Results 20,021-20,040 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I have no plans at this stage to put it on a statutory footing. I am told that 35% of favourable appeal decisions result from revised decisions rather than having gone to an appeals officer. The figure of 58.8% is very misleading for that reason I have seen "I, Daniel Blake", which is a great movie and I recommend that people go and see it.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I am thinking of putting on a screening for my senior officials. I might suggest that the movie comes from a particular perspective and that somebody could do a movie about some of our other customers which would be a very different story. I can guarantee it.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I could do a great movie about some of our customers. Certainly, our policy is to ensure that people get the benefits and assistance to which they are entitled. However, we do that in a context where a lot of people are trying to collect benefits and allowances to which they are not entitled.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Appeals (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: It is relevant. The film is about social welfare. It is worth watching.

Other Questions: Registration of Births (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: In July of this year, I introduced regulations which provided that no fee would be incurred where parents request a certificate in respect of a stillborn child. At the time, I told Deputy Griffin that I would examine the cost of certificates to parents registering the birth and death of a baby on the same day. I gave an undertaking in the House that I would at the earliest opportunity make...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I would like to see a situation whereby a teacher is not on jobseerker's allowance. I know there are reasons that is the case. Some relate to pay while others relate to the fact that there are irregular hours depending on the subjects a person teaches and so on. I am hoping we will get to the point sooner rather than later where there are more permanent contracts and better pay for...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: That is okay.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's contributory pension is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. Unlike other social insurance schemes, entitlement is based on either the claimant’s or the deceased partner’s social insurance contributions. Virtually all social insurance contributions count towards this pension, including...

Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to check that particular point as to whether a person in receipt of the non-contributory widow's pension does not receive the increase for a qualified child. It seems incorrect so I will check it.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Penrose might be right.

Other Questions: Social Welfare Code (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: That would seem anomalous. I will definitely have that checked out. Another entitlement that a widow, widower or surviving partner can receive is the fuel allowance, which is a payment of €22.50 for six months of the year. In terms of the household benefits package, it is probably a little more complicated. It would depend on age, means testing and so on. If we were to do something...

Other Questions: Pension Provisions (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: It is difficult to make a short reply to these issues as they are so complicated. The Deputy's points are noted. We are trying to look at all the anomalies and are hoping to put something before the committee in this regard. We are looking to provide the costs and options for solutions in each case. Whereas a lot of people lose out from the averaging system, a lot also benefit and...

Other Questions: Rural Social Scheme (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: As part of the social welfare budget package for 2017, I announced a €5 increase in the weekly rate of payment for rural social scheme participants from March, and an additional 500 places on the scheme. This will increase the overall number to 3,100. The level of funding allocated to the scheme for 2017 will increase to €47.6 million. Deputies on all sides of the House...

Other Questions: Rural Social Scheme (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: In Limerick there are 73 participants in the rural social scheme and 163 on farm assist who could become eligible for the rural social scheme. Two development companies in Limerick participate in the rural social scheme, namely, West Limerick Resources and Ballyhoura Development and both have requested an expansion of their schemes. They will certainly be considered as favourably as...

Other Questions: Rural Social Scheme (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: No, the aim is to retain and expand the scheme in the long term. There are 500 additional places for 2017 and requests have come in for 1,000 additional places. If things go well in 2017 I anticipate looking for a further allocation to increase the rural social scheme in 2018. There will, however, be a six-year limit for new entrants as we want some turnover within the scheme, rather than...

Other Questions: JobPath Implementation (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The key objective of activation policy and labour market initiatives is to assist jobseekers to secure work and achieve financial self-sufficiency. Ideally, this will be in the preferred profession or field of work of the unemployed jobseeker but this cannot always be the case. In particular, people who have been unemployed for a long period of time should be open to preparing for and...

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has not seen it because there is ongoing public consultation on it. We have received Sinn Féin's proposals for a new work experience scheme. Something I learned in going around the Intreo offices around the country, including the one in Arklow in the Deputy's constituency, was that among the really strong supporters of JobBridge were the case officers.

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: They are not employers; they are civil servants in the Department. They have huge experience with people who they were trying to get into employment and who had no work experience. A total of 70% or 80% of the jobs are in the private sector, in SMEs.

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Perhaps the Deputy might think working in a restaurant or cafe is beneath people, but as somebody who worked in a restaurant and a shop, I do not think it is.

Other Questions: Jobs Initiative (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think it is beneath people. The evidence and advice I receive from case officers working with people who are trying to get a job - perhaps they are trying to get a job in a cafe or a restaurant; good for them if they do - is that if a person has on his or her CV real work experience with a small employer, an SME, it is valuable and makes it easier for him or her to get a job than it...