Results 9,921-9,940 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Application Forms (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: In order to recognise the general societal trend to electronic payments the Department has been changing some of its application forms. The amendments do not remove the option to be paid at the post office. This option remains on the forms. Therefore, customers are free to opt to receive their payment at the post office if they wish. I also want to emphasise that the department...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Free Travel Scheme Review (25 Jun 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 Applications (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: I confirm that the department received an application for carer's allowance from the person in question on the 11th June 2015. The application is currently being processed and once completed, the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The person in question has been awarded a disability allowance payment with effect from 4 March 2015. First payment will be on 8 July 2015 and any arrears due will follow shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Appeals Status (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 17thJune 2015, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Payments (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been receiving payments of jobseeker's allowance since June 2013. She is currently in receipt of the correct rate of payment for her age. The next increase she is due to receive will become applicable when she reaches 25 years of age. This is subject to any future budgetary changes that may occur in the rates of jobseeker's allowance.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 17thJune 2015, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Supplementary Welfare Allowance Appeals (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was referred to an Appeals Officer on 9thJune 2015, who will make a summary decision on the appeal based on the documentary evidence presented or, if required, hold an oral hearing. The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned has been in receipt of a jobseeker's allowance payment since April 2014 and commenced in casual employment in November 2014. For each day that she is employed she has means assessed and deducted at a rate of €27.00 per day. According to the records of this Department the person concerned is not currently employed, and is in receipt of a jobseeker's allowance...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Back to Work Allowance Eligibility (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The person concerned applied for the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance Scheme (BTWEA) in order to commence business as a sub-contractor. The application was refused as persons engaged as sub-contractors are not eligible under the conditions of the BTWEA scheme. It is open to the person concerned to apply for a jobseeker's allowance as a self-employed person, and have the means from his...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Eligibility (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: Departmental records show that the person concerned changed her residence from an address in Co. Kildare to an address in Dublin in recent days. To date there is no record of an application for rent supplement being received in the Department. Should an application for this scheme be received from the person concerned, her eligibility will be assessed.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Jobseeker's Allowance Eligibility (25 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: As advised to the Deputy in reply to PQ Ref No: 22906-15 on 11th June, 2015, the jobseeker's allowance claim for the person concerned, is currently suspended, pending receipt of bank statements as requested by a Social Welfare Inspector in March, 2015. The required documentation should have been provided to the Department by 19thJune, 2015 but remains outstanding. To allow a final...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payments (24 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The purpose of the one-parent family payment age reforms that were introduced in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012 is to reduce long-term social welfare dependency. The reforms aim to improve lone parents' access to the Department's range of education, training and employment support programmes in order to assist them in securing employment and financial independence for themselves...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payments (24 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: In the North, the rest of the UK and Scandinavia, the age is five years or younger.

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payments (24 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: In our system, the age is seven years. There is a lengthy seven year transition period up to 14 years of age. The final phase of the one-parent family changes will happen in July when the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which a one-parent family payment per seceases will be reduced to seven years for all recipients. They will then transfer into a seven year transitional period up...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payments (24 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: The Department's system is changing. Traditionally, departmental officials did not meet people on a one-to-one basis to support them. In the two years of the changes to date, approximately 19,000 lone parents have entered the transitional arrangement, so we now have a great deal of experience of how it works. People are called into group interviews to make them aware of the Department's...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payments (24 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: -----than they used to be. It is simple - a lone parent working 19 hours on a minimum wage plus FIS and the back to work family dividend, which I just introduced to help all parents who were returning to work, would receive an income of approximately €400 compared with a much lower income on a lone parent payment only where he or she had only one child.

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payments (24 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: In 2004, at the height of the economic boom, the risk of consistent poverty for lone parents was more than four and a half times that of the population as a whole. In 2015, the risk of consistent poverty for lone parents is two and a half times that of the rest of the population. Therefore, the risk of poverty has halved in relative terms. It should also be noted that the latest CSO...

Other Questions: One-Parent Family Payments (24 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: Again, I urge the Deputy, if she believes this has had a negative effect on lone parents whom she knows and caused a risk to their housing situation, to encourage those people to go to the community welfare service, where a protocol is in operation to assist them. This service has already assisted approximately 2,000 families on a one-to-one basis. In regard to the changes in social...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Social Welfare Payments Administration (24 Jun 2015)

Joan Burton: I emphasise that the forms provided by the Department to enable customers to apply for social welfare entitlements are continuously reviewed to ensure they are amenable, relevant and understandable to all customers. In this context, the Department considers that the forms should reflect the choices being made by new customers - the forms in question relate to new customers - on what payment...