Results 22,041-22,060 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

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

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for Government commitment in this area is to “consolidate all means testing under a single national body insuring a single application process for services or entitlements across all government agencies”. This proposal would be a major project across a range of Government departments and agencies who operate schemes and services on a means/income tested basis of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Participants (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: JobPath is a new approach to employment activation that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most distant from the labour market to secure and sustain full-time paid employment. The EmployAbility Service is an employment and recruitment service to assist people with a disability to secure and maintain a job in the open labour market. Only clients in receipt of a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Offices (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Department has not operated local office or inspectorate services from the Wicklow county council offices in Blessington since April 2014. Those customers who require inspectorate services are now interviewed at the Intreo Centre Tallaght or if required, a member of the inspectorate’s staff will arrange to visit a customer in their home. New jobseeker and one parent family...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Proposed Legislation (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for Government sets out the key priorities for the Government for its term in office. My Department’s normal legislative cycle involves the enactment of two or more Social Welfare Bills each year: - a Bill, usually in December each year, whose primary focus is to implement the social welfare changes announced in the October Budget: and - a Bill, usually early Summer each...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Reports (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The information requested is currently being compiled within the Department and will be made available to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Public Services Card (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is referring to the Public Services Card which issues to a person following a robust face-to-face identity registration process called SAFE registration. This process involves the capture of an individual’s photograph and signature, the verification of identity data already held by the Department through documentary and database checks, and facial image matching....

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

Leo Varadkar: The Department does not comment on individual host organisations or internships. The purpose of the JobBridge scheme is to assist unemployed people to improve their employment prospects by providing them with the opportunity to develop skills and gain some experience in a working environment– in essence to break the cycle of “ no experience, no work; no work, no experience....

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

Leo Varadkar: Jobsplus has been operational since July 2013. It provides a direct monthly financial incentive to employers who recruit employees from the live register and those transitioning into employment. It provides employers with two levels of payment - €7,500 or €10,000 over two years - paid in monthly instalments provided the employment is maintained. The rate of payment depends on...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The State’s employment activation service is delivered directly by the Department’s Intreo service and under contract arrangements by the JobPath service, the Local Employment Service (LES) and Job Clubs. JobPath is a new approach to employment activation that supports people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Payments Waiting Times (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The information requested (where available) by the Deputy is detailed in the following table. Social Welfare claims by average waiting times 30 April 2016 Scheme Average Waiting Time (weeks) Jobseeker's Benefit 1 Jobseeker's Allowance 2 One-Parent Family Payment 6 State Pension Contributory (Dom) 7 Widow’s, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner’s Contributory Pension 3...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The average appeal processing time for appeals determined by summary decision and following an oral hearing in the years 2011 to date in 2016 broken down by all social welfare scheme types is as outlined in the following tables. The unprecedented increase in appeal receipts since 2009 placed considerable pressure on the appeals office and impacted adversely on processing times. The overall...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff (24 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The cadre of Medical Assessors (MAs) in the Medical Review and Assessment Service (MRAS) currently comprises a Chief Medical Officer (CMO), a Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) and 25 Medical Assessors. A recent MA recruitment competition run by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) is almost complete and it is expected that a number of new MAs will be recruited shortly. It has become...

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

Leo Varadkar: The person concerned is currently in receipt of Family Income Supplement (FIS) and this weekly payment will be paid for 52 weeks until 8 June 2016. The scheme is renewed yearly. I confirm that a FIS renewal application form has been received from this customer for the year from June 2016 to June 2017 and will be processed before the current FIS claim is due to expire. The person in question...

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

Leo Varadkar: The person concerned has been in receipt of a carer's allowance (CA) for the care of one person from 16 September 2010. An application in respect of a second care recipient was received on 2 October 2015. It is a condition for receipt of CA that where the care recipient is aged less the 16, domiciliary care allowance (DCA) must be in payment in respect of that child. This application was...

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

Leo Varadkar: I confirm the person in question was in receipt of disability allowance with effect from 25 March 2009. Following a review of the entitlement of the person in question, disability allowance (DA) was disallowed with effect from 29 August 2012 as she was deemed to have means in excess of the statutory limit for her circumstances. It is the nature of means tested schemes that there is no...

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

Leo Varadkar: The person concerned has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 18 November 2015. The first payment was made by her chosen payment method on 18 May 2016. Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments or in respect of outstanding overpayments (if applicable). I hope this...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (19 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The overall concern in recent years has been to protect the primary social welfare rates. Expenditure on pensions at approx. €6.976 billion is the largest block of expenditure in the Department in the Estimate for 2016, representing approximately 35% of overall expenditure. Because of demographic changes, the Department’s spending on older people is increasing year on year....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance (19 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The social welfare legislation underpinning means testing for the jobseeker’s allowance (JA) scheme, including the means of couples, is set out in Part 2 of the Third Schedule of the Social Welfare Consolidated Act 2005(as amended), with the corresponding regulations set out in Chapter 6 of S.I. 142 of 2007, Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007(as...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rural Social Scheme (19 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The rural social scheme (RSS) provides income support for low income farmers and those engaged in fishing who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. One of the key eligibility criteria for participation in 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...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme Payments (19 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The farm assist scheme provides support for farmers on low incomes and is similar to jobseeker’s allowance. Farm assist recipients retain the advantages of the jobseeker’s allowance scheme such as the retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes. The 2016 Revised Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure of almost €85 million on the...