Results 29,941-29,960 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

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

Joan Burton: These are important policy changes. Deputy Murphy has just referred to them. In this country, happily, more people are living to pension age and longer in retirement. The period for which an average pension will be paid will be greater than at present. That is a happy fact for Irish people and for older people. However, it has implications for how we structure pensions. It has...

Social Welfare Benefits (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: Suggesting to people that we will reform the social welfare system in a way that ensures people get options and opportunities is not in any way grandiose. I would have thought that was common sense because if we look at any community in any village or town throughout the country we see a wealth of resources available and a community spirit that is anxious to work with the local community and...

Pension Provisions (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: Increasing pensions coverage, particular among the lower paid and those with gaps in their employment, is a priority for the Government. The introduction of an auto-enrolment system is one of the best ways in which we can do this. An inter-departmental group, chaired by the Department of Social Protection, is developing the legislative, regulatory and administrative infrastructure required...

Pension Provisions (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The evidence from other countries is that auto-enrolment is a very effective way of getting more workers to start providing for retirement pensions at an earlier age. There is very considerable merit in this system, but its introduction in 2014 will very much depend on the economic conditions at that stage. Younger people are often focused on acquiring a house and other commitments, such as...

Pension Provisions (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: There are good models available and one of the best schemes that ever existed was the simple savings scheme with An Post. A person could basically save relatively small amounts of money for five years and get a return. This was dealt with in a very effective and comprehensive way. I acknowledge that An Post potentially would have a role to play in this, along with the NTMA. However, there...

Pension Provisions (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The pensions industry is an important industry and employer in this country. It is a very important route for many people, providing for pensions through defined benefit and defined contribution schemes. The industry will continue to play an important role. That does not in any way prevent the existence of schemes being offered through State mechanisms such as the NTMA and An Post. We...

Pension Provisions (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 32, 39, 52, 58, 65 and 68 together. The challenges facing the Irish pension system are significant. There is an important and significant policy background to these changes which is that with increases in life expectancy, more people are living to pension age and living longer in retirement. This has obvious implications for the future costs of State...

Pension Provisions (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: I do not know about the Deputy's experiences but I frequently meet older people who would like the right to work longer. Happily, as a society, we are all living longer. In terms of the contribution and commitment of this State, everybody in work paying taxation and PRSI is contributing extensively to pensions. Some 280,000 people are on contributory State pensions which cost €3.45...

Pension Provisions (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The discussions currently with public sector workers are under the aegis of the Croke Park Agreement and unless I am mistaken, workers and their representatives were voluntary participants in the Croke Park Agreement discussions and the structure and nature of that agreement. The State is an important and a critical employer in this country and it should be involved in negotiations with...

Pension Provisions (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: Some people wish to work longer while some wish to retire earlier. There may be people who have no particular desire to work at all, although they would be few in number. We must provide a good system of pensions in retirement which, in particular, allow for the different types of lives people live. Women, for instance, often drop in and drop out of the labour force because they may take...

Pension Provisions (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: Deputy Collins referred to people who are 90 years of age. The proposal is that in 2014 the standard pension age would become 66 years. The only person aged 90 I saw recently who is actively working was pretty impressive and is probably a strong recommendation for people remaining very active, but active in a way that is appropriate to their physical condition, age and inclinations. The...

Social Welfare Benefits (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The supplementary welfare allowance scheme, SWA, which is administered on behalf of the Department by the community welfare division of the Health Service Executive, HSE, is designed to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. Since 1 May 2004, all applicants for SWA regardless of nationality are required to be...

Social Welfare Benefits (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: The people involved have applied to the Irish social welfare system for a number of different payments. Some of those payments are determined by medical criteria. The view of the medical experts, who make their judgments in a medical context, was that they did not qualify for the payments for which they applied on medical grounds. With regard to the other payments for which they applied,...

Social Welfare Benefits (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: Yes. The Deputy must appreciate that in respect of the habitual residence condition there is a line between people moving to this country and claiming significant benefits from the State, which is currently under pressure, in a situation where they are not habitually resident in this country. They were in receipt of payments for a year, their case was reviewed and it is now subject to an...

Departmental Agencies (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: Pobal delivers a range of publicly and EU-funded programmes on behalf of a number of Departments. My reply concerns services delivered by Pobal in respect of the rural social scheme and the community services programme that transferred to the Department of Social Protection last September following the reconfiguration of Government functions announced in March 2010. Pobal operates under the...

Departmental Agencies (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: I thank the Deputy for his question and I would be happy to hear from him in detail about the problems or delays he has encountered in respect of payment of participants. The services provided by Pobal could be provided by my Department or other Departments but it is unlikely to result in significant savings. Staff resources would need to be deployed, systems would need development and the...

Departmental Agencies (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: A number of ICT and computer facilitation upgrades are taking place in the Department. If the Deputy outlines his concerns, I will examine them. The Department of Social Protection is responsible for paying more than 1 million people some kind of payment or benefit. The Department took on redundancy and insolvency payments in order to reduce the backlog when those payments were managed by...

Departmental Staff (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: Since May 2008, some 825 posts have been assigned to the Department of Social Protection to fill critical staff vacancies and additional posts approved to deal with the significant increase in claims for the schemes operated by the Department. The assignment details on a yearly basis are set out in the following table. The majority of these posts have been sourced through the lateral...

Departmental Staff (15 Jun 2011)

Joan Burton: There are a number of different elements to reducing the overall waiting times for people making applications for benefits and schemes, as well as for allowances. The Deputy referred to duplication and the laborious processes taking time and causing delays. One of the overall changes that the Department is undergoing currently, as the Deputy is aware, is that community welfare officers are...

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

Joan Burton: We heard a number of important contributions from Deputies this morning airing concerns that the reduction in an employer's PRSI to half of what it is currently would lead to employers reducing employment or wages. I stated this morning there are two balancing measures in this legislation; one is the restoration of the minimum wage which, in effect, raises it by €1 per hour to €8.65, and...