Results 20,321-20,340 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (23 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: It is a condition for receipt of carer’s benefit and carer’s allowance that the carer must be providing full-time care and attention to a person who requires such full-time care and attention because of a specified illness or disability. This condition is moderated by legislation allowing the carer to work or engage in training outside the home for an aggregate total of 15...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (23 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The household benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €228 million this year on the household benefits package for over 421,000 customers. The package is generally available to people living in the State, aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Benefit Applications (23 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that my department received an application for carer’s benefit from the person concerned on 26 September 2016. It is a condition for receipt of carer’s benefit that the person being cared for must have a disability whose effect is that they require full-time care and attention. This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Places (23 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I understand that a departmental case officer has met with the person concerned and that a number of options are being considered. The department will contact the person again in the near future with a view to bringing the matter to a conclusion.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (23 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that my department received an application for Carer’s Allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 29 August 2016. CA is a social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to people who have a disability such that they require that level of care and who satisfy a means test. It is a condition for receipt of CA that the carer cannot...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Review (23 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: My Department provides a range of activation supports and programmes catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. These include programmes such as Community Employment (CE), Rural Social Scheme (RSS) and Tús. CE schemes provide part-time temporary work in their local communities, including opportunities for training and development as...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Order for Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now."

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I move amendment No. 1:In page 7, after line 33, to insert the following: "Report on one-parent family payment changes 12. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 178E:"178F.(1)The Minister shall, not later than 3 months after the passing of the Act of 2016, cause to be prepared a report on the financial and social effects of the amendments to...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I very much take the points on board. If a detailed report is to be produced at all on the changes made over the years to the one-parent family payment, it might as well be produced sooner rather than later. We might as well have it in good time, well before the next summer recess, so we can all consider it. I would rather have it produced also. The difficulty I have is the advice from my...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I have nothing further to add.

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I move amendment No. 2:In page 8, to delete lines 1 to 7.

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I move amendment No. 3:In page 8, to delete lines 8 to 13.

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I do not propose to accept the amendment which calls for an annual analysis of child poverty rates and a report thereon to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and issued to the Joint Committee on Social Protection. There is already independent annual reporting of child poverty rates through the CSO in the survey on income and living conditions, SILC. The survey is carried out as...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: That is a very good point which has been well made. Like everyone I want to see more up-to-date statistics. They will always be a bit out of date. The year ends on 31 December and the statistics will always be a quarter or two quarters in arrears. We would like to see more up-to-date numbers in order to make decisions based on them. The amendment does not provide for that and simply...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his comments. He is quite right in that there is no realistic prospect of meeting the 4% target in 2016. That target was set long before the financial crisis, but we do not yet know how much progress we have made in getting to that point. That is why I would also like to see up-to-date numbers. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked about the impact of measures. The...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: While I do not propose to accept the amendment as a legislative obligation, I will ask my officials to examine the issue of jobseeker’s benefit and the treatment of part-time and seasonal workers, including those categorised as having subsidiary employment. We believe this work could be done in approximately four months. The matter has been raised several times, particularly in the...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I imagine the €12.70 figure relates to what used to be £10. As such, I suspect it has not been increased for a very long time. I want to be as helpful here as possible and to understand this better myself. I am having trouble understanding how this impacts on individual cases and I would welcome a report to understand it myself. I can direct officials to get started on that...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The stated intention of the amendment is to recoup for the State the cost of welfare payments in cases where a person is unfairly dismissed. In principle, it seems like an attractive and appropriate course of action. However, if applied to unfair dismissal cases, the principal could give rise to unintended consequences which would not be in the interests of persons found to have been...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The principle of double compensation, namely that a person is not compensated twice in respect of the same injury, must be central to our thinking in this matter. The current arrangements draw a clear distinction between compensation properly due in respect of unfair dismissal on the one hand and social welfare payments to meet income support on the other. If we were to change that position...

Social Welfare Bill 2016: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (24 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Having listened and discussed this a little, perhaps Deputy John Brady and I are on the same wavelength. He is not proposing double compensation as much as a double penalty.