Results 31,921-31,940 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme currently supporting approximately 65,000 people at a cost of over €298 million in 2015. A total of over 13,700 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded since the start of the year, of which almost 4,300 are in Dublin, showing that landlords are in fact accommodating significant numbers of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 65,000 people at a cost of €298 million in 2015. Over 13,700 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year showing that landlords are accommodating significant numbers under the scheme. A review of the rent limits undertaken earlier this year found that...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with accommodation costs and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. There are currently approximately 65,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €298 million for 2015, which represents a transfer of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 27 May 2015. The first payment will be made by his selected payment method on 7 October 2015. Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments or in respect of outstanding overpayments (if applicable).

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The current free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by approximately 80 private transport operators. Free travel is also...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. The department received a claim for IP for the person concerned on the 11 September 2015. The claim will be processed as quickly as possible and the person in question will be notified directly...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Following a review of the continuing eligibility to carer’s allowance (CA) of the person in question, a deciding officer (DO) decided that CA was no longer payable because the person in question was engaged in work outside of the home for in excess of 15 hours a week, contrary to the statutory conditions of the scheme. The person concerned was notified of this revised decision on...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Appeals (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 16 April 2015. 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: Disability Allowance Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The application for disability allowance, based upon the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds and the person in question was notified in writing of this decision on 7 July 2015. The person in question requested a review of the decision by a deciding officer (DO) and submitted additional evidence for consideration. The review has now been concluded by a DO but the outcome is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Following submission of further medical evidence and a review of his medical eligibility by a deciding officer, the person concerned has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 1 April 2015. The first payment will be made by his selected payment method on 7 October 2015. Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Support Services (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Walk Peer project was one of 14 disability activation projects (DACT), in the Border, Midlands & West region, which were jointly funded (€7m) by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Department of Social Protection (DSP), from the end of 2012 to April 2015. The objective of the DACT project was to explore a variety of routes towards ensuring that people with...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for disability allowance from the above named person on 10 September 2015. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 10 September 2015. The application will be processed as soon as possible and, once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Applications for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) in respect of 2 children were received from the person concerned on the 12th August 2015. The applications have been forwarded to the Department’s Medical Assessors for their medical opinion. Following receipt of a medical opinion on the applications, a decision will be made on each case by a Deciding Officer and notified to the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Administration (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: One of the main priorities for the Department is to build on achievements already made to integrate services into a new service delivery model and streamline the applications process for all schemes. Staff in the Department administer over 70 different schemes and services with over 1.44 million people benefitting from weekly payments in respect of almost 2.3 million beneficiaries....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible and that backlogs in claims are kept to a minimum. Each scheme area is continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure customers are responded to as quickly as possible. Processing times vary by scheme. This principally reflects the fact that the legal eligibility conditions - such as means tests,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 68 together. The information requested by the Deputy is collated by the Department annually for inclusion in the Statistical Information on Social Welfare Services report which is laid before the Dáil when published and copies lodged in the Oireachtas library. Furthermore, these reports are available to the public at .

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: In assessing a State pension (contributory) application, a Deciding Officer will carefully note the applicant’s employment history details and will check against all available records and information sources within the Department to ensure that the pension is correctly assessed and the highest possible rate of state pension contributory is awarded. Where an applicant indicates...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Rates (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 70 and 72 together. Throughout the crisis, this Government protected core weekly welfare rates and maintained a very strong social welfare safety net. ESRI research has showed that, unlike the position in other countries, income inequality has fallen in Ireland in recent years, largely because of the overall maintenance of the welfare system. Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payments (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The primary goal of the reform to the one-parent family payment scheme is to maximise the opportunities for lone parents to enter into and increase employment by providing them with enhanced access to the wide range of education, training and employment supports that make up the Department’s Intreo services. Of the 25,500 customers exited the one-parent family payment scheme on 2 July,...