Results 29,901-29,920 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: As the Deputy is aware there is a commitment in the Programme for Government to review the operation of the rent supplement scheme with a view to introducing a code of conduct for rent supplement eligibility similar to that which operates for local authority tenants. The purpose of this review is to ensure that tenants who are receiving long term support from the State under the rent...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Fraud: Social Welfare Fraud (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The Department has a broad-ranging and comprehensive control strategy. The emphasis is to minimise risks of fraud and eliminate incorrect payments. Ensuring that the right person is paid the right amount of money at the right time is an integral part of the day-to-day work of the Department. Control activity is focused on prevention of fraud and error from the very first point of contact...

Written Answers — Training and Education Programmes: Training and Education Programmes (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The Department of Social Protection funds the provision of work experience and work placements under a number of different programmes and through a number of different agencies. The work placement programme has provision for 7,000 work experience places and is delivered by FÁS. Community employment provides 22,300 places, the majority of which are considered to be work experience and is...

Written Answers — Training and Education Programmes: Training and Education Programmes (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The Programme for Government promised that an additional 15,000 places would be provided in training, education and work experience opportunities within the Government's first 100 days of taking office. In last month's Jobs Initiative the Government delivered an additional 20,900 training, education and work experience places. The Department is responsible for 5,000 of these additional...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: This Government is committed to tackling Ireland's economic crisis in a way that is fair, balanced, and which recognises the need for social solidarity. The appropriate level of overall expenditure by my Department will be considered in the context of Budget 2012 and subsequent Budgets. This consideration will be informed by the commitment in the Programme for Government to maintain social...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The sad reality is that social welfare fraud exists. Every euro lost through such fraud represents money taken from the purses and pockets of those who really need social welfare support. I am shocked that some Deputies appear to find the notion of social welfare fraud something which should just be condoned and almost endorsed. That is entirely unacceptable. We are in the middle of a...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: People who work hard for low wages and who pay PRSI are paying for the social welfare system. It should not be the case that others should be allowed to defraud that system.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The social welfare system is a social contract. The viability of that contract depends on ordinary people being confident that the system is not being milked, abused or scammed by a very small number of individuals. The number of those involved in social welfare fraud is not that great. Unfortunately, those people who are involved in such activity completely destroy the confidence of...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The staff of the Department of Social Protection receive a great deal of training and there is a culture of giving people advice, publishing a considerable amount of information on the Department website and making information available in particular through citizens' information centres and MABS for people who are in difficulty with mortgages. Regarding citizens' information structures, I...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: This is a provision that the Deputy might welcome. It is to provide that the domiciliary care allowance is not assessable as means for supplementary welfare allowance purposes. It is to benefit people who are in receipt of domiciliary care allowance. I recommend the section to the House.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: I thank Deputies who raised the FLAC submission and would like to give them some background in regard to this. Section 241(1A) and (1B) of the Social Welfare Act, as inserted by section 9 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2009, provided that new claimants of all social welfare payments could be required to provide a range of information for profiling and activation purposes. If one...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: It is all the new claimants.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: Yes. The forms have been redesigned with the assistance of the ESRI. The pilot project is to ensure, first, the collection of information that is relevant to the purpose of this, which is to help people with education, training, work experience and so forth. The forms have been redesigned and the information is computerised. When we have the full outcome of the pilot project we expect to...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: I will respond to Deputy Joan Collins's points first. The person who applies for and accepts an internship will get an internship for a six-month or nine-month period. While on the internship, the person will retain existing entitlements to jobseeker's payments. My Department will pay an additional €50 per week for the duration of the internship. The issue of three days does not apply...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The short answer is that Tús was specifically designed by my predecessor, Deputy Ó Cuív, as an expansion of the rural social scheme, which is popular in parts of the west.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The rural social scheme was confined to specifically rural-----

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: I apologise. I thought the Acting Chairman called me.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: That is a maximum figure.

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: Did he not do well?

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: To reassure Deputies, the host organisation which identifies a potential internship opportunity must nominate a suitable mentor from within the organisation, such as the HR department, if a company is of large enough to have one, to oversee the process. Companies must apply to the national employment and entitlements service to have the internship recognised. They will have to make an...