Results 25,301-25,320 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Departmental Functions: Departmental Functions (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: On 16th June 2011, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Minister for Housing & Planning published a new housing policy framework statement. This framework statement reflects the content of the Programme for Government and sets out the principles to underpin the development of housing policy into the medium term. The framework statement specifically...

Written Answers — Community Welfare Services: Community Welfare Services (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The changes to the delivery of community welfare services to which the Deputy refers came into effect from 16th April 2012. They form part of a wider reconfiguration of these services in the Swords/Coolock/Darndale area and are designed to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of their operation. The backdrop to the changes is the reduction in the number of staff in the area and the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: I understand that the Deputy is referring to the reductions in the weekly rates of social welfare payments for people of working age, which were introduced by the last Government in Budgets 2010 and 2011. The Programme for Government contains a commitment to maintain social welfare rates. In Budget 2012, the Government endeavoured to protect the vulnerable and at the same time secure the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (25 Apr 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 overall aim is to provide short term assistance, and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 16 February 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer for...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The carer's allowance claim of the person in question was reviewed when the care recipient reached 16 years of age and no longer qualified for domiciliary care allowance. It was decided that the care recipient no longer satisfied the medical criteria for receipt of carer's allowance. Additional medical evidence was received and assessed, but, based upon the opinion of the department's medical...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: In the period from February 2011 to date, there have been no expenses incurred by my Department in respect of hair and make-up.

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: A redundancy lump sum claim in respect of the person concerned has been awarded and payment will issue directly to the person's nominated bank account in the coming weeks.

Written Answers — Ministerial Transport: Ministerial Transport (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The Government decided in March 2011 to confine the use of State cars from 1 May 2011. Accordingly, I now use my own car for official business. The travel /mileage rates payable depend on the car engine size and also incorporate a number of expense elements associated with the cost of running a car. These cost elements include insurance, full membership of AA/RAC, road tax and licence. The...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: Following changes to the training and materials grant for Community Employment (CE) schemes announced in Budget 2012, the Department has made a commitment that no CE Scheme would close pending the completion of a review. All CE Scheme Sponsors are working with the Department to ensure that there is adequate funding for the continuation of their projects. The baseline amount of the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who proposes to hold an oral hearing in this case on 01 May 2012. The person concerned has been notified of the arrangements for the hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: 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 she was medically unsuitable for the allowance. An appeal was registered on 16 February 2012 and in accordance with the statutory procedures the relevant department papers and the comments of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 15 February 2012. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer for...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 14 January 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 on 27 March...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The above named was refused carer's allowance on two separate issues, firstly that she was employed outside the home for more than 15 hours per week, contrary to the conditions of eligibility for the scheme, and secondly on the grounds that the care recipient is not so disabled as to require full-time care and attention as prescribed in regulations. On 25 January 2012, she was notified of...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The National Internship Scheme is currently limited to individuals who are currently on the Live Register and have been in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance/Benefit or are signing on for credits for at least 3 of the last 6 months. Given the scale of the unemployment crisis, it is important that as employment opportunities become available they are taken up by those on the Live Register. The...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: A financial review of Community Employment (CE) Schemes is underway. 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 will take longer than originally envisaged to complete. This will allow more time for schemes to engage with local...

Written Answers — Public Relations Contracts: Public Relations Contracts (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: Details of the Department's usage of external public relations and communications companies over the past decade are outlined in the attached tabular statement. The Department spent a total of €8,700 over the past ten years on external public relations and communications consultants. Spending has been kept to this minimal level as the Department's press office deals with media queries and...

Written Answers — Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals: Domiciliary Care Allowance Appeals (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The continued entitlement to domiciliary care allowance of the person concerned was reviewed in January 2012. The case was referred to one of the Department's Medical Assessors who reviewed the entitlement based on the medical review form submitted and found that the child was no longer medically eligible for the allowance. The person concerned was notified of the decision on the 23rd...

Written Answers — Mortgage Interest Supplement Payments: Mortgage Interest Supplement Payments (25 Apr 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department does not maintain statistics on the number of mortgage interest supplement applications received. However, the number of mortgage interest supplement recipients at the end of each year for the period in question is provided in the attached tabular statement. Statistics are not available on the number of recipients by Dublin postal code. Mortgage Interest Supplement Recipients...