Results 28,141-28,160 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Property Tax Administration (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 25, 56 and 57 together. Due to a technical error, a deduction in respect of Local Property Tax (LPT) for the 2015 year was taken earlier than planned resulting in some customers having additional LPT deductions taken from their double payment week before Christmas. Customers who had requested the deduction at source towards LPT had two deductions in respect...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Citizen Information Services (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 26, 43 and 82 together. The Citizens Information Board (CIB) is the statutory body responsible for supporting the provision of information, advice (including money and budgeting advice) and advocacy services to all citizens on a wide range of public and social services. One of the functions of the CIB, as defined in the Comhairle Act 2000 and the Citizens...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Applications (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received from the person concerned on 5 November 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 10 weeks to process an...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 14 October 2014. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers have been received in the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Offices (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The INTREO service in Swords will be a single, integrated service delivered over two sites: Fingal County Hall, Swords and Mainscourt, Swords. While the fit-out of the Intreo office in County Hall office is complete, the office will not be opened to the public until the fit-out of the Mainscourt office is complete. It is hoped to commence work on Mainscourt immediately upon resolution of a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Appeals (14 Jan 2015)

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 disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 27 November 2014. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection These papers have been received in the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to convene an oral hearing in this case. Every effort will be made to hear the case as quickly as possible and the person concerned will be informed when arrangements for the oral hearing have been made. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Momentum Programme (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The MOMENTUM Programme 2014, launched in September 2014, is under the remit of the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and is managed on behalf of DES by SOLAS. The programmes include on-the job training in the form of work experience modules as well as the provision of accredited further education and training required to obtain and retain employment. One third of the 6,500 places...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 6 January 2015. 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: Departmental Investigations (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: It is a function of my Department to give decisions on the insurability of employment in accordance with the relevant legislation. A decision on the insurability of employment has been recently sought by a number of workers formerly employed on the site referred by the Deputy. As part of the process of making such a decision, it is normal practice that a Social Welfare Inspector...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Exceptional Needs Payment Data (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off and unforeseen expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. The Government has provided €27.9m for exceptional and urgent needs payments in 2015. There is no automatic entitlement...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: Parliamentary Question 140 of last December relates to the case of an individual who is in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance. He is also paid an increase in respect of a qualified adult (his spouse) and an increase for a qualified child. His spouse is also in receipt of a half-rate carer’s allowance. She was employed as a polling clerk for one day last year. A person in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Work Allowance (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The key principles of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) were set out in my December reply to the Deputy’s question. The rate of payment of BTWEA in the first year for a customer who pursues a self-employment option is equal to the full value of their previous jobseeker’s payment to which they were in receipt of prior to taking up the Allowance. Therefore, there is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 75 together. Defined benefit pension schemes in Ireland are set up and maintained by employers on a voluntary basis. A statutory obligation on employers under Irish law to contribute to their pension scheme has never existed. The level of employer and employee contributions is agreed and established in contract in the Trust Deeds and Rules of each...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been in receipt of rent supplement at her current address since 1 October 2011. She is currently receiving the maximum rate payable for a person with her specific circumstances; i.e. that of a single person with a maximum rent limit of €520 per month. The Department is taking measures to ensure that the housing needs of rent supplement customers who are in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned was awarded carer’s allowance on 23 December 2014 and the first payment issued to the bank on 8 January 2015. The person in question was notified of this decision on 23 December 2014.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Bodies Data (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council, the Pensions Ombudsman (which does not have a Board) and the Social Welfare Tribunal. The Pensions Board was renamed the Pensions Authority on 7 March 2014. The Public Service Reform Programme provided for a critical...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Decentralisation Programme Data (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: Under the terms of the Decentralisation Programme which was announced in December 2003, various sections of the Department were designated to move to the following locations, Buncrana, Carrickmacross, Carrick-on-Shannon (in 2 Phases), Donegal Town, Drogheda and Sligo.The Combat Poverty Agency and the Citizens Information Board which operate under the aegis of my Department were designated to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Insolvency Payments Scheme (14 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2009 provided for the establishment by the Minister for Finance of a Pensions Insolvency Payments scheme (PIPS) to provide for the payment of pensions in the event of the wind up of a pension scheme where both the employer and the scheme is insolvent to secure the payment of pension at less cost than through traditional annuities, thereby making more scheme...