Results 22,901-22,920 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (24 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on the 23rd of April 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. These were received in the Appeals Office on the 15th of August. The appeal was...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Application Numbers (24 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The family income supplement (FIS) is an in-work income support for employees on low earnings who have families and who otherwise might be at risk of financial poverty. FIS also preserves the incentive to remain in employment in circumstances where the employee might only be marginally better off than if he or she were unemployed and claiming social welfare. FIS is available to public...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility (24 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The Department is not a position to assess this customers eligibility as a request for further information required to make a decision was sent to the client on the 12th August 2013 to which no response has been received.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Appeals (24 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: According to the records of this Department the person concerned has not submitted an application for a rent supplement in respect of his current address.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Child Benefit Payments (24 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Child benefit is paid up to and including the month of a child's 16th birthday, and continues to the month of the 18th birthday provided the child is in full-time education. In order for payment to continue after the age of 16, it is necessary for the school/college to certify that the child is in full-time education and will be until the age of 18. In the case of the person concerned, a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Applications (24 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: According to the records of this Department the person concerned has not recently submitted an application for supplementary welfare allowance. The person concerned was previously refused supplementary welfare allowance for failure to attend two oral appeals hearings with respect to a jobseeker's allowance claim.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud Data (24 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: All anonymous or confidential reports received are examined and where relevant, are referred to scheme owners and/or to the Department's inspectors for follow-up action. It is very important to note that a payment is not suspended or stopped on the basis of an anonymous report. The anonymous report, however, may be a “trigger” for of a review of a customer's entitlement. In...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (24 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: Budget 2014 provided for: expenditure reduction measures of €226 million in 2014; €30 million in savings through additional fraud and control measures; and €34 million in savings through efficiencies and lower than anticipated expenditure on certain schemes, an overall expenditure reduction package of €290 million in 2014. The savings in 2015, 2016, 2017 and in a...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Financial Resolution (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I move:THAT Chapter 5B of Part 2 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26 of 2005), which sets out the liability of certain employed contributors for a contribution of 4 per cent, be amended in the manner and to the extent specified in the Act giving effect to this Resolution."

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: The Deputy's question is on section 1 which provides for the Short Title, construction, collective citations and for the commencement of sections 13 and 14 by way of commencement order. Sections 13 and 14 deal with the collection from compensators, that is insurance companies, of amounts that the Department would have paid in respect of various benefits such as illness benefits, for...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I will take some of the general points first, starting with the point made by Deputy Catherine Murphy and other Deputies about why the household benefits package is not set out in legislation. The Deputies should be very careful with regard to what they wish for. Depending on the perspective from which one considers the matter, one of the problems or positives relating to our social welfare...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: People may possibly have forgotten that last April, when the weather continued to be cold, I extended the payment of the fuel allowance by an extra week.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: What is being suggested here-----

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: -----is that there would be no discretion to, for example, increase payments to particular categories of people and that the legislative route should be taken on each occasion the latter needed to be done. All I am saying is that the Deputies opposite should be very careful what they wish for.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: This feature of our social welfare system is probably unique in Europe if not the world.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: On the point relating to the core weekly payments, the single largest proportion of the Department's expenditure relates to pensions and the next largest relates to widows and widowers. Of the €19.6 billion the Department will spend this year, €6.5 billion, or 32%, exclusively relates to pensions. If anyone is suggesting that protecting the core weekly rate of the pension is...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: This year the Department will be spending an additional €190 million in respect of the increased number of people who will qualify for contributory and non-contributory pension payments.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: That is a credit to Irish society and to every political party in this House which has actually prioritised this matter. Suggestions, therefore, that------

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: We started much earlier.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Oct 2013)

Joan Burton: I was just pointing out that contributory and non-contributory pensions account for over 32% of all the funds the Department spends and that is right and proper.