Results 13,021-13,040 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: For the first time in three years there has been no reduction in the primary rates of payment.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: The title of this Social Welfare Bill is entirely appropriate. The third element of the Bill deals with changes to refunds to employers for redundancy payments. In the past number of years this country has spent over €1 billion paying employers redundancy rebates. We have paid very large multinationals €12 million here and there, for example, with €13 million or €14 million going...

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: Recently, TalkTalk made employees redundant at very short notice and the taxpayers will pay 60% of its statutory redundancy payments. Will the Deputies think about that? No other European country subsidises employers to make people redundant. We are leaving a subsidy of 15% in place. We are in terrible economic difficulty.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: I hope we will move-----

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: -----to a position where we can develop schemes and structures that will help employers to retain workers, whether on a full or part-time basis, rather than spending hundreds of millions of euro in each year of this appalling financial difficulty to make people redundant. I know Deputy Cowen and others said they had a difficulty with the inclusion of this provision in the Bill. It is very...

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: -----and the €8.30 they lost the year before. People are understandably negative regarding any changes in social welfare.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: As I mentioned to Deputy Ó Snodaigh, Mr. Alex Maskey, MLA, welcomed-----

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: -----yesterday a winter fuel payment just North of the Border - not 100 miles away - of £100 for pensioners, and a payment for people on unemployment assistance and benefit of £75.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: The Deputies here have a welcome all-Ireland focus in their debates.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: People have complained about child benefit.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: The woman in Strabane gets €67 per month for a second child.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: I am delighted to say that the woman with a second child here is having child benefit rates maintained at €140 per month.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: I want, on behalf of the Government, to welcome this Bill.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: I welcome that there is a social protection Bill-----

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: -----protecting the primary core social welfare rates and making very sensible changes-----

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: -----to a system where many hundreds of millions of euro were previously paid to employers to make people redundant. We are looking creatively at how to use the money which people pay in PRSI and in their taxes to retain employment.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: I am very pleased-----

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: -----to introduce this Bill.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: Yes, it is.

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2011)

Joan Burton: No, it is €475 million over-----