Results 19,461-19,480 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 733 to 736, inclusive, together. JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. Two companies - Turas Nua Limited and Seetec Limited have been contracted to provide the service on behalf of my Department. The...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Contracts Data (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Office of Public Works (OPW) manages all accommodation leased by the Department of Social Protection and this role includes the payment of rent. The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Social Welfare Tribunal. The information...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobs Initiative (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Gateway is a county and city council work scheme which aims to provide short-term, quality work opportunities to those who are unemployed for more than 24 months. Participants improve their employability and work readiness through work opportunities with structured environments where existing work skills can be put into practice. The 22 month duration of the Gateway contract ensures that...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: In the first instance, it should be noted that rulings of courts in other jurisdictions, such as the United Kingdom, regarding their domestic legislation, do not impact upon the laws in this State. However, the policy implications of such cases may be considered, if they are relevant. Simply put, the Court found that a payment related to co-raising children (in this case, the Widowed...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Persons in receipt of Disability Allowance, a scheme for people with long term condition (> 12 months) that limits their capacity to work, are eligible to participate in JobBridge internships subject to the same rules and conditions as other eligible participants. Disability Benefit is the name previously used as a title for the scheme now known as Illness Benefit. Illness Benefit is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The following table provides details of the total spending by the Department of Social Protection in the years 2013 to 2016, inclusive: 2013 Outturn 2014 Outturn 2015 Provisional Outturn 2016 REV Estimate €000 €000 €000 €000 20,247,638 19,785,315 19,904,326 19,625,326 The outturn figure for 2015 is provisional pending publication of the audited accounts by...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Status (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to convene an oral hearing in this case. Every effort will be made to hear the case as quickly as possible and the appellant will be informed when arrangements for the oral hearing have been made. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Payments (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: No application for Supplementary Welfare Allowance has been received to date from the person concerned regarding funeral expenses. In order to initiate an application, the person concerned should contact the Community Welfare Officer for their area at 086 7810420. I trust this clarifies the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The State pension contributory is a very valuable benefit and is the bedrock of the Irish pension system. Therefore, it is important to ensure that those qualifying have made a sustained contribution to the Social Insurance Fund over their working lives. To ensure that the individual can maximise their entitlement to a State pension, all contributions paid or credited over their working life...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: In the case of means-tested payments from my Department, such as disability allowance (DA), applicants are assessed with any cash income, property other than the home, and capital (such as savings, shares and investments). For all means-tested schemes, there is an initial amount of capital that is disregarded for means assessment purposes. For most schemes this disregard is €20,000...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 15 June 2016. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Wage Subsidy Scheme (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 747 and 748 together. At the end of August 2016 there are approximately 2,200 people, employed by 1,362 employers, participating in the wage subsidy scheme (WSS). The table gives a breakdown of the numbers of employers availing of WSS by numbers of people with disabilities employed. Number of employers by number of People with a Disability employed (August...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Applications (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: In order to qualify for Family Income Supplement (FIS) a person must be engaged in full-time remunerative employment as an employee for at least 38 hours per fortnight (19 hours per week). Following an application for FIS from the person concerned, a file was sent to a Social Welfare Inspector (SWI) for further investigation, but from the information received the person concerned only works...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: JobPath is one of the range of activation supports, including schemes such as Tús and Community Employment (CE), catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers. JobPath supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. CE and Tús schemes provide long-term unemployed people with part-time...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 751 to 754, inclusive, together. As the Deputy will be aware, JobPath is an employment activation service that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. Participants on JobPath receive intensive individual support to help them tackle barriers to employment...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance Eligibility (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is a scheme that allows persons in receipt of long-term social welfare payments the opportunity to pursue a course of study and receive income support subject to satisfying a number of conditions. A BTEA participant whose eligibility is based on jobseekers, transitional jobseekers or one parent family payments who engage in part-time work will be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for disability allowance from the above named person on 11 August 2016. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Diagnoses (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The recently agreed programme for a partnership government provides for a range of actions that are designed to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. One of these actions is a proposal for the Departments of Health and Social Protection to work together to pursue a “Fit for Work Programme” to support more people with an illness or disability to get back to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Benefit Applications (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Carer’s benefit was awarded to the person concerned on 6 September 2016 with effect from 5 May 2016. The first payment is due to issue to their nominated bank account on 15 September 2016. Arrears of benefit due from 5 May 2016 to 14 September 2016 and the Carer’s Support Grant are also due to issue to the bank account. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Benefit Applications (16 Sep 2016)

Leo Varadkar: An application for carer's benefit (CARB) was received from the person concerned on 3 May 2016. The application was awarded to the person concerned on 13 September 2016 and the first payment will issue to her nominated bank account on 15 September 2016. Arrears of allowance due from 28 July 2016 to 14 September 2016 will also issue. The person concerned was notified on 13 September 2016 of...