Results 32,681-32,700 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 2 November 2015. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the Department is in receipt of an application for disability allowance from the named person on 25 September 2015. The application is currently being processed and, once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with their relative complexity in terms of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 156 to 161, inclusive, together. State pensions account for the single largest block of social welfare expenditure. In 2016, €6.976 billion will be spent on pensions, which represents 35% of the Department’s total current expenditure. While expenditure on pensions is increasing by approximately €1 billion every five years because of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Mortgage Interest Supplement Scheme Payments (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The client was in receipt of Mortgage Interest Supplement from December 2008 to February 2015. In order to enable his case to be reviewed, he was asked to supply documentation regarding his mortgage in March 2015. Further requests for this information issued on 16th April 2015, 11th May 2015, 22nd May 2015 and 24th June 2015. As the client did not respond to the requests for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: Carer’s allowance was awarded to the person concerned on 11 November 2015 and the first payment issued to their nominated post office on 12 November 2015. Arrears of allowance due from 23 July 2015 to 11 November 2015 have also issued.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Appeals (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: I refer the Deputy to Parliamentary Question No. 44 of 24th September 2015 in which the Deputy stated that rent had increased to €1,000. The client concerned has not, to date, provided the required documentation outlined in response to the previous Parliamentary Question.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the Department received an application for Carer’s Allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 28 August 2015. It is a condition for receipt of a CA that the person being cared for must have a disability whose effect is that they require full-time care and attention. This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Appeals (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the Appeals Officer had referred the case...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Unemployment Benefits (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The number of recipients of either jobseeker’s allowance or jobseeker’s benefit at the end of October 2015 was 249,243 and 35,721 respectively. Jobseeker’s allowance recipients decreased by 11.6% between the end of October 2012 and end October 2015, while recipients of Jobseeker’s Benefit decreased by 51.6% during the same period. The overall reduction in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The one-parent family payment (OFP) reforms were introduced in order to address long-term social welfare dependency and poverty levels among lone parents. Approximately 25,500 customers transitioned from the OFP scheme on 2 July, 2015, when the final phase of the reforms was implemented. These customers transitioned to alternative social welfare income support payments, including the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The information as requested by the Deputy is not readily available. A request to gather the information as requested by the Deputy has been made. The Department will contact the Deputy directly when the request for information has been completed.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Non-Contributory) Applications (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The information requested by the Deputy in respect of the number of State pension non -contributory (SPNC) applicants who failed to qualify on the basis of exceeding means for the last five years is outlined in the table below. Year SPNC Applications Disallowed-Means Exceed 2011 470 2012 624 2013 683 2014 742 2015 562Applicants disallowed for means exceeding the statutory limit may...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Youth Unemployment Measures (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The Government’s primary strategy to tackle youth unemployment is through policies to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of productive employment for young people. The Youth Guarantee sets a medium-term objective of ensuring that young people...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Waiting Times (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. Each scheme area is continuously monitored and reviewed to ensure customers are responded to and claims are processed as quickly as possible. In this regard, the Department has had major success in clearing backlogs especially in the disability related schemes. It is acknowledged that carers...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The average appeal processing time for 2014 and to date in 2015 broken down by all social welfare scheme types as outlined in the tables. Appeal processing times generally peaked in 2011 when the overall average time for an oral hearing was 52.5 weeks and 25.1 weeks for a summary decision. In 2014 average appeal processing times for an oral hearing had almost halved to 28.6 weeks and the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The number of people who received Dental Benefit over the past five years is set out in the table: Year Number 2010 388,938 2011 272,865 2012 270,602 2013 298,658 2014 310,350 2015 (to date) 290,844

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The number of people who received optical benefit over the past five years is set out in the table: Year Number 2010 163,378 2011 135,593 2012 139,805 2013 141,972 2014 149,026 2015 (to date) 147,497

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Youth Unemployment Measures (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan for Ireland, submitted to the EU, provided for over 28,000 programme opportunities for unemployed young people in 2014 and the same in 2015. This figure excludes some 24,000 places provided for young people through PLC courses and apprenticeships. These PLC and apprenticeship places, together with the wide range of vocational third-level courses...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The client applied for One Parent Family Payment (OFP) on 7th May 2015 and subsequently applied for a Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance on 11th May 2015. The OFP payment was awarded on 13th May 2015 and backdated to the date of application with the first payment issuing on 18th May 2015, subsequently no Basic Supplementary Welfare Allowance was awarded.