Results 13,981-14,000 of 40,550 for speaker:Joan Burton

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: School Meals Programme (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The school meals programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to approximately 1,600 schools and organisations which benefits some 205,000 children through two schemes. The first is the statutory urban school meals scheme, operated by local authorities and part-financed by the Department. The second is the school meals local projects scheme through which funding is...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Drug Rehabilitation Projects (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Drugs Rehabilitation CE schemes have not experienced any reduction in funding in recent years. The significant contribution of resources from the Department of Social Protection to the drugs rehabilitation response includes the 1,000 dedicated CE places delivered through the CE Drug Rehabilitation Projects (DRP’s). The focus of the CE DRP places continues to be on training and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Redundancy Payments (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 53, 143, 144 and 156 together. The Department’s Internal Audit unit carries out independent audits across business activities. Its purpose is to examine the internal controls in place to guard against the risks associated with the activities and to provide assurance to management. Following an audit, Internal Audit reports are generated for...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: All Rent Supplement payments, including arrears, are paid up to date for this client.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: National Internship Scheme Data (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 56, 93, 95, 102 and 169 together. Individuals wishing to undertake internships under the JobBridge scheme must be in receipt of a relevant Social Welfare payment i.e. Jobseekers Allowance, Jobseekers Benefit, One Parent Family Payment, Disability Allowance, or signing for credits for 3 months (78 days) out of the last 6 months and have a live claim....

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Eligibility (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: There are no plans to extend the participation limits beyond that currently available under Community Employment (CE), i.e. three years maximum cumulative participation for those under 55 years of age and up to six years maximum cumulative participation for those of 55 years of age up to State Pension age. Where CE projects are experiencing difficulties in recruitment due to lack of eligible...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Legislation (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Pensions Authority was launched 7thMarch 2014 under S.I. No. 103/2014 - Social Welfare and Pensions (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013 (Sections 22(b), 26, 27, 28, 29 and 34) (Commencement) Order 2014. The name change from the Pensions Board to the Pensions Authority did not directly or indirectly amend the statements recited in this PQ, which were originally made to Dáil...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Pensions Legislation (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Pensions Authority was launched 7th March 2014. The statement made in the presentation to the Ballymun Community Centre that “The Pensions Board is the regulator of pension schemes. They supervise compliance with the Pensions Act. They have the power to inspect and investigate pension schemes to ensure that they are complying with their statutory obligations” continues to...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Guardian's Payment Applications (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: A claim for Guardian’s payment was received from the person concerned on 11thJune 2014. The case was referred to a Social Welfare Inspector for investigation on 19thJune 2014. Following receipt of the Inspector’s report, the Deciding Officer considered all the information available and decided that additional information is required before a decision on eligibility can be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Rent Supplement Scheme Payments (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The client is in receipt of their full entitlement to Rent Supplement based on their weekly income and family composition.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Drug Rehabilitation Projects (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The significant contribution of resources from my Department to the drugs rehabilitation response includes the 1,000 dedicated CE places delivered through the CE Drug Rehabilitation Projects (DRP’s). The focus of the CE DRP places continues to be on training and development in support of recovery for those seeking a more stable lifestyle, including a path to progression to work. A CE...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: PRSI credited contributions ("credits") are an integral part of the social insurance system. For the most part they are linked to having an underlying entitlement to a social welfare payment while temporarily detached from the labour force or having entitlement to statutory leave e.g. parental or maternity leave. The primary purpose of PRSI credits is to secure social welfare benefits and...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff Data (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The following table shows the actual number of staff who retired, resigned or otherwise departed from their employment in the Department during the periods requested. It also includes details of the numbers who are due to reach their compulsory retirement age from now to the end of 2016. It is not possible to be definitive on numbers of any other staff that may depart from the Department...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Departmental Staff Recruitment (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: As the Deputy will be aware there is currently a moratorium on recruitment across the civil and public service. Also, like all other Government Departments, the Department has to operate within an employment control framework (ECF) target determined by the Minster for Public Expenditure and Reform. Therefore, the only sources available to the Department to fill critical vacancies, including...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Welfare Services (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 68 together. The new Intreo Centre at Edward Street, Tralee incurred a refurbishment cost of €225,810.84. The costs are broken down as follows: Structural Costs: €173,196 Furniture and Fittings: €47,559.18 Internal Signage: €4,196.46 External Signage: €859.20 The transfer of the Community Welfare Service from...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: Personal Retirement Bonds, otherwise known as Buy-out-Bonds (BoBs), are approved by the Revenue Commissioners on a generic basis under Chapter 1 of Part 30 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. A BoB is a pension vehicle designed to receive transfer payments from occupational pension schemes as a consequence of a scheme member leaving service, the winding up of a scheme or of pension...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Defined Benefit Pension Schemes (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The ruling in this case is noted. However, I would point out that defined benefit pension schemes are normally established under trust and maintained by employers on a voluntary basis. The obligation imposed on an employer and on scheme members is normally agreed and set out in the trust deed and rules of each scheme. The trust deeds and rules differ from scheme to scheme and reflect the...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Appeals (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Social Welfare Appeals Office has advised me that an appeal by the person concerned was registered in that office on 22ndJuly 2014. It is a statutory requirement of the appeals process that the relevant Departmental papers and comments by the Deciding Officer on the grounds of appeal be sought. When these papers have been received from the Department, the case in question will be...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Welfare Benefits (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The one-parent family payment (OFP) scheme is in the process of being reformed. These reforms were introduced in the Social Welfare and Pensions Act, 2012, and contain provisions to reduce, on a phased basis, the maximum age limit of the youngest child at which an OFP recipient’s payment ceases to 7 years for recipients from 2 July, 2015. This reform aims to bring Ireland’s...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Community Employment Schemes Cessation (17 Sep 2014)

Joan Burton: The Department (and previously, FÁS) have consistently maintained that the only circumstances in which it will fund enhanced redundancy packages to Community Employment (CE) Supervisors is where the Supervisor redundancy arises because of the actions of the Department due to restructuring of the CE programme, e.g. mainstreaming schools-based CE schemes to the Department of Education in...