Results 14,481-14,500 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Carers allowance is a means tested social assistance payment made to persons who are unable to work because they providing full time care and attention to elderly people or people with disabilities. Expenditure on carers has increased substantially over the last ten years, from €100 million in 2000 to a provisional outturn of some €658 million on carer's allowance, carer's benefit and...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Pathways to Work is a new approach to the provision of service to unemployed people, the objective of which is to reduce the level of long term unemployment and in so doing to ensure that the overall level of unemployment will reduce as the economy returns to growth Following approval by Government of the NEES project plan last June and the transfer of the CWS and the FÁS services in October...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate workers, under the Redundancy Payments Acts, for the loss of their jobs by reason of redundancy. Compensation is based on the worker's length of reckonable service and reckonable weekly remuneration, subject to a ceiling of €600.00 per week. All payments are made from the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). There are two types of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The respite care grant is an annual payment made to full-time carers who satisfy certain conditions. One of these conditions is that the carer is not employed outside the home for more than 15 hours a week. On the basis of the evidence provided, the person concerned did not satisfy this condition. In addition, based on the advice of the Department's medical Assessors, the person being cared...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer having fully considered all the available evidence disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of summary decision. The person concerned was notified of the Appeals Officer decision on 27th February 2012. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 25th November 2011. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf the Deciding Officer 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 Code: Social Welfare Code (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The requirement to be habitually resident in Ireland was introduced as a qualifying condition for certain social assistance schemes and child benefit with effect from 1 May 2004. The effect of the condition is that a person whose habitual residence is elsewhere would not normally be entitled to social welfare assistance or child benefit payments on arrival in Ireland. Guidelines were...

Written Answers — Civil Registration: Civil Registration (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Usually where an Irish citizen dies abroad, the death is registered by the civil authorities of the place where the death occurred, and a certified copy of the death registration is obtainable. This certificate, translated if necessary, is normally sufficient for all legal and administrative purposes here and for these reasons alone there is no necessity for the death to be registered in the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: As part of the agreed Programme of Financial Support with the EU/IMF and ECB, the Department submitted a progress report to the Troika by at the end of December 2011, outlining progress to date in developing a single working age payment. This report detailed measures that were steps towards a single working age payment and were announced in Budget 2012. These measures included changes to the...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (6 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The person concerned is not a member of any State Board under the aegis of my Department.

JobBridge Scheme (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The objective of JobBridge, the national internship scheme, is to assist individuals bridge the gap between unemployment and the world of work. It provides those seeking employment with an opportunity to undertake a six or nine month internship in a host organisation. Participation in the scheme will assist in breaking the cycle, whereby...

JobBridge Scheme (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department has received requests to participate in the scheme from lone parents and people with disabilities. A general review of the scheme which has proved very popular is being undertaken. Many are anxious to avail of the opportunities advertised on the JobBridge website. I will undertake to have graduate architects who have not formally completed their professional examinations...

Human Rights Issues (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I thank Deputies Tuffy, Troy, Mac Lochlainn and Maureen O'Sullivan for raising this important matter. Human rights are and always have been a priority of successive Irish Governments and a key plank of their foreign policy. Together with our EU partners, Ireland monitors the human rights situations in many countries throughout the world on the basis of information obtained from a variety of...

Human Rights Issues (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I again thank the four Deputies for contributing to the debate on this matter. I am very conscious of the fact that Mrs. Bibi is the mother of five children. We are on the eve of International Women's Day and the sentiments expressed by the Deputies provide a strong indication of the difficulties experienced by women in confinement. It is approximately ten years since the people voted to...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I would refer the Deputy to my reply to questions numbers 99, 89 & 102 on 1st December 2011. The position remains unchanged.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The issue of reforming the current arrangements associated with sick pay is being considered in the context of the need to reform the social welfare system to bring it into line with practices in other countries in this area; the need to address the deficit in the social insurance fund; the need to control welfare spending in line with the commitments this country has entered into with the...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The National Internship Scheme provides internship opportunities of either 6 or 9 months for unemployed individuals on the Live Register, in organisations in the private, public and community voluntary sectors. The income level of parents does not impact on eligibility to access the National Internship Scheme; rather the Scheme is targeted at individuals who are currently on the Live Register...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate workers, under the Redundancy Payments Acts, for the loss of their jobs by reason of redundancy. Compensation is based on the worker's length of reckonable service and reckonable weekly remuneration, subject to a ceiling of €600.00 per week. All payments are made from the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). There are two types of...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 109 together. Staff from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) met with the chairperson and supervisors of the Blanchardstown Centre for the Unemployed to discuss the reduction in funding that was announced in the budget. The DSP acknowledges the valuable contribution made by this and other community employment projects. However, due to the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: No recent application for mortgage interest supplement has been received from the person concerned. A representative from the department contacted him on 5th March 2012 and advised him of the current eligibility criteria.