Results 24,361-24,380 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Disability Allowance: Disability Allowance (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the current average times taken to process disability allowance appeals decided by summary decision is 30.8 weeks and 40.8 weeks for those requiring an oral hearing. For invalidity pension appeals the relevant times are 35.3 weeks and 57.7 weeks while the relevant times for domiciliary care allowance are 28.5 weeks and 41.8 weeks. These...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: A total of 11,211 appeals have been determined by the Social Welfare Appeals Office in the period 1 January to 31 May 2012. Of the total number processed, 5,373 (47.9%) had a successful outcome for the appellant. Of these, 2,069 (38.5%) were revised decisions made by deciding officers of the Department who, on receipt of the appeal, reviewed the claim in the light of the grounds submitted...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: A redundancy lump sum claim in respect of the person concerned was awarded and payment issued at the end of May 2012.

Written Answers — Carer's Allowance: Carer's Allowance (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for carer's allowance from the person in question. On completion of the necessary investigations relating to all aspects of her case a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

Written Answers — Disability Allowance: Disability Allowance (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 21 March 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 appeal in question will be referred in to an Appeals...

Written Answers — Disability Allowance: Disability Allowance (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 115 and 117 together. The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the disability allowance claim of the person concerned was disallowed following an assessment by a Medical Assessor who expressed the opinion that he was medically unsuitable for the allowance. An appeal was registered on 22 May 2012 and in accordance with the statutory procedures the...

Written Answers — Carer's Allowance: Carer's Allowance (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The annual Respite Care Grant of €1,700 is paid to carers providing full-time care and attention to an older person or a person with a disability, regardless of their means or social insurance contributions. Approximately 77,000 carers benefitted from the grant in 2011. The grant helps carers to get some respite for themselves or for the person for whom they are caring. The grant is paid...

Written Answers — Community Employment Drug Rehabilitation Projects: Community Employment Drug Rehabilitation Projects (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: Department of Social Protection officials have received the results of the Citywide survey and note the issues raised therein. The CE Drug Rehabilitation Projects are working with DSP staff to ensure the viability and continuation of the valuable work undertaken by such schemes. In the six month period January-June of this year, DSP records show that there has been a reduction of 2% in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: Further to my response to Parliamentary Question No. 347 of 6 June 2012, I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that there is no update to the information given previously. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions on social welfare entitlements.

Written Answers — National Internship Scheme: National Internship Scheme (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: According to our records, Mr Hennessy's eligibility to participate on the scheme was confirmed by my Department on Friday, 1 June 2012 and subsequently his actual start date was entered as Monday, 4 June 2012 by his host organisation. By signing the Jobbridge standard agreement the intern and the host organisation agree that the Intern cannot start a Jobbridge placement until the host...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The financial review of community employment schemes is very near to completion. This review of CE schemes has proved to be a valuable exercise for both the schemes themselves and for my Department. Given the volume and breath of the data being returned, the financial review of CE schemes has taken longer than originally envisaged to complete. This has allowed more time for schemes to...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 122 and 123 together. As the Deputy is aware, a financial review of community employment shemes been underway for the past few months. It has involved staff engaging with individual schemes in relation to their specific financial standing and on-going requirements, collation of schemes submissions and also detailed analysis of the returns on a national...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: Details of grants paid by the Department of Social Protection to regulatory bodies and other organisations providing services on its behalf in the past three years are set out in the table below. The three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department are the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Citizens Information Board (CIB) and the Pensions Board. In addition, the Office of the...

Written Answers — Public Sector Staff: Public Sector Staff (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: There are currently 260 temporary clerical officers employed in the Department of Social Protection. Temporary clerical staff are recruited by the Department to cover absences of permanent staff on maternity leave, long term sick leave, other statutory leave and also to provide cover for some staff availing of the shorter working year scheme. They are also recruited to alleviate work...

Written Answers — State Agencies: State Agencies (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Board. In addition, the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman (which does not have a board) comes under the remit of the Department. Social Welfare Tribunal There are no vacancies on the Board of the Social Welfare Tribunal....

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (13 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection are the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Board. In addition, the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman (which does not have a board) comes under the remit of the Department. Social Welfare Tribunal No remuneration is paid to the members of the Tribunal. Members can...

Written Answers — Rent Supplement Scheme: Rent Supplement Scheme (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: There are currently 93,800 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided €436 million for 2012. The current maximum rent limits were set after an analysis of the most up to date market data available. Consultation with a number of staff administering the scheme was undertaken as part of the review process. The emphasis of the rent limit review was to ensure that...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: A total of 347 staff have retired from my Department since March 2011 and there are currently 6,826 permanent staff serving in the Department, equating to 6,435 posts. Since March 2011, 201 staff have been assigned to fill critical vacancies in my Department by way of redeployment or the lateral transfer of staff from other Government Departments and agencies. A further 713 staff were...

Written Answers — Disability Allowance: Disability Allowance (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The Budget 2012 proposals relating to disability allowance have been referred to the independent Advisory Group on Integrating Tax and Social Welfare, which is chaired by Ms. Ita Mangan. The Group is considering two measures: increasing the minimum age for new claimants from 16 to 18 years of age with a corresponding extension in the age of entitlement for domiciliary care allowance from...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 139 together. The Department is committed to ensuring that claims are processed as expeditiously as possible. As can be seen from the data in the table below (showing processing times for 2011 and for April 2012) which I will make available to the House, schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the...