Results 9,781-9,800 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: What the Deputy is suggesting is that we should drive increases in rents for people at work and paying their own rent.

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: What we are doing is helping families on a one-to-one basis. We regularly text all the people where we have their mobile phone numbers to tell them, if they have any query or difficulty with a landlord, and I want to repeat this message here-----

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: -----to please contact the social welfare community services and they will get help specifically, as more than 2,000 families have done so far this year in renegotiating-----

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: There is no cap in hand.

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: I thank the Deputy for her interest in the issue. I am glad that parties in this House should actually want to debate how, as a country, we help lone parents to move from a situation where, if they are relying on a social welfare income, they are seriously at risk of poverty. In 2003 and 2004, at the height of the Celtic tiger and Fianna Fáil's rule in this country, lone parents were...

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: I did that in the context that, although, as a Government, we are spending €260 million this year on child care and providing for 100,000 children, it is still not enough. I am very ambitious to go further. That is what we are spending and there is a seven-year transition. In the North of Ireland, where the Deputy's party is in power-----

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: -----the transition age is five years of age and the supports for families are significantly smaller than they are here, as the Deputy is aware.

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: What we all need in this country is to work together, to work with employers, with education institutions and, in particular, with community organisations to help lone parents, who work so hard to make the transition to paid employment, in order that-----

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: For a lone parent with one child, their income on social welfare is €218. If they get 19 hours of work and move to family income supplement, their income goes up to €400 a week. I would like it to be higher than that but that is a very good start in helping to get people out of poverty.

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The Deputy wants to keep them in poverty.

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The Deputy is wrong.

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: Yes, I did.

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The Deputy started by referring to the poor unfortunate people in Greece and what had befallen them. It must come as a relief to everybody in this House that, thankfully, what has happened to people in Greece is not a threat here because in this economy we have had a managed process of recovery. The Deputy also referred to the one-parent family payment. I do not think there is such a thing...

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The basis of the payment in Greece is whatever pensions are available. The Deputy referred to changes in the one-parent family payment. This is the third year of the changes. For Fianna Fáil’s information, because it will apply to many of the Deputy’s constituents - perhaps he should inform himself on the issue - this year we have had contact with approximately 25,000...

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: When Fianna Fáil had finished with the economy in its bubble of greed and speculation-----

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: When Fianna Fáil had finished with the destruction of the economy - there are quite a few Members in this House who understand what happened in the housing market - housing stopped.

Leaders' Questions (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: More importantly, because the party was well in with a certain type of developer and banker-----

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Code (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: State pensions account for the single largest block of social welfare expenditure, and while expenditure on pensions is increasing because of demographic pressures, this is being managed within the overall welfare budget. This year, the Department of Social Protection will spend an estimated €6.675 billion on pensions, i.e., 34.4% of all welfare expenditure, and an increase of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Maternity Benefit Applications (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned was refused maternity benefit on the grounds that her employment is not insurable under the provisions of paragraph 1 of Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 and that PRSI class M applies. I am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that following the decision, in this case, a Scope (Insurability) appeal by the person concerned was...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payments (2 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: Up to 15 April 2015, this client was in receipt of a One-Parent Family Payment of €247.60 per week. Following an investigation, the claim was suspended due to a determination by a social welfare inspector that all conditions of the scheme were no longer being satisfied. The client has appealed this decision and the Department awaits the decision of the Social Welfare Appeals Office....