Results 21,681-21,700 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is not responsible for the calculation of maintenance payments between individuals. The arrangement of maintenance is a Family Law matter under the remit of the Department of Justice and Equality (D/JE). It is important to clarify to the Deputy that there is no current policy to reduce payments to lone parents where they are not in receipt of maintenance from the absent...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. The average processing time for Jobseekers Benefit claims awarded in March 2017 was 1 week, which exceeds the overall performance targets set for the scheme. The time taken by my...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Housing Assistance Payments Data (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting some 44,800 recipients for which the Government has provided €253 million for in 2017. The strategic policy direction of my Department is to return rent supplement to its original purpose of being a short-term income support scheme. Under HAP, responsibility for the provision of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77, 85 and 359 together. The rural social scheme (RSS) is an income support initiative which provides part-time employment opportunities in community and voluntary organisations for farmers or fishermen who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and underemployed in their primary occupation. The RSS is a supplementary income support scheme. ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The JobPath service which is funded by the Department is delivered by two service providers, Turas Nua Ltd and Seetec Business Technology Company Ltd. The JobPath model has a number of key features which enables my Department to monitor all aspects of the service provider’s performance and ensure contract compliance. Every participant is provided with a service guarantee - a baseline...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Direct Provision Payments (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Protection seekers are offered accommodation under the system of direct provision operated by the Reception & Integration Agency (RIA) of the Department of Justice and Equality. Those who accept direct provision are provided with accommodation, food and health services together with other facilities and services designed to ensure their needs are met while seeking the protection of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Appeal processing times are kept under constant scrutiny by the Chief Appeals Officer. The Deputy will be aware that significant effort and resources have been devoted in recent years to reducing the length of time taken to finalise an appeal and that as a consequence processing times have improved quite considerably. For example, the time taken to process appeals requiring an oral...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Citizen Information Services (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Citizens Information Board (CIB), which has statutory responsibility for the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) and the Citizens Information Services (CIS), decided on 15 February 2017 to restructure the governance arrangements of these services. As a statutory body, the Board has the sole right to make decisions on its day to day operations as it sees fit. It would not be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Benefit (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: There is no statutory retirement age in the State, and the age at which employees retire is a matter for the contract of employment between them and their employers. Where a person exits the workforce before reaching State pension age they may apply for either the jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s allowance schemes. Jobseeker’s payments are paid to eligible...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help them address barriers to employment and to find jobs. Each person is assigned a personal advisor who assesses their skills, experience, challenges and work goals and agrees a personal progression plan that includes a schedule of activities, actions and job focused targets. I can confirm that the two companies contracted...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be aware, 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 the JobPath service and programmes such as Community Employment (CE). The JobPath service is provided for jobseekers and the period of engagement with the service for any individual is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Where a carer is employed directly by a person requiring care services then PRSI contributions (employer and employee) are payable, at the appropriate PRSI Class - Class A. Such employees are treated in exactly the same way as other employees. This ensures that people employed as carers (and employees paying Class A generally) have access to short-term social insurance benefits, such as...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: School Meals Programme (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 337 and 390 together. The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food to some 1,460 schools and organisations benefitting over 200,000 children at a total cost of some €47.7 million in 2017. The funding for the scheme was increased this year, as part of Budget 2017, by an additional €5.7 million (almost 14% over the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Maternity Benefit (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The maternity and paternity benefit schemes both provide financial assistance to parents of newly born babies, including those born prematurely. The personal rate of payment is €235 per week. Additional allowances may be paid for adult and child dependents. is a 26 week payment for employed and self-employed pregnant women who satisfy certain PRSI contribution conditions. A...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The aim of the JobPath service, which is provided for jobseekers only, is to assist them in finding sustainable full time paid employment. Each person referred to the JobPath service is allocated a personal advisor who provides intensive individual support and assistance. When a jobseeker with JobPath finds employment, they will be supported by the JobPath Company for at least the first 13...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 80 private transport operators. There are currently approx. 877,000...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Data (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 341 and 393 together. Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting some 44,800 recipients for which the Government has provided €253 million for in 2017. Statistics are not generally maintained for those exiting the rent supplement scheme, however I can assure the Deputies that every effort...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Data (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: A jobseeker’s payment is conditional on a person seeking employment and being willing to take up suitable employment. To satisfy this condition, it is necessary for a person to take positive action and make genuine efforts to secure employment. Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help them tackle barriers to employment and to assist them in finding...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The purpose of Community Employment (CE) schemes is to provide part-time temporary work in local communities, including opportunities for training and development as a stepping-stone back to employment, for people in receipt of a range of social welfare payments. These schemes help to break the cycle of unemployment and improve a person’s chances of returning to the labour market. My...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Data Protection (11 Apr 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Public Representatives may seek information from the JobPath service providers on behalf of an individual with that individual’s consent. The process to be followed by the provider in this instance is set out in the Data Protection Protocol issued to the service providers as part of the contract documentation. This process includes establishing that an inquirer is a public...