Results 18,361-18,380 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions (resumed) - Priority Questions: Social Insurance (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I have asked my officials to draw up an options paper immediately. I want to publish a proposal before the recess and I want to consult the 300,000 people who are self-employed to ask them what they think. I am conscious that this is part of the agreement between the Deputy's party and mine and, therefore, I want to do this. I will seek the Deputy's support in doing this because that will...

Other Questions: Child Benefit Eligibility (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Child benefit is a monthly payment to assist with the costs associated with raising children. It is paid to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children up to their 18th birthday who are in full-time education or who have a physical or mental disability. It is currently paid to around 623,000...

Other Questions: Child Benefit Eligibility (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I understand the point the Deputy is making. I have to double check this but if I remember correctly, child benefit is paid to 16 and 17 year olds but not to 18 year olds. There would be many 18 year olds in leaving certificate year at this stage, not just 19 year olds, so I do not think we could extend it to 19 year olds but not 18 year olds. I see the case for it. When the scheme was...

Other Questions: Child Benefit Eligibility (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Given the costs to the taxpayer that are involved, I might look at the first part of the question first and the second part at a subsequent stage. I can certainly see how an anomaly might arise where a child in school turns 18 in sixth year and loses their child benefit, subsequently qualifies for a student grant when they get into college or a post-leaving certificate, PLC, course later...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 33 and 35 together. Research on activation measures for lone parents was commissioned at the request of my Department through the Irish Research Council, IRC, in 2014. The theme suggested by my Department was how best to engage and support lone parents from an activation perspective. The IRC sought expressions of interest from relevant academics to carry...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: On Dr. Millar's report, I have not seen any of the drafts yet but it is definitely not an impact assessment. That is not what was commissioned. It is supposed to be advice on best practice and best examples from other countries. That is the work that was asked for. I recall Deputy Burton's comments but not exactly the time they were made. It was perhaps before the jobseeker's...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I repeat that the report, the draft of which I have not seen, is not supposed to be an impact assessment. That is not what was commissioned and that is not its title. The report will be published in due course. One of the best aspects of the Department of Social Protection is that we have so many statistics in this area and there has been so much academic study in these areas, albeit, in...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: -----a totally different answer. If the Deputy wants to talk about statistics, the most recent we have are from the Survey of Income Living Conditions, SILC.

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I would like to answer these questions, but you know how it is.

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payment (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I know.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: My Department’s allocation for 2016, at over €19.6 billion, is almost €2 billion, or 10.7%, higher than expenditure in 2008. That is a 10.7% increase in eight years. Inflation over the seven years to April 2016 was 2.9%, with inflation falling over the past two years. In the year to April 2016 we had no inflation. In fact, we have had deflation of 0.1%, as measured by...

Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: It is the case that there has been some inflation since 2009. The changes that happened in social welfare in the past five years can be placed in two categories: those that were part of a reform system designed to encourage more people to become included in society and the economy by taking up work, and others that were done to save money. In the next couple of years I want to start...

Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: -----but so much of that is down to the way it is calculated. The Deputy will be surprised to learn that there are issues such as the fact that a pay increase for one person can make another person more deprived, even though he or she is not any worse off.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Benefits (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks. I intend to make as good a go of this as I can, and while some people may wish to characterise the Deputy in a particular way, I know he has a more open mind and I hope he will give me a chance to do some of the things I believe both of us would like to do, because nobody wants to see poverty or deprivation in our society, and he can be sure that...

Other Questions: Jobseeker's Allowance (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Reduced rates for younger jobseeker’s allowance recipients were first introduced in 2009. Budget 2014 further extended the reduced rates to recipients under 26 years of age. This is a targeted measure aimed at preventing young people from drifting into welfare dependency. To guard against the development of welfare dependency, it is necessary to provide young jobseekers with a...

Other Questions: Jobseeker's Allowance (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The rate of youth unemployment has halved in the past five years, so somebody must be doing something right. The Deputy is correct that it is still roughly double the unemployment rate for the entire population. It is fairly typical, based on comparisons with other countries, for youth unemployment to be roughly double the rate for the entire adult workforce. That is very much related to...

Other Questions: Jobseeker's Allowance (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The maximum rate is €100 if the person does not take part in education or training or take up a work placement. If a person takes up one of those options, it is much higher. We should not have people coming out of school being given €188 per week without any requirement or expectation to take up education, training or work. The €100 is paid to people who do not take up...

Other Questions: Jobseeker's Allowance (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I would prefer it if they got employment here.

Domestic Water Charges: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I rise to support the Government amendment and to oppose the Sinn Féin motion. Picking up on a theme touched on the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, it strikes me that, unfortunately, there are two things we discuss when we talk about water in Ireland. One is water policy, which we should talk about, and the other is the old politics, which is very much represented by the...

Domestic Water Charges: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: -----is charging based on the amount of water people use because if people have to pay for the water they waste or if they use excess water, they are much more likely to conserve it than for any other reason. It is the fairest way to charge. People should pay for the water they use, just as they pay for the electricity, gas and fuel they use and the food they eat. We would never suggest...