Results 1,581-1,600 of 2,335 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Sector Pay (24 Jan 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 404 and 405 together. Firstly, I wish to acknowledge the valuable and dedicated service that CE supervisors/assistant supervisors provide in running CE schemes in delivering local based community services while providing a valuable training and development opportunity to the long-term unemployed and to those often furthest removed from the labour market. ...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (24 Jan 2023)

Joe O'Brien: 641. To ask the Minister for Health when eligible employees of a healthcare provider (details supplied) will be paid the pandemic recognition payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3316/23]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (25 Jan 2023)

Joe O'Brien: Firstly, I wish to acknowledge the valuable and dedicated service that CE supervisors/assistant supervisors provide in running CE schemes in delivering local based community services while providing a valuable training and development opportunity to the long-term unemployed and to those often furthest removed from the labour market. CE supervisors and assistant supervisors are employees...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (25 Jan 2023)

Joe O'Brien: Firstly, I wish to acknowledge the valuable and dedicated service that CE supervisors/assistant supervisors provide in running CE schemes in delivering local based community services while providing a valuable training and development opportunity to the long-term unemployed and to those often furthest removed from the labour market. I acknowledge that these workers have not received a pay...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (26 Jan 2023)

Joe O'Brien: Firstly, I wish to acknowledge the valuable and dedicated service that CE supervisors/assistant supervisors provide in running CE schemes in delivering local based community services while providing a valuable training and development opportunity to the long-term unemployed and to those often furthest removed from the labour market. I acknowledge that these workers have not received a pay...

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Energy Prices (26 Jan 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I was delighted to launch the Community Support Fund with funding of €10 million on 18th November last year. This fund, under the Community Enhancement Programme, is designed to assist community groups across the country. Support is available to Parish Halls, Community Centres, Local Development Associations, Social Clubs, Senior Citizen Groups, Men’s and Women’s Sheds...

Written Answers — Department of Health: General Practitioner Services (31 Jan 2023)

Joe O'Brien: 725. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the severe shortage of available spaces on GP lists in north County Dublin; the steps that his Department is taking to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4636/23]

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Tax Code (31 Jan 2023)

Joe O'Brien: My Department is responsible for the Seniors Alert Scheme which encourages community support for vulnerable older people in our communities through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. Funding is available under the scheme towards the purchase by a registered community-based organisation of a...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: On a point of information that might be of use and interest, we are reviewing the RSS. We will start that process very soon. We will look at all suggestions to retain people on it, but also to bring others onto it. I take Deputy Ó Cuív's suggestion about how it was previously done. That can be looked at. I suspect that it is one of the more expensive suggestions and there will...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I acknowledge the important role played by CE supervisors and assistant supervisors all around the country. They are probably one of the most important sets of community workers we have. They are very embedded, really know what is happening on the ground and not only oversee the provision of key services but offer opportunities to people who would not otherwise have them to enable them to...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: It is important that we do not do it in bits and pieces but do it in a holistic way. The point about Tús has been made a number of times. There are no live plans to do that. We carefully monitor CE, Tús and RSS figures on a monthly basis to see if there are things we can do. Quite a few changes have been made over the past year and six months. The thinking is still that if you...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I will give responses but I will not have answers to all of the Deputy's question, as I think he recognises. I have a table of statistics relating to the rural social scheme in front of me. They relate to the numbers availing of the scheme and qualified adults. I am not going to try to analyse it on the spot. The piece of analysis the Deputy is asking for makes sense in the context of the...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 37 - Social Protection (Revised) (1 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I would like to look into that case. We are crying out for people on the rural social scheme.

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development and the Islands (Further Revised) (1 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I will comment on the resources that have been made available to address the situation in Ballaghaderreen and, more generally, for towns and villages that need supports and have new communities. We secured a 10% increase in SICAP in budget 2022. A core target group of SICAP is asylum seekers. For this year, we have set aside €10 million for support workers for Ukraine and that...

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development and the Islands (Further Revised) (1 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: To clarify, is the Deputy saying that there has been a reduction of €8.5 million?

Select Committee on Social Protection: Estimates for Public Services 2023
Vote 42 – Rural and Community Development and the Islands (Further Revised) (1 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I will continue while the Deputy is checking. There was a one-off €10 million for the energy support fund, which we no longer have. In usual terms, there is actually an increase, but removing last year's one-off energy support makes it look like a decrease. There was a 10% increase in the SICAP budget in 2022 and a further increase this year. PPN workers will get an increase this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes (9 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: I thank the Deputy for the question. The 1,640 supervisors and assistant supervisors provide a very important role running over 840 community employment, CE, and other schemes countrywide. As the Deputy knows, these schemes deliver important locally-based community services, while providing a valuable training and development opportunity to the long-term unemployed and to those furthest...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Community Employment Schemes (9 Feb 2023)

Joe O'Brien: Yes, is the short answer. We were eager, when we were going through a process like this and when there are schemes with quite strong similarities that are all couched under the employment support schemes I oversee, that they would be looked at in the whole and that would be important. We are eager to look at CE, Tús, RSS and the job initiative, JI, supervisors in this process.