Results 32,001-32,020 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Eligibility (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The fuel allowance is a payment of €20 per week for 26 weeks from October to April, to low income households. The purpose of this payment is to assist these households with their energy costs. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household. The scheme is means...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Statutory Means Tested Schemes (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The Department operates a range of statutory means tested schemes where, in order to qualify for the social assistance payment, the claimant must satisfy a means test. The means test takes account of the income a person or couple has in terms of cash, property (other than the home) and capital. Where a spouse is in insurable employment, the means test takes the gross weekly earnings less...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud Investigations (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The vast majority of people on social welfare are claiming the correct entitlement due to them. However, a small minority is not and a range of measures are employed by the Department to ensure that social welfare fraud and abuse is minimised and that its control activity is appropriately focused. The Department has set out its strategic approach to tackling fraud and error in the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for disability allowance (DA) from the above named person on 31 August 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 DA claims may vary in accordance with their...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned is in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance at her full entitlement – the maximum personal rate per week.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 28 January 2015. The first payment was made by his selected payment method on 12 August 2015. As a consequence, the rate of rent supplement entitlement was re-assessed and increased on 24 August 2015. The person in question is in receipt of their full entitlement to rent supplement based on their monthly rent,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Payments (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been awarded disability allowance (DA) with effect from 17 June 2015. The first payment issued by his chosen payment method on 9 September 2015. It is expected that any arrears due from June to September will issue shortly, once adjustment is calculated and made in respect of payments made in respect of overlapping schemes in the period.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 42 to 44, inclusive, and 55 together. The cost in 2016 of a 1%, 2% and €5 per week increase in the weekly rate of all pension-age payments (including proportionate increases for qualified adults, where applicable) is €71 million, €141.1 million and €154.6 million respectively. The cost in 2016 of a €5 increase in the monthly...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payments (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The full-year cost, in 2016, of increasing the one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme maximum child age threshold from seven years to twelve years would be approximately €23.5 million. It should be noted that this figure includes a reduction in expenditure on the back to work family dividend (BTWFD) scheme. This arises as lone parents who currently are in receipt of this payment...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: State pension (contributory) is based on the PRSI contributions paid or credited by the person over their working life, and the level of entitlement depends on their yearly average number of contributions. The homemaker’s scheme was introduced in 1994 to make qualification for State pension contributory (SPC) easier for those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance Eligibility (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: In order to qualify for the Back to Education Allowance scheme (BTEA) while pursuing a third level course certain conditions must be fulfilled, including being in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment for 9 months(234 paid or credited days of unemployment). The person concerned submitted a BTEA application on 11 September 2015, at which point he was advised by email that as he had...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been in receipt of a jobseeker's allowance payment from 21 May, 2012 to date. The person concerned will continue to receive the payment once he continues to meet the criteria for jobseeker's allowance.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Eligibility (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned is in receipt of a widow’s contributory pension at the maximum rate payable to a person under age 66 years of age. She is also in receipt of a qualified child increase at the weekly rate of €29.80 and qualifies for a fuel allowance payment of €20.00 per week. Fuel allowance payments are issued from October to the following April to eligible...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: Carer's Allowance (CA) is a social assistance payment made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a relevant person/persons and whose income falls below certain limits. The department informs me that, to date, no application by the person concerned for CA has been received. Accordingly, I have arranged for an application form (CR1) to issue, which the person concerned...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Benefit (1 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has advised her case officer that she has access to her own transport. The person concerned met with her case officer firstly on 21 July 2015 where all possible options including, job seeking and training courses were discussed and considered.The person concerned has chosen to participate on a part-time course in the Baldoyle Training Centre though she was offered other...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Paternity Leave Scheme (6 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: There has been no Government decision on the introduction of a paternity benefit scheme. I am not therefore in a position to give any details of how such a scheme might operate. However, it should be noted that paternity benefit could only be introduced in conjunction with a paternity leave scheme. Responsibility for any proposed paternity leave scheme would in the first instance be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Eligibility (6 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned was awarded disability allowance (DA) with effect from 16 April 2015. The first payment issued by her chosen payment method on 13 May 2015. The person in question was in receipt of another social welfare payment during the period 16 April 2015 to 12 May 2015. Consequently, the amount of social welfare already paid was deducted from any DA payments for the same...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Payments (6 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: Disability allowance arrears has issued to the person concerned on 1 October 2015.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Waiting Times (6 Oct 2015)

Joan Burton: A breakdown of the average time, where available, to award claims during August 2015 is detailed in the following tabular statement. Processing times vary by scheme reflecting their differing legal eligibility requirements such as income/means limits and medical status. The processing times provided in the table also incorporate the impact of overall processing times of the appeals process....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Appeals (6 Oct 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 10 April 2015. The person concerned was refused IP on the grounds that a deciding officer has decided that the medical...