Results 7,881-7,900 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The State pension (contributory) is a very valuable benefit and is the bedrock of the Irish pension system. Since 1961, when contributory pensions were first introduced, the average contributions test has been used in calculating pension entitlement. Once over 16 years of age, the date a person enters into insurable employment is the date used for averaging purposes. A number of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Fuel Allowance Payments (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The fuel allowance scheme assists householders on long-term welfare with meeting the costs of their heating needs during the winter season. The allowance represents a contribution towards the energy costs of a household. It is not intended to meet those costs in full. Only one allowance is paid per household. In order to qualify for the scheme a person must be in receipt of a qualifying...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Eligibility (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: In order to qualify for jobseeker credits, a person must have entered insurable employment, have paid at least one PRSI contribution at Class A, H or P and be available for and genuinely seeking work. Legislation provides that, where a person has a gap in their insurance record with no paid or credited contributions for a period of two consecutive years, credits will not be awarded until...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The farm assist scheme provides support for farmers on low incomes and is similar to jobseeker’s allowance. Farm assist recipients retain the advantages of the jobseeker’s allowance scheme such as the retention of secondary benefits and access to activation programmes. The 2015 Revised Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure of almost €89 million on the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme currently supporting approximately 63,000 people at a cost of over €298 million in 2015. Over 17, 200 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year, of which approximately 5,600 are in Dublin, showing that people are securing accommodation under the scheme. A review of the rent...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Data Sharing Arrangements (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: Client data is transferred from the Department of Social Protection (DSP) to the Department of Education and Skills (DES) in order to meet with EU regulations governing the programmes under the European Globalisation Fund (EGF), for which DES is the Management Authority. DSP carries out data matching exercises for the purpose of validating PPS Numbers requested by DES for third level...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Eligibility (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The State pension contributory is a very valuable benefit and is the bedrock of the Irish pension system. Therefore, it is important to ensure that those qualifying have made a sustained contribution to the Social Insurance Fund over their working lives. To ensure that the individual can maximise their entitlement to a State pension, all contributions paid or credited over their working...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Youth Unemployment Measures (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The Government’s primary strategy to tackle youth unemployment is to create the environment for a strong economic recovery by promoting competitiveness and productivity. Economic recovery will underpin jobs growth and the availability of productive employment for young people. However, the Government recognises that as the recovery takes hold, there is a need for additional...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 63,000 people at a cost of over €298 million in 2015. Over 17, 200 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year showing that landlords are accommodating significant numbers under the scheme. A review of the rent limits undertaken earlier this year found that...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: JobPath is a new approach to employment activation that will support people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. Following the completion of a rigorous public procurement process, two companies were selected to provide the JobPath service - Turas Nua Limited and Seetec Limited. JobPath was...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff Redeployment (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The Department is engaging with officials in the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG) regarding the ongoing roll-out and transfer of long-term rent supplement recipients to the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP). To date, HAP is being rolled out in 18 local authority areas with some 4,800 tenancies in place, including Kildare, where HAP was recently introduced...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Education Allowance (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The Department of Social Protection has a track record of commissioning independent evaluations of its schemes and programmes (e.g. NEAP, JobBridge) and using them to inform reviews of policy. The evaluation of the Back To Education Allowance (BTEA) has been performed to best international standards and is the first, pathfinder study to use the Department’s Jobseekers Longitudinal...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Contracts (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: JobPath is a new approach to employment activation that will support people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. Following the completion of a public procurement process, two companies were selected to provide the JobPath service - Turas Nua Limited and Seetec Limited. The minimum elements of customer...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Waiting Times (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The average appeal processing time for 2014 and to date in 2015 broken down by all social welfare scheme types as outlined in the tables below. Appeal processing times generally peaked in 2011 when the overall average time for an oral hearing was 52.5 weeks and 25.1 weeks for a summary decision. In 2014 average appeal processing times for an oral hearing had almost halved to 28.6 weeks and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The jobseeker’s allowance schemes provide income support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. The Revised 2015 Estimates for the Department provide for expenditure this year on the jobseekers’ schemes of €3.01 billion. In line with other EU and OECD jurisdictions reduced rates for jobseeker’s allowance...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: JobPath is a new approach to employment activation that will support people who are long-term unemployed and those most at risk of becoming long-term unemployed to secure and sustain paid employment. Participants on JobPath will receive intensive individual support to help them address barriers to employment and to assist them in finding jobs. Each person is assigned to a personal...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Immigration Policy (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The general principles underpinning the application of the habitual residence condition which applies, amongst other criteria, in determining entitlement to certain social welfare payments centre on the overall assessment of a person’s situation, including consideration of the following factors: - the length and continuity of residence in Ireland or in any other particular country, ...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Unemployment Data (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is responsible for defining, and publishing data series for, both ‘unemployment’ and the ‘potential labour supply’ in strict compliance with standards set down by the International Labour Organisation (LIO) and the EU. The definitions used by CSO are fully in line with International Labour Organization (ILO) standards and the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Work Family Dividend Scheme Data (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The back to work family dividend (BTWFD) aims to help families to move from a weekly social welfare payment into employment. It gives financial support to people with children who were in receipt of a jobseeker or one-parent family payment and who take up employment, increase their hours of employment or become self-employed. There were just over 10,000 applicants with approximately 9,700...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (17 Nov 2015)

Joan Burton: The primary responsibility for provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with local authorities. The Department’s role with regard to people who are homeless is mainly income maintenance. Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme currently supporting approximately 63,000 people at a cost of over €298 million in 2015....