Results 27,021-27,040 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Financial Resolution No. 3: General (Resumed) (15 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: What is Sinn Féin's record in the North?

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (15 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision on the 17thFebruary 2014. Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of the Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by the Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Applications (15 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received from the person concerned on the 29th July 2014. This application has been forwarded to one of the Department’s Medical Assessors for their medical opinion. Following receipt of this opinion, a decision will be made by a Deciding Officer and notified to the person concerned. It can currently take up to 12 weeks to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (15 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department has no record to date of an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question. If the person in question wishes to make an application for carer’s allowance, she may do so by completing an application form and submitting it to the Department.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare (15 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: In September 2013, I published the report of the Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare on Extending Social Insurance Coverage for the self-employed. The Group was asked to examine and report on issues involved in extending social insurance coverage for self-employed people in order to establish whether or not such cover is technically feasible and financially sustainable, with the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff Remuneration (15 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: No performance related pay was paid, to any of my staff, or, to any staff in my Department for the years 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (15 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: Community Employment (CE) is a non-statutory scheme put in place to support persons who are long-term unemployed and other vulnerable groups to gain the confidence and skills to re-enter the labour market. Schemes are sponsored by local community and voluntary groups who provide valuable support services to local communities. These sponsoring organisations employ supervisory staff to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (15 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: In July 2008 the Labour Court recommended 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, the agency responsible for CE at that time (LCR19293). Notwithstanding the position of this Department (which now has responsibility for CE) in rejecting that...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Child Benefit Data (15 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 13, inclusive, together. Child benefit is a universal payment that assists parents with the cost of raising children and contributes towards alleviating child poverty. The estimated expenditure on child benefit in 2014 is around €1.9 billion and it is currently paid to around 613,000 families in respect of some 1.17 million children. The...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Appeals (15 Oct 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 01stOctober 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 Department...

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: Deputy Martin has given a very good resume of the role of one of the political parties in 2009, when the State was in considerable difficulty due to the collapse of the finances of the State following Deputy Martin's own actions in regard to the bank guarantee and, subsequently, in regard to the State being unable to raise funds at reasonable prices. The creation of Irish Water - this is...

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: -----at the foundation of the State. Irish Water is a publicly owned water service which is in State ownership and will stay in State ownership, which, in the context of some of the advice that was being received internationally by the members of the Opposition opposite me, is a significant achievement. This will allow for an investment in the next couple of years of €1.7 billion,...

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: He is probably correct on that. However, I believe he should actually welcome that because what we are going to get is investment into Irish Water. I just heard another Deputy refer to the level of national debt, which is high but has begun to come down significantly. In terms of cleverly managing the finances of the State on a sustainable basis, we have to invest seriously in Irish Water....

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: -----in many of the 34 local authorities which previously ran what we now know to have been a completely disjointed, if not dangerous and dysfunctional service.

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: That is going to be replaced by a national consumer-focused utility company-----

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: -----whose job is to deliver clean, healthy water to people in Ireland. Right around Ireland, not least in the Dublin region, many families and individuals have experience in the last few years of their water supply being cut off-----

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: ----- because, as we know, there was not enough water to supply the Dublin region.

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: On many occasions, water usage in Dublin runs at around 97% of the available supply-----

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: What we are talking about is a clean, reliable, healthy water supply-----

Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)

Joan Burton: -----which is sufficient for families and individual consumers, run by a publicly owned water company, not a privatised water company charging whatever it likes, which, by the way, is unfortunately what happened in regard to some of the campaigns concerning refuse collection.