Results 13,581-13,600 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 31 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 Appeals Office on 16 January...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all the evidence, disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision. Under Social Welfare legislation, the decision of the Appeals Officer is final and conclusive and may only be reviewed by the Appeals Officer in the light of new evidence or new facts. Following the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 2 December 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 Office on 5 January...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: As per the Budget 2012 announcement, payment of two qualified child increases per child where the person is on a Community Employment scheme and in receipt of One Parent Family Payment, Deserted Wife's Benefit/Allowance or Widow(er)s Pension will be discontinued for NEW and EXISTING recipients. The actual child increase payment that will cease is from the CE payment. The child allowance under...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 30th November 2011. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Social Welfare Services on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred in due course to an...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: My Department accepts reports of possible fraud from members of the public in relation to the operation of its schemes and uses both a dedicated phone number and a facility on the Department's website for this purpose. Members of the public are asked to provide as much detail as possible about the case they are reporting and they can do so anonymously. All anonymous or confidential reports...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: At the end of December 2011 there were approximately 28,876 people in receipt of a weekly family income supplement (FIS) payment of which 2,976 (10%) were recorded as public servants. The number includes those working in the civil service and the wider public service. A separate breakdown of those public servants in receipt of FIS by grade or occupation is not currently available, as such...

Written Answers — EU Council Meetings: EU Council Meetings (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Eures (European Employment Service ) is the Commission programme to facilitate the free movement of Labour throughout the European Union and the European Economic area. It is organised in every Member State by the Public Employment Service of that State. Some Member States with land borders and a high degree of mobility across these Borders also have regional Eures Partnerships which aim to...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Creating jobs and tackling poverty are two of the key challenges that we face. As reflected in the commitments contained in the Programme for Government, it is essential that our tax and social protection systems play their part in addressing these issues and ensure that work is worthwhile. To this end, I established an Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare last year to address a number...

Written Answers — Anti-Poverty Strategy: Anti-Poverty Strategy (25 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Tackling poverty and protecting the most vulnerable is a key priority for the member states of the European Union and a core element of the jobs and growth strategy set out in Europe 2020. In 2010, the EU Council of Ministers adopted an EU poverty target, with the aiming of lifting 20 million people out of the risk of poverty and exclusion by 2020. Meeting this target requires ambitious...

Social Welfare Benefits (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 5 together. Rent supplement provides short-term support for eligible persons living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. Since 2005, rent supplement expenditure has increased from €369 million to a provisional outturn of...

Social Welfare Benefits (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: It was a joint operation between the two Departments.

Social Welfare Benefits (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: A similar rent review took place in 2009 when Deputy Ó Cuív was Minister. The ultimate effect of that was an overall reduction in rents of approximately 4%, which effected significant savings. It is important to note that there are people at work on low wages who rent and there are students who rent. If the Department, as probably the single biggest individual player in this area, is a...

Social Welfare Benefits (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Deputy Daly stated that a particular woman in Wicklow is paying €850 per month in rent. I do not know where in Wicklow the person lives and cannot, therefore, inform the Deputy of the rent allowance for that area. The Deputy has stated that the woman's rent allowance has been capped at €625 per month. I suggest she take up this matter with the relevant departmental officer. Community...

Social Welfare Benefits (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Yes.

Social Welfare Benefits (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: I refer to Deputy Ó Cuív's comments on top-ups, to which Deputy Clare Daly also referred earlier. Essentially, top-ups involve false declarations of what is the rent. Any top-ups such as those to which Deputy Daly referred should be reported to the Department because, in effect, they constitute an abuse of the tenant in which a social welfare income is being paid and a rent contribution...

Community Employment Schemes (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 4 together. Community employment, CE, is a valuable resource in the provision of a range of services to communities. However, it is acknowledged that its effectiveness in terms of labour market progression is somewhat limited. The report, Supports and Services for Unemployed Jobseekers: Challenges and Opportunities in a Time of Recession, published in...

Community Employment Schemes (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: There is no shortage of reviews of community employment, of which there have been a great many right up to the time when community employment schemes joined my Department. They came under its aegis on 1 January, or in practice on 4 January, together with approximately 700 staff who previously had worked in the employment services side of FÁS and the administration of community employment...

Community Employment Schemes (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Under the CE structure, there are over 1,000 voluntary companies which are run by voluntary boards. The participation of the latter is really important. The fact that these 1,000 companies are limited by guarantee gives rise to major costs. I have seen some preliminary indications that in many areas the cost of an audit for some of these extremely small entities is between €1,800 and...

Community Employment Schemes (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: I accept what the Deputy said and I would welcome it if the people in Clifden were prepared to take on more work. As already intimated, there are substantial savings to be made. During the period of the review - the other purpose of which is to collect data - I want to encourage the CE schemes to co-operate with the former regional and local management of FÁS who are now civil servants...