Results 21,981-22,000 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Data (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The number of families in receipt of family income supplement (FIS) stands at 55,940 as of 13 May 2016. This represents an increase of almost 94% since the end of December 2011 when 28,876 customers were in receipt of FIS. The following table shows the year, number of recipients and the percentage increase on the previous year since 2011: Year Recipients - Families Percentage Increase...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Maternity Benefit (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Maternity Benefit is an income maintenance payment awarded to eligible women for a 26 week period while they are on Maternity Leave. As with all social insurance payments entitlement to Maternity Benefit is predicated on a minimum number of contributions being paid. In 2016 it is estimated that my Department will spend approximately €266 million on Maternity Benefit, in respect...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Maternity Benefit (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Maternity Benefit is a payment made for 26 weeks to employed and self-employed pregnant women who satisfy certain pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions in order to avoid the need for them to work pre and post-delivery of their baby. The original scheme was introduced in 1970 and was extended to include self-employed mothers with effect from June 1997. In 2016 it is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 202 and 212 together. The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) scheme provides a once-off payment to eligible families to assist with the extra costs when children start school each autumn. The Government has provided €38.8 million for this scheme in 2016. End of year records show that under the 2015 BSCFA scheme, payments were made...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The cost of increasing the rate of Jobseeker’s Allowance paid to those under 26 years of age, to the maximum rate of €188 per week in 2017 is €148.4 million. This measure involves increasing the €100 rate by €88 per week and the €144 rate by €44 per week. The cost also includes proportionate increases for any qualified adults. The costing...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobs Initiative (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: A commitment was given in Pathways to Work to develop and implement a programme of evaluations to assess the impact of Pathways to Work initiatives. One of the first schemes selected for evaluation was JobBridge. The aim of the evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of the scheme in terms of its key objective of improving employment outcomes for unemployed jobseekers. The evaluation...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Schemes (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of Social Protection administers some 70 schemes. Overpayment of social welfare benefit or assistance can be described under three broad headings related to fraud and misrepresentation by the applicant to obtain a payment; error and changes in the underlying circumstances of the recipient; or errors and failures in the processing of claims and information by staff of the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Administration (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: My department makes a significant contribution to An Post through the current contract for cash services. In 2015 there were over 38 million social welfare transactions in An Post at a cost of €54 million to my department. These welfare payments through post offices are across all of the department’s major schemes: state pension, jobseekers, one parent family payments,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Rights (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The new partnership Government aims to create an additional 200,000 jobs by 2010, including 135,000 outside of Dublin. This will be achieved by continuing and enhancing a supportive environment for enterprise and employment. In particular, the role of entrepreneurs and the self-employed will be central to this ambition. The new programme agreed with our partners in Government contains...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Data (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Disability Allowance is a means-tested social assistance payment which is paid to persons aged 16 to 66 who are substantially restricted in undertaking suitable employment arising from a medical condition (subject to satisfying the relevant medical criteria). The estimated cost in 2017 (and a full year) of increasing the weekly personal rate of Disability Allowance by €20, from...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Support Services Funding (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The reasonable accommodation fund for the employment of people with disabilities assists employers to take appropriate measures to enable a person with a disability/impairment to have access to employment by providing a range of grants. These grants and supports include: - the workplace equipment and adaptation grant, - the personal reader grant, - the job interview interpreter grant, and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: School Meals Programme (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to schools and organisations at a total cost of €42 million in 2016. There are two schemes operated under the school meals programme. The first scheme is the school meals local projects scheme through which funding is provided directly to participating schools and local and voluntary community...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme (25 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for Government contains the commitment to undertake a "Review of the Farm Assist Scheme, recognising the challenges facing farmers on low incomes". I have asked my officials to review the farm assist scheme from a policy and an administrative point of view. Any changes to the scheme will have to be considered in a budgetary context. The particular information that the Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme Eligibility (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The rural social scheme (RSS) provides income support for farmers and fishermen who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. One of the key criteria for participation on the scheme is that the participant must be underemployed in their primary activity i.e. either farming or fishing, and that their earnings are insufficient to support their family circumstance. The scheme...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Under current Community Employment rules, a person under 55 years of age is limited to a maximum period of 3 years on the scheme. The person concerned has already spent 3 years on the scheme and is therefore precluded from further participation until he reaches 55 years of age. JobPath is a new approach to employment activation that supports people who are long-term unemployed and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Redundancy Payments (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Up to 2014, the State paid a rebate to all employers who provided statutory redundancy payments, regardless of a company’s ability to pay. As a result, very significant amounts were paid out in redundancy rebates to employers from the social insurance fund (SIF). While the SIF is constituted primarily from employer contributions, the taxpayers’ contribution is also...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Payments (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Following a review of the disability allowance (DA) payment to the person concerned, an increase has been awarded with effect from 18 May 2016. First payment of the new rate will be on 25 May 2016. Notification of this decision issued to the person in question. The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) rate being paid to the person in question’s spouse has also been reviewed. This...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that my department received an application for Carer’s Allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 29 May 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...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance Eligibility (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: All back to education allowance (BTEA) recipients must re-establish their entitlement to an underlying qualifying payment at the beginning of each academic year in order for BTEA to be approved. Earnings from employment during the summer will not impact on the BTEA payment amount if the employment has ceased before recommencing BTEA. Confirmation that the employment has ceased (in the form...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Family Income Supplement Appeals (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: In order to qualify for Family Income Supplement (FIS) an applicant must be engaged in full-time remunerative employment as an employee for at least 38 hours per fortnight (19 hours per week). This claim for FIS was refused as the information provided indicated that the person was not working the required hours to qualify for FIS. An appeal of the department’s decision from this person...