Results 7,101-7,120 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The social welfare system is primarily a contingency-based system, with entitlement based on a number of defined contingencies such as sickness, unemployment, old age or widowhood. There are two basic principles which underpin the Irish social insurance system. Firstly there is the contributory principle which links the PRSI contributions that a person has paid and their entitlement to a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Debt Collection (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The Department is obliged to recover debt owed to it as quickly as possible, having due regard to the circumstances of the debtor. The person concerned has an outstanding carer’s allowance (CA) debt of €22,224.42 which the Department is recovering by way of €50.00 weekly deductions from her CA payment. The person concerned was refunding the debt by weekly...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the Department received an application for carer’s allowance (CA) from the person concerned on 22 September 2015. The application was referred by a deciding officer (DO) to a local social welfare inspector (SWI) to assess the level of care being provided, assess means and confirm that all the conditions for receipt of CA are satisfied. Once the SWI has reported, a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the Department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 7 September 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: Disability Allowance Appeals (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: In 2013, following a successful appeal to the Social Welfare Appeals Office against a disallowance of an application for disability allowance (DA) on medical grounds in 2011, the file was returned to the Department for further examination of the person’s eligibility for DA. At that time, the person in question was requested by a deciding officer (DO) to provide additional...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I confirm the Department received an application for disability allowance (DA) on 15 September 2015. In order to determine the circumstances of the person concerned, her file was forwarded to her local Social Welfare Inspector (SWI). The SWI will arrange to meet with the person in question as soon as possible. A decision on her entitlement to DA will be made on receipt of the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Domiciliary Care Allowance Review (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: An application for domiciliary care allowance was received from the person concerned on 26 August 2015. This application was not allowed as the child was not considered to satisfy the qualifying conditions for the allowance. A letter issued on 13 November 2015 outlining the decision of the deciding officer to refuse the application. A review of this decision was requested on 23...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: Carer's allowance (CA) is a social assistance payment, made to persons who are providing full-time care and attention to a person who has a disability such that they require that level of care and who satisfy a means test. Carer’s allowance is not generally payable outside the State. However, where either the carer or care recipient needs to undergo medical or other treatment of a...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the Department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 8 September 2015. Additional information in relation to the person’s application has been requested by a deciding officer. Once the information is received the application will be processed without delay and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme Applications (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, has decided to disallow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned has been notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Appeals (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that the appeal from the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer who has decided to convene an oral hearing in this case. Every effort will be made to hear the case as quickly as possible and the appellant will be informed when arrangements for the oral hearing have been made. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Appeals (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was received in that office on 5 January 2016. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence including that adduced at the oral hearing, has decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned. The person concerned was notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision on 22 December 2015. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Data (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 105, 144, 172 and 183 together. Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting over 61,000 people for which the Government has provided approximately €267 million for 2016. A breakdown of rent supplement recipients by county, including Kildare, is provided in the following tabular statement. End of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance Refunds (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The Employer Job (PRSI) Incentive scheme was launched in June 2010 exempting an employer from their share of the PRSI contribution in respect of workers for 18 months from the date of approval. The scheme ceased at the end of June 2013 when the new JobsPlus Incentive was introduced to replace both it and the Revenue Job Assist scheme with effect from the 1st July 2013. From the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The person concerned is currently attending a Post Leaving Cert Course of study. In order to be eligible to apply for assistance with a course of study a person must be in receipt of a payment from the Department. As the person concerned is not in receipt of a qualifying payment nor was he in receipt of a qualifying payment at the time of commencing his course of education, he is not...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Eligibility (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: Illness benefit is classed as a short term payment so the award of a Christmas bonus does not apply. The Department of Social Protection legislation provides that illness benefit can only be paid for a maximum of 104 weeks (624 pay days) in respect of claims made from January 2009 onwards. Certain persons in receipt of illness benefit prior to 2009 held their entitlement to illness benefit...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Widow's Pension Eligibility (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: A widow’s contributory pension is based on the social insurance record of either the person concerned or their late spouse. The two records cannot be combined when calculating entitlement. Neither the person concerned nor their late spouse have sufficient social insurance contributions paid in Ireland to qualify them for a standard widow’s contributory pension. The person...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: The overall concern of Government in its Budgets has been to protect the primary social welfare rates. Expenditure on pensions at approx. €6.974 billion is the largest block of expenditure in the Department in the Estimate for 2016, representing approx. 35.5% of overall expenditure. Because of demographic changes, the Department’s spending on older people is increasing year on...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (13 Jan 2016)

Joan Burton: Carer’s allowance is an income support payable where a person requires full-time care and attention. It is typically paid to a person, but where the caring duties are shared on a part-time basis in an established pattern, it can be paid to two people. In the case of the latter, the annual carer’s support grant will also be shared. I should point out that there is also...