Results 26,041-26,060 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (7 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 income level of parents does not impact on eligibility to access the National Internship Scheme; rather the Scheme is targeted at individuals who are currently on the Live Register...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the redundancy payments scheme is to compensate workers, under the Redundancy Payments Acts, for the loss of their jobs by reason of redundancy. Compensation is based on the worker's length of reckonable service and reckonable weekly remuneration, subject to a ceiling of €600.00 per week. All payments are made from the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). There are two types of...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 109 together. Staff from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) met with the chairperson and supervisors of the Blanchardstown Centre for the Unemployed to discuss the reduction in funding that was announced in the budget. The DSP acknowledges the valuable contribution made by this and other community employment projects. However, due to the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: No recent application for mortgage interest supplement has been received from the person concerned. A representative from the department contacted him on 5th March 2012 and advised him of the current eligibility criteria.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (7 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 14th October 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 04th...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the rural social scheme is to provide income support for farmers and fisherpersons who have an entitlement to specified social welfare payments. Persons are engaged for 191⁄2 hours per week to provide certain services of benefit to rural communities. The rural social scheme currently provides work opportunities for around 2,600 participants and 130 supervisory staff. I...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The process of reviewing each Community Employment (CE) scheme is continuing. Returns from the review meetings are now being examined on a regional basis in terms of the funding requirements and what savings can be achieved within the limits set down by the Department. These outcomes will be analysed and will form the basis of the review findings which will be available from the end of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: State pension (transition) (SPT) and State pension (contributory) (SPC) are social insurance payments made when a person reaches 65 and 66 years of age respectively. They are both based on the person's social insurance record (PRSI) from employment or self employment. To qualify a person needs to (a) enter insurable employment by age 55 for State pension (transition) and age 56 for State...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The challenges facing the Irish pension system are significant. There are currently six people of working age for every pensioner and this ratio is expected to decrease to approximately two to one by 2050. In addition, those aged over 65 will account for a greater proportion of the population while the proportion who are of working age is expected to decline. So the task of financing...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Further to my response to Parliamentary Question Ref. No. 9733/12 on 21 February 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...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Tús, the community work placement initiative introduced during 2011, will provide short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year when fully operational. As of week ending, 2nd March 2012, 2,992 persons were on the payroll with 5,000 to be employed when Tús is fully operational. As of Monday, 5th March 2012, 50 participants and 3 supervisors have...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I am very conscious of the need to provide efficient and effective customer facing services at a local level for clients of the Department in Kerry and every other part of the country and in this regard the location of the Department's offices are kept under constant review to ensure Departmental services are easily accessible to all clients. In order to offer a more streamlined, efficient...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (7 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 04th 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 28th...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The person concerned had no court approved access to his child prior to the application for rent supplement. Hence, the Department consistently requested that the client reduce his rent to the single limit for Kildare in order to qualify for rent supplement. However, the client has not complied with any of the requests to date. When the person concerned renegotiates the rent to the...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The persons concerned are in receipt of payments which are in excess of the prescribed income rates applicable. The income limit appropriate for this couple is €312.80 per week. However, the household is in receipt of an average income of €496.78 per week and are thus entitled to a monthly rent supplement of €62.40.

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of the Department are the Citizens Information Board, the Pensions Board and the Social Welfare Tribunal. In addition, the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department but it does not have a Board. Since 1 January 2009, no person who was a member of any of the above Boards within the preceding 12 months has...

Human Rights Issues (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I thank Deputies Tuffy, Troy, Mac Lochlainn and Maureen O'Sullivan for raising this important matter. Human rights are and always have been a priority of successive Irish Governments and a key plank of their foreign policy. Together with our EU partners, Ireland monitors the human rights situations in many countries throughout the world on the basis of information obtained from a variety of...

Human Rights Issues (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I again thank the four Deputies for contributing to the debate on this matter. I am very conscious of the fact that Mrs. Bibi is the mother of five children. We are on the eve of International Women's Day and the sentiments expressed by the Deputies provide a strong indication of the difficulties experienced by women in confinement. It is approximately ten years since the people voted to...

JobBridge Scheme (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The objective of JobBridge, the national internship scheme, is to assist individuals bridge the gap between unemployment and the world of work. It provides those seeking employment with an opportunity to undertake a six or nine month internship in a host organisation. Participation in the scheme will assist in breaking the cycle, whereby...

JobBridge Scheme (7 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department has received requests to participate in the scheme from lone parents and people with disabilities. A general review of the scheme which has proved very popular is being undertaken. Many are anxious to avail of the opportunities advertised on the JobBridge website. I will undertake to have graduate architects who have not formally completed their professional examinations...