agri-food sector employs 173,000 people – including those involved with primary production and processing and in the food and beverages sector, which has a total of almost eight per cent of total employment in 2017 – Minister Michael Creed told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
“The United Kingdom is Ireland’s largest export market for agrifood products at €5.2 billion in 2017, while Ireland is the UK’s largest export market at €4.1 billion of products in 2017,” he said. “The most immediate impact of Brexit has been the difficulties caused by the significant drop in the value of sterling against the euro. Possible long-term impacts relate to the potential need to apply import controls in respect of animals, plants and products of animal and plant origin imported from the UK, the certification of Irish agrifood exports to the UK and the possibility of a hard Brexit resulting in tariffs on trade.”
Minister Creed said the challenge has been to take effective steps to mitigate the immediate impacts and intensify market diversification efforts to reduce our exposure to the UK market. “These challenges are being addressed through budgetary measures covering building competitiveness and resilience on and off farm, and through market diversification and development,” he said.
Brexit preparation, he said, is complicated by uncertainty over the current negotiations and the potential final trading relationship between the EU and the UK. “Nevertheless, my Department’s Brexit planning, guided by recent Government decisions, is well advanced,” he said. “Officials have been working with other Departments and agencies to ensure they are prepared to fulfil their legal obligations as efficiently as possible when the UK exits the EU. I am pleased that significant progress has been made in the development of a long-term investment loan scheme for Irish SMEs, including farmers.”