Annual Report 2013 Annual Report 2013
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DDeeppaarrttmmeenntt ooff SSoocciiaall PPrrootteeccttiioonn Annual Report 2013 Annual Report 2013 Our mission is to promote active participation in society through the provision of income supports, employment services and other services. ISSN 2009-4140 Government of Ireland 2014 FOREWORD FROM THE MINISTER 4 INTRODUCTION FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL 5 THE DEPARTMENT: 6 MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT 6 SCALE OF THE DEPARTMENT’S BUSINESS 6 ORGANISATION OF THE DEPARTMENT 7 SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS AND KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN 2013 8 MANAGEMENT BOARD 13 2013 IN CONTEXT 14 ECONOMIC CONTEXT 14 EXPENDITURE 2013 AND 2014 15 BUDGET 2014 16 SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT BUDGET 2014 17 THE DEPARTMENT’S STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES 19 DEPARTMENT SERVICES AND POLICIES 20 SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS AND KEY DEVELOPMENT IN 2013 20 INFORMATION AND CUSTOMER SERVICE 30 EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS 33 BETTER BUSINESS PROCESSES 33 IDENTITY MANAGEMENT AND SECURE ACCESS TO SERVICES 34 CONTROL AND SAVINGS 35 OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES 38 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 38 PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM PLAN 41 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT 41 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT 44 ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND AWARENESS 45 APPENDIX 1 ORGANISATION STRUCTURE 46 APPENDIX 2 LEGISLATION ENACTED IN 2013 47 APPENDIX 3 _MINISTERS OF THE DEPARTMENT SINCE 1947 50 2013 Report Annual 3 FOREWORD FROM THE MINISTER Since coming into unemployment at the point of initial engagement office as Minister for with the service. This means we can tailor our Social Protection, I services specifically to support them. have focused on transforming the I made tackling youth unemployment a priority of Department from the Ireland’s EU Presidency last year, and we passive benefits achieved political agreement on the Youth provider of old to an Guarantee. The Youth Guarantee is about active and engaged providing our young people with the public employment opportunities they need to achieve their full service that assists in potential. The central aim of the Guarantee is to getting people back ensure that young jobseekers receive a good to work. 2013 saw quality offer of work, training or education within further significant progress towards achieving a short period of becoming unemployed. that goal. On foot of this, in October 2013 I confirmed that At the end of 2013, 61,000 more people were in Ballymun, Dublin, was selected as one of the first work, an employment increase of 3.3% on 2012. Youth Guarantee Schemes to proceed in the EU Unemployment fell by 41,400 or 14.1% over the following funding approval by the European course of the year. These figures demonstrate Commission and the Government. This scheme that the unrelenting Government drive to create will guarantee access to career guidance and jobs and get people back to work is succeeding. assistance, leading to identification of an The Department of Social Protection is the lead individual career plan for the young unemployed Department on the Pathways to Work strategy, person with follow-through to training, which complements the Government’s Action education, work experience or full-time Plan for Jobs. The Action Plan is designed to employment. Lessons learned from this scheme accelerate the transition to a sustainable, jobs- will assist in the formation of national policy rich economy, while the aim of Pathways to Work regarding the future development of Youth is to ensure that as many as possible of those Guarantee Schemes across Europe. newly created jobs go to people on the Live Register. My Department is moving through a phase of significant transformation. I wish to acknowledge Central to this success are a series of key reforms, and thank the staff of the Department for their such as replacing the welfare offices of old with hard work, dedication and commitment to new Intreo Centres. There are now 44 Intreo ensuring that we deliver more modern, efficient Centres in operation – integrating employment and dynamic services to our customers, providing services with benefit payment services in a ‘one- both a safety net for those who need it and a stop shop’ where jobseekers can access their springboard back to work for jobseekers, while income supports and employment supports to ensuring that taxpayers’ money is responsibly help them back to work, education or training. spent. In 2013, a new profiling system was put in place which assesses how likely a person is to get a job when they first claim their benefits. The key Joan Burton T.D. benefit of the profiling system is that it identifies Minister for Social Protection those who are most likely to fall into long-term Annual Report 2013 2013 Report Annual 4 INTRODUCTION FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL This is the third We have also worked to ensure that services are progress report to the delivered to a high level to other customers of Minister and the the Department particularly in the areas of Government on the pensions, illness and disability related payments implementation of and family income supports. the Department’s Statement of Strategy During 2013, the Department continued to focus 2011 – 2014. on minimising social welfare fraud and abuse. Work in this area, generating control savings of In challenging times €632m in 2013, demonstrates that the we have been asked Department’s intensified control focus in recent to respond more effectively to increased years is having a positive impact on the level of demands from a wider group of customers. We abuse in the social welfare system. have worked hard to meet this challenge across a broad range of activity. Our mandate is threefold The Department’s redesigned website, – Service Delivery – Activation – Control www.welfare.ie, which was launched in early 2013, caters better for the growing needs of The Department’s Customer Charter and Action today’s users. The Public Services Card also has Plan 2013-2015, published in 2013, sets out our the potential to offer significant value to both commitments to delivering an excellent standard citizens and Government over the coming years. of service to all our clients. It also outlines the Social Contract approach which ensures that all One of the challenges we face in delivering a vast parties understand that with rights to supports range of services from various locations from the Department come responsibilities to throughout the country, is not to lose sight of the engage with the services offered. fact that the Department is a single organisation with a true sense of purpose. In 2013, the The Department now has 44 Intreo Centres in Department launched an initiative called ‘One place, which are one-stop shops for jobseekers DSP’, a wide ranging programme of with access to both income supports and organisational development. This is designed to employment supports. It is intended that the full deepen integration, support staff and build our Intreo service will be rolled out to all of the organisational and staff capability to successfully Department’s offices nationwide by the end of manage change, while at the same time meeting 2014. our clients’ constantly evolving needs. The Intreo service is a new way of doing business I wish to acknowledge the support and co- for the Department. The service offers practical, operation of all staff in our efforts to deliver and tailored employment services and supports for continually improve our services. It is through jobseekers and practical assistance to employers their ongoing commitment, co-operation and in their recruitment of staff. We have made resourcefulness that the Department has significant efforts to develop our relationship successfully implemented so many positive with employers and will continue to do so over changes to date, and is well placed to respond to the coming years. the further challenges facing us in the future. Niamh O’Donoghue Annual Report 2013 2013 Report Annual Secretary General 5 TTHHEE DDEEPPAARRTTMMEENNTT:: IITTSS BBUUSSIINNEESSSS AANNDD OORRGGAANNIISSAATTIIOONN “To promote active participation in society through the provision of income supports, employment services and other services”. MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT equally important task of supporting such people in their pursuit of employment and The Department supports the Minister for Social related opportunities and improving their Protection in the discharge of governmental, life chances; parliamentary and departmental duties. A wide range of social insurance and social assistance income support schemes such as Our main functions are to: child benefit payments, jobseeker payments, advise Government and formulate illness benefits payments and pensions; appropriate social protection and social A range of employment supports, guidance inclusion policies; and placement services to help jobseekers design, develop and deliver effective and find and secure employment; cost efficient income supports, activation A range of employer services including and employment services, advice to recruitment services, online vacancy customers and other related services; publication, employment supports (e.g. work towards providing seamless delivery of wage subsidy schemes for people with services in conjunction with other disabilities) and redundancy and insolvency departments, agencies and bodies; and services; control fraud and abuse. A range of community services to promote social inclusion and provide a pathway to employment for people who are SCALE OF THE DEPARTMENT’S BUSINESS unemployed; The development of appropriate social The Department serves a wide and diverse group policies