Department of Social Protection
FOI Requests — 1,804 records (page 8 of 37)
- Received —Decided 17 August 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
for same dates. All correspondence between the Department and The Department of Public Expenditure, and The Department of Higher and Further
- Received —Decided 17 August 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
- Received —Decided 5 August 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
to date in 2021.
- Received —Decided 5 August 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
Experience Programme.
- Received —Decided 28 July 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
- Received —Decided 27 July 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
- Received 28 June 2021Decided 26 July 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
• Copies of any briefings, submissions, memos, speaking notes, or other such review/overview/discussion documents prepared for the Minister or the Department's Secretary General regarding the proliferation of mobile phone scam calls. This request to cover the period 1 Jan 2021 to date of receipt of the request.
- Received 28 June 2021Decided 26 July 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
• A breakdown of BTEA data (in electronic format/via email) per year, per course and if possible - per region/local office (e.g. Master's in Education: 3 BTEA approved applications in 2020, 4 in 2019 etc. - Cork Street). • Would this data be available for the past 7 years or longer. • Provide data on employment status stats of candidates post-BTEA completion (and if employment is specifically related to the BTEA qualification gained). E.g. a candidate with a craft trade (plumber, carpenter etc.) who completes a degree (e.g. in IT programming/software development or other), what is the proportion of candidates who gain employment in the new qualification (versus return to trade/previously acquired skills). • You could also provide me with a gender breakdown on approved BTEA application breakdown of *highest (prior) qualifications obtained* of BTEA candidates/students (per year, per local office approved, gender and most importantly in relation to the BTEA approved qualifications.
- Received 28 June 2021Decided 23 July 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
With regard to the Special Investigation Unit within the Department of Social Protection to which Gardai are seconded to help investigate Pandemic Unemployment Payment claims: • What is the exact current number of Gardai investigating Pandemic Unemployment Payment claims in the unit. • How many Gardai have been brought in to work at the Special Investigation Unit since 2014? Specifically, how many new Gardai have joined the unit each year since 2014, with the breakdown provided annually to date. • How much does it cost to employ Gardai in the unit per year? I would like the following information broken down by year from 2014 to 2020, as well as for the period January 2021 to date: The overall cost of wages for Gardai seconded to the unit. • Can you provide a breakdown of the ranks of Gardai currently seconded to the Special Investigation Unit? • How much overtime has been paid to Gardai seconded to the Special Investigation Unit for the year 2019, for the year 2020, from the period March 2020 to date, and for the period January 2021 to date.
- Received 23 June 2021Decided 21 July 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
1. Has the Department commenced to roll out diversity and inclusion training in the workplace to promote the visibility of the LGBTQI+ Community. 2. Who is providing this training i.e. in-house training branch or specific organisations such as Teni, BelongTo, Shout Out etc. 3. Has the Department signed up as members of any of these organisations? Please specify which organisations if you have. 4. How many training days will each staff member receive, and is this training compulsory. 5. Please provide a copy of documents/manuals provided for the diversity and inclusion training.
- Received 23 June 2021Decided 21 July 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
1. Has the Department commenced to roll out diversity and inclusion training in the workplace to promote the visibility of the LGBTQI+ Community. 2. How much to date has been spent on diversity training and what is budgeted for future spend. 3. What amendments will you be making to your HR policies, if any, as a result of this inclusion initiative. 4. Do you have a policy around the use of pronouns by your staff. If so, what are the policies.
- Received 9 June 2021Decided 6 July 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
All payments for legal services made to Named Barrister for the period 1 November 2013 to 8 June 2021.
- Received 10 June 2021Decided 5 July 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
In respect of the Recovery of Certain Benefits and Assistance Scheme established by sections 13 and 14 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2013:- • The number of statements of recoverable benefits received by the Department of Social Protection in each year since the commencement of the scheme. • The number of such claims in respect of which payment has not been received, broken down by year if possible. • The total value of unrecovered recoverable benefits, or if the exact figure is not known, the estimate on record. • The total value of recoverable benefits actually recovered by the Department to date.
- Received 26 May 2021Decided 24 June 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Access to the correspondence listed in the following lobbying return: https://www.lobbying.ie/return/71967/ryanair Please include any further correspondence with Ryanair in 2021, including letter of 18 March to Heather Humphreys. Please also include any internal correspondence / briefings regarding the correspondence listed in the lobbying return.
- Received 24 May 2021Decided 22 June 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
• The number of incidents of fake PUP claims being made using people's PPS numbers without their knowledge. This would be in situations where a criminal uses someone else's PPS number to make a claim for pandemic payment, and the owner of that PPS number finds out later when they get a tax cert etc. • How many individual people (from the beginning of PUP payments in March 2020 and up to today's date 23 May 2021) have been affected by this type of fraud? • How much money has been claimed by falsely using these PPS numbers? • What is the highest amount (that we know of at this point in me) that has been claimed in PUP using a fraudulently obtained PPS number?
- Received 1 June 2021Decided 15 June 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
All internal audits conducted by or for the Department from 1 January 2021 to date.
- Received 19 April 2021Decided 14 June 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Request relates to the provisions of the Disabled Persons Maintenance Allowance and its successor the Disability Allowance. • Any internal communicaons or documents which related to the assessment of potenal liabilities for the Department / the State arising from the named court cases. This should include any documents which related to the work which would have to be undertaken to assess the liability - for instance contacting residential facilities to review numbers impacted. • Any internal communicaon or documents which were generated in responding to any parliamentary questions related to this case or where either of these case were cited in the question received by the Department. • The details of any selements which were made in other cases which dealt with the same issue as this settlement. • Any communicaon with the Department of Health on this issue from 2008, 2009 or 2010. • Any memo brought to Cabinet arising from the issues raised in this.
- Received 3 June 2021Decided 14 June 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
1. The number of PhD students who have received, since the new regulation came into place in September 2020, both the full rate and partial rates of Disability Allowance (please provide separate numbers for each category). 2. Of the students mentioned above, I request the proportion (percentage) of them who provided confirmation that they were not getting their fees and research costs covered (i.e. the percentage of students now receiving both the full rate and partial rate of Disability Allowance who provided documentation stating they were receiving €0 fees and €0 research costs). Please provide separate percentages for the two categories of Disability Allowance (i.e. for both full and partial rate categories). 3. Of the students mentioned in Point 1 (above), I request the percentage of them who provided confirmation that they were getting their fees and research costs covered. Please provide separate percentages for the two categories of Disability Allowance (i.e. for both full and partial rate categories). 4. Of the students mentioned in Point 1 (above), I request the percentage of them who provided no documentation whatsoever relating to whether their fees and research project costs were covered. Please provide separate percentages for the two categories of Disability Allowance (i.e. for both full and partial rate categories).
- Received 12 May 2021Decided 10 June 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
On 30 July 2019 there was a meeting involving representatives of the Humanist Association of Ireland, and the then-Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty. David Dillon, PO, and Conor O'Reilly were in attendance. • Request the minutes to that meeting • Any papers that refer to the Minister's intenon of reviewing the Civil Registraon Act, or papers that include any mention of consideration being given to a review of the Act from 2019 onwards.
- Received 25 May 2021Decided 10 June 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Any correspondence / minutes / briefings / memos relating to the following virtual meeting between Amazon and Minister Humphreys in 2021: • hps://www.lobbying.ie/return/70766/amazon-web-services
- Received 1 June 2021Decided 10 June 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
In relation to each of the following - HR, Payroll, L&D, Finance, Procurement, Contact Centre, please advise: 1. W hat technologies (including version) you use. 2. Are any of the services outsourced to third pares, and if so, when does the contract end.
- Received 5 May 2021Decided 2 June 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
• All correspondence between the Department and the Department of Public Expenditure about the policy implications of having large numbers of students on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, from 1 September 2020 to date. • All correspondence between the Department of Social Protecon and the Department of Higher and Further Education about the policy implications of having large numbers of students on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, from 1 September 2020 to date.
- Received 4 May 2021Decided 31 May 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
• The legal costs paid by the Department for cases taken to the Workplace Relaons Commission from 2019, 2020 and 2021 year to date. • The names of the solicitors and or barristers involved and payment per cases. • The number of cases gone to hearing and those seled. • The basis for the fees paid to be outlined for example x number of hours.
- Received 28 April 2021Decided 28 May 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
• Any emails or invitaons sent by the then Minister Leo Varadkar, in relaon to his election as Taoiseach (14 June 2017) or events surrounding his election, such as invitations to attend the Dail on that date, or to attend the Department of An Taoiseach on that date. • The same request for any invitaons or emails for events on the following day 15 June 2017.
- Received 29 April 2021Decided 28 May 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
• A ny correspondence between the Department and Revenue on the subject of the operation of Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and Jobseekers Benefit between 1 March 2020 and date of my request; • Any correspondence between the Department and Aer Lingus on the maers of Jobseekers Benefit, Short-Time Work Support or Temporay Wage Subsidy between 1 March 2020 and the date of my request. *
- Received 28 May 2021Decided 28 May 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
A copy of the legislation covering a specified Court payment where it states clearly that such a Court payment is regarded as income.
- Received 13 April 2021Decided 7 May 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
The amount of money spent by the Department on taxi services throughout 2020.
- Received 31 March 2021Decided 30 April 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Details of the number of data breaches involving the Department for the calendar year 2020. A brief line description of each data breach involved, its location in the country, and the outcome/result of it.
- Received 12 February 2021Decided 14 April 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Breakdown of details of promotion competitions for individual grades from Internal competitions within the Department of Social Protection for the periods 2005-2010, 2010-2015 and 2015-2020. The five Administrative grades for which I request this data are Staff Officer (when the staff officer grade was still available as a promotion), Executive Officer; Higher Executive Officer; Assistant Principal; Principal Officer. (Include Higher Scales) Please indicate if where there are relative or equivalent grades that may be considered Technical or Specialist grades. For each competition, please supply the following: • Number applied; • Number shortlisted by shortlisng board (where applicable); • Number of informal reviews sought on decision not to be shortlisted; • Number of successful informal reviews on decision not to be shortlisted; • Number of formal reviews sought on decision not to be shortlisted under the CPSA Code of Practice; Number of successful formal reviews on decision not to be shortlisted under CPSA Code of Practice; Number interviewed; • N umber of informal reviews sought on decision not to be placed on panel; • Number of successful informal reviews on decision not to be placed on panel; • N umber of formal reviews sought on decision not to be placed on a panel under the CPSA Code of Practice; • Number of successful formal reviews on decision not to be placed on panel under CPSA code of practice; • Number placed on panel If a second or subsequent short-listing stage(s) was/were employed in competitions for any of the grades listed then I request the above information for each stage. What the % male to female that were in the Department in 1973 when the marriage ban was lifted and in the grade Staff Officer (when the staff officer grade was still available as a promotion); Executive Officer; Higher Executive Officer; Assistant Principal; Principal Officer.
- Received 12 March 2021Decided 14 April 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
All documents, briefing notes, emails and internal discussion documents in relation to the preparation of the Gender Recognition Act 2015 Annual Report 2019 including: • any material related to the delay in publication of the report • any material related to the report concerning the issues highlighted in 2019 by a written question raised by Peadar Toibin TD (ref https://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2019-09-06a.1517) and referred to by Robert Purcell chair of the Law Society Criminal Law Committee in the Law Society Gazette (ref: https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/top-stories/male-bodied-transgender-inmate- housed-with-women-prisoners/).
- Received 12 March 2021Decided 14 April 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
1. Page 10 of the Department’s Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy 2019-2023 states that “quarterly updates on control-related activities” will be provided to the Department’s Management Board for consideration. I request a copy of any such updates provided during the period of January 2019 to February 2021. 2. Page 10 of the Department’s Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy 2019-2023 also states “that control-related work across the Department is overseen and monitored by the Control Programme Board”. I request a copy of any minutes of any meetings of the Control Programme Board held during the period of January 2019 to February 2021. 3. Page 18 of the Department’s Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy 2019-2023: Annual Report 2019 and Annual Target Statement 2020 (attached) states that “at the end of 2019, there were predictive models in operation for OFP, DA, SPC and Widows and Surviving Civil Partners Contributory Pension (WSCPCP) schemes”. I hereby request access to those predictive models and any record indicative of the nature of the data analysed by those models, how those models score/analyse cases on the basis of that data, and the risk factors identified by those models. 4. Page 18 of Department’s Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy 2019-2023: Annual Report 2019 and Annual Target Statement 2020 also states that the Department “has also developed a business rules model for JA”. I hereby request a copy of that business rules model. 5. Page 18 of the Department’s Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy 2014-2018: Annual Report 2017 and Annual Target Statement 2018 (available at: https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/74863/87a99f62-ac20-4165-8016- d11129e8c86f.pdf#page=null ) states that a “specific analytics database for the SIU has also been developed, through which cohorts of Member of the Publics are identified for investigation”. I request access to any record indicative of the nature of the data held on that database and how that data is analysed to identify cohorts of Member of the Publics for investigation.
- Received 12 March 2021Decided 14 April 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Copies of correspondence/briefing notes/emails etc, from June 2016 to April 2017, in relation to the private members Bill proposed amendment to the GRA introduced in March 2017.
- Received 16 March 2021Decided 14 April 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
Copies of the memo which accompanied the draft of the Gender Recognitition Bill as the legislation progressed and prior to its introduction.
- Received 19 March 2021Decided 12 April 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
In addition to my requests below I would also like to have a copy of the Impact Assessment as referred to in the paragraph below. In addition, the Review Group recommended extending legal gender recognition to non-binary people, while also recognising the complexity of the issue and acknowledging that a comprehensive impact analysis may be required. An interdepartmental group is to be established to carry out this impact assessment and submitting a report to Government for consideration by the end of 2020" Can you please forward, under the Freedom of Information Act 2014: The items below relate to the following "research to examine issues of concern relating to children aged under 16 years" and also the Impact Assessment as referred to in the paragraph below 1. Copies of the Terms of Reference and/or instrucons to the group conducng the research. 2. Copies of the names and the organisaons they represent of the members of the research group. 3. D etails of when the research will commence or has commenced and when it is due to finish or when it finished. 4. Copy of the final research (report/presentaons/minutes etc) if this has already been completed.
- Received 8 March 2021Decided 1 April 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
The criteria used in deciding the medical eligibility criteria for Invalidity Pension.
- Received 29 March 2021Decided 31 March 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
A list of all works of art (paintings and sculptures) purchased or commissioned by the Department in 2017, including the name of the supplier and the price paid for each item.
- Received 12 March 2021Decided 25 March 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Details of all expenditure incurred by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) on cloud computing services in 2020. Cloud computing services should be taken to mean any cloud-related service provided to DSP, either directly by cloud computing firms (such as, but not limited to, the following: Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services, Oracle and IBM) or by third party-consultancies. In either case, this would incorporate all varieties of cloud computing, including software-as-a- service, infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service.
- Received 9 March 2021Decided 22 March 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
Copies of blank modules that are given to people while attending Seetec.
- Received 19 February 2021Decided 18 March 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
• Who gave you and your department permission to give my personal information to a foreign Bank. • Also Please let me have all the information you gave this bank without my permission without delay. • We the Irish people Bailed out the Bank of Ireland which is a bank entirely owned by the taxpayers of Ireland and in 2018 you the Fine Gael party in Government gave away a lucrative contract to a Foreign Bank - how does that support the Irish economy? Irish Workers? The People of Ireland?
- Received 17 February 2021Decided 15 March 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Copies of any briefings, memos, reports, submissions, or other such review/overview documents prepared for either the minister or the secretary general regarding changes made surrounding pension/social welfare payments for those aged over 65. This request to cover the period 1 September 2020 to date of receipt of the request.
- Received 10 February 2021Decided 9 March 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
All of the correspondence between the MEAI, including those from representatives of MEAI, and the Department/Minister for Social Protection, including any minutes/notes and/or recordings of meetings, inclusive of those held through any online forum e.g. Zoom, MS Teams etc. since the onset of the Covid-19 Pandemic in March 2020 to the current date. This does not include records relating to personal representations on behalf of individual members.
- Received 3 February 2021Decided 3 March 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
A breakdown of the following between the implementation of the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) scheme and 1 February this year: • The number of individual suspected fraudulent PUP claims flagged or investigated since the implementation of the scheme. • The total value of such claims. • The number of reports / contacts from members of the public reporting suspected fraudulent PUP claims. • Internal department memos and/or reports regarding fraudulent PUP claims. • Briefing notes to the Minister regarding same.
- Received 16 February 2021Decided 1 March 2021RefusedDepartment of Social Protection
A copy of all documents, submissions, memos, minutes, briefing documents, and any subsequent correspondence and/or internal departmental communications, related to the following lobbying return: https://www.lobbying.ie/return/69026/irish-hotels-federation
- Received 1 February 2021Decided 25 February 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
A report summary and breakdown of all funding provided to named organisation between 1 Jan 2017 to date. In addition, any email correspondence in relation to funding for this period.
- Received 22 January 2021Decided 19 February 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Access to any records relating to the virtual meeting between Minister Humphreys and named Managing Director of An Post listed in the following lobbying return: https://www.lobbying.ie/return/68590/an-post Access to any correspondence during 2020 and to date in 2021 between Minister Humphreys and named Director or named CEO of An Post.
- Received 10 February 2021Decided 17 February 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
The amount of money the Department paid out to activation service providers Turas and Seetec in 2020 and how many participants to such programs had been carried as attending and reimbursable in accounting documents used for obtaining funds from the EC in 2020 ? Where payments had been made in intervals or per individual cohorts please break down the time periods covered with such increments.
- Received 19 January 2021Decided 16 February 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
All records and briefing documents about the risk and discovery of fraud in the PUP scheme since it was established that have been provided to the Minister for Social Protection and the Secretary General of the Department.
- Received 19 January 2021Decided 16 February 2021Part-GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Details of the companies being investigated by the Employment Status Inspection Unit for dubious self employment practices, to include all data from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2020.
- Received 20 January 2021Decided 16 February 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
A list of medical practices and/or practitioners and the cumulative payments made to each of them for the provision of medical certificates for social welfare applications in 2020. A list of the top 100 earners (identifying the practice/practitioner) and the cumulative amount paid to them in each year will suffice.
- Received 5 February 2021Decided 16 February 2021GrantedDepartment of Social Protection
Number of the recorded suicide deaths of the public across the country from March till the end of December 2019 and 2018.