Results 24,481-24,500 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Labour Activation Measures (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: The Department of Social Protection keeps a detailed breakdown of the skillsets of jobseekers. Data on each client’s past occupation, and his/her education, is collected at the point of registration for job-seekers’ payment; these and other relevant data are processed and the probability of leaving the live register is calculated (PEX). At a later stage the jobseeker is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud Investigations (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: The Department of Social Protection is committed to ensuring that social welfare payments are available to those who are entitled to them and that abuse of the system is prevented and dealt with effectively when detected. It is the policy of the Department to examine all reports of possible fraud and abuse concerning the Department's schemes. However under the Data Protection Act,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: My Department will spend over €380 million in 2014 on the electricity and gas elements of the household benefits package and the fuel allowance scheme to assist customers with their energy costs. Help will also continue to be available for people with special or additional heating needs through the heating supplement and exceptional needs payment scheme under the supplementary welfare...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Schemes (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: Tús, the community work placement initiative introduced during 2011, was initially set up to provide up to 5,000 short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. This initiative is being delivered through the network of local development companies and Údarás na Gaeltachta. The purpose of Tús is the provision of quality work for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Death Certificates Issues (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: The loss of a child in any circumstances is an extremely tragic event for a family and I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to those families who have lost children. The procedures governing the registration of deaths are provided for under Part 5 of the Civil Registration Act, 2004. When a death occurs it is registered on foot of a certificate of cause of death supplied by a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Freedom of Information Requests (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: The current Freedom of Information (FOI) procedure in the Department is that a FOI request by persons seeking a copy of their carer's allowance file is dealt with by two separate areas of the Department. Carer's allowance section deal with the general file for the carer. The medical review and assessment section, as owners of the data, deals with the medical records of the care recipient....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Reports (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: The social impact of a range of potential welfare and tax measures were assessed by the Department of Social Protection as part of the deliberative process for Budget 2014. This included some measures suggested at the department’s Pre Budget Forum by community and voluntary groups. This pre-Budget analysis of options for 2014 has already been released under FOI (with one very limited...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Reviews (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: Some 410,000 customers will receive the fuel allowance of €20 per week for 26 weeks from October to April, at an estimated cost of €208 million in 2014. The fuel allowance is paid to those in receipt of long-term jobseekers allowance, one-parent family payment, disability allowance, invalidity pension and the State pension. The allowance is subject to a means test and is paid...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Reform (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: Employers who sponsor a pension scheme are required from February 2010 to arrange for the trustees of the scheme to receive appropriate training within six months of their appointment and at least every two years thereafter. Trustees must confirm in their scheme’s annual report which is distributed to scheme members that the training has taken place. The Board does not collect data...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Money Advice and Budgeting Service (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: The Money Advice and Budgeting Service ( MABS), under the aegis of the Citizens Information Board, provides a high quality personal service to assist people who are over-indebted and need help and advice in coping with debt problems, in particular those on low incomes and people living on social welfare payments. Information and immediate support on all aspects of money management and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 06th February 2014, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff Remuneration (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: All increments awarded in my Department are on a single point per annum basis.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Bodies Issues (18 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Board, the Pensions Ombudsman (which does not have a board) and the Social Welfare Tribunal. These bodies do not subscribe to the daily inflation data for Ireland collected by the company specified by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (19 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: Major activation reforms have been introduced in my Department to help people back to work. Pathways to Work is the strategy driving these reforms. Activation measures include the requirement to attend group or individual meetings, and/or avail of suitable education, training or development opportunities, or specified employment programmes, which are considered appropriate to a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Applications (19 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: There is no record of an application for a rent supplement from the person concerned since her previous claim in 2012. It is open to the person concerned to submit a new application and her entitlement will be examined in accordance with the qualifying conditions for the scheme.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals (19 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned was notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision on 14 February 2014. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Applications (19 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received from the person concerned on the 25th October 2013. This application was referred to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors who did not consider that the child met the medical criteria for the allowance. A letter issued on the 15th January 2014 outlining the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance. ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals (19 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received from the person concerned on the 14th March 2013. This application was referred to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors who considered that the child was not medically eligible for the allowance. A letter issued on the 20th May 2013 outlining the decision to refuse the allowance. The person concerned subsequently...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Eligibility (19 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: Invalidity pension is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the contribution conditions. This department received a claim for invalidity pension for the person concerned on 19 November 2013. Based upon the medical evidence supplied in support of her claim, a deciding officer decided that the person concerned is not...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (19 Feb 2014)

Joan Burton: The living alone increase is an additional payment of €7.70 per week made to people aged 66 or over who are living alone and in receipt of certain social welfare payments, including State pensions. It is also available to people who are under 66 years of age who are living alone and receiving payments, mainly in relation to disability. The basic rate of the State pension has not...