Results 24,021-24,040 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Disability Allowance: Disability Allowance (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 07th February 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. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office and the...

Written Answers — Sick Pay Scheme: Sick Pay Scheme (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The question of introducing a scheme of statutory sick pay, whereby employers would directly meet the costs of sick absence for an initial period of illness is being considered in the context of the need to reform the social welfare system to bring it into line with practices in other countries in this area; the need to address the deficit in the social insurance fund; the need to limit...

Written Answers — Rent Supplement Scheme: Rent Supplement Scheme (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has made an application for rent supplement and has been requested to provide further information in order to process her claim. The request for further information was sent on the 18th June 2012. A decision will be made on her application when the necessary information has been provided.

Written Answers — Prompt Payments: Prompt Payments (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department of Social Protection, in common with other Departments, submits a report on its payments performance each quarter to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. These reports detail the value of payments made, and the number and percentage of payments made within 15 days, within 16-30 days and in excess of 30 days. These quarterly reports are published on the website...

Written Answers — Invalidity Pension: Invalidity Pension (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal, by the person concerned, was registered in that office on 11th June 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...

Written Answers — Rent Supplement Scheme: Rent Supplement Scheme (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The purpose of rent supplement is to provide short-term income support to eligible tenants living in private rented accommodation whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by...

Written Answers — Domiciliary Care Allowance: Domiciliary Care Allowance (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The review of the domiciliary care allowance (DCA) scheme, as recently announced will commence shortly. The group undertaking the review will be comprised of representatives from a number of government Departments, the National Disability Authority and other persons with relevant experience. Three representatives from a working group established by Downs Syndrome Ireland, Inclusion Ireland,...

Written Answers — Rent Supplement Scheme: Rent Supplement Scheme (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The purpose of rent supplement is to provide short-term support to eligible people living in private rented accommodation, whose means are insufficient to meet their accommodation costs and who do not have accommodation available to them from any other source. The overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by...

Written Answers — Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme: Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance Scheme (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The back to school clothing and footwear allowance (BSCFA) entitlements of some 115,350 families in respect of 205,125 children have now been automatically established with reference to their primary scheme entitlement and with no application form required. Letters have issued to the people identified in this way, informing them of their entitlement and notifying them that payment will...

Written Answers — Carer's Allowance: Carer's Allowance (4 Jul 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 action to resolve the situation. A major service delivery modernisation...

Written Answers — Public Sector Pay: Public Sector Pay (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The table shows the number of staff in the Department within each of the salary ranges as t 1 July 2011 and 1 July 2012, the numbers of those who are expected to receive an increment in 2012, almost half of all staff, and an estimate of the gross cost of those additional increments in 2012. The increase in numbers is primarily due to the transfer of almost 1,100 former Community Welfare...

Written Answers — Public Service Contracts: Public Service Contracts (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: One member of staff in my Department, the Chief Medical Advisor, has been rehired on a temporary contract. His salary is reduced to take account of the rate of his pension payment. In addition, the acting Deputy Chief Medial Advisor has been retained, on a temporary basis, beyond his normal retirement age. Payment of his pension will be suspended pending the termination of his temporary...

Seanad: Rent Supplements: Motion (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: At present there are approximately 92,000 families claiming benefit from a rent supplement payment. It is very important for us to mention the figures involved, in this time of very difficult economic crisis for most of our citizens and taxpayers who are ordinary people, on moderate levels of income. It is very important that we look at this issue from the point of view of the taxpayer in...

Seanad: Rent Supplements: Motion (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: That amount of €450 a month is €110 a week. The Senator's constituent in Galway gets €188 a week, plus fuel allowance, plus another €5,000 a year. The difficulty in that respect is how that person will take up employment because he or she has to get a job that will pay more than the total package. There is an important opportunity in this debate to bring this point home. Those on...

Seanad: Rent Supplements: Motion (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: It is very good we have a discussion of how this actually pans out. The Department pays for 40% of rented accommodation in this country. Sinn Féin needs to take into account who are the other people who pay rent. They are mostly low income workers and students. Does Sinn Féin want to drive up rents, as is implied in the motion, for those people? It needs to think about the policy it is...

Seanad: Rent Supplements: Motion (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: I listened carefully to what the Senator said. The previous rent review of June 2010 resulted in reducing national rents by a weighted average of 4%, accruing annualised savings of €20 million. That was generally regarded by almost everybody as being quite a successful undertaking because, from the point of view of people on a social welfare income and those who are renting in the private...

Seanad: Rent Supplements: Motion (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: Whereas the job of the Government is to get more value for all of our taxpayers but what has the Government done-----

Seanad: Rent Supplements: Motion (4 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: -----in regard to people, the buy to rent landlords, who may be in difficulty with their mortgages? It should be noted that the banks have been capitalised at very great cost to the taxpayer. It is not the job of the Department of Social Protection to fund the mortgages of buy-to-let landlords. We are sympathetic to their problems but the implication in the Sinn Féin motion is that we...

Written Answers — Citizen Information Services: Citizen Information Services (3 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: The Citizens Information Board has informed me that they will submit their draft Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015 to me following consideration by the Board at its next meeting. When the Strategic Plan is approved a copy will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas and published on the Citizens Information Board website www.citizensinformationboard.ie

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (3 Jul 2012)

Joan Burton: It is an objective of my Department to provide a quality customer service in both Irish and English in response to customer demand. It is not possible to completely isolate all of the costs for the provision of services in the Irish language within the total cost of service provision in every instance. The cost of providing some elements of service through the Irish language can be...