Results 30,941-30,960 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: At that point the Department of Social Protection will do a couple of things. First, it will become a preferred creditor because it will be shelling out, on behalf of taxpayers-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: -----the payments for redundancy. As for cleaning up the problem, these are human beings who have lost out after 40 years-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: No, my job as Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection is to ensure that those workers get their money, which is fully provided for under current insolvency and redundancy legislation.
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: That is the first job. The second job, once we have reached that point in the liquidation process, is to seek any legal mechanism we can utilise-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: -----to see what can be done to secure the maximum return to taxpayers. I do not have a complete answer on that at this stage, because we still do not have any reports from the liquidators who have just commenced their work.
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: Third, of course we will review company law.
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: The Minister of State, Deputy Nash, produced a preliminary report on Clerys. He is the first Minister to have done such a thing, and I commend him for it. It is a preliminary report and, as with tax avoidance law, mechanisms will have to be developed to ensure that, notwithstanding that we accept groups of companies, although perhaps Sinn Féin does not accept-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: -----the possibility of that structure-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: We will then review company law to ensure that an occurrence such as this, in so far as possible, is prevented from happening in the future.
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: First, with regard to Alan and Kelly, if the Deputy has been advising them as constituents, I strongly suggest that he ask them to get in touch with the community welfare service in the area. That has been the consistent advice to people in housing difficulties. They should go and talk to the community welfare service, which has complete discretion with regard to the amount of rent that may...
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: Some 6,000 families and individuals have been housed through the rent supplement scheme in the first six months of this year. This is a significant number and a further 2,000 protocol arrangements have been reached to prevent homelessness by renegotiating tenancy arrangements for families at risk of losing their homes. This is also significant. The community welfare service is available to...
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: We have given substantial funding to open up all these voided properties. Significant funding has been provided to open up unfinished estates in different areas, including Tipperary. We need to get every available house and apartment available for people with a housing need.
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: In the meantime, as Deputy Murphy is aware, the Government has made the largest ever capital funding allocation for a housing programme, including social housing.
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: I feel terribly sorry, as I am sure everyone does, for anybody who finds themselves in Alan and Kelly's position consequent to the crash in construction, banking and everything else we have worked to resolve in the past four years. The suggestion I made to Deputy Murphy to help Alan and Kelly, which he carefully avoided answering, was that in cases such as those of Alan and Kelly, whom he...
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: -----we are helping individuals and families on a case-by-case basis through the community welfare service. Deputy Murphy carefully avoided stating whether he is prepared to-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: Organisations such as Threshold and the Simon Community are using the structures of the community welfare service. The Deputy asks for flexibility on rent supplement. The way to do this is on a case-by-case basis through the community welfare service.
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: I am suggesting that the Deputy have another conversation with Alan and Kelly to find out if they have approached the community welfare service. I am not certain from the Deputy's answer if that is the case.
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: Perhaps the community welfare service could be of assistance.
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: It would also be helpful if the Deputy would provide the couple's details and we will try to find out to what extent they can be assisted. Many rent supplement payments are being negotiated and I have provided the relevant figures. As I also stated, we have negotiated in 1,200 cases where people were at risk of losing their homes for some of the reasons the Deputy describes. That is a...
- Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2015)
Joan Burton: The reason for that is the decision by the previous Government to stop building social housing. This Government has begun the process of building social housing.