Results 16,061-16,080 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Child Care Services (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: I have always been strongly committed to the provision of child care and, in this case, the provision not just of preschool care during school hours but after-school care as well. It is important that we have ambitious targets for Ireland. Models exist in other countries; during the passage of the legislation we had a discussion about how other countries dealt with lone parent issues. For...

Child Care Services (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: However, he does seem to have a problem with changes to our structures to take account-----

Child Care Services (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The Deputy's party seems to have a problem with a situation it is perfectly happy to accept in Northern Ireland, where it is in Government-----

Child Care Services (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: -----even though payments made to families with children here are far higher than those to similar families in the North. When the Deputy is commenting on the Republic, he should perhaps acknowledge what his own party is involved in just 90 miles north of here.

Child Care Services (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: We have set up an interdepartmental group, which has already started its work, to consider the additional provision required. The changes to which the Deputy refers come into effect from 2015.

Social Welfare Appeals (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The number of appeals received in the social welfare appeals office from 2008 until the end of March 2012 and the average waiting times in each of these years is set out in the following table. As can be seen from these figures, there has been a very significant increase in the number of social welfare appeals year on year from 2008 to 2011, with the number of appeals received in 2011 being...

Social Welfare Appeals (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: If I may restate the numbers, 15,000 appeals were dealt with in 2008 but by last year that figure had increased to 34,000. I accept it is difficult for the people who are applying but the reality is that since the country began to face its economic difficulties and meltdown in 2008, demand for a range of social service and social welfare schemes has exploded. The appeals process, in...

Social Welfare Appeals (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: We are doing what the Deputy suggests by significantly expanding the use of technology in social welfare appeals. Longer serving Deputies will recall that the processing time for pensions had risen enormously a couple of years ago simply due to demographic change and the increase in the numbers applying for benefits. New business processes were introduced and the system is now working very...

Jobseeker's Benefit (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The total of 432,907 recipients of jobseeker's allowance and jobseeker's benefit, at an estimated 2012 cost of €3.57 billion, currently includes some 80,000 casual workers. It is recognised that a changing labour market has resulted in a move away from the more traditional work patterns, with a consequent increase in the number of atypical workers. In fact many large employers have a lot...

Jobseeker's Benefit (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: No decision has been made in this area. The current system is unwieldy and I agree that it must be reformed. This will involve a package of structures that recognise labour market patterns and required flexibility but also protect the integrity of the jobseeker's scheme, provide incentives to employment and deliver value for money. Reform in this area is technically and administratively...

Jobseeker's Benefit (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: I do not have a date for when I will come back on this matter. We have an enormously ambitious programme of reform under way in the Department. This includes the absorption of 1,000 community welfare officers and 700 former FÁS employees, as well as the business method changes referred to in earlier answers. I will not commit to a date for this change. It is an important area for trying...

Written Answers — Rent Supplement Scheme: Rent Supplement Scheme (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: There are currently 93,800 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €436 million for 2012. The current maximum rent limits were set after an analysis of the most up to date market data available. Consultation with a number of staff administering the scheme was undertaken as part of the review process. The emphasis of the rent limit review was to ensure that...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: A total of 347 staff have retired from my Department since March 2011 and there are currently 6,826 permanent staff serving in the Department, equating to 6,435 posts. Since March 2011, 201 staff have been assigned to fill critical vacancies in my Department by way of redeployment or the lateral transfer of staff from other Government Departments and agencies. A further 713 staff were...

Written Answers — Disability Allowance: Disability Allowance (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The Budget 2012 proposals relating to disability allowance have been referred to the independent Advisory Group on Integrating Tax and Social Welfare, which is chaired by Ms. Ita Mangan. The Group is considering two measures: increasing the minimum age for new claimants from 16 to 18 years of age with a corresponding extension in the age of entitlement for domiciliary care allowance from...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 139 together. The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. As can be seen from the data in the table below (showing processing times for 2011 and for April 2012) which I will make available to the House, schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the...

Written Answers — Carer's Allowance: Carer's Allowance (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department is committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers. The average time taken to award a carer's allowance is 28 weeks at present. A major service delivery modernisation project is underway to improve the efficiency of administration of the carer's allowance scheme. This involves the deployment of information technology solutions and associated business...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The income disregard for the one parent family payment scheme was reduced from €146.50 to €130.00 per week with effect from 1st January 2012. At the end of January 2012 the number of Community Employment (CE) places flagged as being occupied by those engaged in drug rehabilitation places (DRP) was 824, of whom 157 (19.05%) were categorised as lone parents. The number of CE places...

Written Answers — Mortgage Interest Supplement: Mortgage Interest Supplement (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: There are currently almost 17,900 households benefiting from mortgage interest supplement, for which over €50m has been allocated for 2012. The Department's review of the administrative, policy and legal aspects of the mortgage interest supplement scheme was published in July 2010 in conjunction with the interim report of the Mortgage Arrears and Personal Debt Review Group. The final...

Written Answers — Money Advice and Budgeting Service: Money Advice and Budgeting Service (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The Money Advice & Budgeting Service (MABS), under the aegis of the Citizens Information Board, has an office in Tralee, which serves all of County Kerry. MABS outreach services are also provided in Killarney and Listowel. A proposal to open a shared office for MABS and the Citizens Information Services in Killarney town is at an advanced stage of development.

Written Answers — Farm Assist Scheme: Farm Assist Scheme (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: Support for farmers on low incomes is available through the farm assist scheme. While this means-tested payment is broadly similar to the jobseeker's allowance scheme, it has a more generous means test, which takes account of the specific nature of farming and, unlike jobseeker's allowance, farmers claiming this payment do not need to be available for work outside of the farm in order to...