Results 27,201-27,220 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton
- Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: Following changes to Community Employment schemes announced in Budget 2012, the Government is fully committed to the protection and development of community and social employment initiatives. Community Employment schemes provide a very important and valued contribution to social employment, training and progression for unemployed people. Furthermore, many Community Employment schemes provide...
- Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: The changes to the payment of concurrent allowances to Lone Parents and Persons with a Disability will only apply to new entrants after 16 January. A new entrant is a person who has not participated on Community Employment in the preceding 12 months. The Department of Social Protection income-maintenance payment will cease for new entrants in receipt of the following payments: One Parent...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 350, 373 and 426 together. Social welfare legislation provides that a person must satisfy the conditions of being available for and genuinely seeking work in order to be entitled to jobseeker's benefit or jobseeker's allowance. Any person who fails to satisfy these conditions is not entitled to a jobseeker's payment. Part-time fire-fighters are entitled to a...
- Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: There is a total of 18 staff serving in the Department's Local Office in Donegal Town. All of the staff have been officially appointed as deciding officers. The Department provides staff training through local trainers and the Department's Staff Development Unit on an ongoing basis. The office in Ballybofey is a Branch Office which is operated under a contract for services by a Branch...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an oral hearing of this case took place on 5 January 2012. The Appeals Officer is now considering the appeal in the light of all the evidence submitted, including that adduced at the hearing. The person concerned will be notified of the Appeals Officer's decision when the appeal has been determined. The Social Welfare Appeals Office...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer having fully considered all the available evidence disallowed the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. A note on the reasons for the Appeals Officers decision was conveyed to the appellant by letter dated 20 December 2011. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: At the end of December 2011 there were 2,977 people in receipt of Rent Supplement in County Donegal, a fall of over 6% from the end of December 2010, when there were 3,194 people in receipt of Rent Supplement in County Donegal. 47% or 1,413 of the 2,977 people currently on Rent Supplement in County Donegal are on either Jobseeker's Allowance or Jobseeker's Benefit. These represent less than...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: The information requested by the Deputy is not routinely collated by my Department and for that reason, it is not possible in the time available to provide the requested information specifically in relation to County Donegal. However on a national basis, the following is the position: Just over half (51%) of the people on the Live Register receive less than the maximum personal weekly rate:...
- Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: I would refer the Deputy to my reply to question numbers 99, 89 & 102 on 1st December 2011. The position remains unchanged.
- Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: A redundancy lump sum claim in respect of the person concerned was received on 20 July 2011. Redundancy lump sum claims received at the start of May 2011 are currently being processed.
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jan 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 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 3...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the person concerned submitted a letter to Carrigaline Local Office appealing the decision of the Deciding Officer in this case. This letter was received in that office on 10 October 2011 and the case was referred to Social Welfare Inspector on 26 October 2011 for further investigation who upheld the decision of the Deciding Officer....
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: The changes to the payment of concurrent allowances to participants with a Widow/Widowers contribution pension will only apply to new entrants after 16 January. A new entrant is a person who has not participated on Community Employment in the preceding 12 months. Existing participants will retain this payment. The payment of concurrent allowances for a Qualified Child Dependent will end...
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: The recently announced changes to the rates of payment for State pension are necessary if we are to ensure the sustainability of pension provision into the future. People are living longer and healthier lives and growing numbers of people want to work, or may need to work beyond State pension age. The challenges facing the Irish pension system are significant. There are currently six...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: One parent family payment (OFP) is a means tested social assistance payment. The amount of the payment depends on the weekly means of the parent. In assessing means, account is taken of all cash income which the person is receiving including maintenance payments. Currently, earnings of less than â¬130 per week are excluded from the assessment of means, with the result that people earning...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: The Department has been accepting new claims for domiciliary care allowance (DCA) since 1 April 2009. Statistics relating to the allowance for the period prior to April 2009 are a matter for the HSE, the previous administrators of the scheme. The number of applicants for DCA that were received, awarded and refused in each year to date is detailed in the table. A breakdown of the...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an appeal for the person concerned has not been registered. However, because of the large number of appeals currently being lodged, there is a backlog in the office in registering appeals. If the appeal has been submitted in recent weeks the appeal will be registered and acknowledged in due course. The Chief Appeals Officer has assured...
- Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: It would take some time to retrieve the funding breakdown for each of the Community Employment Schemes in County Louth for each of the three years. The overall expenditure on Community Employment Programmes administered by the FAS Offices in Dundalk and Drogheda over the three year period in question is as follows: Dundalk Drogheda 2009 â¬7,861,376 â¬6,346,664 2010 â¬7,751,245...
- Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 21 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 5...
- Written Answers — Community Employment Schemes: Community Employment Schemes (11 Jan 2012)
Joan Burton: The announced changes to the allowances and grants payable to Community Employment programmes and participants were not restricted to the special Community Employment drug rehabilitation projects. Such projects continue to maintain the favourable criteria enjoyed by them in relation to supervisor ratios, support workers, duration and eligibility criteria. Following changes to Community...