Results 20,061-20,080 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code Issues (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: Given the scale of the unemployment crisis, the key objective of activation policy and labour market initiatives is to offer assistance to those most in need of support in securing work and achieving financial self-sufficiency. This policy objective prioritises scarce resources to those in receipt of qualifying welfare payments. Accordingly the employment services provided by the Department...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code Reform (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 109 together. The reforms to the one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme aim to prevent long-term dependence on social welfare support and, while recognising parental choice with regard to the care of children, include an expectation of participation in education, training, and employment by lone parents. The reformed scheme brings Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The Action Plan for Jobs 2013, published by my colleague Richard Bruton T.D. Minister for Enterprise Jobs and Innovation on 22 February 2013, outlines 333 actions to be implemented before 31st December 2013 by 16 Departments and 46 agencies. These actions will continue to improve supports for job-creating businesses and remove the barriers to employment-creation across the economy....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Reform (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: Analysis of 2011 and 2012 figures indicates that an average of just 13%, or less than 1,600 per year, of those awarded State pension (transition) (SPT), came from employment in the period immediately prior to SPT. State pension reform is essential to ensure sustainability and to address the challenges of changing demographics including increasing life expectancy. The abolition of SPT...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Job Initiatives (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: As the Deputy will be aware, the ‘Pathways to Work’ policy commits to the provision of more regular and on-going engagement and greater targeting of activation places and job opportunities for those who are unemployed. It also aims to increase engagement and incentivise employers to provide more jobs for people who are unemployed. INTREO is the new integrated employment...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseekers' Benefit Payments (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The duration of jobseeker's benefit will be reduced by 3 months with effect from 3 April 2013. For people with 260 or more PRSI contributions paid, it will reduce from 12 months to 9 months. For people with fewer than 260 PRSI contributions paid, it will reduce from 9 months to 6 months. Claimants getting jobseeker's benefit for 6 months or more on 3 April 2013 (or 3 months for people with...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Illness Benefit Eligibility (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The purpose of illness benefit is to provide income support - during relatively short spells of incapacity or illness - for people of working age who are unable to work due to illness and who satisfy certain social insurance conditions. In relation to the duration for which illness benefit is payable, an OECD review entitled “Sickness, Disability and Work: Breaking the Barriers”...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that appeals where medical grounds are identified as an issue under appeal are referred in first instance to the Department's Medical Assessors for a second medical assessment and any further investigation, examination or assessment by the Department's Inspectors and Medical Assessors that is deemed necessary. The second medical assessment is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103, 106, 107, 108 and 117 together. There are currently approximately 86,700 persons in receipt of rent supplement for which the Government has provided €403 million in 2013. The table shows the number of rent supplement recipients at end 2011 and 2012. Revised rent limits are in place since January 2012 and are applicable to all new rent supplement...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Job Initiatives (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 104 and 122 together. The Intreo service was formally launched in October 2012 and is being rolled out across the country in 2013 and 2014. Intreo is a single point of contact for all employment and income supports. It is designed to provide a more streamlined approach for jobseekers. In parallel with the development of an integrated service for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Redundancy Statistics (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: At present, my Department is not in a position to provide a breakdown of the redundancy statistics by county, sector or gender. Work on the reporting facility of the redundancy payments system is on-going and it is hoped that it will be possible to provide these types of data in the near future. Information on the overall number of redundancy applications received by the Department is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Redundancy Payments (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate workers, under the Redundancy Payments Acts, for the loss of their jobs by reason of redundancy. Under the scheme, an eligible employee is entitled to two weeks’ pay for every year of service, plus a bonus week, subject to a gross weekly salary ceiling of €600. It is the employer’s responsibility to pay...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Proposed Legislation (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: Any broadening of the current provisions of the Civil Registration Act 2004 will require careful consideration. A number of proposed amendments to the Act are under consideration in my Department and in this regard it is hoped that legislation will be introduced in 2013.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Youth Enterprise Initiatives (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The proposal to which the Deputy refers is for a Youth Entrepreneurship Fund to be administered by Enterprise Ireland. Any decisions on this would be a matter for that agency and the Minister for Jobs Enterprise and Innovation. My Department supports entrepreneurship on the part of unemployed people, who have been on certain welfare payments for more than 12 months, through the Back to Work...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Review (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The review of the domiciliary care allowance (DCA) scheme, which I requested in May 2012, was completed by the end of December 2012, on schedule. The report is with me and is currently receiving consideration and will be published in due course. It is estimated that expenditure on the DCA scheme in 2013 will be circa €101m with a further €37m on the associated Respite Care...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme Administration (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: When spousal and companion passes are taken into account, there are over 1.1 million customers with some free travel eligibility and there are currently in excess of 745,000 customers with direct eligibility to the free travel scheme. Expenditure on this scheme was frozen at 2010 levels by the last Government leaving a provision for the scheme in 2013 of €77 million. Given the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Review (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The CE scheme aims to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and unemployed persons by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their communities. In addition it helps long-term unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to work routine. Community and voluntary organisations sponsor...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff Recruitment (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The Department’s Employment Control Framework (ECF) figure, set by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) on the total number of full time equivalent posts was set at 6,610 for 2012 and for 2013 is 6,419, which sees the Department having to reduce its number of posts by 191 this year. At any given time, vacancies within my Department occur and change, with staff being...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2012, introduced changes to the structure of the one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme and reduced the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which the payment ceases. From 3 May 2012, the age of the youngest child is being reduced on a phased basis and will be 7 from 2014 for individuals who first claimed OFP since May of last year and from 2015 for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Cessation (5 Mar 2013)

Joan Burton: The Government, as part of the Budget package for 2013 announced a number of initiatives focused on providing work opportunities for those currently unemployed. The key elements of this package are to add an additional 2,500 places to JobBridge; 2,000 places on community employment; 2,500 to Tús – the community work placement initiative - and the development of a new initiative...