Results 22,821-22,840 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Offices (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department recognises that it requires additional office accommodation to meet the needs of social welfare customers and staff in the Newbridge area. It is working closely with the Office of Public Works (OPW), which has responsibility for the acquisition of all accommodation requirements for the Department, to that end. There are currently four projects in hand with the OPW which, on...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Fraud Cost (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: Overpayments are the only instances where it can be proven conclusively that a payment has been incorrectly paid. An overpayment will arise where, in accordance with Part 11 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, a revised decision is made by a deciding officer on a claimant’s claim resulting in a retrospective reduction in his/her entitlement. The Department categorises...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Child Benefit Payments (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 92, 96 and 107 together. Family and child income support payments assist parents in contributing to the costs associated with raising children and play a very important role in the objective of reducing child poverty. It should be noted that expenditure this year on child benefit, qualified child increases on primary social welfare payments, the family...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Review (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: Community Employment (CE) is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. CE helps unemployed people to re-enter the active workforce by breaking their experience of unemployment through a return to a work routine...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Redundancy Payments (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: Applications for redundancy lump sum or rebate payments should be made via the Department’s on line application system. The application should then be printed down and signed by the employer and the employee and sent to the Department. An application is not valid until this signed form is received in the Department. Claims are processed in order of date of receipt. I have...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Payments (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The fuel allowance is a means tested weekly payment of €20 available for people on long term welfare schemes, including State pension, disability allowance, one-parent family payment and jobseeker’s allowance (after 15 months). Between 2005 and 2011 the numbers in receipt of fuel allowance rose from 266,000 to 390,000, an increase of almost 50%. During this period the cost...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance Fund Deficit (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The 2012 estimate for the Department provides for a Social Insurance Fund deficit of €1.82 billion. At the end of September, the deficit amounted to more than €1.7 billion because, while expenditure during the first nine months was on target at €6.6 billion, income was more than €¼ billion below target at just under €4.9 billion. It is expected that...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Job Statistics (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) reported an annual fall in employment of 33,400 for Quarter 2 2012. Over the same period, the Earnings, Hours and Employment Costs Survey (EHECS), which is the more reliable source for public sector employment estimates according to CSO, reported an annual fall in employment of 25,800 for the 'Total Public Sector including Semi-State bodies'...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Redundancy Rebates (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate workers, under the Redundancy Payments Acts, for the loss of their jobs by reason of redundancy. Compensation is based on the worker’s length of reckonable service and reckonable weekly remuneration, subject to a ceiling of €600.00 per week. All payments are made from the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). There...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance Payments (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The back to education allowance (BTEA) is a second chance education opportunities scheme designed to remove the barriers to participation in second and third level education. It enables those in receipt of certain social welfare payments to continue to receive a payment while pursuing an approved full-time education course that leads to a higher qualification than that already held. One of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106, 367 and 368 together. There are approximately 90,000 persons in receipt of rent supplement for which the Government has provided a sum of €436 million for 2012. The aim of rent supplement is to provide short term income assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. The maximum rent...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Review (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department assumed full responsibility for the Community Employment Programme on the 1st of January 2012. The Department then initiated a financial review of the Programme to examine the income and funding of sponsoring organisations in terms of their ability to continue to deliver the programme. This review has now been completed and published. The review reflects the outcomes of the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance Applications (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The BTEA is operated via local and branch office network of the Department and data are not collated centrally on the overall number of application received, refused or where a review is sought. Data are compiled on the number of persons awarded the back to education allowance (BTEA) in respect of the academic years. For the 2011/12, some 25,700 persons were supported by the BTEA of which...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: FÁS Training Programmes (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: As outlined by my colleague the Minister of State, Ciaran Cannon T.D at the Department of Education and Skills in a reply to question number 58 dated 10th October 2012, FÁS training services provide training courses that are accredited by various bodies, including City and Guilds. Under the technical employment support grant (TESG) managed by my Department, support can be provided to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Child Benefit Payments (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: Child benefit is a universal payment that assists parents with the cost of raising children and it contributes towards alleviating child poverty. The estimated expenditure on child benefit for 2012 is around €2 billion in respect of some 1.15 million children. The Government is conscious that child benefit, as a universal payment, can be an important source of income for all...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Applications (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has made an application for rent supplement and has been requested to provide further information in support of her claim. A decision will be made on her application when the information has been provided.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: As the Deputy will be aware, ensuring the sustainability of pensions into the future is vital given the changing demographics, the increased numbers of those over 65 and increased longevity and reduced dependency ratio. The State pension is a very valuable benefit. Therefore, it is important to ensure that those qualifying have made a sustained contribution to the Social Insurance Fund over...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Applications (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: In order to be eligible for a fuel allowance, a person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment, satisfy a household means test, and live alone or only with specific people. One of the criteria for an applicant living with someone else is that this person must be in receipt of a qualifying payment that would entitle them to fuel allowance in their own right. In the case concerned, the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department is committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers. Currently the average time taken to award a carer’s allowance application is 28 weeks. I acknowledge that the time taken to process carer’s allowance claims at present is not satisfactory but I am satisfied that the Department is taking appropriate action to resolve the situation....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (16 Oct 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 13th July 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the case will be referred to an Appeals Officer who will...