Results 21,301-21,320 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Maternity Benefit (7 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: An application for maternity benefit was received from the person concerned on 22ndFeb 2017 and processed on 3rdMarch 2017. Further information is required in order to make a decision regarding the claim and she has been contacted in writing requesting this information. Once the required information is received, her claim will be processed, and a written decision will issue to her. I hope...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (7 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The overall concern in recent years has been to protect the value of weekly social welfare rates. Expenditure on pensions, at approximately €7 billion each year, is the largest block of expenditure in my Department in the Estimate for 2017, representing approximately 35% of overall expenditure. Due to demographic changes, my Department’s spending on older people is increasing...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Eligibility (7 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department operates a range of means-tested social assistance schemes, where account is taken of the income and the value of capital, including shares, of the claimant and his or her spouse/ partner. When assessing a claimant’s (or the claimant’s spouse/partner’s) income from earnings, social welfare legislation provides for various payments to be deducted from gross...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Child Benefit Eligibility (7 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Child Benefit is currently paid to around 625,000 families in respect of some 1.2 million children, with an estimated expenditure of over €2 billion in 2017. Child Benefit is a universal payment paid in respect of all qualified children, who are ordinarily resident in the State, from the first month of their birth up until their 16thbirthday. The Social Welfare Act does provide that...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The telephone allowance was introduced at a time when telephones were expensive and a landline service, available only from one company, was the only option available to the customer. The market has changed considerably since the introduction of the allowance, with several companies providing a range of services and rates, and a range of bundled services including television, telephone and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: During the debate on the Social Welfare (SW) Bill 2016, I agreed that my Department would commission an independent report on the OFP reforms to examine the financial and social effects of the amendments to the scheme made since 1 January 2012, taking into account the poverty rates and welfare dependency of those impacted by the reforms. This is now in legislation. Under procurement...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme (7 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The person concerned received a letter from the Department under Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act 2005 Section 198 (3G)(a)(i)(1) as inserted by Section 54 (3) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014, requesting them to apply to South Dublin County Council for social housing support which includes the housing assistance payment (HAP). All customers residing in a HAP area are...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (7 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 23rdJanuary 2017. 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 were received in the Social...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Local Employment Service (7 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has contracts with 22 local employment service providers for 2017, the same number as 2016. Local employment services, LES, form part of the State’s employment service and funding for the provision of the LES service has been maintained for 2017 at the 2016 levels of €20 million. The LES is one element of the overall activation service being delivered by my...

Misuse of Drugs (Supervised Injecting Facilities) Bill 2017: Second Stage (Resumed) (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I wish to speak very briefly about the Bill. I do not have a lot to say that has not been said. This is a Bill in which I have a particular interest having followed it in my previous ministry - the Department of Health. When it was first proposed as an idea I was somewhat sceptical because I was concerned that it might encourage drug use, encourage more people to use heroin and other...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Family Income Supplement (FIS) is an in-work support from my Department, which provides an income top-up for employees on low earnings with children. FIS was designed to prevent in-work poverty for low paid workers with child dependents and to offer a financial incentive to take-up employment. There are currently over 57,000 families with more than 127,000 children in receipt of FIS...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Applications (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Social welfare legislation provides that where a person under 25 years of age claims jobseeker’s allowance and is living with a parent or step-parent in the family home, an assessment is made of the yearly value of any benefit and privilege enjoyed by that person by virtue of residing there. The value of the benefit and privilege assessed is based on the level of the parents'...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that my Department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 30 January 2017. The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Department sets down eligibility criteria for participation on Community Employment (C.E.) schemes so as to ensure that opportunities to avail of activation measures are managed effectively. The maximum duration of participation available on C.E. is determined having regard to a range of factors including the age of the participant and signing record at date of commencement on the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The question relates to the possibility of the person concerned becoming a voluntary social insurance contributor, for the purposes of filling gaps in his social insurance record. As the Deputy will be aware, I recently introduced legislation extending the period during which a person may opt to become a voluntary contributor, increasing the period from from 12 months to 60 months....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Administration (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Community Employment (CE) is available to participants up to state pension age who meet the current eligibility criteria. The pattern of participation on CE is dependent on the individual circumstance of each person and the length of time she has been in receipt of a CE-qualifying social welfare payment. The participation limits that have been set allow for the utilisation of places among...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Support Services (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: 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. Accordingly the employment services and schemes provided by the Department are focused in the first instance on the cohort of people who are unemployed and in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment. ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Expenditure (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information that the Deputy has requested is currently not available in my Department. Given the complex nature of the request, my Department will provide the information directly to the Deputy in due course.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Expenditure (8 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 176 to 179, inclusive, together. The costings sought by the Deputy are detailed in the following series of tables. Table 1: Cost of increasing all working age payments (i.e. weekly payments for those under 66 years of age) by varying amounts Scheme Full year cost of a €5 increase €m Full year cost of a €10 increase €m Full...

Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Mar 2017)

Leo Varadkar: That is a joint project involving the Department of Finance, Revenue Commissioners and my Department. My Department has a particular interest because where bogus self-employment exists, we lose out on PRSI. This is because we do not get employer's PRSI. More significantly, the people concerned do not get the same social benefits as they would were they employed. A joint working group is...