Results 22,281-22,300 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Industrial Relations (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I have no intention to remove employees’ right to strike. However where a dispute is in an essential service, a strike can give rise to huge disruption for the public. It is my view that, it is in the interests of the public, employees and employers, such disputes should be resolved with the least disruption.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff Redeployment (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department, like all Government departments and agencies is required to operate within a staff ceiling figure and a commensurate administrative staffing budget, which for this Department has involved reductions in staff. The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, management priorities and the ongoing need to respond...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Expenditure on pensions, at approximately €7.3 billion, is the largest block of expenditure in my Department, representing some 37% of its expenditure. Demographic change alone will increase this by over €220 million this year. Maintaining the rate of the State pension is critical to protecting older people from poverty. State pension (contributory) is an entitlement...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes Data (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The ‘marriage bar’ describes a rule that existed in most of the public service and some private sector employments, where women were required to leave their employment upon marriage. This practice was abolished in 1973 when Ireland joined the EEC. As employees in the public service generally paid a reduced rate of PRSI, which provided no cover for the State pension...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting some 43,700 recipients for which the Government has provided €253 million for in 2017. I can assure the Deputy that every effort is made so that rent supplement tenants are supported by my Department ensuring where possible that they can remain in their homes. Continued entitlement...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the following tables: Carer’s Allowance 2015 Month Registered Awarded Rejected Revised Deciding Officer Decision Appeal Allowed Appeal Partially Allowed Appeal Disallowed January 1,309 1,267 686 66 105 7 104 February 1,579 1,383 756 79 102 19 141 March 1,722 1,342 725 57 96 13 61 April 1,529 1,226 654 67 129 10 105 May 1,664...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The average appeal processing times for all appeals determined from 2015 to date in 2017 broken down by all social welfare scheme types is outlined in the tables. 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 the time taken to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payments (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 177 and 178 together. The Deputy will be aware that my Department has re-engineered its business model to support the provision of integrated services across all business streams involved in the delivery of localised services. As part of this strategy, the Department is engaged in the delivery of integrated Intreo centres, which provide a full range of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Youth Unemployment Data (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Government policy to reduce unemployment is twofold. First, through policies set out in the Action Plan for Jobs, to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs; and second, through Pathways to Work to ensure that as many of these new jobs and other vacancies that arise in our economy are filled by people taken from the Live Register, including young unemployed...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Unemployment Data (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Government policy to reduce unemployment is twofold. First, through policies set out in the Action Plan for Jobs, to create an environment in which business can succeed and create jobs; and second, through Pathways to Work to ensure that as many of these new jobs and other vacancies that arise in our economy are filled by people taken from the Live Register, and in particular the long-term...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to note that my Department provides a number of income supports to lone parents. These include the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) scheme until the youngest child is 7 years of age and the Jobseeker’s Transitional Payment (JST) payment where the youngest child is aged 7-13 years. The Jobseeker’s Allowance (JA) payment can also be paid to lone parents where the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Expenditure on pensions, at approximately €7.3 billion, is the largest block of expenditure in my Department, representing some 37% of its expenditure. Demographic change alone will increase this by over €220 million this year. Maintaining the rate of the State pension is critical to protecting older people from poverty. To ensure that the individual can maximise their...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 183 and 184 together. The information requested by the Deputy (as at the end of April) is detailed in the following tables: Jobseeker’s Allowance County 6-12 months 12 months and over Carlow 182 211 Cavan 154 241 Clare 221 237 Cork 557 758 Donegal 466 686 Dublin 1,771 2,464 Galway 352 534 Kerry 256 285 Kildare 272 450 Kilkenny 109 171...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Data (31 May 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the following table: Young persons under the age of 26 in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance at the end of April 2017 by rate. Rate Recipients €102.70 19,240 €147.80 2,863 €193 4,705 Total 26,808

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Question Heading for question(s) 111 (1 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The JobPath companies will consider funding requests for appropriate training for jobseekers engaged with the service where a need is identified that is not otherwise provided by the company directly or state providers (such as Solas/ETBs), within a reasonable length of time or at a location convenient to the jobseeker. The intervention identified is linked to both the activation needs of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Insurance Data (1 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Department does not take out insurance policies but pays out compensation where necessary. Accordingly, there are no insurance expenses incurred by my Department and no insurance policy costs. In cases where a person takes a personal injury claim against the Department, this is handled by the State Claims Agency. The Pensions Authority, Pensions Ombudsman, Pensions Council and Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Bodies Mergers (1 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection has, this afternoon, published its report on the Proposed Restructuring of the Money Advice and Budgeting Services and the Citizens Information Services and I thank the Committee for its engagement with this matter. In February, the Board of Citizens Information Board (CIB) decided the new governance model for local service delivery...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Public Services Card Data (1 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The number of Public Services Cards (PSC) issued to date is approx. 2.6 million. The number of PSCs currently going through the system is approx. 10,000. It typically takes about fifteen minutes for a person to register and authenticate their identity to get a PSC. There are 100 registration locations nationwide. For the majority of these a person can book an appointment within 24 hours...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Public Services Card Provision (1 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: For the past number of years, the social services card has been progressively replaced by the Public Services Card (PSC). The PSC is designed to replace other cards within the public sector including the free travel pass and to make it easy for providers of public services to verify the identity of customers. A PSC is issued following a registration process called SAFE, which involves the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Programme for Government Initiatives (1 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Action Plan for Jobless Households has been approved by Cabinet and will be published in the next few weeks.