Residential Institutions Redress Scheme

Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the recent resignation of two members of the board of an organisation (details supplied); the reason for the resignations; his views on the reason provided for the resignations; if his attention has been further drawn to the lack of progress in respect of ongoing issues at the organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton): I am aware that 2 members of the Board of Caranua have resigned.  The Board of Caranua has the important job of securing the most beneficial, effective and efficient use of the resources available in the investment account while being fair to survivors, seeking to meet their needs and benefit as many people as possible.  I thanked both of the former survivor members for their contribution to the work of the Board.

Caranua has, up until the end of December, expended €72.5m on services for survivors.  The services include:

They are now publishing statistics on the feedback they receive from survivors and for 2017, there was a 90% satisfaction rate.

In 2016, following consultation with survivors, the Board changed their criteria to include household goods and funeral expenses.  This was in response to what survivors were calling for on how the fund should be utilised.

As well as having to comply with the Code of Practice for the Governance for State Bodies, Caranua are in process of implementing the following measures:

– It is reviewing its customer charter in consultation with stakeholders;

– It is making data available on feedback and complaints received;

– It is working to increase the level of face-to-face engagement with applicants. It is doing this through scheduled face-to-face meetings in various venues in Dublin, in the regions and in the UK.

– It is working to enhance the level of statistics it provides to the Department and to the public on waiting times for processing and communicating decisions.

Following the resignation of two members, there are still two survivors on the Board of Caranua and my Department will be seeking to replace the Board members who resigned as soon as practicable.

Residential Institutions Redress Scheme 

Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has satisfied himself with the operation of an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton): Caranua has the important job of securing the most beneficial, effective and efficient use of the resources available in the investment account while being fair to survivors, seeking to meet their needs and benefit as many people as possible.

Caranua has, up until the end of December, expended €72.5m on services for survivors. The services include:

They are now publishing statistics on the feedback they receive from survivors and for 2017, there was a 90% satisfaction rate.

As well as having to comply with the Code of Practice for State Bodies, Caranua are currently implementing a number of measures, such as:

– It is reviewing its customer charter in consultation with stakeholders;

– It is making data available on feedback and complaints received;

– It is working to increase the level of face-to-face engagement with applicants.

– It is working to enhance the level of statistics it provides to the Department and to the public on waiting times for processing and communicating decisions.

Residential Institutions Redress Scheme Eligibility 

Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to parliamentary question numbers 204 of 27 June 2017, 224 of 20 September 2017, 51 of 25 October 2017 and 57 of 16 January 2018, when the eligibility review will be published; when the review was commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton): The review of eligibility to apply for Caranua is confined to the issue of eligibility of persons who may access the fund. No other issues form part of the review.

The draft terms of reference were published on the website of the Department of Education and Skills on 13 February 2017 and submissions were invited with a closing date of 8th March 2017.

The review will be published in the coming weeks.