Results 23,481-23,500 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Perhaps the Deputy is more concentrated on the English social welfare system, which is highly directive. Maybe that is what he wants down here because that is what is available in the North. The JobBridge scheme is a voluntary scheme on the part of both parties. A company offers to host. I have promoted the scheme with companies, because when we came into government, we inherited a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: It is so important to take every step to help people-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: -----who find themselves unfortunately out of work.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I think it makes enormous sense-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: -----to have host organisations offering valuable employment experience.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Sixty percent of people then proceed to get employment.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I genuinely do not understand the Deputy's position.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: We monitor it extremely carefully because it is a voluntary scheme. It is not-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: As the Deputy said, all the information and data are available-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: -----on the website. Why does the Deputy not get some of his legions of researchers to look at the website?

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Job Initiatives (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: There is nothing hidden.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I believed this question was in the name of Deputy Pringle.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Defined benefit pension schemes in Ireland are in general set up under the law of trust. The trustees of such pension schemes have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of all scheme members. The Pensions Act provides for a funding standard which applies to funded defined benefit pension schemes. The funding standard requires a defined benefit pension scheme to maintain sufficient...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I am sure the Deputy is familiar with the history of defined benefit pension schemes. The employer is the sponsor of the scheme and makes promises regarding the contributions the employer and the contributions of employees, if any, to the scheme, thus determining the level of benefit that will accrue on the retirement of the employee. The reason so many schemes have difficulty is that the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: I appreciate that.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: With regard to the investment strategies of pension funds, I do not know whether the Deputy has an objection in principle to pension funds. The nature of pension funds is that they collect payments from the employer and employee. Many employers are very good employers. The Deputy seems to believe that all employers are bad but that is not the case.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Is the Deputy interested in an answer? He just stated the issue is complicated technically but unfortunately that technical complication is included in the answer. I cannot give the Deputy a Ladybird answer on pensions. It is a complex and terribly important issue for hundreds of thousands of people in the country. The Deputy should not treat it as some kind of joke.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: With regard to pensions, the Deputy asked about investments. Owing to the tsunami of problems affecting the financial markets, pension funds in Ireland took a terrible hit. The Pensions Regulator has reported on how Irish pension funds were often over invested in a particular field of investment, which included the Irish banks.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: Let me say as well that, in 2010, the previous Government legislated to provide for bonds via the NTMA structure. That did not happen during its term. I am happy to say it has happened during my term. It is one of the items to which the Deputy referred. The demand has been fairly continuous and significant and, to date we have €1.377 billion for investment in amortising bonds.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pension Provisions (28 Nov 2013)

Joan Burton: In other words, the Government has created a vehicle, which has been utilised and which, I hope, will provide an important investment vehicle for pensioners in Ireland in the future.