Results 22,761-22,780 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: Has the Deputy a problem?

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The Deputy looks a bit cross and I would not like to make him cross.

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: I would be worried if the Deputy was to be cross. It would be a cause of upset not just to me but perhaps to the nation. There is a consistent problem with disability applications with which many Members will be familiar, which is that people submit incomplete forms. They, therefore, have to submit further applications or else they are refused because they do not give sufficient...

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: Going back to Deputy O'Dea's last comment, I think he is referring to the scheme I brought in after I became Minister of a partial disability payment which was long requested by disability organisations to allow people to go back to work. For instance, somebody might have a long-term condition from which he or she suffers periodically but he or she may wish to continue to work. I brought...

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: I can give the Deputy that assurance. In 2001, the disability payments bill was €1.1 billion, and that increased in 2011 to €2.7 billion. The number of people claiming in 2001 was 173,000 and that has grown to 242,000, or just shy of 250,000. The scheme is demand-led and is not capped. I spoke to the Deputy about this. We are seeking to improve the structure of the scheme to...

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: I reiterate that no changes have been made to the conditionality or rules governing applications for disability allowance. We will not know the final outcomes for 2012 until after the year end, but the Deputy's citation of the statistics was interesting. The highest level of awards, some 49%, was in 2009. In 2010, when his party was in government, the figure fell sharply according to the...

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The Deputy just cited the statistics. The figure fell to 39%. Last year, it was 38%. We do not know the final outcome for this year, but the figure is hovering around the same level.

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: In 2006, there were 18,000 disability allowance claims. In 2011, there were 24,000 claims. The Deputy needs to consider the fact that all areas of social welfare have been heavily impacted by the financial crisis bequeathed to us, by the number of people who have lost their jobs, by those who have become ill and by changes in the population. There has been a significant increase in volume....

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The Deputy just cited the statistics.

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: They are exactly the same, give or take a point of a difference.

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: We do not know the outcome yet. One must consider the total numbers and total spend, both of which have increased. There have been no changes in conditionality.

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: Approaching last year's budget, I gave an undertaking to do my best to ensure that core social welfare rates would be protected. I am happy to say that this occurred, particularly in terms of disability. Our society has a problem as a consequence of the collapse of the banks, the building industry and the tax revenues related to the latter. Even within these constraints, it is a tribute to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Illness Benefit Costs (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The Deputy makes the point very well. Based on what we know from various surveys, absenteeism levels are significantly higher in the public sector than in the private sector. I reiterate that the current system, which there are no proposals to change, stipulates that the first three days are not paid for by the employer or the State but are covered by the individual. It is not proposed to...

Other Questions: Disability Allowance (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 57, 69, 73, 78 and 81 together. There have been no cuts whatsoever to disability allowance or to any of the Department's other disability schemes. This is borne out by the increasing numbers of claimants and payments. It should be noted that all the Department's schemes are demand-led and are not budget capped. A total of €0.82 billion has been...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Illness Benefit Costs (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: I reassure the Deputy I have had many opportunities to meet business groups and employers of various sized businesses throughout the country. I emphasise that any proposal applies as much to the public sector as the private sector. I am very conscious of the need to maintain competitiveness, facilitate business growth and opportunities, generate sustainable employment and maintain the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Advisory Group on Tax and Social Welfare (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The advisory group was requested, following announcement of the budget, to look at this on foot of representations made particularly by parents of profoundly disabled children, for whom the job of caring in the home is onerous work for parents. While I have read information on this in the newspapers, I have not received any report from the advisory group. The advisory group comprises...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Illness Benefit Costs (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: This is a lengthy question.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Illness Benefit Costs (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: It is an important question. I hope the Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Illness Benefit Costs (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: I am not sure if I can do full justice to the question in six minutes.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Illness Benefit Costs (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: I thank Deputy Halligan for his question. To set the issue of statutory sick pay in context, total expenditure on the key illness and disability payments administered by the Department, namely, illness benefit, invalidity pension and disability allowance, amounted to some €10.6 billion in the period from 2008 to 2011. Of that amount, some €3.6 billion relates to illness benefit....