Results 6,941-6,960 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I am very pleased as leader of the Labour Party-----

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: -----to have introduced a €5 increase in this year's budget for child benefit.

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I am even more pleased that a significant number of increases have been targeted specifically at lone parents on transitional payments.

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The means test and the assessment for family income supplement have been eased significantly. The incomes of lone parents and the parents described by the Deputy working part-time have been very significantly increased over the past year-----

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: -----and will be further increased this year through a significant expansion of the family income supplement to bring up the earnings of such a family significantly. With regard to child care, we have had a very detailed examination over the past year, spearheaded by a number of our Deputies who have taken a particular interest in this subject, such as Deputies Arthur Spring and Ciara...

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: Furthermore, for families on low income we have community-based child care, with which Deputy McDonald may not be familiar, but which is an extremely important facility-----

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: -----for families on low incomes getting community-based child care throughout the country. Not only this, but we are improving regulation, standards and the qualification levels of the people who work in child care. All of this is designed to achieve a much improved provision of child care in this country.

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I am happy to say that next September we will have the introduction of the first child care paternity leave for men, introduced on a modest scale as resources allow for two weeks, and we hope over the life of the next Government to improve and expand this. We also hope, as I said in the course of the budget debate, to expand the further provision of paid parental care in the first year of...

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I am very proud that the Government of the Labour Party and Fine Gael has been able to achieve that.

Leaders' Questions (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: As the Deputy is probably aware, earlier this week I, the Taoiseach and other Ministers, including my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, met representatives of the insurance industry in Ireland to discuss insurance for those who have been unfortunate enough to have been affected by the recent flooding. As part of the discussion, the insurance industry set out its...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Illness Benefit Eligibility (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: Illness benefit is a payment for people who cannot work due to illness and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. One of the PRSI conditions is that a person must have a minimum of 39 reckonable contributions paid or credited in the governing contribution year. Claims made in 2015 were governed by the 2013 tax year, and only PRSI Classes A, E, H, and P...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance Payments (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: A person on ceasing to be employed or self-employed can opt to become a voluntary contributor by submitting an application to the Department. The application has to be submitted within one year of the end of the tax year in which the person last worked and the person is required to make an annual payment of the contribution within prescribed time limits. Two changes have been made to the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: According to the Department’s records the person concerned is now living with his brother and is no longer entitled to a Living Alone Allowance. If a person in receipt of a qualifying payment is living alone or only with another person who is in receipt of Carer’s Allowance or Carer’s Benefit and caring for the person getting the qualifying payment, (in this instance...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Payments (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 12 November 2015. The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: Section 20 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 provides for the collection of PRSI contributions from every person over the age of 16 years and under pensionable age who has reckonable income or reckonable emoluments. The person referred to by the Deputy received a payment from an assurance company after he retired from his previous employment. This payment was reckonable under...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The age limit for receipt of domiciliary care allowance (DCA) is 16 years. As the child concerned will reach the age of 16 years in April 2016, DCA is no longer payable after that date. A letter issued in December 2015, to the person concerned, advising that payment of the DCA allowance is due to end in April 2016, but that her child could apply for disability allowance in his own right. ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Treatment Benefit Scheme (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The dental and optical benefit schemes were restricted to a free annual dental exam and a free two yearly optical examination from January 2010. The cost (in €millions) for the last 6 years for the two schemes and for 2009, the last year the schemes operated unrestricted, are set out in the table below: Year Dental Optical Total 2009 62.3 17 79.3 2010 25 6.2 31.2 2011 9.1 3.3 12.4...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 8 January 2016, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Applications (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on 3 July 2015. This application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on the 14th October 2015 outlining the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the allowance. A review of this decision was requested on 2nd...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Appeals (14 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The appeal of the person concerned against a refusal to backdate carer's allowance has been allowed. The application has been awarded from 27 November 2014. The person concerned was notified of this decision on 8 January 2016. The person concerned has an outstanding disability allowance (DA) debt of €9,463.60 and this debt is recoverable by the department. The department shortly...