Results 1,121-1,140 of 2,335 for speaker:Joe O'Brien

Written Answers — Department of Rural and Community Development: Departmental Funding (24 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Charities Regulator is fully independent in the performance of its statutory functions under Section 14 (3) of the Charities Act 2009.  Neither I nor my Department have any role in the decision making process of the Regulator, particularly with regard to the registration of charities and whether they are operating in accordance with regulations. That is entirely a matter...

National Parks and Wildlife Service Strategic Plan: Statements (Resumed) (19 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, on progressing this hugely important piece of work, which was a key commitment for the Green Party in the programme for Government. Our biodiversity and natural world have not been valued and protected in Ireland in the way they should have been in the past. The Government has changed that and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (19 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The European Union has activated the Temporary Protection Directive, as an emergency provision in response to the War in Ukraine. The Directive allows Ukrainian citizens and others fleeing Ukraine to move through the EU and receive supports. The Directive also allows people to access employment supports and the right to work in this country on the same basis as EU citizens. This includes the...

Just Transition: Statements (18 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I very much welcome the opportunity to speak on just transition. It is an area I have a deep interest in. My ministerial responsibilities span two Departments to play a key role in ensuring a just transition. There is significant overlap and opportunity in what we need to do to decarbonise our society and make it fairer, more just and more equal. Current cost-of-living issues highlight...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: Tús is a community work placement initiative aimed at providing short-term, quality work opportunities for those who are unemployed for more than a year. The scheme aims to improve the employability and work readiness of participants, by providing them with the opportunities to put work skills into practice and learn new skills enabling progression to work, further education or skill...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The aim of the Community Employment (CE) programme is to enhance the employability of disadvantaged and long-term unemployed people by providing work experience and training opportunities for them within their local communities. The programme aims to improve a person’s opportunities to return to the labour market. There are currently 848 CE schemes nationwide. At the end of April...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Sector Staff (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: Both Tus and RSS are funded by the Department of Social Protection and delivered by Implementing Bodies (IB). Tús is a work initiative that provides short-term work opportunities for those who have been unemployed for more than a year, in community work placements lasting for twelve months. The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) is an income support initiative that provides part-time...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Department provides a range of income supports and activation programmes for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. These supports include Tús, Community Employment Scheme (CE) and the Rural Social Scheme (RSS). Tús is a work initiative that provides short-term work opportunities for those who have been unemployed for more than a year,...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Income Inequality (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 and 145 together. The Survey on Income and Living Conditions contains the official poverty data for Ireland. The most recent survey results (SILC 2021) were published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 6 May 2022. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020–2025 is the national strategy for poverty reduction and social inclusion. The ambitious...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Public Sector Pay (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: My Department operates a range of employment support schemes, each with differing characteristics and roles in the overall support offering to unemployed and under employed customers. For example, community employment (CE) is aimed at supporting long term unemployed to upskill and transition into employment or training, whereas the RSS scheme supports under employed farmers or...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Survey on Income and Living Conditions contains the official poverty data for Ireland. The most recent survey results (SILC 2021) were published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 6 May 2022. Government welcomes the progress made towards meeting the ambitious Roadmap for Social Inclusion targets, which includes reduction in the percentage of the population in consistent...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) is an income support initiative providing part-time employment opportunities for farmers or fishermen/women in receipt of certain social welfare payments, and underemployed in their primary occupation, within their local area in community and voluntary organisations. The RSS scheme plays an important role in rural communities, with participants having the...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) is an income support initiative which commenced in 2004 to provide part-time employment opportunities for farmers or fishermen and women who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are underemployed in their primary occupation. The work undertaken by participants is primarily to support local service provision via community, voluntary and...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Community Employment (CE) Scheme is an active labour market programme designed to provide eligible long-term unemployed people and other disadvantaged persons with an opportunity to engage in useful work within their communities on a temporary, fixed term basis. During the COVID pandemic the Minister for Social Protection and I extended CE participants contracts on a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: Tús is a work initiative that commenced operation in 2011 as a response to high levels of unemployment at that time. The Rural Social Scheme (RSS) is an income support initiative that provides part-time employment opportunities in the community and voluntary organisations for farmers or fisherman and woman who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments and who are...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: As the Deputy is aware, following complex and detailed discussions between the Department of Social Protection and unions representing CE supervisors and a subsequent ballot of union members, an agreement was reached with both Fórsa and Siptu late in 2021 that resolved issues arising from a 2008 Labour Court recommendation on CE supervisor pensions. Both Minister Humphreys and I were...

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Central Statistics Office (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: The Survey on Income and Living Conditions contains the official poverty data for Ireland. The most recent survey results (SILC 2021) were published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 6 May 2022. The Roadmap for Social Inclusion 2020–2025 is the national strategy for poverty reduction and social inclusion. The ambitious headline target is to reduce the percentage of the...

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Family Resource Centres (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: 541. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the number of and annual budget for family resource centres nationally; the location of each in tabular form; the future plans for the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24180/22]

Written Answers — Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth: Childcare Services (17 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: 557. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will consider a change in the rules of the national childcare scheme so that parents can receive a subsidy based on the hours they are paying for rather than the hours that their children are physically present in the childcare setting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24804/22]

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Child Poverty (12 May 2022)

Joe O'Brien: I propose to take Questions Nos. 268 and 269 together. The Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) is the official poverty data for Ireland. The most recent survey results in relation to the 2021 survey were published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on 6 May 2022. It is welcome that the national rate of child poverty, which is based on consistent poverty, decreased...