Results 12,441-12,460 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: In the case in question, an application for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) was received on 24 January 2011. This application was referred to one of the Department's Medical Assessors who found that the child was not medically eligible for DCA. A letter issued on the 10 February 2011 refusing the allowance. The person concerned subsequently lodged an appeal against this decision. She was...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: There are three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection, namely the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Board. In addition, the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department but it does not have a board. No appointment has been made to either the board of the Social Welfare Tribunal or...

Written Answers — Public Services Card: Public Services Card (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The Department has developed, in conjunction with a number of other Government Departments, the specifications for a Public Services Card (PSC) under the Standard Authentication Framework Environment (SAFE) programme. The aim is to develop a card that acts as a key for access to public services in general. The phased introduction of the Public Services Card started last month. The...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The person concerned was refused carer's allowance in respect of a second care recipient on grounds that the care recipient is not so disabled as to require full-time care and attention as prescribed in regulations. On 22 October 2010, she was notified of this decision. She appealed this decision to the Social Welfare Appeals Office. An appeals officer, having fully considered the evidence,...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: In the time frame available, I regret that my Department is not in a position to reply to this question. My Department will be in contact with the Deputy over the coming days and will reply in full to the question raised.

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: Since my appointment on 9 March 2011, I have appointed a Special Adviser, a Press Adviser, a Personal Assistant and a Personal Secretary. The applicable pay scale grade for Special Advisers is the Principal Officer (standard) scale: €80,051 to €92,672. As my Special Adviser was previously employed in the private sector on a salary package that was more than twice the highest point of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 320 and 321 together. The tabular statement below details number of families and children in receipt of Child Benefit from 2000 to 2010 as well as expenditure over that period. Details for expenditure up to end October 2011 and for recipient families/children in September 2011 are also provided. Child Benefit is a universal payment that assists parents in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who proposes to hold an oral hearing in this case. There has been a very significant increase in the number of appeals received by the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2007 when the intake was 14,070 to 2010 when the intake rose to 32,432. This has significantly...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an invalidity pension appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 13 June 2011. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, including that adduced at oral hearing, has allowed the appeal of the person concerned. The person concerned has been notified of the decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: My officials have confirmed that the cheque which issued to the person concerned on 9 March 2011 has not been cashed. A new cheque will be issued as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The community welfare service (CWS) and the community welfare officers providing it transferred formally to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) from 1 October 2011. The service and the staff are now part of the DSP. There is no record of a rent supplement application in respect of the person concerned. If the person concerned wishes to apply for rent supplement he should complete a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 23 August 2011. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeal Office on 07 October...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The qualifying conditions for State pension (contributory) require the applicant to: have entered into insurable employment before attaining the age of 56 years; have at least 260 paid contribution weeks, from employment or self-employment, since entry into insurance; and to satisfy the yearly average condition. According to the Department's records, the person concerned has a total of 613...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who proposes to hold an oral hearing in this case. There has been a very significant increase in the number of appeals received by the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2007 when the intake was 14,070 to 2010 when the intake rose to 32,432. This has significantly...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: In 2010, 16,629 new carer's allowance claims were processed and 6,972 (or just under 42%) were refused in the year. 10,497 new claims were processed to the end of September 2011, of which 3,921 (or just over 37%) were refused. These figures relate to the initial decision made on each application. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that 2,969 carer's allowance appeals were...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The community welfare service (CWS) and the community welfare officers providing it transferred formally to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) from 1 October 2011. The service and the staff are now part of the DSP. The person concerned has made an application for rent supplement on the 8th of November and has been requested to provide further information in order to process her claim....

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) scheme assists eligible categories of people with the cost of school clothing and footwear. The allowance is paid in respect of eligible children between the ages of 2 and 17 years of age and between the ages of 18 and 22 years of age if in full time education in respect of which a qualified child allowance (QCA) is being paid. As...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: The question of how best to address the issue of truancy is primarily a matter for my colleagues, the Ministers for Education and Skills and for Children and Youth Affairs. Child benefit is a universal payment that assists parents with the cost associated with raising children and it contributes towards alleviating child poverty. It is paid monthly in respect of all children up to the age of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Nov 2011)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 335 and 336 together. The community welfare service (CWS) and the community welfare officers providing it transferred formally to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) from 1 October 2011. The service and the staff are now part of the DSP. The following tabular statement shows the current number of rent supplement recipients by claim duration. I also set...