Results 20,121-20,140 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 13 October 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: Social Welfare Appeals Status (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 19 October 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: Treatment Benefit Scheme Applications (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Treatment benefits scheme is based on PRSI contributions; currently only PRSI paid at Classes A, E, H, or P are reckonable for this scheme. There are two main conditions to be met to qualify: - The customer must have paid at least 260 Class A/E/H or P contributions since first starting work, and: - The customer must have at least 39 such contributions paid or credited in 2014, the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Applications (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The person concerned made an application for Family Income Supplement (FIS) on 28 July 2016. Although his entitlement was determined promptly by my Department, there was a delay in issuing the payment due because the person in question did not provide appropriate details of his preferred payment method on the application form. My Department now has received the necessary payment details and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance Payments (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Whether a proprietary director was self-employed was determined by the work they did and the terms and conditions of their work, including the degree of control they had over their own work. Depending on the individual circumstances they could be considered employed (insurable at class A) or self-employed (insurable at class S since 1988 or class K prior to 1988). Prior to 1988, proprietary...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Community Employment has three options each with its own set of qualifying conditions, namely: Part Time Integration Option (PTI) Part Time Job Option (PTJ) Service Support Stream – SSS (Pilot) This client has been employed by Enable Ireland on CE since 6 January 2014 under the Part Time Integration Option (PTI). This is the only option that the client is eligible for as she had...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Supervisors (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The matter of a pension for Community Employment Scheme Supervisors is currently being considered by a high level working group set up under the auspices of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. This Group includes officials from the Departments of Public Expenditure, Social Protection and Environment, Community and Local Government, as well as from Pobal and the two unions...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Eligibility (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The situation in relation to this person’s entitlements was explained in replying to the deputy’s most recent PQ in the matter - reference number 32749-16. As the matter stands there has been no claim made to the Department in respect of the period involved from when he was disallowed jobseekers allowance at an address in Kildare, subsequently upheld on Appeal, and him making a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The purpose of the rural social scheme (RSS) is to provide income support to farmers and fishermen and women who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. The Government, as part of the budget package for 2017, announced 500 additional places on the scheme which will increase the overall number to 3,100. The level of funding allocated to the RSS in the budget day estimates...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The majority of people in receipt of a payment from the Department of Social Protection receive what they are entitled to. Nevertheless, the Department recognises that abuse of the welfare system is an ongoing reality and must be tackled through a range of measures. These measures are governed by the Department’s Compliance and Anti-Fraud Strategy 2014 – 2018. The actions set...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code Reform (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Closed certification was launched in September 2015 in agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation and the National Association of GPs who welcomed the guidelines. The closed certification guidelines were developed following a six-month research study carried out by my Department’s Medical Review and Assessment Service in conjunction with a group of GPs. The study demonstrated that...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Brexit Issues (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Management Board of the Department of Social Protection has been fully engaged with the social protection implications of the vote by the UK to leave the EU and the earlier negotiations on the UK’s relationship with the EU and receives regular updates on the key developments relating to Brexit. Following a decision by the Management Board in November 2015, a sub-group of the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Properties (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The statutory bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Authority, the Pensions Council, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Social Welfare Tribunal. Neither my Department nor the statutory bodies operating under its aegis own vacant sites, properties or land in the Dublin City Council area.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Appeals (22 Nov 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: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: An application for carer's allowance (CA) was received in respect of the care of the person concerned on 23 April 2015. It is a condition for receipt of a CA that the person being cared for must have a disability whose effect is that they require full-time care and attention. This is defined as requiring from another person, continual supervision and frequent assistance throughout the day in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Data (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The final phase of the One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) age reforms were introduced on 2 July, 2015 bringing the maximum age of the youngest child for receipt of OFP to 7 years for all recipients. Approximately 25,500 customers transitioned from the OFP scheme on that date. The majority of customers transitioned to the Jobseeker’s Transitional payment (JST), the Jobseeker’s...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Data (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the following tabular statement. One-Parent Family Payment Claims Disallowed November 2015 to October 2016 Dates Claims Disallowed November 2015 72 December 2015 45 January 2016 48 February 2016 64 March 2016 57 April 2016 62 May 2016 62 June 2016 56 July 2016 60 August 2016 71 September 2016 60 October 2016 51

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits Data (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 312 and 321 together. The following tables provide the details which have been requested by the Deputy in respect of 2015 and to date in 2016. The schemes with the highest number of appeals to the Social Welfare Appeals Office in 2015 and to date in 2016 were - disability allowance (6,435 in 2015/4,077 in 2016), carer’s allowance (3,188 in 2015/3,309...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Welfare Services Provision (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: People claiming supports under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme generally only interact with the Department on an occasional basis, for example, when seeking an exceptional needs payment or in claiming additional supports such as rent supplement. The availability of the Community Welfare Service (CWS) during normal office hours is therefore sufficient for general day to day...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Housing Provision (22 Nov 2016)

Leo Varadkar: This is a matter for my colleague, Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.