Results 26,501-26,520 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: Personal Retirement Bonds, otherwise known as Buy-out-Bonds (BoBs), are approved by the Revenue Commissioners on a generic basis under Chapter 1 of Part 30 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. A BoB is a pension vehicle designed to receive transfer payments from occupational pension schemes as a consequence of a scheme member leaving service, the winding up of a scheme or of pension...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The ruling in this case is noted. However, I would point out that defined benefit pension schemes are normally established under trust and maintained by employers on a voluntary basis. The obligation imposed on an employer and on scheme members is normally agreed and set out in the trust deed and rules of each scheme. The trust deeds and rules differ from scheme to scheme and reflect the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 22ndJuly 2014. 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. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme is in the process of being reformed. These reforms were introduced in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2012, and contain provisions to reduce, on a phased basis, the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient’s payment ceases to 7 years for recipients from 2 July, 2015. This reform aims to bring Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Cessation (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Department (and previously, FÁS) have consistently maintained that the only circumstances in which it will fund enhanced redundancy packages to Community Employment (CE) Supervisors is where the Supervisor redundancy arises because of the actions of the Department due to restructuring of the CE programme, e.g. mainstreaming schools-based CE schemes to the Department of Education in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 74, 149, 158 and 166 together. The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with reasonable accommodation costs of eligible people living in private rented accommodation who are unable to provide for their accommodation costs from their own resources. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: It is the policy of my Department to review application forms for the individual illness related schemes on a regular basis, including those parts of forms that relate to the provision of medical evidence. The design of the medical evidence part of application forms is undertaken in consultation with the Chief Medical Advisor and the Medical Research team. Medical reports which GPs are...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Eligibility (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: An application for disability allowance was received from the person concerned on 5 July 2013. The application was refused on 20 November 2013 as the person’s means were in excess of the statutory limit for a person in his circumstances. The person subsequently appealed this decision to the Chief Appeals Officer. On 28 May 2014 an appeal’s officer disallowed the appeal and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77 and 145 together. The Labour Court recommended in July 2008 that an agreed pension scheme should be introduced for community employment (CE) scheme supervisors and assistant supervisors, and that such a scheme should be adequately funded by FÁS. This matter has been the subject of discussions between this Department, the Department of Public...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Budget 2015 (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Department, in line with its income support commitments under the National Carers’ Strategy published in 2012, provides a range of income supports to assist with the financial burden of caring. These include carer's allowance, carer's benefit, domiciliary care allowance and the respite care grant. Total expenditure by the Department on carers has increased from just under...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: Credited contributions (credits) are social insurance contributions designed to protect the social insurance entitlement record of insured workers who are not in a position to make PRSI contributions. Credits are awarded in circumstances such as unemployment or illness, and their purpose is to help protect the social insurance entitlements of insured persons during periods when they may not...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The habitual residence condition helps protect Ireland's social welfare system, while at the same time ensuring that those whose claim our schemes have access to supports when they need them. Provided the applicant for a carer’s allowance is legally resident in the State, a decision on whether the applicant satisfies the conditions in respect of habitual residence is made based on...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Waiting Times (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. Each scheme area is continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure customers are responded to as quickly as possible. In this regard, the Department has had major success in clearing backlogs especially in the disability related schemes. The Table below provides details of processing times for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: Carers Allowance is a means-tested payment for people living in Ireland who are looking after someone who needs support because of age, physical or learning disability or illness, including mental illness. It is mainly aimed at carers on low incomes who live with and look after certain people who need full-time care and attention. The means test for carers allowance has been significantly...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Respite Care Grant Administration (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 83 and 118 together. The Respite Care Grant (RCG) is an annual payment of €1,375 for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means but is subject to certain conditions, one of which is that the period of full-time care and attention must last for at least six months...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Respite Care Grant Eligibility (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Respite Care Grant (RCG) is an annual payment of €1,375 for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means but is subject to certain conditions, one of which is that the period of full-time care and attention must last for at least six months (which must include the first Thursday in June, when the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The household benefits package comprises the electricity/gas allowance (€35 per month) and the free television licence scheme (€160 per annum). From 2015 it will also include a quarterly water support payment of €25. The household benefits package is paid to some 411,000 customers, with expenditure estimated at €230 million for 2014. The package is available...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Eligibility (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The current position of retaining Carers Allowance for 6 weeks following the death of the care recipient is consistent with the approach taken by the Department in relation to payment after death across other schemes, such as the State Pension. The period gives a reasonable time for the Carer to apply to the Department for other benefits to which they might be entitled or where a person...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme Eligibility (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The free travel scheme is available to people over 66 years, and to people in receipt of certain disability or carer type payments.There are currently almost 800,000 customers in receipt of free travel. Since 2007 free travel customers have increased by more than 25%. The scheme permits travel for free on most CIE public transport services, Luas and up to 90 private operators. The annual...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Eligibility (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on the 18th December 2013. The application was disallowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 21st January 2014 advising of the decision. A review of this decision was requested and additional information supplied on the...