Results 28,761-28,780 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) scheme operates from the beginning of June until the end of September each year. Those customers who did not receive an automated payment are required to complete and return an application form to the Department. In all cases a letter will issue to applicants informing them of the decision and, where payment has been awarded, when...

Written Answers — Illness Benefit Scheme: Illness Benefit Scheme (5 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 141 and 142 together. The Department does not separately record the number of sick days taken by public sector or private sector employees. It operates the illness benefit scheme which is a payment for insured people who cannot work due to illness. A person, whether employed in the public or private sector, may qualify for illness benefit if s/he is unable...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (5 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: The prevention of fraud and abuse of the social welfare system is an integral part of the day-to-day work of the Department. The Department processes in excess of 2 million claims each year and it makes payments to over one million people every week. The vast majority of people are receiving the entitlement due to them. My Department does not record the total number of family units who are...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (5 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: Section 17 of the Social Welfare and Pensions (No.2) Act, 2009, amended the Social Welfare (Consolidation) Act, 2005, to include provision for the appointment of authorised officers who, in certain circumstances, will have the power to obtain information from financial institutions without the consent of the customer. It is intended that these powers will be confined to a limited number of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (5 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: My Department operates a wide range of schemes under which a person may be entitled to receive a payment if they satisfy all of the various conditions for receipt of that payment. The conditions for receipt of a primary weekly payment, such as Disability Allowance or State Pension, typically include experiencing a prescribed contingency, such as unemployment, disability or old age, and...

Seanad: Flood Relief (5 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: Since I know the area well personally, I am aware of the devastation the flooding caused, the considerable disruption that families suffered and how long it has taken for the area to begin to recover from the disastrous floods. I acknowledge Senator White's interest in the topic and I thank her for raising the matter. In recognition of the devastation suffered by people in many areas of the...

Written Answers — Money Advice and Budgeting Service: Money Advice and Budgeting Service (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: I refer the Deputy to my response to Question No. 240 of 27 September 2011. As advised, a proposal to establish a joint Citizens Information Centre (CIC) and MABS office in Killarney is currently being considered by the Citizens Information Board, who has responsibility for MABS on behalf of my Department. Currently a MABS office is located at Edward Court, Edward Street, Tralee, Co. Kerry,...

Written Answers — Flood Relief: Flood Relief (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: The Government has provided various types of support to people affected by the November 2009 flooding. Humanitarian Aid payments were made, both in the immediate aftermath of the flooding and subsequently to enable eligible households to resume living at their home. Flood relief works were also undertaken in some of the affected areas and other works are at an advanced state of preparation....

Written Answers — Social Insurance: Social Insurance (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: Based on the most up to date information, an increase of 1 percentage point in the main employer rate of PRSI from 10.75% to 11.75% would yield an additional €444m in a full year for the Social Insurance Fund. An equivalent 1 percentage point increase in the rate of PRSI paid by employees from 4% to 5% would yield an additional €374m for the Fund.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: Under the supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme, the Health Service Executive (HSE) may make a single payment to help meet essential, once-off, exceptional expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. Those who qualify are normally in receipt of a social welfare or HSE payment. The principal consideration in making a single payment...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: The overall objective of the Pension system in Ireland is to provide an adequate basic standard of living through direct State supports and to encourage people to make supplementary pension provision so that they may have an adequate income in retirement. The State already provides a funding mechanism to secure a basic income for all contributors through the PRSI system and the payment of...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: Interns participating in JobBridge will continue to receive the social welfare entitlements, including secondary benefits such as fuel allowance, they had been receiving immediately prior to commencing on the scheme. However, interns would not be entitled to benefits, such as fuel allowance, if they were not receiving that entitlement before they began their internship.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA) scheme operates from the beginning of June until the end of September each year. The timescale for determining applications for Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance claims is dependent on a number of factors including: the number of applications received, when the application is lodged, the availability of the required...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 8th September 2011. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Social Welfare Services on the grounds of appeal be sought. When received, the appeal in question will be referred to an Appeals Officer for...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (4 Oct 2011)

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

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (4 Oct 2011)

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 when the intake rose to 32,432. This has significantly...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: I can confirm that an application for the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance has been received in respect of this family. The child concerned is over 18 years of age and, therefore, there is an obligation on the family to provide evidence that the child is continuing to participate in full-time education. This evidence was not submitted with the application and the applicant has...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been awarded a back to school clothing and footwear allowance and a payment issued to her nominated account on the 16th September 2011.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Appeals: Social Welfare Appeals (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: The statistics requested in relation to applications for domiciliary care allowance in 2010 and 2011 are shown in the following table. The latest figures available for 2011 are to the end of Q2. Total Total Applications Appeals sent Appeals Appeals Year Received Processed Disallowed for decision Finalised allowed 2010 5457 5333 2782 1259 957370 2011 2991 2682 1512 652...

Written Answers — Employment Support Services: Employment Support Services (4 Oct 2011)

Joan Burton: The aim of JobBridge, the national internship scheme, is to assist in breaking the cycle where jobseekers are unable to get a job without experience, either as new entrants to the labour market after education or training or as unemployed workers wishing to learn new skills. The scheme aims to make the experience as close as possible to a working experience for the jobseeker and, as such,...