Results 8,681-8,700 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Activation Projects (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: This project was one of 14 disability activation projects (DACT), in the Border, Midlands & West region, which were jointly funded (€7m) by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Department of Social Protection (DSP), from the end of 2012 to April 2015. The objective of the DACT project was to explore a variety of routes towards ensuring that people with disabilities were...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Respite Care Grant Payments (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Respite Care Grant (RCG) is an annual non means-tested payment of €1,375 made to carers by the Department. Full time carers who are not in receipt of a carers payment from the Department are also entitled to the grant. The estimated cost of the RCG, in 2015, is in excess of €124 million in respect of over 90,000 recipients of care. Any increase in the rate of the RCG...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Administration (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 65,000 people at a cost of €298 million in 2015. Over 13,700 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year, of which almost 4,300 are in Dublin, showing that significant numbers are being accommodated under the scheme. A review of the rent limits...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Public Sector Staff Redundancies (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Terms and conditions in relation to the employment of staff of State agencies is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin T.D. Therefore the issue of the terms of any redundancies for these staff would be a matter in the first instance for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme (30 Sep 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 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 farm...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Employment Support Services (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Government is anxious to facilitate increasing participation in employment for persons with a disability. In addition to basic income support, the Department provides a wide range of work related supports for people with disabilities which play an important role in supporting participation by people with disabilities in the labour force. These include the wage subsidy scheme, the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Tax Credits (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The primary purpose of PRSI credits is to secure social welfare benefits and pensions of employees by covering gaps in insurance where they are not in a position to pay PRSI. This includes periods of unemployment and illness, as well as periods spent participating in certain education or training courses. The class at which a contributor paid his or her last PRSI contribution determines...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Respite Care Grant Payments (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Respite Care Grant (RCG) is an annual payment of €1,375 for carers who look after certain people in need of full-time care and attention. The payment is made regardless of the carer's means but is subject to certain conditions, one of which is that the period of full-time care and attention must last for at least six months (which must include the first Thursday in June when the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Strategies (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The current Pathways to WorkStrategy covers the period to end 2015. It set out a significant process of reform and modernisation of Ireland’s of Public Employment Services and has contributed substantially to the improvement in activation processes in Ireland, as recently acknowledged by the OECD. I am pleased to say that targets set out in Pathways to Work in relation both to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Work Family Dividend Scheme (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Approximately 6,500 customers have transitioned from the one-parent family payment to the back to work family dividend since the final phase of the one-parent family payment scheme reforms took place on 2 July, 2015.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payments (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Department monitors on an ongoing basis all social welfare income support schemes including the one-parent family payment scheme. One of the key aims of the one-parent family payment scheme reforms is to maximise the opportunities for lone parents to enter into and increase employment by providing them with enhanced access to the wide range of education, training, and employment...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Child Benefit Eligibility (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Child Benefit is a monthly payment made to families with children in respect of all qualified children up to the age of 16 years. The payment continues to be paid in respect of children up to their 18th birthday who are in full-time education, or who have a physical or mental disability. Child Benefit is currently paid to around 610,000 families in respect of some 1.16 million children, with...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 65,000 people at a cost of €298 million in 2015. Over 13,700 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year, of which almost 4,300 are in Dublin, showing that landlords are accommodating significant numbers under the scheme. A review of the rent limits...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: National Carers Strategy (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: In recognition of the vital contribution made by carers, the Government published a National Carers’ Strategy in 2012 to signal its commitment to recognising and respecting carers as crucial care partners and to respond to their needs, across a number of policy areas. Under this strategy, the Department assists carers by providing a range of income supports. These include carer's...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Farm Assist Scheme (30 Sep 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: Free Travel Scheme Review (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Free Travel Scheme permits customers to travel for free on most CIE public transport services, LUAS and a range of services offered by up to 90 private operators in various parts of the country. Free travel is also available on cross border journeys to and from Northern Ireland. Customers aged 66 years and over can travel for free on journeys within Northern Ireland. There are...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Waiting Times (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Department assists carers by providing a range of income supports. These include carer's allowance (CA), carer's benefit, domiciliary care allowance and respite care grant (RCG). €822 million is provided for these payments in 2015. CA is the main income support. Since 2004 the number of people in receipt of CA has increased from over 23,000, to just over 58,000 at the end of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: JobPath Implementation (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: JobPath is a new approach to resourcing the provision of employment services to people who are long-term unemployed or at high risk of becoming long-term unemployed. Two providers of employment services have been contracted under JobPath to work with jobseekers and to assist them to secure and sustain full-time paid employment or self-employment. A public procurement process, conducted in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Water Conservation Grant (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Department of Social Protection, on behalf of the Department of Environment, Community, and Local Government (DECLG), is paying the €100 per annum Water Conservation Grant to households (primary dwellings) which registered their principal private residence with Irish Water by 30th June 2015. 1.3 million registrations were made by the deadline and Irish Water has transferred a file...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Rent supplement plays a vital role in housing families and individuals, with the scheme supporting approximately 65,000 people at a cost of €298 million in 2015. Over 13,700 rent supplement tenancies have been awarded this year, of which almost 4,300 are in Dublin, showing that landlords are accommodating significant numbers under the scheme. A review of the rent limits...