Results 21,881-21,900 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Appeals (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Further to my response to Parliamentary Question Ref. No. 29597/13 on 19 June 2013, I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an oral hearing of this case, which was scheduled to be heard on 19 February 2013, was postponed at the hearing at the request of the person concerned through his solicitor. The Appeals Officer granted the adjournment and returned the file to the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Applications (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received in respect of the person concerned on the 24th May 2013. This application has been forwarded to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors for their medical opinion. Upon receipt of this opinion, a decision will issue to the person concerned. It can take up to 8 weeks to process an application for DCA.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Eligibility (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Change of Status credits may be awarded when an insured person, following a period during which s/he was insured at a modified rate of contribution (e.g. PRSI Class B, C or D), commences employment that is insurable for State Pension (Transition) or State Pension (Contributory) purposes. These credits are reckonable only for the State Pension (Transition), the State Pension (Contributory)...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Status (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 11 June 2013. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these have been received from the Department, the case in question will be referred to an...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an oral hearing of the appeal of the person concerned took place on 26th June 2013 and that the Appeals Officer is now considering the appeal in the light of all of the evidence submitted, including that adduced at the oral hearing. The person concerned will be notified of the Appeals Officer's decision when the appeal has been...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Support Services (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Department operates a wide range of working age employment support schemes. Details of the individual schemes, the provisional expenditure outcome for 2012 and the estimate for 2013 are outlined in the table that follows this reply. The Estimate for 2013 provides for an increase of €102 million or close to 11% in the overall allocation for these schemes. The 2014 allocation will...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Support Services (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The aim of JobBridge is to assist individuals to bridge the gap between unemployment and the world of work. The scheme has made very significant progress since it came into operation in July 2011. As at 27 June 2013, some 18,587 internship placements have commenced to date with 5,934 participants currently undertaking internships and 1,936 internship posts available on the JobBridge...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Unemployment Statistics (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: My Department has local offices in all areas of the country and maintains records of jobseekers on a local office basis. Statistics relating to the number of job seekers at each local office are monitored on a continuous basis and are available on the CSO website. A regional distribution of live register statistics is also provided at Table 5 of the monthly CSO live register statement....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Live Register Statistics (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The age profile of long-term live registrants is being constantly monitored. The broad age distribution (under and over 25 years) of the Register is published each month by the Central Statistics Office, and more detailed breakdowns are also published at regular intervals. Given the focus of Government policy on the activation of job-seeker claimants, the allocation of my...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. There are approximately 84,000 rent supplement recipients, of which over 53,000 have been in receipt of the payment for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 344 and 345 together. The number of cases referred to appeal in respect of each category of welfare payment from 2009 to 2013 (to date) are given in the table that follows this reply. It is noted that the areas experiencing most referrals to appeal are those areas experiencing the highest volumes of claim applications. There has been a rapid and sustained...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Department has a continuous programme of process improvement initiatives underway aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology. The simplification and reduction of application forms complements the introduction of more streamlined processes. The key principles underpinning the design of the Department's application forms are the use of clear and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Overpayments (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: Ensuring that the right person is paid the right amount of money at the right time is an integral part of the day-to-day work of the Department. It is the Department’s policy that every effort is made to prevent overpayments but, where they occur, they should be regarded as a debt to the Exchequer and every effort must be made to recover the amounts through all available means. ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Places (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Department is continuing its commitment to getting people back to work as set out in the Programme for Government and the Pathways to Work documents. Following my announcement at budget time, the number of Community Employment and Tús programmes are being expanded in 2013 by 2,000 and 2,500 places respectively on a national basis. Applications from Schemes in Kildare for these...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Application Numbers (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I am pleased to confirm that the backlog of claims awaiting action and decision, which stood at just over 7,000 in May 2012, has been cleared. As at the end of June 2013 there are 1973 Invalidity Pension (IP) claims registered, actioned and awaiting information to finalise a decision. This includes approximately 579 cases which are being investigated under EU regulations or bi-lateral...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (9 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The core eligibility criterion for CE is that the person is in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment, as defined on the Department’s website. This requirement is based on Government policy and Departmental guidelines and has been the rule since CE commenced in 1994. At present persons signing for credits or otherwise ineligible for a social welfare payment, do not meet the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance Issues (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 157 to 160, inclusive, together. The Revised estimate for SIF income for 2013 is €7.1 billion and the estimate for 2014 is €7.5 billion. The estimate for 2014 is subject to review pending receipt of details of actual receipts for 2013. The additional breakdown of information requested by the Deputy is not available. The Deputy may wish to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Support Services (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 161 and 163 together. The contribution that people provide in caring for members of their own family is critical for society and it was for that reason that the Government last year adopted the National Carers’ Strategy – with a view to giving greater public recognition to carers and their work. In recognition of supporting carers to maintain...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Appeals (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that there is no record of any appeal by the person concerned having been registered by that office. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (10 Jul 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 27 March 2013. 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 Welfare...