Results 8,701-8,720 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

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

Joan Burton: The terms of employment for persons employed as Supervisors on DSP-funded Community Employment (CE) schemes are a contractual matter between the employer (CE Sponsor) and the employee (Supervisor). Employers (including CE Sponsoring Organisations) are legally obliged to offer access to at least one Standard Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) under the Pension (Amendment) Act 2002....

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

Joan Burton: A key qualifying condition for the payment of carer’s allowance is that the person receiving care is medically assessed as needing care on a full-time basis, while a person in receipt of carer’s allowance can engage in employment, self-employment, training or education outside the home for up to 15 hours per week and still qualify for the payment. I am satisfied that this...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Reform (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Report on Pension Charges, undertaken by my Department, working with the Central Bank and the Pensions Authority, was completed and published in October 2012 and was the first comprehensive Government report on this subject. The report culminated in recommendations which involve measures to introduce clarity and consistency across the various pension products, increase consumer...

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 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: Services for People with Disabilities (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Government is anxious to facilitate increasing participation in employment for persons with a disability. 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 EmployAbility (supported employment)...

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

Joan Burton: There are approximately 65,000 rent supplement recipients, of which over 24,700 are in Dublin, for which the Government has provided a total of over €298 million in 2015. Under the legislative provisions governing rent supplement, the Department’s relationship is with the tenant; the tenant makes the application for rent supplement and, subject to the tenant satisfying the...

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

Joan Burton: Budget 2015 was the first Budget in recent years where there was scope to make improvements for welfare recipients, and in this regard, I was pleased to be in a position to increase Child Benefit by €5 per child per month, to increase the Living Alone Allowance, which is paid to pensioners and people with disabilities who live alone, to €9 per week, and introduce a new Back to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: In line with the Statement of Government Priorities, in January of this year the Government decided to proceed with work to develop a roadmap and timeline for the introduction of a new, universal, supplementary workplace retirement saving system. This work is being progressed by a Universal Retirement Savings Group (URSG), the broad role of which is to consider the constituent factors...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Private Rented Accommodation Costs and Controls (30 Sep 2015)

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

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 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: Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the rent supplement scheme is to provide short-term income support to assist with accommodation costs and not to act as an alternative to the other social housing schemes operated by the Exchequer. There are currently approximately 65,000 rent supplement recipients for which the Government has provided over €298 million for 2015, which represents a transfer of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 27 May 2015. The first payment will be made by his selected payment method on 7 October 2015. Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and applied in respect of any overlapping payments or in respect of outstanding overpayments (if applicable).

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

Joan Burton: The current free travel scheme provides free travel on the main public and private transport services for those eligible under the scheme. These include road, rail and ferry services provided by companies such as Bus Átha Cliath, Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, as well as Luas and services provided by approximately 80 private transport operators. Free travel is also...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Invalidity Pension Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Invalidity pension (IP) is a payment for people who are permanently incapable of work because of illness or incapacity and who satisfy the pay related social insurance (PRSI) contribution conditions. The department received a claim for IP for the person concerned on the 11 September 2015. The claim will be processed as quickly as possible and the person in question will be notified directly...

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

Joan Burton: Following a review of the continuing eligibility to carer’s allowance (CA) of the person in question, a deciding officer (DO) decided that CA was no longer payable because the person in question was engaged in work outside of the home for in excess of 15 hours a week, contrary to the statutory conditions of the scheme. The person concerned was notified of this revised decision on...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: State Pension (Contributory) Appeals (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 16 April 2015. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant papers and comments by or on behalf of the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought from the Department of Social Protection. These papers have been received in the Social...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: The application for disability allowance, based upon the evidence submitted, was refused on medical grounds and the person in question was notified in writing of this decision on 7 July 2015. The person in question requested a review of the decision by a deciding officer (DO) and submitted additional evidence for consideration. The review has now been concluded by a DO but the outcome is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (30 Sep 2015)

Joan Burton: Following submission of further medical evidence and a review of his medical eligibility by a deciding officer, the person concerned has been awarded disability allowance with effect from 1 April 2015. The first payment will be made by his selected payment method on 7 October 2015. Arrears of payment due will issue as soon as possible once any necessary adjustment is calculated and...

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

Joan Burton: The Walk Peer 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...