Results 26,001-26,020 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: My Department is committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers and continuously strives to achieve the highest standard of customer service possible. The Department relies on the knowledge and expertise of its staff to deliver these services and, in view of their crucial role, the numbers of staff required to deliver a quality customer service is kept under constant...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The table details the number of permanent posts allocated to the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2007. The significant increase in staff between 2011 and 2012 is due to additional posts assigned to the office during 2011, and the transfer of the Community Welfare Service to the Department in October 2011. In addition to the permanent posts detailed in the table, there were eight retired...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Pathways to Work policy which was launched by the Government on the 23rd of February incorporates the establishment of the new National Employment and Entitlements Service and commits to a new approach to the provision of services for unemployed people. The objective is to reduce the level of long term unemployment and to ensure those who are unemployed will be provided with appropriate...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The number of claims pending a decision on their eligibility at January 31st 2012 was 104,711 compared to a total of 118,682 at the same date in 2011. This is a reduction of almost 14,000 or more than 11% in claims pending a decision over the twelve month period. About half of the total reduction is in the areas of Jobseeker's Benefit and Jobseeker's Allowance. Scheme Claims Pending...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department is committed to delivering the best possible service to its customers. In order to meet the challenge of increased volumes of new claims for its schemes, the department has embarked on a major programme of process redesign and modernisation, including the deployment of new computer systems. The deployment of new systems is a very resource intensive task and has, as a...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Medical assessments and medical reviews of eligibility for social welfare schemes are carried out either "in-person" or "at desk". In 2011, over 104,000 desk assessments/reviews and some 38,800 in-person assessments/reviews were carried out by the Department's medical assessors. All medical assessments and medical reviews are undertaken by fully qualified medical practitioners who have...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The domiciliary care allowance (DCA) is a monthly payment to the parent/guardian of a child with a severe disability requiring continual or continuous care and attention substantially in excess of the care and attention normally required by a child of the same age. This care and attention must be provided to allow the child to deal with the activities of daily living and the child must be...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (13 Mar 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. There has been a very significant increase in the number of appeals received by the Social Welfare Appeals Office since 2007 when the intake was 14,070 to 2010 and 2011 when the intake rose to 32,432 and 31,241...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department has a broad-ranging and comprehensive control strategy which aims to keep fraud and abuse to a minimum. Social welfare fraud undermines public confidence in the entire system as well as being unfair to other recipients of social welfare payments, taxpayers and business run on a legitimate basis. The effectiveness of control policies and activities are measured on an on-going...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Domiciliary care allowance (DCA) can be paid in respect of children under 16 years of age who have a disability so severe that it requires the child needing care and attention and/or supervision substantially in excess of another child of the same age. This care and attention must be given by another person, effectively full-time, so that the child can deal with the activities of daily...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: DCA is a monthly payment to the parent/guardian of a child with a disability so severe that the child requires care and attention and/or supervision substantially in excess of another child of the same age. This care and attention must be provided to allow the child to deal with the activities of daily living. The child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least...

Written Answers — Departmental Programmes: Departmental Programmes (13 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The community services programme (CSP) co-funds the services delivered by around 425 community based not-for-profit enterprises across the State. Some €45.4 million has been allocated to the programme for 2012, which will support 2,800 people in full and part time employment. CSP funding is primarily intended to contribute to the wages costs of the service provider expressed as a fixed...

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

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 26th September 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 27th...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (8 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the illness benefit claim of the person concerned was disallowed by a deciding officer of the Department following an examination by a Medical Assessor who expressed the opinion that she was capable of work. She appealed this decision and in that context she was examined by another Medical Assessor who also expressed the opinion that she...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (8 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Payment of illness benefit to the person concerned was disallowed by a Deciding Officer following an examination by a Medical Assessor of the Department who expressed the opinion that he was capable of work. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an appeal was registered, in this case, on 7 March 2012 and in accordance with statutory requirements, the Department was asked for...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (8 Mar 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 August 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 4...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (8 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Employee Retention Grant Scheme is one of four employment support schemes included in the DSP Reasonable Accommodation Fund which were administered by FÁS until December 2011, and subsequently by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) since January 2012, namely: - Work Equipment Adaptation Grant - Job Interview Grant - Personal Reader Grant - Employee Retention Grant FÁS did...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (8 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Disability Awareness Support Scheme (DASS) was administered by FÁS until December 2011. It was originally titled the Disability Awareness Training Scheme (DATS) but it was renamed in 2011 by FÁS on the withdrawal of the FÁS/Enterprise Ireland National Register of Trainers. It is administered by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) since January 2012. FÁS did not collate details...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (8 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The information requested by the Deputy is not finalised for 2011. I have provided, for his information, a table which sets out by actual scheme the cost to the State of illness benefit, invalidity pension and occupational injury benefit for the years 2007 to 2010 together with the provisional outturn for 2011 and the provision in the 2012 Revised Estimates Volume in respect of these schemes....

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (8 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The National Internship Scheme provides internship opportunities of either 6 or 9 months for unemployed individuals on the Live Register, in organisations in the private, public and community voluntary sectors. The scheme is limited to individuals who are currently on the Live Register and have been in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance/Benefit or are signing on for credits for at least 3 of...