Results 20,201-20,220 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I discussed the reforms to the one parent-family payment with the select committee on Committee Stage of the Social Welfare Bill last week, as the Deputy mentioned. We are still at an early stage of the implementation of the reforms to the one-parent family payment. It will take several years before the full impact of the reforms can be assessed. This is because many lone parents, on...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: We will have to see what people do. The back to work family dividend ended in July for some people and we have not seen a significant increase in people going from FIS to jobseeker's transition. I believe it was ended in July for some people but maybe it was a reduction rather than people losing the payment altogether. The back to work family dividend becomes tapered down at different...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: It is not just the Deputy. This goes back to my theme that when any reform or change produces winners or losers, it is of course those people who lose out who will come to Deputies' offices - for all the obvious reasons - and not those who have benefitted or who are better off. That is inevitable when one makes any reform. We are working on the amendment for Report Stage of the Social...

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: All JobBridge participants are entitled to a quality work experience and every reasonable effort is made to minimise the risk of exploitation of the scheme by host organisations. All complaints are taken seriously, fully investigated and appropriate action taken in any cases of non-compliance. In addition to responding to complaints, the Department operates a robust monitoring regime and...

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I would not have any difficulty releasing the information other than the fact that the ruling of the Office of the Information Commissioner ties our hands in that regard. From April onwards, if there were any abuses that required publication then I would not have any difficulty doing that. I am sure, however, that the Deputy is not actually advising me, in this House, to disregard a ruling...

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has not seen it because there is ongoing public consultation on it. We have received Sinn Féin's proposals for a new work experience scheme. Something I learned in going around the Intreo offices around the country, including the one in Arklow in the Deputy's constituency, was that among the really strong supporters of JobBridge were the case officers.

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: They are not employers; they are civil servants in the Department. They have huge experience with people who they were trying to get into employment and who had no work experience. A total of 70% or 80% of the jobs are in the private sector, in SMEs.

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Perhaps the Deputy might think working in a restaurant or cafe is beneath people, but as somebody who worked in a restaurant and a shop, I do not think it is.

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think it is beneath people. The evidence and advice I receive from case officers working with people who are trying to get a job - perhaps they are trying to get a job in a cafe or a restaurant; good for them if they do - is that if a person has on his or her CV real work experience with a small employer, an SME, it is valuable and makes it easier for him or her to get a job than it...

Other Questions: Pension Provisions (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The rate of payment of a State contributory pension to a person is related to the number of contributions made by the person during the years into the Social Insurance Fund. There is also a widow’s contributory pension which is generally paid at the full contributory pension rate. The exact same rules apply to women as men. Entitlement levels are calculated by means of a yearly...

Other Questions: Pension Provisions (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has spoken about three aspects of the issue. There is a minimum number of contributions people have to have made to receive a contributory pension. This means that during the entire course of their working lives they must have worked for ten years, or 520 weeks. Out of the entire course of a normal working life of perhaps 40 to 45 years, someone must have worked at least ten...

Other Questions: Pension Provisions (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The requirement to have 520 contributions affects many men and women. If we think about it, I do not believe a requirement to have made during the course of one's entire working life contributions for ten years is unreasonable. People, men and women, who worked for 40 years might have a difficulty with somebody who worked for only ten receiving the same pension as them.

Other Questions: Pension Provisions (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: It is difficult to make a short reply to these issues as they are so complicated. The Deputy's points are noted. We are trying to look at all the anomalies and are hoping to put something before the committee in this regard. We are looking to provide the costs and options for solutions in each case. Whereas a lot of people lose out from the averaging system, a lot also benefit and...

Other Questions: Rural Social Scheme (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: As part of the social welfare budget package for 2017, I announced a €5 increase in the weekly rate of payment for rural social scheme participants from March, and an additional 500 places on the scheme. This will increase the overall number to 3,100. The level of funding allocated to the scheme for 2017 will increase to €47.6 million. Deputies on all sides of the House...

Other Questions: Rural Social Scheme (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: In Limerick there are 73 participants in the rural social scheme and 163 on farm assist who could become eligible for the rural social scheme. Two development companies in Limerick participate in the rural social scheme, namely, West Limerick Resources and Ballyhoura Development and both have requested an expansion of their schemes. They will certainly be considered as favourably as...

Other Questions: Rural Social Scheme (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: No, the aim is to retain and expand the scheme in the long term. There are 500 additional places for 2017 and requests have come in for 1,000 additional places. If things go well in 2017 I anticipate looking for a further allocation to increase the rural social scheme in 2018. There will, however, be a six-year limit for new entrants as we want some turnover within the scheme, rather than...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The key objective of activation policy and labour market initiatives is to assist jobseekers to secure work and achieve financial self-sufficiency. Ideally, this will be in the preferred profession or field of work of the unemployed jobseeker but this cannot always be the case. In particular, people who have been unemployed for a long period of time should be open to preparing for and...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I would like to see a situation whereby a teacher is not on jobseerker's allowance. I know there are reasons that is the case. Some relate to pay while others relate to the fact that there are irregular hours depending on the subjects a person teaches and so on. I am hoping we will get to the point sooner rather than later where there are more permanent contracts and better pay for...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: That is okay.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's contributory pension is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. Unlike other social insurance schemes, entitlement is based on either the claimant’s or the deceased partner’s social insurance contributions. Virtually all social insurance contributions count towards this pension, including...