Results 13,801-13,820 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: My Department is undertaking a review of the effectiveness of a range of employment support, activation and work schemes, including the community employment scheme. This was committed to some time ago as part of the troika review process. The review will help to determine future policy-----
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: The Deputy supported it. He voted for the bank guarantee.
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: The outcome of the review will inform the overall approach my Department will take to securing the best outcome for schemes and their participants, taking account of the large amount of money we spend on them. We spend the guts of â¬1 billion on employment schemes, some â¬315 million of which is spend on community employment schemes and the approximately 22,000 places provided. The 1,300...
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: At a time when the social protection budget must be reduced, we must adhere to the principle of making a single primary payment per person.
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: The time to make two payments is-----
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: Unfortunately, we cannot afford to make two payments.
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: I am sorry-----
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: I would like there to be no reductions under any heading, but we must try to meet our budget in the way that best secures recovery for the country and employment for people.
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: We must use community employment schemes, given the valuable contribution they make to local communities.
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: We must give community employment scheme participants a positive experience that will help them to achieve their goals in life and to find a job. That is the absolute requirement.
- Private Members' Business. Community Employment Schemes: Motion (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: We also require a value for money element, given the times in which we live and the way the economy has crashed. I am confident that we will emerge from the review and that, by the time we discuss the matter this time next year, actual opportunities for community employment scheme participants and communities will have improved.
- Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: Under the Redundancy Payments Scheme all eligible employees are entitled to a statutory redundancy lump sum payment on being made redundant. An eligible employee is entitled to two weeks pay for every year of service, plus a bonus week, subject to a maximum ceiling on gross weekly pay of â¬600. Where an employer is unable or fails to pay the statutory redundancy entitlement to a former...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (7 Feb 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 30...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: The arrears will issue shortly to the person concerned.
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 7 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...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: I would like to say at the outset of this reply that it gives me no satisfaction to have to make any cuts in social welfare payments. However, given the scale of the fiscal crisis the Government inherited and because spending on social protection accounts for nearly 40% of current Government expenditure, savings have to be found in the social welfare system. In the welfare package presented...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: Appeals officers are not required to be medically qualified. Their role is to decide any appeal where a person is dissatisfied with the decision given by a deciding officer in relation to entitlement to benefit under the Social Welfare Acts. They act in a quasi-judicial manner and the procedures involved are designed to ensure that every appellant gets full and fair consideration. An oral...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: The person concerned has been awarded an increase for a qualified adult allowance on his State pension (contributory) for the period 1 January 2010 to 25 July 2011. The amount due will issue this week. He has no entitlement from 26 July 2011, as his wife has been awarded a State pension (transition) from that date.
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: The very significant increase in the number of appeals received by the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2007 has significantly impacted on the processing time for appeals. Overall, the average processing time for all appeals in 2011 was 25.1 weeks in cases dealt with by way of summary decisions and 52.5 weeks where an oral hearing was required. These processing times are calculated from...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Feb 2012)
Joan Burton: The Department does not hold details of the disability type in a format that would allow the provision of the information requested by the Deputy in respect of the domiciliary care allowance (DCA) scheme. However, a specific data extraction exercise was conducted last year in relation to the outcome of applications for DCA for children with autism-related conditions. This exercise covered...