Results 9,821-9,840 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Application Forms (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 49 and 50 together. Successive Governments and this one most notably, have consistently stated their commitment to maintaining the post office network as set out in the Programme for Government. The post office is seen as a key piece of financial and social infrastructure for both urban and rural areas. Part of the strength of the post office brand, and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Eligibility (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: Expenditure on the One Parent Family Payment (OFP) scheme is estimated to be €607 million in 2015 with almost 70,000 recipients. However, despite committing extensive funding to lone parent payments since the 1970s, lone parents remain the most at-risk-of-poverty, and their children are at a high risk of poverty. For too long, significant numbers of lone parents have been...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Work Courses (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The client concerned is registered with his Local Employment Service (LES). The LES are contracted by the Department, among other things, to engage with DSP customers referred to them for activation. A LES mediator is assigned to each referred client who is contracted to work with that client, up to a 12 month period, in identifying a pathway back to work. Training and education is just...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: One-Parent Family Payment Applications (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The information requested by the Deputy relating to the total number of applications for one-parent family payment (OFP) registered in 2015 which have been determined and the total number which have yet to be processed are set out in a table. The average times to award a claim in respect of claims awarded in each month is also set out. This level of detail is not available on a county basis,...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department received applications for carer’s allowance from the person in question on the 11th February 2015. The application is currently with a social welfare inspector for assessment of the level of care being provided, assessment of means and confirmation that all the conditions for receipt of carer’s allowance are satisfied. Once the inspector has...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The issue of maintenance payments is first and foremost a private matter for the persons concerned, and if they cannot resolve the problem, for the courts through family law provisions. The question raised is not a matter for this Department as it concerns a court order in relation to a family law matter.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Correspondence (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: Child benefit is a payment to parents for the support of their children. It is paid to some 615,000 families in respect of 1.18 million children, with an expenditure of approximately €1.9 billion in 2014. In order to ensure that child benefit is only paid to eligible families, a policy of issuing continuing eligibility certificates to parents commenced in 2008 and is still in...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pension Provisions (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: Effective debt recovery is a key aspect of the Department’s control policy and an integral part of the deterrent approach to social welfare fraud. Most claimants of social welfare schemes, where required, fully declare their income and assets and do not receive more than their due entitlements. Where a claimant fails to fully declare their means, they may receive a payment, or a rate...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Payments (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The supplementary welfare allowance rate for a family comprising two adults and a child is €340.60. Any income over this amount is considered additional earnings and affects the rate of rent supplement allowable. In this case, the client has additional household earnings from their Community Employment programme that reduces their entitlement to rent supplement. Consequently, their...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department is in receipt of an application for disability allowance from the above named person on 15 May 2015. On completion of the necessary investigations on all aspects of the claim a decision will be made and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. The processing time for individual disability allowance claims may vary in accordance with...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Application Forms (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The casual employment process for jobseekers involves a paper-based interaction between the customer and their employer after which my Department is provided with details of the weekly employment pattern by the customer. The current system of recording days of unemployment, as outlined in my previous reply, is a straightforward method of obtaining the employment information and verification...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The information sought by the Deputy is outlined in the table below. Training and Development (Revised Estimate provision 2015) €1,275,000 Annual saving from a reduction of : 2.5% €31,875 5% €63,750 10% €127,500

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: Based on the amount of fees paid by the Department of Social Protection in 2014, a saving of €1,507,044 would accrue to the Exchequer, if expenditure on professional fees was reduced by 10%. Please note that such expenditure does not include medical certification and vision testing fees carried out by health professionals, but does include legal, IT-related, accountancy, and other...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: I have four Special Advisers. One of my Special Advisors is on secondment from the Central Bank and, in accordance with the rules governing secondment retains his terms and conditions, including salary. The annual savings to the Exchequer if the salaries of the other three special advisers were capped at the first point of the Principal Officer grade would be €71,926. By way of...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Expenditure (1 Jul 2015)

Joan Burton: The information sought by the Deputy is outlined in the table below. Citizens Information Board Projected Board members fees 2015 €66,000 Annual saving from a reduction of :25% €16,500 The figure given for the projected annual fees for 2015 includes potential fees in respect of current vacancies. One of the existing board members has declined to accept fees and potential...

One-Parent Family Payment Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (30 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: I am surprised at Sinn Féin scoffing at the payment.

One-Parent Family Payment Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (30 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: When Sinn Féin goes knocking on doors-----

One-Parent Family Payment Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (30 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The Deputy scoffed at the notion that child benefit would be increased. This week, his allies in Greece have poor unfortunate pensioners and families with children crying on the street because there is no money in the country.

One-Parent Family Payment Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (30 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: That is Sinn Féin's model for Ireland.

One-Parent Family Payment Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (30 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: If a party like Sinn Féin cared about lone parents, they would long ago have answered the question about Jean McConville and her ten children, and Mairia Cahill too. If they cared and had any concern for lone parents they would long ago have answered the question.