Results 26,121-26,140 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Social Welfare Benefits (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I put it to the Deputy that there were advertisements in the newspaper recently relating to the review being carried out and an invitation to interested individuals or organisations. Certainly, I will ask the officials of the Department to re-advise any of the caring organisations that the review is ongoing and that they have been asked to make submissions. I understand they are all aware...

Social Welfare Benefits (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Deputy Ó Snodaigh has suggested that parents should be given a longer period of notice before a review takes place. I will examine whether that is possible. The Deputy is aware that the domiciliary care allowance was taken over from the HSE and the Department of Health only a short number of years ago. The assessment for the domiciliary care allowance and the reviews are medically based....

Social Welfare Benefits (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I take the reference to expanding and extending the pre-notice period. None of the cases taken over from the HSE has been fully reviewed as yet. When the medical diagnosis and assessments are made there are often review dates put on the file to determine how the child progresses. Perhaps shortly after the initial award is made the parents could be advised so that they are made aware.

Community Employment Schemes (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: As announced in the Pathways to Work programme, one of the five strands will provide greater targeting of activation places and opportunities for job seekers, especially those who are more than one year unemployed. My Department will continue to provide supports in the form of work experience and training through the community and voluntary sectors. There are 85,650 places through a variety...

Community Employment Schemes (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Deputy referred to special places. I assume he has in mind ring-fenced places for CE schemes managed by community drug teams and services which, essentially, are rehabilitative in nature. In the review, I asked specifically that this particular CE provision remain ring-fenced, because it provides an important and particular service to people who have or have had a drug problem who are...

Community Employment Schemes (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: In child care, there is a specific budget within the overall budget for training. I do not want to prejudge the outcome of the review but child care will occupy a significant and important place with regard to both training opportunities for employment in both the public and private sector and in terms of delivery to a local community where access to good quality child care and after school...

Community Employment Schemes (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Given the transfer of CE to the Department of Social Protection, its importance, the large amount of money spent on CE, the large numbers of people on CE and the 1,400 supervisors employed, it would be very odd if the Department did not conduct a review of this important and significant area of social, economic and training activity. I am aware that many people have asked why we did not...

Farm Assist Scheme (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The changes in the farm assist scheme referred to by the Deputy will result in estimated savings of €5 million in a full year and will affect approximately 10,000 recipients. Farm assist is a means-tested payment which is broadly similar to jobseeker's allowance. There are currently approximately 11,310 recipients on the scheme. It is expected to cost €115 million this year, slightly...

Farm Assist Scheme (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: As I said, the farm assist scheme currently benefits 11,311 farmers and farm families. Approximately 10% of them are not affected by this measure because they have little or no income from farming. As I indicated in my reply, the disregards that apply are significantly in excess of what is provided under jobseeker's allowance. In fact, farm assist will continue to constitute a significant...

Farm Assist Scheme (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I do not have records with me on the number of visits by inspectors. I will ask officials in the Department to send that information to the Deputy. The changes took place in the context of budget 2012. There are no proposals for any further changes. As the Deputy will appreciate, I am not in a position to give undertakings about future budgets.

Employment Support Services (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The first step in establishing the proposed national employment and entitlements service involved transferring staff from the community welfare service and FÁS to the Department of Social Protection. As I said earlier, the transfer of more than 1,700 staff from the two bodies was completed on schedule in October 2011 and January 2012. Approximately 7,000 staff are now employed in the...

Employment Support Services (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Department's staff development unit includes trainers from the Department and the former community welfare service. This unit, which takes the lead in developing and organising relevant training, is planning to train staff on the new services and processes. Some 29 staff are employed directly in the staff development unit. Its training budget for 2012 is €1.6 million, which compares...

Control Savings (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Control savings are an estimate of the value of the various control activities across the Department's schemes. They represent an estimate of the value of prevented future social welfare expenditure on claims that would have been incurred if the control work had not been carried out. Control savings are used as a performance indicator for year-on-year activities. They do not include any...

Control Savings (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I am surprised by the Deputy's statement because in my experience, most people in receipt of a social welfare income are very anxious that the small number of people who are scamming the system should be stopped in so far as this is possible. I hear this from pensioners and from unemployed people. I hear concerns expressed about employers who may be employing people under the counter, as it...

Control Savings (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: I repeat that the figure of €645 million is the prevention of expenditure which would occur if checks and extensive checking were not undertaken to ensure that people were in receipt of the correct payments. The fraud initiative includes targeted reviews and examinations within areas which may be deemed to be a fraud risk. The most effective use of audit resources is to target at-risk...

Control Savings (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: Deputy Ó Snodaigh's reference to the Garda Síochána is really important. We have all discussed that if there is an emphasis on community policing and if an estate is not allowed to be run down and if broken windows are repaired, then law-abiding citizens are more confident that everything is being done properly. Is the Deputy now saying that extra policing resources are a waste of time-----

Control Savings (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: -----because that is exactly what-----

Control Savings (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: The Deputy's analogy is exactly the point about social welfare fraud. Deputy Wallace has said that if -----

Control Savings (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: -----an employer is competing with a business down the street which is employing people under the counter and in the shadow economy, that business has to compete against a business with an unfair advantage over a legitimate employer. There has to be some honesty in this regard. I repeat that the vast majority of people who have social welfare income support of any kind are paid exactly what...

Written Answers — Departmental Statistics: Departmental Statistics (1 Mar 2012)

Joan Burton: As the Deputy is aware, there are 439,422 signing on the Live Register at present. Over 88,000 of these are employed for part of the week. Another 31,000 are signing for PRSI credits only and do not receive a payment. The total number of people on the Live Register receiving a payment in respect of a full week of unemployment is under 285,000. The total exceeded 400,000 for the first...