Results 20,421-20,440 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance Eligibility (30 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The person mentioned made enquiries about accessing the back to education allowance scheme (BTEA) at her local Intreo Centre. She was given an application form and subsequently returned the completed form. Her application was examined by a deciding officer and she was refused a back to education allowance because she did not meet a basic qualification of the scheme, i.e., that a person must...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobs Initiative (30 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. Two companies, Seetec and Turas Nua, have been contracted to deliver the service. These companies have established over 80 service locations around the country and employ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (30 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The first EU Directive 2003/41/EC on the Activities and Supervision of Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision (IORP I) established the basic EU requirements for occupational pension funds and their supervision, including rules obliging schemes to invest their assets prudently. It is anticipated that the revised IORP directive (IORP II) will be published in the Official Journal of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme Eligibility (30 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be fully aware RSS provides opportunities for farmers and fishermen and women who are currently in receipt of specified social welfare payments to work to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. As part of the social welfare budget package for 2017, I announced an increase of €5 a week in the personal rate of payment for rural social scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Legislative Reviews (30 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The precise format of the review, under Section 7 of the Gender Recognition Act 2015 has not, as yet, been decided. However since the commencement of the Act my Department has been working with other relevant Departments, particularly the Departments of Education and Skills and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on the implementation of the legislation. I am aware that both of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (30 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 13thSeptember 2016. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers have been received in the...

Topical Issue Debate: JobPath Implementation (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: JobPath is a relatively new approach to employment activation whereby my Department has procured additional resources, under contract, to enable us to provide a high quality case-managed service to people who are long-term unemployed. JobPath supplements the internal case management capacity of my Department's Intreo service and the local employment service, LES. Over the past year, this...

Topical Issue Debate: JobPath Implementation (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: People are made aware of the complaints procedure, or at least they should be. I will instruct my officials to ensure that is the case. I get some complaints to my office and they vary in nature. They go from people who just did not like the case officer or had a communications or personality clash to people who are just shocked that somebody is engaging with them one-to-one for the first...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Public Sector Staff (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Temporary Clerical Officers (TCOs) are recruited by my Department to provide cover for a wide range of purposes such as staff absences on maternity or sick leave or to assist with specific projects that may be undertaken by the Department from time to time. The use of TCOs by this Department is always in accordance with Civil Service General Council Report 1323. All TCOs are recruited on...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Applications (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: An application for family income supplement (FIS) was received by the person concerned on 27thSeptember 2016. However, the person concerned was in receipt of jobseeker’s transitional payment (JST) at the time of application. As FIS is not payable while on JST, the person concerned was advised by the department on the 4thNovember 2016 that it would be to their financial benefit to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobsPlus Scheme (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The JobsPlus incentive provides for a direct monthly payment to employers who recruit employees from the Live Register. It provides two levels of payment - €7,500 or €10,000 over two years - paid in monthly instalments provided the employment is maintained. The rate of payment depends on the length of time the person recruited was unemployed. In order to be considered...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Schemes (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Tús is an employment programme that aims to help people who are long-term unemployed to re-enter the workforce. The programme helps to break the cycle of unemployment by providing a return to a regular work routine, thereby improving a person’s chances of returning to the open labour market. My Department is very conscious of the valuable contribution this scheme makes, both in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Waiting days have been a long standing feature of the jobseeker’s schemes and are a feature of similar social security schemes in many countries. The application of a three-day waiting period avoids the disproportionately high administrative costs involved in processing large numbers of claims of a very short duration. The waiting day rule is not applied in every case. For instance,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Benefit Eligibility (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker’s allowance schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. The 2016 Estimates for my Department provide for expenditure this year on the jobseekers’ schemes of €2.8 billion. Jobseeker’s allowance is a social assistance means tested payment. Jobseeker's...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Medical Aids and Appliances Provision (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Eligibility for medical appliance benefit is based on a person’s PRSI record. To qualify, a customer must have, 1. 260 Class A/E/H or P PRSI contributions paid since first starting work, and 2. 39 such contributions paid or credited in the tax year on which the claim is based. According to our records, the customer in question has paid Class S contributions, and therefore is not...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: An application for Carer's Allowance (CA) was received from the person concerned on 10 June 2016. It is a condition for receipt of a CA 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 assistance throughout the day in connection with normal...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Rent Supplement payment for the client concerned is due to be released today. Rent supplement for this client will be paid out on the last Tuesday of every month. I trust that this clarifies the issue for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The person concerned was in receipt of supplementary welfare allowance pending the processing of a jobseekers allowance application. The person concerned did not disclose that she was in receipt of carers allowance at the maximum rate. Under the provisions of the carers allowance scheme, jobseekers allowance cannot be paid concurrently. An application for the one parent family payment in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payments (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The designated officer has contacted the person concerned, has forwarded an application form for an emergency needs payment and advised that a decision will be made on receipt of the application form. Please contact my office if you require any further assistance with this case. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme (1 Dec 2016)

Leo Varadkar: There is no record of an application for a companion free travel pass from the person concerned. If and when an application is received entitlement to the companion pass will be fully assessed and the person concerned notified without delay. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.