Results 23,121-23,140 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I do not think I have the figure with me but if I recall correctly it is a relatively modest amount. It is €14 million in 2014 and when it comes fully into effect over a period it should be €60 million in a full year. It is a small amount relative to the total PRSI take but the principle of taxation is that if everybody and all sources yield small amounts we will avoid very...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I should say that the figure for the full year is €20 million; I want to correct the record in that respect. That is perhaps something to raise with the Minister for Finance because the rules on calculating profits and so on rest with the Revenue Commissioners, and that might be an issue to discuss with him.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: This measure was outlined and examined as part of the comprehensive review of expenditure carried out in 2011. Savings arising from this measure are just over €20 million and they will ease the pressure on the social insurance fund, for which there was a deficit of €2 billion last year. This year we expect to have it down to €1.5 billion because people are going back to...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I thank Senator Kelly for his comments. Two schemes are commonly mentioned. One is the supplementary welfare allowance, which Senator Kelly referred to, which is a weekly payment of €2 or so less than the standard €188 per week. The second one, which we will probably discuss further later, is what is called a special needs payment or exceptional needs payment, ENP, in social...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Yes. I am accompanied by some eminent officials who are expert in social protection. If the Senator gives us the details we will have a look at the case. I do not want to make a general comment on an individual case but we will be happy to do that.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I do not want to labour the point but north of the Border where the Senator's party has been in government for a long time, the period is 28 weeks. All I am saying is that this is a very modest extension. In the Netherlands it is two years and in the UK it is 28 weeks. The conditionality applying has become much tougher, as I am sure the Senator knows from his colleagues in government in...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I will give Senators some background on this matter. I will start with what the Department is spending in this area. In 2005, which is roughly the period when the boom began, the expenditure by the Department on maternity benefit was €132 million. To emphasise the increase in payments that occurred after the boom, expenditure on maternity benefits in 2012 had risen to €303...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Under European legislation, we are required to provide 14 weeks, but we provide 26 paid weeks. In the Netherlands and France, for example, only 16 weeks of maternity benefit is paid. This shows how good Ireland is. Sometimes, we undersell the strength of our agreed framework of social protection among all parties and none. As a country, we can be proud of it. These savings are important....

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Of course it is.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: That is why the Senator is so pink and healthy.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: In response to Senator Thomas Byrne - I seem to recall he was not here for the discussion on the previous section - we have had very difficult decisions to make in regard to the social welfare budget. My Department's allocation stands at around the €20 billion mark, which is the highest spend of any Department. In 2005 - just as the boom was getting boomier, as a former Taoiseach...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: When Senator Thomas Byrne was in the other House and in committees, I recall that he was a great defender of everything to do with the banks that ruined this country.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: The point I am making is that spending on maternity payments rose from €132 million at the beginning of the boom to €303 million in 2012. This was achieved in the teeth of the most difficult economic situation this country has ever faced, brought about by the collapse of the banks. Senator Byrne's party was very much closely involved in that terribly unfortunate collapse. I...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Given the Senator's general contributions in the Dáil in strong support of the former Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan,-----

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: -----he would surely concede that-----

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I know that. I remember the Senator supporting the late Minister and everything he did.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: The bank guarantee was the wrong decision and cost the country an awful lot of money. Senator Byrne might have made that choice in good faith-----

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I did not support it.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Senator David Norris asked a very important question which I am happy to answer. Adoptive benefit is a very small scheme simply because the number of children adopted in this country is very small. It is a weekly payment made to an adopting employed or self-employed mother or single male who adopts a child and who meets the PRSI condition. That is set out in the primary legislation. I...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013: Committee Stage (6 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I have consulted our legal experts and I would like to confirm to Senator Norris that the definition of an adopting parent under section 60 of the Act does include a single man. Obviously the primary references are to women, because it is a maternity for adoptive parents. However, the section specifies that this includes a man who is a single parent who is adopting.