Results 26,921-26,940 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: The transitional payment was introduced to assist recipients of the one-parent family payment (OFP) in their transition to employment. Until 31 December, 2011, recipients of the OFP for 52 consecutive weeks, whose income exceeded the scheme's €425 weekly earnings disregard limit, were entitled to the transitional payment, which was paid at half of the rate of their OFP, for a period of 26...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 32 and 36 together. There are currently almost 96,000 individuals in receipt of a rent supplement payment at a cost of some €500million to the State in 2011. Two main initiatives are currently being pursued by the Department to transfer long-term rent supplement recipients to housing solutions supported by local authorities. These are the rental...

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: There is little doubt that the recent reduction in the redundancy rebate to employers will have an impact on companies. However, a reduction in the size of the redundancy rebate would not necessarily reduce the size of redundancy payments made to workers. Many employers are anxious to ensure that their former employees are adequately compensated in the event of redundancy and pay their...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: As part of Budget 2012, the Government decided that the amount of earnings disregarded for the purposes of the One Parent Family Payment (OFP) means test would be reduced from €146.50 to €130.00 per week in 2012 for new and existing recipients. Further reductions will be introduced over the following four years. Evidence suggests that the earnings disregard has been successful in...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Payments made to participants on a Community Employment (CE) Scheme and the Job Initiative (JI) Scheme are social-welfare-like payments and are therefore exempt from the Universal Social Charge (USC). Revenue has instructed CE and JI Scheme employers that USC does not apply to these exempt payments. If a participant on a CE scheme is also employed outside of the CE scheme in a part-time...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: The net reduction in combined income to a person currently on CE and in receipt of One-Parent Family Payment (OFP) is as follows: 1 child €22.30 per week 2 children €37.10 per week 3 children €51.90 per week 4 children €66.70 per week 5 children €81.50 per week 6 children €97.30 per week The reason the difference is less than the basic €29.80 child dependant rate is due to...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Under the Comprehensive Review of Expenditure in 2011 undertaken by my Department last year, the effectiveness and value for money of spending programmes was reviewed. The option to reduce the training and materials grants was included in this review. Following on from these changes, I have directed that a review of the financial resources of each individual scheme take place. This will...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: The person concerned was awarded disability allowance with effect from 14/07/1993. Following a review of his claim he was disallowed disability allowance with effect from 21/07/2011 as his means, derived from compensation he received, exceeded the limit for receipt of the allowance. The person appealed this decision and I understand from the Social Welfare Appeals Office that his case has...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (26 Jan 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 Jobseekers Allowance/Benefit or are signing on for credits for at least 3 of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that figures are not available as to the average time taken to register an appeal, such time being subject to the numbers of appeals to the Office at any given time. 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. In that...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 46, 121 and 124 together. Statistics are not available on the average length of time taken to assess mortgage interest supplement or other supplementary welfare allowance applications. The timescale for determining applications is dependent, among other things, on the availability of the required information, such as details of the applicant's income, bank...

Written Answers — Enterprise Support Services: Enterprise Support Services (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Two schemes are available to assist people on certain social welfare payments who wish to become self-employed; namely the short term enterprise allowance (STEA) and the back to work enterprise allowance (BTWEA). The STEA provides immediate access to support where people who have lost their jobs and qualify for jobseeker's benefit wish to set up a business. Payment under the scheme is at...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: The Government has taken a number of actions with respect to tackling unemployment, including those announced recently in the Budget. The key challenges facing the Government are: to create and maintain the conditions where employment can thrive providing incentives for job creation through the tax system and the supports available to new enterprises and those going through restructuring...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: My Department has no plans to abolish free travel for old age pensioners. The current free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by over 90...

Written Answers — Civil Registration Service: Civil Registration Service (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: The Law Reform Commission, in its report Legal Aspects of Family Relationships, makes recommendations relating to the conduct of family relationships, including compulsory joint registration of the birth of a child where the parents are not married to each other. The Commission also recommended that compulsory joint registration be linked to automatic joint parental responsibility...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: Permanent and pensionable employees in the public service, other than those who were recruited after 6 April, 1995, are liable to pay social insurance contributions at modified PRSI rates during their working lives. Subject to having the required number of PRSI contributions, employees who pay modified contributions may be entitled to the following payments: (a) widow's/widower's...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (26 Jan 2012)

Joan Burton: In order to qualify for an internship, an individual must be in receipt of a live jobseekers claim and have been in receipt of jobseekers allowance or jobseekers benefit, or signing for credits, for a minimum of three of the previous six months. Time spent of certain government sponsored training may also be taken into account when calculating eligibility. Providing they fulfil all Jobbridge...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (26 Jan 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 Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (26 Jan 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 she was capable of work. An appeal was registered on 17th January 2012 and the Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that, in accordance with statutory requirements, the Department was asked for the...

Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (26 Jan 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 20th January 2012, 2,395 persons are engaged with 5,000 to be engaged when Tús is fully operational later this Spring. Tús is focused on those people who are on the live register for 12...