Results 3,081-3,100 of 12,033 for speaker:Regina Doherty

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Employment Service (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I have had the pleasure of meeting organisers and participants from two JobsPlus and jobs clubs. I did this just to be nosey and see exactly what was happening first hand. The reception I got from those in receipt of the services was exceptionally good. By their own accounts, the services are exceptionally valuable. There is real value in the service. I want to confirm to the Deputy and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Local Employment Service (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I know why the Deputy is saying that, but the answer is "No" because we will not reduce our ambition to provide people with assistance in getting full-time jobs. The 30% figure is a target. It is not set in stone. If a service reaches 28.5% we will not cut the legs off it. The LES and every single jobs club does extremely valuable work. In some cases, services have been reconfigured...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fire Service Staff (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: There are retained firefighters in my neck of the woods, which is not usual for people who live in cities. I am well aware that retained firefighters provide services which are vital to the communities they serve. They are very well respected. We may engage in a cat-and-mouse exchange. I am not aware of any specific difficulties with retained firefighters with regard to INTREO or JobPath....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fire Service Staff (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: As I said in my initial reply, the legislation was changed in 2013 to reflect the special status of firefighters, which carries through to all of the activation measures in which we engage. As I said, they are in the main a positive experience which result in people who are unemployed getting work or people who are under-employed getting more work. Those working in any of our activation...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Fire Service Staff (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I am always being given out to for speaking too quickly. I decided to speak slowly today but perhaps I will speed up. The issue the Deputy raises is genuinely not in contention. We return to the fact that one of the conditions of jobseeker's benefit and jobseeker's allowance is that the recipient must be available for work. A special condition was inserted in the legislation to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I hope the Deputies do not mind discussing the three questions together.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 to 34, inclusive, together. I welcome some of the people present in the Visitors Gallery. It is nice to see them again. I will provide a little background before informing the House of developments in the past week. The Family Law Acts, which are under the remit of the Department of Justice and Equality, place a legal obligation on parents to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: In response to Deputy Willie O'Dea's question, I do not know why the maintenance recovery division does not operate after a child reaches the age of seven years, but I will find out. The Deputy is aware that under section 12 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act, we have the ability, through the maintenance recovery division, to go after somebody for maintenance. To be honest, I question...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Absolutely.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I will work backwards because I am not sure whether Deputy Connolly heard me the first time. I will be very clear and make my remark again.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: I will be very clear. If a woman - we are talking about women in the main - or a man who is suffering at the hands of an abusive partner presents at a local office and explains his or her story, that is the end of the road. There is no need for a piece of paper or a barring order. I must state very clearly, as I did a few minutes ago, that we believe women. The inference is otherwise,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: It is because of the nature of the letters that I enlisted Women's Aid. When I read the letter, it actually seemed relatively benign. I have never been in a vulnerable position, thankfully, and that is why I called Ursula Regan from Women's Aid and asked her to come in with Margaret Martin to go through the letters and look at them from their perspective as people who deal with vulnerable...

Other Questions: Job Initiatives (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The official measure of unemployment is sourced from the quarterly national household survey, QNHS. The most recent data show that the unemployment rate fell from a peak of 15% in 2012 to just over 6% in mid-2017. The number at work has increased from just over 1.8 million in quarter 2 of 2012 to over 2 million in quarter 2 of 2017. That is an increase of just under 230,000 people with new...

Other Questions: Job Initiatives (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: It is astounding that the number of unemployed people in the south east rose from 181,300 in 2012 to 214,900 in 2017, an increase of 15.5%, whereas nationally unemployment rose by only 11.5% in the same period. Specific care, attention and extra resources are being given to the south east. The unemployment rate in the south east is still relatively high at 8.1% given that the national...

Other Questions: Job Initiatives (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Within the Department, ten activation case officers in County Wexford work deliberately and in a very focused way with those who are unemployed to ensure that we get them employment-ready and help them to link up with the jobs that are available and, thankfully, being created in Deputy Browne's area. I wish to correct the record. Nobody is taken off a CE scheme or a Tús scheme....

Other Questions: Job Initiatives (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: There are conditions attaching to all of the activation schemes but nobody is taken off them.

Other Questions: Job Initiatives (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: That is not the same as what Deputy Browne said earlier.

Other Questions: Job Initiatives (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: The position with regard to people coming to the end of their period on schemes is entirely different to the suggestion that they are being taken off them.

Other Questions: Job Initiatives (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Deputy Browne should not call me obtuse. Terms and conditions attach to every activation scheme. The current terms and conditions with CE schemes are two years and three years, with an extension to seven years in a person's total working lifespan. Nobody is taken off a CE scheme. People come to the end of their term and have to go to other activation programmes, as is the norm. The CE...

Other Questions: Job Initiatives (29 Nov 2017)

Regina Doherty: Could I just say that case officers are working-----