Results 24,401-24,420 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Child Care Services: Child Care Services (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The income disregard for the one parent family payment scheme was reduced from €146.50 to €130.00 per week with effect from 1st January 2012. All categories of participants on CE, including lone parents, have been gradually reducing over the last few years with the exception of the jobseeker's allowance category which has been increasing steadily since mid-2009 due to the changed...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: Tús is a community work placement initiative which aims to provide up to 5,000 short-term work opportunities for those have been fully unemployed and in receipt of a jobseeker's payment for at least 12 months, and who are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance at the time of application. At the week ending the 1st June 2012, 4,386 participants and 234 supervisors have been engaged in the...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The establishment of the new National Employment and Entitlements Service which integrates employment and income support services is now underway within the Department and implementation of the various elements of the service is on going. The transfer of the employment and community services divisions of FÁS and the Community Welfare Service function from the HSE were completed on...

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

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 150, 152 and 154 together. There are currently approximately 93,800 persons in receipt of rent supplement, for which the Government has provided €436million for 2012. New maximum rent limits were introduced from January 2012 following analysis of the most up-to-date market data available. The emphasis of the review was to ensure that maximum value for money...

Written Answers — Illness Benefit: Illness Benefit (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: I assume that the Deputy is referring to 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. This 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...

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The homemaker's scheme which is effective since 1994, allows up to 20 years spent caring for children under 12 years of age or incapacitated adults to be disregarded when a person's social insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes. To be eligible for the homemaker's scheme, a person must satisfy a number of qualifying conditions that includes having a minimum of 520 full rate...

Written Answers — School Meals Programme: School Meals Programme (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The school meals programme operated by the Department provides funding towards the provision of food services for disadvantaged children through two schemes. The first is the statutory urban school meals scheme, operated by local authorities and part-financed by this Department. The second is the school meals local projects schemes through which funding is provided directly to participating...

Written Answers — National Internship Scheme: National Internship Scheme (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The National Internship Scheme was launched on 1st July 2011. It provides internship opportunities of either 6 or 9 months for unemployed individuals at all skills levels. The aim of JobBridge is to assist individuals in breaking the cycle where they are unable to get a job without experience. It provides them with an opportunity to gain valuable experience, relevant knowledge and skills...

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

Joan Burton: The person concerned is seeking rent supplement at a rate to cover both himself and his child. In cases where parents have joint custody of a child, the needs of both parents to have adequate accommodation to look after the child are taken into account when an application for a rent supplement is being determined. However, as the child is already accommodated with his mother, he has been...

Written Answers — Rent Supplement Scheme: Rent Supplement Scheme (12 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 15th 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. These papers were received in the Social Welfare Appeals Office and the...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: This question is not a matter for the Department of Social Protection. The eligibility criteria for Skillnets is set by the Department of Education and Skills.

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

Joan Burton: The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the following tabular statement. The details supplied refer to the total numbers of people on the Live Register in the Coolock and Kilbarrack Social Welfare Local Offices at the end of the months specified. The totals were broadly stable over the period, which is in keeping with the trend observed in the overall Live Register on a...

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

Joan Burton: My Department receives over half-a-million telephone calls per month, across its network of Local Offices and Headquarter buildings. At certain times, due to peaks in the amount of incoming calls, customers may encounter some difficulties in getting through to certain areas of the Department. The Department has implemented a number of initiatives to minimise any such delays for customers...

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

Joan Burton: Rent supplement is only payable from the date on the housing needs assessment when the person concerned is moving from the family home. The client was informed of this position in writing on the 19th April 2012.

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

Joan Burton: A decision to refuse Rent Supplement has been appealed by the person in question and the case is currently with the Appeals Office. 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 — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: Responsibility for Community Employment Schemes transferred to the Department with effect from 1 January 2012. Since the transfer of Community Employment to the Department, DSP staff, including former FÁS staff, have been involved in a series of discussions with CE sponsors. These discussions have shown that while notionally focussed on activation, in reality Community Employment...

Written Answers — Domiciliary Care Allowance: Domiciliary Care Allowance (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance in respect of this child was received on 18th April 2012. The application was referred to one of the Department's Medical Assessors, who, having examined all the information supplied, found that the child was not medically eligible for the allowance. A letter issued on 30th May 2012 advising of the decision. In the case of an application which...

Written Answers — National Internship Scheme: National Internship Scheme (12 Jun 2012)

Joan Burton: The National Internship Scheme was launched on 1st July 2011. It provides internship opportunities of either 6 or 9 months for unemployed individuals at all skills levels. The aim of JobBridge is to assist individuals in breaking the cycle where they are unable to get a job without experience. It provides them with an opportunity to gain valuable experience, relevant knowledge and skills...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (12 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 27 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 — Invalidity Pension: Invalidity Pension (12 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 14th November 2011. 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 on 1st...