Clare Anti-Poverty Strategy Research Parliamentary Questions Part 1

by badminme | Feb 9, 2022 | Current, Members News, National, PPN News

TOWARDS AN ANTI-POVERTY STRATEGY FOR CLARE

Socio-economic data on Co Clare obtained via Parliamentary Questions, Part I

In 2021, Clare PPN’s Social Inclusion member groups initiated a project to develop a participative, five-year Anti-Poverty Strategy for Clare, based on the lived experiences of people encountering the various interlinked forms of poverty in the county. Following a successful application for funding to the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) under its Equality Grants Scheme, we were delighted to secure the services of researcher and author Dr Conor McCabe to oversee the project.

As part of his research, Dr McCabe drafted an extensive series of Parliamentary Questions aiming to address a lack of information on the socio economic statistics available to policy makers in the county.  In a bid to obtain the facts, figures and statistics needed to progress this important research. Clare PPN asked Clare’s TDs to submit these as ‘Parliamentary Questions’ (PQs) to the relevant government ministers. What follows below are the official responses to the first series of PQs. (More will be submitted as the project goes on)

We are posting these responses here to make the data readily available to our member groups, to researchers and to anyone who might find it useful for making or influencing policy in Clare.  We are grateful to Cathal Crowe TD, Michael McNamara TD and Violet-Anne Wynne TD for submitting these questions on behalf of Clare PPN.

All of these ‘Written Answers’ have also been published by the Government and can be accessed via the following page on the Oireachtas website:
https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2022-01-19/

The project will continue with a series of peer-to-peer interviews and ‘focus groups’ where those affected by poverty in Clare as well as those providing state and charitable services in the county will be given the opportunity to input to this research. Anyone seeking more information on this project can email sarah@clareppn.ie

Earlier in the project, Dr McCabe produced a Discussion Document, which is available as a PDF: ‘Towards an Anti-Poverty Strategy for Clare’.

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Parliamentary Questions answered on 19th January 2022

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Number of people in Co Clare in receipt of the After-School Childcare Scheme

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 1104 Question Reference(s): 1526/22
Department: Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
Asked by: Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Children; Equality; Disability; Integration and Youth the number of persons in receipt of the after school childcare scheme in County Clare in each of the years from 2016 to 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
The After-School Childcare Programme  (ASCP) was administered and funded by my Department as part of the Community Childcare Subvention Programme (CCSP).  The CCSP closed to new entrants in November 2019, on the introduction of the National Childcare Scheme.

The ASCP provided up to one year of after-school care for primary school children for certain categories of working parents/guardians and parents/guardians on certain employment programmes , based on eligibility criteria provided by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

Parents taking part in Community Employment programmes received funding for after school care under the Community Employment Childcare After-School Childcare (CEC AS) another subvention programme under the CCSP.  The CEC AS closed to new entrants in 2019, on the introduction of the NCS.

Table 1 below sets out outlines all children registered for ASCC for the years 2016 – 2019 inclusive.

Table 2 below sets out outlines all children registered for CEC AS for the years 2016 – 2019 inclusive.

Table 1

Table 2 

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Number of people in receipt of Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) in Co Clare

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 527,528,540 Question Reference(s): 1503/22, 1516/22, 1688/22
Department: Housing, Local Government and Heritage
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Housing; Local Government and Heritage the number of persons in receipt of the housing assistance payment in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme is a flexible and immediate housing support that is available to all eligible households throughout the State. At the end of Q3 2021 there were more than 62,000 households in receipt of HAP and over 33,600 separate landlords and agents providing accommodation to households supported by the scheme.

The table below shows the number of active HAP tenancies in Co. Clare from 2016 to 2021

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Level of consistent poverty, child poverty, food poverty and fuel poverty; deprivation rates; and median household income in Co Clare

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 927,928,929,930,931,932,993,994,995,996,997,998,1000,1001,1002,1003,1004,1005 Question Reference(s): 1455/22, 1456/22, 1457/22, 1458/22, 1459/22, 1460/22, 1518/22, 1519/22, 1520/22, 1521/22, 1522/22, 1523/22, 1621/22, 1622/22, 1623/22, 1624/22, 1625/22, 1626/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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.

Table 1:  Poverty rates at NUTS3 (2012-2019) and NUTS2 (2020) level

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.

Table 2:  Food Poverty Rate 2012-2018 Southern Region

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.

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Number of people on the Live Register in Co Clare – by age, gender, occupation, nationality and duration

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s):  Question Reference(s): 1470/22, 1504/22, 1653/22
Department: Taoiseach
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Taoiseach the number of persons on the live register in County Clare in November of each year from 2016 to 2021 by age, gender, occupation, nationality and duration.

REPLY
I propose to take questions 1470, 1504 and 1653 together. The Live Register series provides a monthly breakdown of the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Allowance and other registrants as registered with the Department of Social Protection.

Table 1 below shows the number of persons on the Live Register for County Clare classified by gender for November 2016 to 2021. This information is also available online on the CSO Px Stat (Series code LRM07). See link to CSO website below.

https://www.cso.ie/en/index.html

Table 2 below shows the number of persons on Live Register for County Clare classified by age group for November 2016 to 2021. This information is also available online on the CSO Px Stat (Series code LRM07). See link to CSO website below.

https://www.cso.ie/en/index.html

Table 3 below shows the number of persons on Live Register for County Clare classified by last held occupation for November 2016 to 2021.

Table 4 below shows the number of persons on Live Register for County Clare classified by nationality grouping for November 2016 to 2021.

Table 5 below shows the number of persons on Live Register for County Clare classified by duration of continuous registration for November 2016 to 2021.

It should be noted that the Live Register is not a definitive measure of unemployment as it includes part-time workers, and seasonal and casual workers entitled to Jobseeker’s Benefit or Allowance.

Table 1  Number of persons on the Live Register in County Clare classified by gender, November 2016 – 2021

Source: Live Register, CSO

Table 2  Number of persons on the Live Register in County Clare classified by age group, November 2016 – 2021

Source: Live Register, CSO

Table 3  Number of persons on the Live Register in County Clare classified by last held occupation, November 2016 – 2021

¹ Includes those who have no stated occupation
Source: Live Register, CSO

Table 4  Number of persons on the Live Register in County Clare classified by nationality grouping, November 2016 – 2021

¹ In light of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union with effect from 1 February 2020, the EU classification has been updated.
Source: Live Register, CSO

Table 5  Number of persons on the Live Register in County Clare classified by duration of continuous registration, November 2016 – 2021

Source: Live Register, CSO
 

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Number of people in receipt of the Back-to-School Clothing and Footwear Allowance in Co Clare

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 933,964,1006 Question Reference(s): 1472/22, 1527/22, 1655/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION

* To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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.

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Number of people in receipt of Supplementary Welfare Allowance payment, Urgent Needs payment and Rent Supplement in Co Clare

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 950,935,958,963,966,979,987,992,1008,1023,1032,1035 Question Reference(s): 1489/22, 1474/22, 1497/22, 1502/22, 1529/22, 1543/22, 1510/22, 1515/22, 1657/22, 1677/22, 1687/22, 1691/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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

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Number of people in receipt of One-Parent Family Payment in Co Clare

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 967,936,1009 Question Reference(s): 1530/22, 1475/22, 1658/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Michael McNamara T.D., Cathal Crowe T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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.

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Number of students benefitting from the School Meals Scheme in Co Clare

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 937,968,1010 Question Reference(s): 1476/22, 1531/22, 1659/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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.

Tabular Statement 

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

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Number of people in receipt of the Back to Work Family Dividend, Working Family Payment and Back to Work Enterprise Allowance

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 938,934,939,965,969,1007,1011,1012 Question Reference(s): 1477/22, 1473/22, 1478/22, 1528/22, 1532/22, 1656/22, 1660/22, 1661/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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:

* as at 30th November figure; all other figures as at 31 December

Note from Clare PPN: Please note that the figures for the Back to work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) provided in the above answer were subsequently clarified and updated by the Department of Social Protection on 16th February 2022, in response to a follow-up query by Clare PPN. The more up-to-date figures are in a Ministerial Answer which is at the end of this article/post. 

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Number of people in Co Clare in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance, Jobseeker’s Benefit, Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment, Benefit Payment for Over-65s, Farm Assist and Fish Assist

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 972,940,942,943,944,945,946,947,948,971,973,974,975,976,977,1013,1015,1016,1017,1018,1019,1020,1021 Question Reference(s): 1536/22, 1479/22, 1481/22, 1482/22, 1483/22, 1484/22, 1485/22, 1486/22, 1487/22, 1534/22, 1537/22, 1538/22, 1539/22, 1540/22, 1541/22, 1662/22, 1669/22, 1670/22, 1671/22, 1672/22, 1673/22, 1674/22, 1675/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Michael McNamara T.D., Cathal Crowe T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of fish assist in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
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 ‘<3’ is entered in the table to prevent any possible identification of the recipients.

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Number of people in Co Clare in receipt of Disability Allowance and Blind Pension

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 1033,952,956,981,985,1025 Question Reference(s): 1689/22, 1491/22, 1495/22, 1545/22, 1508/22, 1679/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Violet-Anne Wynne T.D., Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the disability allowance in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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:

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Number of people in Co Clare in receipt of Carer’s Benefit, Carer’s Allowance, Invalidity Pension and Disablement Benefit

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 982,953,954,955,957,983,984,986,991,1026,1027,1028,1034 Question Reference(s): 1505/22, 1492/22, 1493/22, 1494/22, 1496/22, 1506/22, 1507/22, 1509/22, 1514/22, 1680/22, 1681/22, 1682/22, 1690/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Michael McNamara T.D., Cathal Crowe T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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.

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Number of people in Co Clare in receipt of the Wage Subsidy Scheme

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 1036,959,988 Question Reference(s): 1692/22, 1498/22, 1511/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Violet-Anne Wynne T.D., Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the wage subsidy scheme in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
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

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Number of people in Co Clare in receipt of the Back to Education Allowance

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 1029,960,989 Question Reference(s): 1684/22, 1499/22, 1512/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Violet-Anne Wynne T.D., Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for 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, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
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.

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Number of people in Co Clare in receipt of the State Pension (contributory & non-contributory)

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 962,961,990,1030,1031 Question Reference(s): 1501/22, 1500/22, 1513/22, 1685/22, 1686/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in receipt of the State pension (contributory) in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

* To ask the Minister for 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, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
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.

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Number of people in Co Clare in receipt of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 970 Question Reference(s): 1533/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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:

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

Note from Clare PPN: Please note that the figures for the Back to work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) provided in the above answer were subsequently clarified and updated by the Department of Social Protection on 16th February 2022, in response to a follow-up query by Clare PPN. The more up-to-date figures are in a Ministerial Answer which is at the end of this article/post.

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Number of people aged 15-89 in employment in Clare, Limerick and Tipperary

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s):  Question Reference(s): 1450/22, 1565/22, 1635/22
Department: Taoiseach
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Taoiseach the number of persons aged 15 to 89 years in employment in County Clare in each of the years from 2011 to 2021, in tabular form.

REPLY
I propose to take questions 1450, 1565 and 1635 together. The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of employment estimates in the State. The most recent figures available are for Q3 2021.

The quarterly LFS employment estimates are produced by NUTS3 Regions (NUTS3 is a geocode standard referencing the eight subdivisions of Ireland for statistical purposes). Due to the methodology and sample size of the survey it is not possible to produce reliable county estimates from the LFS.

The NUTS3 Mid-West region includes counties Clare, Limerick and Tipperary.

Due to changes made under the 2014 Local Government Act, the current NUTS3 region LFS series is available from Q1 2012, see link to an Information Note published by the CSO which details these changes.
https://www.cso.ie/en/methods/revnuts23/

The table below shows the number of persons aged 15-89 years in employment in the Mid-West NUTS3 Region in the third quarter 2012 to 2021.

Number of persons aged 15-89 years in employment in the Mid-West NUTS3 Region¹, Q3 2012 – 2021
               
             ‘000

Source: Labour Force Survey, CSO
¹ Mid-West NUTS3 Region: County Clare, County Limerick and County Tipperary.
Data may be subject to future revision.
Data may be subject to sampling or other survey errors, which are greater in respect of smaller values or estimates of change.
Reference period: q3=July-September

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Employment rate for people aged 15-64 in Clare, Limerick & Tipperary

______________________________________________

For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s):  Question Reference(s): 1451/22, 1566/22, 1636/22
Department: Taoiseach
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Taoiseach the employment rate in County Clare for those aged 15 to 64 years by gender in each of the years from 2011 to 2021, in tabular form.

REPLY
I propose to take questions 1451, 1566 and 1636 together. The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of employment estimates in the State. The most recent figures available are for Q3 2021.

The quarterly LFS employment estimates are produced by NUTS3 Regions (NUTS3 is a geocode standard referencing the eight subdivisions of Ireland for statistical purposes). Due to the methodology and sample size of the survey it is not possible to produce reliable county estimates from the LFS.

The NUTS 3 Mid-West region includes counties Clare, Limerick and Tipperary.

Due to changes made under the 2014 Local Government Act, the current NUTS3 region LFS series is available from Q1 2012, see link to an Information Note published by the CSO which details these changes.

https://www.cso.ie/en/methods/revnuts23/

The table below shows the employment rate for persons aged 15-64 years in the Mid-West NUTS3 Region classified by gender in the third quarter 2012 to 2021.

Employment Rate for persons aged 15-64 years in the Mid-West NUTS3 Region classified by gender, Q3 2012 – 2021

             %

Source: Labour Force Survey, CSO
¹ Mid-West NUTS3 Region: County Clare, County Limerick and County Tipperary
Data may be subject to future revision.
Data may be subject to sampling or other survey errors, which are greater in respect of smaller values or estimates of change.
Reference period: q3=July-September

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Numbers of people aged 15-89 in employment in Clare, Limerick and Tipperary – by economic sector

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s):  Question Reference(s): 1452/22, 1567/22, 1637/22
Department: Taoiseach
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Taoiseach the number of persons aged 15 to 89 years in employment classified by NACE Rev. 2 economic sector in County Clare in each of the years from 2011 to 2021, in tabular form.

REPLY
I propose to take questions 1452, 1567 and 1637 together. The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of employment estimates in the State. The most recent figures available are for Q3 2021.

The quarterly LFS employment estimates are produced by NUTS3 Regions (NUTS3 is a geocode standard referencing the eight subdivisions of Ireland for statistical purposes). Due to the methodology and sample size of the survey it is not possible to produce reliable county estimates from the LFS.

The NUTS 3 Mid-West region includes counties Clare, Limerick and Tipperary.

Due to changes made under the 2014 Local Government Act, the current NUTS3 region LFS series is available from Q1 2012, see link to an Information Note published by the CSO which details these changes.

https://www.cso.ie/en/methods/revnuts23/

The table below shows the number of persons aged 15-89 years in employment in the Mid-West NUTS3 Region classified by NACE Rev.2 Economic Sector in the third quarter 2012 to 2021.

Number of persons aged 15-89 years in employment in the Mid-West NUTS3 Region classified by NACE Rev.2 Economic Sector, Q3 2012 – 2021

Source: Labour Force Survey, CSO
¹ Mid-West NUTS3 Region: County Clare, County Limerick and County Tipperary
*  Estimates for numbers of persons or averages where there are less than 30 persons in a cell are not produced as estimates are too small to be considered reliable.
Data may be subject to future revision.
Data may be subject to sampling or other survey errors, which are greater in respect of smaller values or estimates of change.
Reference period: q3=July-September

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Numbers of people aged 15-89 in employment in Clare, Limerick and Tipperary – by gender & full-time / part-time

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s):  Question Reference(s): 1453/22, 1568/22, 1638/22
Department: Taoiseach
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Taoiseach the number of persons aged 15 to 89 years in employment classified by gender and full-time and part-time status in County Clare in each of the years from 2011 to 2021, in tabular form.

REPLY
I propose to take questions 1453, 1568 and 1638 together. The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is the official source of employment estimates in the State. The most recent figures available are for Q3 2021.

The quarterly LFS employment estimates are produced by NUTS3 Regions (NUTS3 is a geocode standard referencing the eight subdivisions of Ireland for statistical purposes). Due to the methodology and sample size of the survey it is not possible to produce reliable county estimates from the LFS.
The NUTS 3 Mid-West region includes counties Clare, Limerick and Tipperary.

Due to changes made under the 2014 Local Government Act, the current NUTS3 region LFS series is available from Q1 2012, see link to an Information Note published by the CSO which details these changes.

https://www.cso.ie/en/methods/revnuts23/

The table below shows the number of persons aged 15-89 years in employment in the Mid-West NUTS3 Region classified by gender and full-time and part-time employment in the third quarter 2012 to 2021.

Number of persons aged 15-89 years in employment in the Mid-West NUTS3 Region¹ classified by gender and full-time and part-time employment, Q3 2012 – 2021

                                              ‘000

Source: Labour Force Survey, CSO
¹ Mid-West NUTS3 Region: County Clare, County Limerick and County Tipperary
Data may be subject to future revision.
Data may be subject to sampling or other survey errors, which are greater in respect of smaller values or estimates of change.
Reference period: q3=July-September

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Number of Gardaí in Co Clare – by rank and local electoral area

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 1261,1263,1266 Question Reference(s): 1449/22, 1525/22, 1639/22
Department: Justice
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Justice the number of members of An Garda Síochána by rank in each of the local electoral areas of County Clare in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
As the Deputy will be aware, under the Garda Síochána Act 2005, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the management and administration of Garda business, including decisions related to the deployment of resources within the organisation. As Minister, I have no role in such matters. I am assured however that Garda management keeps the distribution of resources under continual review in the context of policing priorities and crime trends, to ensure their optimum use.

I have been provided by the Garda authorities with the number of Gardaí by rank attached to districts and stations in the Clare Garda Division as at 31 December 2021, which is set out in the below table.

It should be noted that the boundaries of the individual Garda Districts/Divisions are set by the Commissioner with regard to the operational need of An Garda Síochána and that they do not match or conform to the boundaries of the local electoral areas. As a result, figures are not available by local electoral area as requested.

I have also been provided by the Garda authorities with the number of Gardaí by rank attached to districts and stations in the Clare Garda Division as at 31 December 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. These numbers are set out in the following tables.

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Number of Garda members and staff in Co Clare

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 1323,1322,1325 Question Reference(s): 2372/22, 2352/22, 2390/22
Department: Justice
Asked by: Violet-Anne Wynne T.D., Cathal Crowe T.D., Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Justice the number of public sector workers under her remit in each of the local electoral areas in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form under headings (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
I can advise the Deputy that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will be providing the number of civil service workers in County Clare in their response to this question and this will include civil servants in justice sector agencies other than An Garda Síochána.

The table below sets out the number of Garda members and staff in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021.

It should be noted that the boundaries of the individual Garda Districts/Divisions are set by the Garda Commissioner with regard to the operational needs of An Garda Síochána and therefore do not match or conform to the boundaries of the local electoral areas.

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Number of people in Co Clare in receipt of rural social scheme and Tús community work placement initiative

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 978,980 Question Reference(s): 1542/22, 1544/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for 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.

* To ask the Minister for 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.

REPLY
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.

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 847 Question Reference(s): 2382/22
Department: Education
Asked by: Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Education the number of public sector workers under her remit in each of the local electoral areas in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form under headings (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
As the information requested by the Deputy is not available in a readily accessible format, my Department is working with the various public sector employers in the education sector in Co. Clare to compile the necessary data.  I will arrange for this information to be sent directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 175,176,177 Question Reference(s): 2346/22, 2361/22, 2384/22
Department: Environment, Climate and Communications
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D., Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the number of public sector workers under his remit in each of the local electoral areas in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form under headings (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
I propose to take Question Nos. 175, 176 and 177 together.

I understand that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will provide the information relating to the Civil Service directly to the Deputies.

In relation to the non-commercial state agencies under the aegis of my Department, this is an operational matter for each agency and I have asked the relevant agencies to respond directly to the Deputies with the information requested.

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Number of public sector workers in Co Clare under the remit of the Minister for Social Protection

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 1057,1058,1059 Question Reference(s): 2354/22, 2374/22, 2392/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Cathal Crowe T.D., Violet-Anne Wynne T.D., Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
* To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of public sector workers under her remit in each of the local electoral areas in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form under headings (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY
I propose to answer parliamentary questions 2354/22, 2374/22 and 2392/22 together.

Between 2016 and 2021 there have been no public sector workers in County Clare under my remit.

I understand that my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, will answer these questions on behalf of all Departments in relation to the Civil Service sector.

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Number of public sector workers in Co Clare under remit of Minister for Rural and Community Development

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 19/01/2022
Question Number(s): 2068 Question Reference(s): 2391/22
Department: Rural and Community Development
Asked by: Michael McNamara T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of public sector workers under her remit in each of the local electoral areas in County Clare in each of the years 2016 to 2021, in tabular form under headings (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. (Details Supplied) Civil Service; Defence sector; Education sector; Justice sector; Health sector; Local authorities; and Non-Commercial State Agencies

REPLY
Since the establishment of my Department in July 2017, I can confirm that while my Department’s policy and programme remit is nationwide, there have been no public sector workers under my remit based in each of the local electoral areas in County Clare.

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Follow-up Parliamentary Question answered on 16th February 2022, clarifying information provided in previous answers on 19th January 2022

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Number of people in Clare in receipt of Back to Work Enterprise Allowance

______________________________________________
For Written Answer on : 16/02/2022
Question Number(s): 160 Question Reference(s): 8819/22
Department: Social Protection
Asked by: Violet-Anne Wynne T.D.
______________________________________________

QUESTION
To ask the Minister for 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 in view of the difference in the figures in reply to Parliamentary Question Nos. 934, 938, 939, 965, 969, 1007, 1011 and 1012 of 19 January 2022 and the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 970 of 19 January 2022 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. 

REPLY
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 Short Term Enterprise Allowance scheme (STEA) is designed to provide support for someone who loses their job and qualifies for Jobseeker’s Benefit and wants to start up a new business. The STEA is payable for the duration of the participants Jobseekers Benefit claim, which can be paid for up to 9 months.

The difference in the information provided in reply to Parliamentary Question Nos. 934, 938, 939, 965, 969, 1007, 1011 and 1012 of 19 January 2022 and the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 970 of 19 January 2022 arose from the inclusion of the STEA recipient numbers in the answer to the latter question.

The following table sets out the number of persons in receipt of both BTWEA and the STEA in County Clare as of 31 December in each of the years 2016 to 2021 inclusive.  

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.

ENDS