Results 28,281-28,300 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Administration (20 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker’s allowance schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. The 2015 Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure this year on the jobseekers’ schemes of €3.01 billion. Reduced rates for younger jobseeker’s allowance recipients were first...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (20 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 20 November 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: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (20 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: Carers’Allowance (CA) is the primary income support for those who are providing full-time care and attention to a care recipient. Only one Carer's Allowance can be paid in respect of a person requiring full-time care and attention. Two carers who are providing full-time care on a part-time basis in an established pattern can share the carers allowance income support payment and the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (20 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence has allowed the appeal of the person concerned. The person concerned has been notified of the decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme (20 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The free travel scheme provides free travel on CIÉ, Luas and more than 80 private transport services for approximately 800,000 people, elderly, disabled and carers, at an annual cost of €77 million. It is my intention that private operators who may take over routes currently operated by CIÉ companies, will be able to apply to participate in the free travel scheme.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Appeals (20 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 proposes to hold an oral hearing on 28 January 2015. The person concerned has been notified of the arrangements. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Labour Activation Projects (20 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: When designing the MOMENTUM initiative, consideration was given to the question of additional payments to participants. However, in the prevailing economic circumstances and in order to ensure the best use of limited resources, a decision was reached to provide income support to eligible participants through my Department’s Back to Education Allowance scheme which does not cover...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (20 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 10 November 2014. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office on 12...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Delays (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 15th August 2014. The application is currently with a social welfare investigative officer for assessment of the level of care being provided, assessment of means and confirmation that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. Once the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Waiting Times (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: A breakdown of the number of claims pending and average time, where available, to award claims during 2014 is detailed in attached tabular statement. It should be noted that processing times vary by scheme reflecting the differing requirements to satisfy conditions such as income/means limits and medical eligibility. The processing times provided in the table also incorporate the impact of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 18 December 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: Rent Supplement Scheme Appeals (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the average processing times are maintained for the overall scheme type, not for the issue(s) under appeal i.e. in this case rent supplement. The average appeal processing time for supplementary welfare allowance appeals during 2014 was 21 weeks, of which 9.3 weeks is attributable to appeals processing in the Social Welfare Appeals...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Appeals (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: There has been no change in the position since the replies to the Deputy’s previous questions Nos. 142 of 5 November 2014 and 164 of 25 November 2014 regarding this matter. The person concerned had previously been in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance from 20 May 2011 until 15 July 2014. This claim was closed as the Department became aware that she was no longer at her stated...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Live Register Data (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: Information relating to a claimant’s address is not currently coded to the geographical location of the address. As such it is not possible to accurately report persons on the live register living in a particular area at present.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: When introducing the OFP scheme age change reforms, a special provision was included for recipients who are claiming the domiciliary care allowance (DCA) payment for a disabled child aged under 16 years. In these circumstances, the OFP payment is extended beyond the maximum age limit of the scheme and paid until the child for whom the DCA is in payment reaches the age of 16 years. This...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The number of one-parent family payment (OFP) recipients stood at 69,884 in December, 2014. The cost of the OFP scheme is estimated to be approximately €607 million in 2015. The final phase of the OFP scheme age change reforms will be taking place on 2 July, 2015, when the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient’s payment ceases will be reduced to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance was received on 3 October 2014 and additional information was received on the 9th December 2014 from the person concerned. The application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 16th January 2015 advising of the decision. In the case of the application...

Seanad: Gender Recognition Bill 2014: Second Stage (21 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: I am delighted to have the opportunity to introduce this very important and ground-breaking legislation. The number of people directly affected by the Gender Recognition Bill will be relatively small. However, the legislation has deep significance for those who will, for the first time, have their preferred gender formally recognised by the State for all purposes. This significance also...

Leaders' Questions (22 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: On 17 September 2014, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, voted to increase the annual registration fee for nurses and midwives, from €100 to €150 for 2015. I agree this is a large increase, particularly at a time when the danger to the eurozone is not inflation but the risk of deflation. The staff associations have undertaken a campaign against paying the new...

Leaders' Questions (22 Jan 2015)

Joan Burton: The establishment of registration bodies for different groups of professional workers is one that all of the groups have by and large welcomed. This has been debated from time to time both in this Dáil and previous Dáileanna and Members have been positive towards it. I refer to the registration of teachers and professionals in the social work sector